Bridgestones RE970 price

[Rand]

Those look nice. My stepmom who is paranoid about winter driving loves the Conti DWS I got her for her G6.

She ends up ends up getting a ride to work if its too bad out anyway, but the number of days she didnt drive went down by about half.

 

[pavelow]

I like the tread pattern. I hope these newer Kumhos have undone all the wrongs of the past. Have fun with them!

 

[Rand]

only thing I dont like about those is they look to be rock monster tread pattern ie picks up a ton of gravel.

 

[Finklejag]

I had to drive on a gravel road yesterday. I will have to look tomorrow and see if they picked up a lot of pebbles.

 

[Carmudgeon]

I'm curious as to how the 4X will hold up over time and mileage.

Is it 2/3rds of the tire that the RE970 is, at 2/3rds the cost, something higher, or something lower?

Both are relatively new, so it's an even race.

 

[Finklejag]

I checked my tires today. Not one pebble in the tread. This suprised me!

 

[Carmudgeon]

I'm curious -- does the 4X have any degree of rim protection in the sidewall profile?

It's hard to tell from the pictures.

It's clear that a tire like the Cooper pictured doesn't.

 

[Finklejag]

The OEM Pirelli's were wider then these 4X. More of my wheel lip is showing. I don't know if this would be the same on a 15 or 16 inch wheel?

 

[Carmudgeon]

This article describes the characteristic.

It used to be touted as a feature, but now, I'm guessing it's become more commonplace and less of a selling point, so it isn't noted.

The picture of the Cooper resembles Photo #1; just an unbroken slope from the sidewall to the bead.

Photo #2 illustrates a raised, exaggerated flange that was more common when the feature first appeared.

From what I can tell, the Kumho and Bridgestone are like Photo #3, a more subtle approach with a recessed bead that affords some protection; not quite as much as #2, but still some compared to #1.