Time for new tires

Status
Not open for further replies.
If your main use of the car is a 40 mile commute, have you considered Grand Touring tires in order to soften the harshness of the ride? I understand you like sporty, but hey comfort is not something to discard either. Fun wise, you’ll lose on cornering, but you can still fully enjoy the acceleration. GT are not exactly marshmallows and there might be some interesting choices amongst them.
 
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3
$132 each
528/4
-$250 in rebates

$278

budget option

General GMAX AS-05

W speed rated UHP all season

82$ EA

328/4
-125 rebate
$203
 
Michelin Pilot Super Sport (they are still on sale) or Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (or whatever new name is that replaced Super Sport).
Other tires are like 10 steps below!
 
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Michelin Pilot Super Sport (they are still on sale) or Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (or whatever new name is that replaced Super Sport).
Other tires are like 10 steps below!


They look so good, but they're so expensive
 
Expensive size...expensive driving habits...Hey, you're worth it.

Years ago a set of factory installed Michelins on a '99 Honda Accord lasted right up to 100,000 miles on that conservatively driven car.

No where at no other time did Michelins deliver that value. All different cars and sizes and people make any fair comparison impossible.
So you go with your brain's capacity to equate things.

At this stage in my life I feel Continentals deliver across the board. Of course I can't back that up with anything but shards of anecdotal "data".

If you drive around like Batman to begin with, you're going to pay and tire choice won't amount to much.

Did someone mention a 120 "mileage rating" (whatever it's called) in this thread? I try to buy in the 600 and above range....but that's for a station wagon.
Probably nothing that hearty exists in your size.
 
I think the Conti will be the more mature and refined tire. I ran the older DW's on my MINI Cooper S and they really softened the ride from the runflats...but had amazing wet and dry grip. The complaint everyone had against that tire was the squishy sidewalls that softened steering response.

Conti says they addressed that and I think the Tire Rack test agrees.
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Going from 205/40 to 205/45. A lot of FiST owners bump up the sidewall a little to improve ride. I dd this car now on a 40 mile roundtrip commute to work. Sometimes I think I can feel every bump in the road. Not expecting it to float like a Camry, but would like to tone it down a little. Also, a lot more tire choices.

Bumping up the sidewall will also yield a bigger overall diameter, which should net you more grip as well as a better ride. Might improve MPG slightly, too (taller effective gearing).

But you'll pay for it handling-wise. It'll amplify the negative effect of picking a tire with less sidewall strength (i.e. pretty much any tire besides OE). Acceleration might be a bit less quick, too, because of the larger diameter and mass.


Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Can you describe what it is that you felt the other tires lack compared to the Potenzas? They are over $200 a piece so they're way beyond what I can afford for tires.

The RX-8 R3 has this super crisp razor-sharp feeling on the OE tire. I'm now running the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, which has WAY more dry and wet grip and no one ever complains about its steering response. But it's noticeably less sharp and crisp feeling than the OE tire. Objectively, it's miles ahead in every respect. But subjectively, handling-wise, it's a step back.

Regarding price, two things:

1. The OE tire is significantly less than $200 a tire. $200 is the price for the RE050A in 205/45R17, which isn't the FiST-specific version and doesn't seem worth buying.

2. Whatever the price difference is, try averaging it out over the amount of time you'll own the tires, calculate a per-mile cost, and compare that to the rest of your car's per-mile running costs. You'll see that the price difference between the best tire and anything else is pretty insignificant compared to the benefits.

You could have bought a base Fiesta. You bought an ST. Presumably you did that for a reason. Buy the right tire for it. :]
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
DTD has their memorial day sale, and the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 is $132 each, plus $200 in rebates. If you open up a DTD credit card, there is another $100 $50 rebate available (making the total $300 $250 off)



I made a slight mistake, sorry

But still, $200 or $250 off the set of four tires is a great deal
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Originally Posted By: FordFocus
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+


I don't make Michelin money yet lol


It's also an all season tire, albeit one that handles right with many pure summer UHPs, and even Max performance models as far as ultimate stick, and turn-in response goes.

It IS a shame though that Michelin REFUSES TO make their summer, max performance, Pilot Super Sport/4S in a size we can even use at all, (for ANY price) let alone our OEM 205/40-17.
mad.gif
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
My Fiesta ST still has it's oem tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE050a) at 20.5k miles. They're down to about 4/32nds and I'm looking to replace them since it's the beginning of Florida's rainy season and I don't want to take any chances with hydroplaning. They're still decent in light to moderate rain, but big puddles are getting a little hairy. I want to stick with summer tires and the two I'm considering have pretty good reviews and they're similarly priced with rebates going on right now, so I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm looking at the Continental Extreme Contact Sport and Firestone Firehawk Indy 500.

I would like to get 25-30k out of them since I managed to get over 20k out of the 140 rated Potenzas. I want good grip since cornering is this car's strength and I don't want to diminish that. Quietness is also a huge plus since road noise penetrates the cabin. I'm currently leaning towards the Continentals.

Any input is appreciated.

