What does everyone think of the Firestone Affinity Touring S4 tires that come standard on many new HHRs? I like the quiet ride, but how are they on snow? Do they hydroplane easily? I have a chance to change them out before they have 500 miles on them. Feedback appreciated.

 

i know i had firestone tires on my hhr from the dealer.

i put over 50k on them. lasted a long time, i drove them in snow for a week in chicago. they handled pretty good honestly. but then again my first time ever driving in snow. soooo i was a little more careful then most

but i drove them on 12inches of snow one day. only problem i had was getting up a hill that was ice lol.

 

They hold up OK, but I consider them only fair for wet weather. Snow is another story, and these tires shouldn't be considered for even small amounts of the white stuff. Ride is good. Traction and braking are fair, as well. I'm looking forward to replacing them with something a tad more aggressive when it comes to traction and braking. Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the front runners at this point.

 

The OE tires are only OK at best.

I use the Goodyear Triple treads on mine for winter and they are great. I also use them on the wife GTP and they have been great on it too. Better wear, better tration in snow and rain and better handling.

The Tire Rack offers sales that make them a good buy.

 

Dump those tires. Fast. Useless in the snow. So loud they almost overpowered the radio. I was spinning the tires in the RAIN pulling away from stop signs with a 2.2L non-turbo at 15K miles.

Extreme Contacts are VERY nice, I use Goodyear Assurance (not the triple tread) and am very happy, love the very long mileage warranty.

 

I realize this suggestion may be met with ridicule, skepticism or disbelief but I swear by Nexen tires and how inexpensive they are. You can buy a set of four Nexen 5000 tires from onlinetires.com for under $300ish plus a small shipping fee. I have a set on my xB and they have been stellar. When my HHR needs tires that's what I will be getting. They are not for snow but that's not an issue where I live.

 

my SS came with Michelins

 

Love Michelins, but not willing to put out the $$$ for them at this time. I needed two new front tires a couple days ago, and went with Continental ExtremeContact. I LOVE them! I will be going back next month to get the two for the back.

 

Affinities are ok, I havent had a problem with them, but I dont have snow down here either. You might want to look at keeping a set of tires just for snow.

 

The SS Michelins are useless in any weather. In rain they just spin, in snow, not much in forward progress. The traction control gets you going but I'm going to be pitching them soon.

JIm