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Tires

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Comments

  • pat455pat455 Member Posts: 603
    Very interesting post, oldharry, thanks!

    And thanks also for all the help you are offering around this conference. :-)

    Pat
    Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
  • oldharryoldharry Member Posts: 413
    It is not that I am so helpful, it is just that I am an opinionated old goat.

    Harry
  • chuasanchuasan Member Posts: 42
    Hi,

    Hope every1 had a great long weekend. Are there more people experience any/all of these tires:

    Dunlop D60 A2 JLB
    Bridgestone RE 930
    Firestone SH30

    Please let me know how/why you like/dislike them and thanks in advance
  • thessickthessick Member Posts: 23
    We purchased a 96 Taurus with a nearly new set of Firestone FR505 tires. One has a severe sidewall bulge.

    The Firestone Dealer says that these are not sold directly by Firestone and will not provide warranty assistance.

    1. Does anyone know where FR505's are sold?

    2. The Firestone website shows that Firestone tires are warrantied for 5 years from sale date with proof of purchase or 3 years from date of manufacture without. Is this correct? Can I expect warranty adjustment without proof of purchase?

    Thanks
    Tom
  • boaz47boaz47 Member Posts: 2,747
    Sounds like Fr505 tires may just be factory OEM tires made for Fords by Firestone. Firestone has told me that tires sold to a manufacturer do not have a milage warrantee on them like ones sold at A firestone dealership have. They didn't say why. However when I bought my new Saturn the owners manual indicated that the tires are covered from any manufacturing defects until the tires wear down to the wear bars. I went to Firestone and bought the road hazzard warrantee for $35.00. If the Fr 505s are OEM tires and they came off another Ford you may just be out of luck if you didn't buy them yourself or have a proof of purchase. You might try contacting Firestone directly and see if they might be willing to help you.
  • indydriverindydriver Member Posts: 620
    Interested in your reaction to the testing Car and Driver did in rigging a repeatable "blowout" on the Explorer. They couldn't make it crash. See CarandDriver.com. Hmmmmm.
  • jeffmust2jeffmust2 Member Posts: 811
    Saw that segment the other night.

    Just one problem - no shredding tires!

    Sure, they rigged the system to pretend to blowout at different speeds - but:

    a. No real surprise to the professional test driver - he knew just about when and where it was gonna happen

    b. The tire tread did not separate from the tire body because, of course, that would have been very difficult to duplicate a dozen times on command

    But I agree, it was still very interesting that the older-model Explorer had ZERO problems in handling with a 100% flat left rear tire, even at 60-70 mph.
  • oldharryoldharry Member Posts: 413
    the Car & Driver test, but the third part of my list is absent, the incompetent driver. Also it is very likely that the other three tire on the test vehicle were properly inflated. I never said the vehicle was totally at fault, only that it was less forgiving than most, of driver error.

    Harry
  • bblahabblaha Member Posts: 329
    Here is the article

    Basically, they rigged the left rear tire to deflate on command in a 1/3 of a second. They were trying to figure out why Explorers are crashing in the first place. Its their contention that the tire tread/shred/blowout doesn't itself cause a rollover; rather its the response afterwards (leaving the pavement) that does. I haven't seen the actual statistics, but they claim the vast majority of the blowout rollovers occur after the Explorer leaves the pavement. So what they were trying to do is determine why the Explorers leave the pavement.

    They still don't know why. In their "tests", the Explorer behaved very stable. Pundits criticize the test, but at least they're trying...
  • oldharryoldharry Member Posts: 413
    I just read that article on the blowout tests on the Explorer. I noticed that they tested on a drag strip, that is, no curves or turns. The driver also never turned the steering wheel. I suspect that roll overs often happen when the vehicle is in a curve when the tire fails and the driver over reacts. I have lost the outboard rear tire on a curve at 60 + MPH some years ago, and was glad my '66 Impala convertible had a low center of gravity and good shocks. I have also had a rear blow on a straight away even farther back in time with a '59 Buick convertible. On the straight away, no sweat. If the test were repeated on a road racing course, with curves, I would be interested in seeing their opinions.

    Harry
  • indydriverindydriver Member Posts: 620
    Just drove home on my new Eagle LS's. Beautiful ride, smooth, all vibrations gone. My local, independently owned Big O Tire did a great job. They matched the tire markings to the valve stems, carefully balanced them, hand torqued the lug nuts, and aligned it. Very pleased with the care and attention this shop provided. After a lot of research, I feel very good about going back with the OEM tires. It's a great combination of ride, handling, durability and value.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    Most of my miles are non highway and the LSs were done in 23,000 miles. Someone else had a similar experience.

