Must be a new tire, Tire Rack does list them, but no reviews
My 2004 ex came with Michelins, now they all have Kumho or Hancock
Who the heck chose those names.. must have been PeeWee Herman
The kumho's on my Lx, are far better than the Bridgestone that were new on our crv
but I don't live in a snow belt..
Thanks for the extra tips. I am pretty good in Craigslist shopping, but the supply of winter tires around here is very limited. You should think everybody and his dog would use winter tires up here (after all, we are a little north of you guys in the deep south of Canada). But since the advent of front wheel drive and all season tires, most people feel it is enough for them. I am of the little older school and believe that nothing can't outdo real winter tires. Better to have 2WD and good winter tires than having AWD and rotten all seasons on. All my vehicles that are driven in the winter have or had winter tires on!
For winter tires I want as much rubber between me and the road as I can get. If the roads are snow covered for a while, they start to get rutty like ungraded dirt roads. When the snow is gone you get potholes as large that you can loose a small car in them for good. Lots of rubber helps to cushion the blows you get from those road conditions.
Make sure the offset is correct. That is just as important as the bolt pattern. I've always gotten my winter wheel/tire sets from www.tirerack.com. Great selection, great prices, and garanteed to fit correctly.
I used the rest of the evening to do a little more research (one very important input came from my son, an ASE Certified Master mechanic) on what the best winter tires would be for a Sorento.
The outcome is the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 of the size 235/65R17.
The 17" have to have a bolt pattern of 5x114.3 (5x4.5), an Offset of 30 to 45 mm, and a rim width between 6.5" - 8.5" . The measured width of the tire is 7".
I would prefer a wheel with a 6.5" width that would have the tires bulge out over the rim by about 0.5" and protect the rim a little better against curb rash.
Thanks! That is the last important parameter for buying rims that fit the Sorento.
Let's recap!
The 17" rims have to have a bolt pattern of 5x114.3mm (5x4.5"), an Offset of 30 to 45 mm (1.18" - 1.77") , and a rim width between 6.5" - 8.5" . and a center bore of 67.3 - 73 mm (2.65" - 2.87").
I wonder if a moderator could make this as a sticky for the Sorento forum?
Tire Rack has two Original Equipment tires listed
They are the Continental CrossContact LX Sport for US $165 ea
and the Kumho Crugen Premium for US $184 ea
That means, the Kumho tire is quite a bit more expensive, but it's warranty rating is one star less, whatever that means.