Few things:

1. Of the two options you listed, the Conti wins, hands-down. But...

2. I'm not seeing the ExtremeContact Sport in the FiST's OE size. What size are you looking at?

3. If you like how the car handles on the OE tire, you're risking big disappointment by straying. That tire is customized for your car to some extent, and the RE050A generally has a really nice dynamic feel to it that is difficult if not impossible to match. My car also came with an RE050A from the factory, I swapped it for the best summer tires ever made, and I got better grip, better NVH, and longer life -- and I still miss the feel of the OE tire. That's what you'll get with the ExtremeContact Sport if you're lucky. And it's a safe bet that everything else will be worse.


True to a point, but there ARE donuts out there which WILL surpass the 'feel' of the OEM Potenzas (as far as turn-in response, transient response, grip, slip angles, etc. is concerned).
But yes, of course one will also give up overall wear mileage, get slightly worse fuel mileage, and a MUCH MUCH 'rougher' ride as far as noise, vibrations, overall ride comfort, and feeling every pebble on the road goes.

I am speaking to tires like the SCCA /Street class, 200 tread wear rated (and less albeit NOT Street class legal), autocross rubber; B-stone RE71R, BFG g Force Rival 1.5s, Dunlop Star Spec 3s, Toyo R888s/888Rs, Yokohama AD08s, etc., etc.

Nope, they were not 'engineered to' the given factory suspension setup, but it is not all too difficult to adapt/adjust a suspension to maximize these tires to their full advantage.

As far as these two tires above are concerned, YES, the Conti wins hands down, despite it's price penalty as compared to the Fire/Bridgestones, albeit I DO like the aesthetics of the Indy 500s much more than the Extremecontact Sports, even though their tread width does run very narrow in our OEM size, and even in general for most sizes.
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
True to a point, but there ARE donuts out there which WILL surpass the 'feel' of the OEM Potenzas (as far as turn-in response, transient response, grip, slip angles, etc. is concerned).
But yes, of course one will also give up overall wear mileage, get slightly worse fuel mileage, and a MUCH MUCH 'rougher' ride as far as noise, vibrations, overall ride comfort, and feeling every pebble on the road goes.

I am speaking to tires like the SCCA /Street class, 200 tread wear rated (and less albeit NOT Street class legal), autocross rubber; B-stone RE71R, BFG g Force Rival 1.5s, Dunlop Star Spec 3s, Toyo R888s/888Rs, Yokohama AD08s, etc., etc.

Nope, they were not 'engineered to' the given factory suspension setup, but it is not all too difficult to adapt/adjust a suspension to maximize these tires to their full advantage.

Right.

When I said "worse", I meant in an overall sense given OP's criteria -- i.e. a major handling penalty, a major NVH penalty, or both. That's not clear the way I wrote it though, so thanks for the counterpoint.
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Did someone mention a 120 "mileage rating" (whatever it's called) in this thread? I try to buy in the 600 and above range....but that's for a station wagon.
Probably nothing that hearty exists in your size.


Our OEM summer tires are rated 140 tread wear, IF that means anything at all anymore.

There is NOTHING in an above 500 tread wear rating for our 205/40-17 size, but if one 'minus two' sizes, like many Fiesta ST owners do for many different various reasons, there are myriad 15" diameter tires in very high tread wear ratings (and VERY soft, high sidewall profiles) to choose from, but these quite literally DESTROY any and ALL; handling, turn-in, transient response, etc. for which these cars are known/prized for, and usually bought for.
wink.gif


Those who either think, or still believe that these cars are merely little FWD, poor handling, econo-****boxes are ill informed, in denial, or just plain old 'don't get it' at all!
31.gif
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Going from 205/40 to 205/45. A lot of FiST owners bump up the sidewall a little to improve ride. I dd this car now on a 40 mile roundtrip commute to work. Sometimes I think I can feel every bump in the road. Not expecting it to float like a Camry, but would like to tone it down a little. Also, a lot more tire choices.


THIS^^^ is absolutely fine IF one decides to forever retain the stock factory ride height.

But it DOES pose a major 'rubbing' (sometimes out and out SCRAPING) problem due to the much greater than factory overall diameter of the 205/45s for those of us who plan to correctly (with solely handling function and correct geometries as the goal) lower our ride heights with linear rate lowering springs and correctly valved dampers, or linear rate spring coil over setups.

And yes, as of right now it is the ONLY WAY (size made) you are going to get a Michelin Pilot Super Sport on these cars IF you ever did want to 'step up' to that level tire.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
Lower in the Michelin food chain is BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp 2


Yes, and both that tire and it's all season counterpart are made in the 205/45-17 that the op wants to use (but like most other tire models, NOT in the actual, factory OEM 205/40-17 size).
 
Ordered the Conti Extreme Contact Sports from DTD. Continental just came out with a $70 rebate, so that made my decision a lot easier.
 
Originally Posted By: DAC2018
how would you know if its time for new tires?


Wear bars, change in grip, noise, ride quality, hydroplaning, and uneven/odd wear.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top