    You got 50,000+ miles right? That is great.
  • boaz47boaz47 Member Posts: 2,747
    #694
    Believe it or not narrower tires seem to work better in the snow. I have talked to several tire dealers in my area and they all seem to agree on that point. A taller narrower tire will work better most of the time. They don't help on ice unless they are studded however, or if you are allowed to use chains. But in snow a wide tire spreads the weight of your car out and allows you to slide more on the snow. A narrow tire tends to sink down more and gets better traction. Has worked for me.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    Like boaz47 I too found a skinnier tire works so much better in being able to bite down to the pavement. Combined with hi-tech winter tires you can't do any better.

    Your tire size research would be done if your car manufacturer lists a smaller tire for your car or just go with the listing that tirerack already prints in the car magazines and online.
  • vernlewvernlew Member Posts: 87
    Chris,

    I would refer you to: tirerack.com
    They have performance ratings and comments by owners of all these tires.

    Personally, I had a set of Dunlop D60A2's on my Toyota Camry...they handled well, but I never could get them to balance properly, so I always had some steering wheel vibration.

    I would pick the Bridgestone RE 930 out of the 3 choices. But, I would also check into a set of Michelin Pilot XGT H4s, I think this is a better choice, if price is not a factor...my wife has these on her car, and they are smooth, quiet, and handle well.

    Good Luck,

    Vern
  • indydriverindydriver Member Posts: 620
    The best snow car I ever had was a Datsun B210 hatchback--RWD with bicycle tires. Went like a bat out of hell in the snow....sideways of course! I think the physics of it comes down to psi on the contact patch: smaller the patch, higher the psi, better the bite.
  • pat455pat455 Member Posts: 603
    sideways - hee hee - I had a Datsun 1200 many, many years ago that liked to go in that direction in the snow also! (Snow is very rare around here in southeastern VA, but it is snowing today.)

    Pat
    Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
  • tronsrtronsr Member Posts: 46
    I just purchased a 2001 Ford Escape and it has the 16"Firestone Wildernss HT's which are not on the recall list.My question is this..are you supposed to pout 40 p.s.i. as recommended on the sidewall...or 30 p.s.i. as recommended on the driver' side door panel. Some of the Escape Club members at the Yahoo web site have different opinions...and I told them I would try to get some "expert" advice over here. Can anyone respond with the "correct" answer. You can Email me at: nortsr@cs.com or post the answer.
    Thanks
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    The numbers on the tire sidewalls are not the recommended pressure, but the maximal limit. This is, roughly, what the tire can sustain before blowing-up from overinflation.

    The sidewall pressure, usually, is way up comparing with the recommended one. 10 psi or so.

    It is rather dangerous to drive with so extremely overinflated tires. The tires do not hold road well, especially a wet pavement.

    I had such an experience once. When changing oil at dealer, the mechanic overinflated the tires, and I did not check. Soon after this had to drive 40 miles at strong rain with snow, in the rush time. Had to work really hard to keep my car in the lane. It was somewhat scary.

    I believe, with SUV it would be even worse than with car.
  • indydriverindydriver Member Posts: 620
    Use the door panel info as a minimum and you'll be fine. You can comfortably and safely go 10-15% higher than recommended to personalize the characteristics of tire feel to your preferences i.e., to get a firmer ride, direct wear more to the middle of the tire, influence understeer/oversteer chassis characteristics and so on. The most important thing is to get a good tire gauge (I like the old pencil analog gauges) and a small compressor for your garage (you can get a good electric compressor at Sears for under $100). Then check your tire pressure every weekend until you get a good feel for how it changes over time. Experiment with different pressures by adding 2 psi at a time. You should be able to feel the difference in ride, handling etc. For example, my car recommends 30psi and I ran 32 for a while, then tried 34, decided that was a little too firm and settled on 33 psi. I like the feel and handling and got 54,000 miles out of my OEM Eagle LS's.
  • bretfrazbretfraz Member Posts: 2,021
    Once upon a time, TIREGUY posted some good advice about experimenting with tire pressures. In a nutshell, there is no perfect tire pressure because every driver and road condition is different. It's something that takes a little experimentation. I can't recall if it as in this thread or the other one in "Accessories". Maybe a Search would flush it out.
  • pat455pat455 Member Posts: 603
    It's somewhere in this topic. One way to find it is to load the whole topic (yes, it takes a while) and then use your browser's "Find" feature.

