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Comments
Don't the BFG Touring T/As have raised white letters on one side? Has anyone here installed a new set of tires with white letters facing out? If so, do you have a pic? This was really popular in the mid-80s but seems to have fallen out of favor these days. Maybe to buck the trend ... anyone got a pic of a dark-colored Protege with alloys and tires with raised white letters?
Meade
(I know I could look this stuff up myself, but it's kinda fun having you doing the legwork for me. While you're at it, I'll have a pastrami and swiss on rye (heated of course).
Meade
(Hmmm, since the General Lee was ORANGE, I wonder if any Mazdaspeed Protege owners have considered BFG Radial T/As with raised white letters and the aforementioned roof ornamentation???)
;-)
Meade
Also, how much did your local dealer charge per tire for the 195/50/16s?
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/catalog/tires/touringtavr4_tire.ht- ml
Pierre
Meade
For most of us, this should not be a problem, but just to be on the safe side, I wanted to give you this info.
Meade the Inquirer
What makes it even worse is that there are only a few companies that offer 195/50/16s so Toyo has a good chance of getting new customers simply because there isn't any competition. Lots of P5 and ES owners are going to need new tires soon and the choices in that size are few.
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/assets/pdf/touring_ta_vr4.pdf
It's below the chart on page 2.
Meade
Meade--I agree with you, I don't like spending that much on tires, but 2001+ ES and P5 owners don't really have a choice.
Meade
I found out yesterday that you can use 205/50/16s on the 2001+ Proteges and Protege5s, which opens you up to no less than 26 choices at TireRack alone.
While a lot of those selections are pricey, here are a few promising examples that cost less than those Toyos (and their TireRack prices):
1. Kumho Ecsta KH11 All-Season Grand Touring: W-rated, 280 AA A, $91
2. Sumitomo HTRZ-II Ultra-High Performance (not all-season though), W-rated, 220 AA A, $72
3. Firestone Firehawk GTA-02 High-Performance All-Season: H-rated, 300 A A, $81
And last but not least, this looks promising! A new tire scheduled to be in stock after May 31: Pirelli P700 Supersport All-Season: W-rated, 320 A A, $92
Meade the Tire(d) Researcher
Go back and search for 195/50/16s. Not many choices because that size is weird. I might just get 205/50/16s, but I am not sure yet. As far as those other tires that you cite, none of them comes close to the treadwear rating of the TPTs so you aren't really saving any money because you will have to replace them sooner.
This price is for 195-50-16 V-rated tires with a 65,000 mile warranty.
Example: Current tires on my car. Dunlop SP Sport A2.
Manufacturer's claims: 420 AA A. 50,000-mile treadlife warranty.
Reality: Down to the treadwear indicators at just shy of 21,000 miles. Manufacturer trying to get around honoring warranty citing "uneven wear" -- failing to take into account that the tires use completely different tread designs on the outer, center and inner edges of these tires. Different tread patterns that could (and did) wear unevenly. My claim is supported by many others who've updated their reviews at tirerack, some of whom had their alignment checked as many as three times in 20,000 miles.
This experience sums it up well, from the owner of a 1999 Infiniti in Ontario:
"Bought these tires after reviewing Tirerack surveys - thought that they would be a good replacement for the OE Eagle GAs which were lousy tires. These are without a doubt the worst wearing tires I have ever had - had to replace 2 tires within 10 days of installation as they were out of round from the factory ( not a good sign). Have less than 25000 kilometers(15000 miles)and all 4 tires have developed terrible shingling or uneven wear on the inside rim of the tire. Tires have been balenced, rotated regularly and car aligned. Not having good luck either with Dunlop/Good Year Customer Service. The performance of the tire wasnt all that bad even in snow but right from the start had a really vague feel on dry pavement and with the tread pattern on these tires, any grooves or cracks in the pavement would seem to catch the tread pattern the wrong way and make the car skip around. I would definitely not recommend these tires to anyone. Have installed Bridgestone Turanzas LH-S and so far so good. "
Meade
But, anyway, I don't expect the BFG VR4 or the TPT to last more than 25,000 miles.
As for the A2, notice that they have an AA traction: AA means more traction than A, more traction means softer rubber, softer rubber means less resistant rubber. You can't win on all features ...
My Dunlop SP5000s have a treadwear rating of 360 and they are almost wore out at 28,000 miles. This is really bad considering that I use winter tires for almost half the year. Maybe I should stop going around corners at double the speed limit?
Meade
Maybe it's time to open up Consumer Reports again ...
And OH NO! You have a point! These UTQG ratings are based on tests performed taking into account "normal" usage ... WE'RE ZOOMERS!!!!!
Meade
Meade
P.S. I liked outlined white letters better. But that's SOOOOO eightees, fer sure. I wanna be a child of the '00s and get the latest fad -- yellow, red or blue stripes in my treads. Maybe a little neon under the car (and I ain't talkin' about no Dodge). Yeah dOOd.
Meade
With all this talk about the Toyo TPTs, has anyone checked out the FZ4s?
I have to return there at 6:45 am and go for a drive.
When I talked to them on the phone they didn't seem to believe that people had this fixed under warranty with well over 12k miles on the car.
So even if they agree there is a problem, I'm not sure what will happen next.
If that was typical, then I don't think the FTC would allow the manufacturers to advertise the warranties.
More likely those tires that fail to at least match the manufacturer's mileage warranty were defective or abused.
I'm not into conspiracy theories.
2nd: the issue is with the flywheel and pressure plate which are 36/50k items, while the disc is 12/12k. If a dealer tries to deny this, escalate the issue with Customer Assistance.
The problem here is, my car has 54,300 miles on it. I brought this up half-heartedly once with my service writer a couple of years ago, half-heartedly because I'd had the same experience with my '92 LX 5-speed and was told by the same dealer it was an "idiosyncracy" of Mazda clutches and there was no problem. And I never had a problem in 83,000 miles. When I brought it up a couple of years ago while this car was under warranty, my service writer said something like, "Oh, they all do that when they're cold," I brushed it off because of my experience with the '92. Now that I'm being told there IS a real problem, I feel ... yes ... I'm entitled to the repair, mileage or no mileage. And no, I don't have a written service receipt saying I complained about the clutch slipping when cold.
Am I SOL?
Meade
What modes are these? Lemme know so I can set my dial on that mode and leave it there.
I thought the compressor didn't run when on "face" but I wasn't 100% sure. I know it runs when it's on feet which is a shame because that's my favorite setting.
Back on topic....I need new tires already...dangit!
And I edited that a couple minutes after you posted yours. Give me break, it's been a nasty allergy day.
Dinu: I have noticed alot of Proteges running around with taillamps that look half burned out, but always the top part of them, never the bottom one. Maybe it's a wiring issue or something? All these cars are the 99 and 00 models, if that makes a difference.
Speaking of SARS: We have had a couple cases right here in Baltimore city. Another great reason for me to get the heck out of this crappy town...
Meade
Of course, some of them have "beaters" as well.