    Pat
    Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
  • tronsrtronsr Member Posts: 46
    I want to thank all of you: ...yurakm,indydriver,bretfraz, and pat455 for all the info. I will abide by the door panel rating and take it from there. I, also, will give this info to the Ford Escape Club members.Thanks again and Happy Holidays. Keep on posting.I find the Edmunds Town Hall info very informative and I keep abreast of same on a daily basis.
  • vac23vac23 Member Posts: 118
    If the overall diameter of you new tires are different, it'll affect your speedometer reading. Don't beleive your brakes will be affected. Check www.tirerack.com for info on different tire sizes you can use on your car.
  • rwardlerwardle Member Posts: 2
    I just replaced the factory Michelins on my Windstar with Pirelli 4000 Super Touring tires. The max pressure on the sidewall of the Michelins was 35 P.S.I. and the sticker on the door jamb recommended 32 P.S.I.

    Now my problem, the max pressure on the Pirellis is 44 P.S.I. There appears to be 3 possible solutions: 1- Go with the 32 P.S.I. as recommended on the door jamb. 2- Since the original tires were recommended to run 3 P.S.I. under the pressure stamped on the tire, I could go with 41 P.S.I. or 3- Since 32 P.S.I. is 91% of 35 P.S.I. I could go with 40 P.S.I. which is 91% of 44 P.S.I.

    I realize that I am not dealing with huge differences, but which is correct and why? T.I.A.
  • 00impala00impala Member Posts: 474
    i plan to replace the Eagle GA's on my 2000 Impala LS, Have been in contact with the Tirerack and what I am looking for is a Summer only tire to compliment the upgraded suspension, so far..Michelin Pilot XGT H4,Dunlop SP Sport 5000,BFG Touring T/A H4...Can anyone fill me in on the characteristics of these tires or reccomend another?In this Particular Size.. They will be used May Thru October on the Factory 5 spoke 16" rims, and this car has the 3.8 V6.....I put the Eagle GA's on some Black Steel Rims w/ Factory bolt on Caps, Can't wait to put the 5 spokes back on with some Good looking/handling/Quieter Tires! Thanks in Advance Don
  • osorunsosoruns Member Posts: 1
    I just returned a Michelin X Radial to SAM's club because it had started to go flat. They proceeded to tell me that the sidewall had some cracks and that I shouldn't run it.(It was not leaking through the cracks but through a nail hole in the tread) So I asked them to replace it but they said they no longer carried that size. They only had a 75R instead of a 70R which I was running. I asked for the same size in a different brand but they said that it was not good to run different tread styles(brands)(?) on the car. That I should have all the same on the car. Currently I am running one rear tire with the same size tire as the rest but it is a Bridgestone rather than a Michelin. What can you folks tell me about this. Is the kind of tread that critical? Should I run right out and get the same kind of tire if I can find it? I have a 98 Subaru Forrester. The tire had about 50% tread wear. Thanks for any light you can shed. Rich Garcia.
  • rooba8rooba8 Member Posts: 8
    I just bought a '96 Camry with 42K miles. the current tires appear to be the second set tires. They are Sears/Firestone dealers' Master craft brand. the tires have started to feather bad, and they are making quite a tire noise when slowing down or driving under 40MPH.
    Eventhough the tread depth is good, I can't stand the tire noise.
  • gasguzzgasguzz Member Posts: 214
    I’ve got OEM GY-Eagle-LS rubber with the door sticker set to 35psi, on the family 2K1 Villager. I have them set to 40psi with the tire rated at 45psi MAX. To me, the whole purpose of tires is traction (where treadwear is irrelevant).
    The factory door sticker is set to OEM tire sizes when the car is manufactured. The factory tends to set pressures lower to promote a softer ride. Tires, on the other hand, generally offer better performance when pumped higher. So, there are trade-offs, relative on how you drive and use the car.
    The key here is not to exceed the tire ratings. Softer tires are more forgiving on tire damage from road hazards. Harder tires can increase treadwear, traction and load capacity. However, they say too that harder tires can decrease snow traction (which really can be tire specific).
    Of most importance is that all tires are not created equal. Some have different pressures for the front and rear. Tires indeed have that sweet spot psi, of which you can only find out by driving/testing.
    Good luck and keep safe.
  • butch11butch11 Member Posts: 153
    Over the years I have had a range of different tires on the same vehicle. Once had 2 radials on the rear and 2 bias ply on the front of a big 4 door hardtop rear drive vehicle. Made little difference. Also at one time had significantly wider tires on the front of an accord-this did make a difference in snow-caused me to spin out and had a lot less traction in the front.

    Do not worry about having different brand(s) of tires on your vehicle-if you were competitively racing-might make a difference. How did you like the Michelin X radials from Sam's. They appear similiar to the X-One's but the tread pattern is slightly different.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    The OEM Michelin XW4s on my '96 wore out prematurely (22K) because the 32 psi factory recommended presure is too low. The outer ribs were worn down to the wear bars. The replacement set (X-Plus) was run at 35 psi and they were wearing evenly with 25K on them.
  • boris8boris8 Member Posts: 6
    I am due for my first tire rotation on my new Subaru Forester (@8,000 mi). Is that something I can do myself by just moving the tires around or do they also have to get balanced/aligned? I hate to take it into the shop when its something I can easily do myself with a jack and jack stands. Is tire rotation even really necessary?

    Boris
  • adc100adc100 Member Posts: 1,521
    to do follow the manual's direction for the sequence. Definitely worth the efffort.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    I am not going to explain the pros of tire rotation top you or try to convince you. Just look at the tread on your tires. If you can see a difference be the fronts and the backs then you ought to rotate them. If you can't, then don't bother.

    What you see will also dictate if you need an alignment. I don't bother with rebalancing them, although tire guy use to say the balance changes with miles. My experience is that the balance doesn't change enough to feel any difference. (an out of balance tire will cause a vibration)
  • greg116greg116 Member Posts: 116
    I'm writing this for the person who doesent want to sort through 600 messages for decent info.

    The important points for good tires are as follows.

    Inflation: Under normal circumstances keep them inflated to maybe 1 psi over the door pressure. Make sure you check pressure when your tires are COLD! Hot pressure will be several psi over cold pressure, and the tire is designed to take it. If you get stuck in mud or snow, letting a few pounds out of a tire never hurts and gives you a little more traction, just as long as you refill them IMMEDIATELY! Higher pressure will normally give slightly better fuel economy, but NEVER EVER go more than 5 psi above the door pressure for extended trips.

    Rotation: Stick to the manufacturer's schedule. If you want, you can do it a little earlier, but make SURE you do it regularly!

    Tread: When you go below 2-3mm of tread depth, replace it. Now. you run the risk of an explosion at highway speeds if you don't. If you can't replace them yet, stop and rest for a half-hour every 2-3 hours on highway trips (you should anyways) to allow them to cool.

    If you have any questions, please contact me.
  • butch11butch11 Member Posts: 153
    The store from which I bought my Michelin X-One's for my accord offers free rotation. Do not use that service because they over torqued my lug nuts-I told them 80 foot pounds and no more on the front (disk brake rotors) which can be warped by over tightening. This happened despite assurances they would tighten them to 80 foot pounds.

    If you have disk brakes-follow the your vehicles instruction manual for torque settings.
  • wayn1wayn1 Member Posts: 69
    Just wondering, where do you get your info?
  • mike_542mike_542 Member Posts: 128
    I reccomend Forever Black Tire Gel as the best tire protectant, available in the market! Check it out at http://properautocare.com/forblactirge.html
  • chuasanchuasan Member Posts: 42
    Hi,

    Have anyone use this tire in the past? Please share your experience/opinion about it (dry/wet/snow). It will be nice if you can provide a comparison with other all-season tires. Thanks

    Chris
  • sgrd0qsgrd0q Member Posts: 398
    Hello all,

    Can anybody recommend a shop specializing in wheel alignment in the New York metro area? I need to fine-tune my alignment settings. I need to try a number of toe/camber/caster setting before I decide which one suits me best, and I find it very diffucult to find a competent shop. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated!
  • markrnmarkrn Member Posts: 9
    I'm looking to replace my bfg tas and i'm wanting to know if uniroyal TIGER PAW® TOURING TRs or HRs would be any good, they are for a 96 contour 205 60 15.
    thanks for any info:)
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