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Comments
Jim
I passed people (cautiously) in the unplowed left lane with no problems at all (OEM BF Goodrich's). There was no ice so that was a big help. Had some fun on local streets yesterday afternoon. We're now getting more snow and the roads are covered. I'm heading out soon! :-)
The expanded Rally coverage on Speedvision is amazing! More in car shots and less narration during some intense driving. Not much snow in Monte Carlo though. Burns didn't even get any points. Subaru is off to a great start. Go Tommi !!
paisan - Great pics. Sorry I missed it.
-Dennis
Nice report on the tires. Out of curiosity, what made you choose the Continentals over the Bridgestone Revo or Michellin MX4V?
Ken
Bridgestone Revo: I haven't heard of this one before. I was pretty thorough in my search for different makes and tires, but no one mentioned the Revo before. Has it been out for awhile? Is it a performance tire, all-around tire, snow tire, etc?
Michelin MXV4: I know too many people who have been disappointed in this tire to even give it a shot. The tire is very expensive, it's noisy, and wet/dry/snow grip is only so-so. My father in law has an Accord that came stock with MXV4s. He absolutely hated the car until the tires were replaced; now he loves it. I also found a feedback website where owners can rate their tires, and most of the feedback on the MXV4 was pretty negative.
One caveat about the Continentals is that I had to special order them. I wound up going through Discount Tires, but most any shop will be able to order a set in. They come with a 30-day trial period and a 60,000-mile warranty, though most owners have said they don't last the full 60,000 miles. If they make it 40,000 to 45,000, which they should, I'll be happy.
Ty
kinda the funny that this tire is getting plenty of negative feedbacks. I've got these tires on my '98 OB with 20k on them and I've found them to be pretty good. In fact, I think the AWD and tire compliments each other. I spent my Sunday (snow/wet) yesterday chasing 4 WRXs on about 200 miles of twisting roads in Connecticut and I must say they held pretty well. But hey, what may be mediocre for FWD or RWD does not necessary means it'll be bad for AWD.
my 2 cent experience.
-Dave
When I was doing my tire homework, I found that opinions of the MXV4 ranged from shear hatred to total loyalty. There were definitely more people on the negative side of the scale, but there were also some strong supporters.
I've driven with the MXV4 on a Dodge Stratus, Dodge Grand Caravan and Honda Accord. At first I liked the tire, but the more experience I had with other tires the more I recognized some of the tire's less-desirable characteristics (in my opinion). I talked with several tire dealers about my observations and they agreed (in their opinion). I've noticed that the Michelin dealers in my area have started recommending the Michelin Pilots over the MXV4s. I can't remember which exact model off hand, but it's a new one for them.
That reminds me of a Michelin tire that I investigated. It was the Pilot AS. Reviews said it was as good as a snow tire in the snow and as aggressive as an all-out performance tire on dry pavement. I was totally enthralled with the tire... until I found it cost $250 a piece... plus installation. I nearly had a heart attack. Then I learned they had a treadlife of about 12,000 miles. At that point I did have a heart attack.
People's opinions of tires seem to hinge on the experiences they've had with other tires. If a tire handles the way they're accustomed to tires handling, then to them it's a good choice. I think the same is true with the MXV4. People love it or hate, with not many opinions in between.
Personally, I like to experiment with different tires. I've driven Goodyear, BF Goodwrich, Cooper, Firestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Uniroyal and now Continental. The more I experiment the more I learn. The more I learn the better my decisions will be in the future.
Ty
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/bs_revo_rd.jsp
There's a comparison review between the three.
Ken
That's alot of tires under your belt there...
he he now I know who to ask for opinion on tires :-)
-Dave
Dave: I can only tell you what I know, but there are so many different tires to choose from it's hard to be very knowledgable. I think the tire industry plans it that way. Check out that link Ken posted. It rated the Energy MXV4s as a great tire. I don't have any experience with the new Energy MXV4; it seems Michelin has made some good refinements. Is that what you've been using?
Ty
Ken
-mike
Oh, I neglected to mention. The tires I have are the Energy MXV4 which, succeeded the MXV4 but, was succeeded by the "Energy MXV4 plus" used in the Bridgestone/Continental/Michelin compare. (someone's probably going to get me here on punctuation). ;-)
-Dave
I didn't quite like them, but my brother does ('96 OB), so he has my tires now.
-Dave
There are a ton of options to choose from, and each company uses spiffy marketing to claim theirs is the best. Very little unbiased research exists in the field. Additionally, tires will behave differently depending on the vehicle they're used with, the outside temperature, the type of road surface, etc...
Like I mentioned before, you can place two people in the same car with the same tires, and each may have a radically different opinion, depending on their previous experiences.
What's a shopper to do? Take a best-educated guess and just go for it, I guess.
I've been trying to learn how different tread patterns affect handling in different environments. In this latest round of shopping I learned that siping is important for snow traction, which is why I picked the heavily-siped Continentals. Siping involves cutting or molding a number of slinder slits in the major tread blocks. The tradeoff is that siping reduces the traction in hard cornering since the tread blocks roll more. I guess we can't have it all :-)
Ty
We sometimes talk about giving Emily the 'little sister' she constantly asks for and we would like to have, but neither of us can get up the strength and fortitude to dive in again. I understand the importance of safeguarding the destiny of children, but many more kids would find good homes if the system would just 'lighten up' a bit.
Emily might just have to make do with 'rotating big sisters'. We have a real international household. Beth and I have been involved with an international high school student exchange program called Youth for Understanding (YFU) for better than 10 years. We occasionally host a kid for a year - they become a family member (and we are their second 'mom & dad') for the school term (Aug - July), then you rip your heart out saying goodbye, and send them back home! This year we have a 17 year old from Osaka, Japan. She and Emily are best buds, along with Madison (our German Shepard).
I already told Mayuko to have her folks collect and send car brochures, but so far nothing has arrived except a Asahi newspaper ad for the Subaru Traviq. Oh well, I may be in Japan in the early Spring, so I will just have to do it myself....
Steve
Patti
"Picking tires is definitely one of my more frustrating car ownership experiences."
I guess that would go for all of us.
Kinda odd that most industries would allow the consumer a trial period (30 days return policy) - the auto industries lets you test drive their car. Why can't the tire industries follow suit? It's like, "Here are my tires, trust me you'll like it."
The only manufacturer that I know of that lets you test drive their tires is TOYO. Wish they all do that.
-Dave
-mike
http://www.toyo.com/500_mile_offer/index_frame.html
-Dave
If the manufacturers aren't willing to do this, maybe independent dealers could. It would be a huge competitive edge. Imagine being able to "test drive" a number of different tires before making a final choice. The tire dealer could have different types and sizes already mounted and balanced, and you could spend a couple of days swapping and testing them out.
I'd be willing to pay for this kind of service, but I'm kind of wierd that way. I wonder how many others would pay for something like that.
-mike
-Dave
Tire makers would really be opening themselves up for abuse, not to mention liability. What if a tire didn't have good snow traction and the owner got in an accident while testing it?
I don't envy the Toyo resellers.
What's better than a snow blower? Having an agreement with a neighbor that already has one. During the big storm last year, my Forester was the only one that could get out safely to get gas to fill up the snow blower. So it was free. :-)
-juice
Ross
Greg
So, why not just come visit me, you might ask? Well, the idea is to immerse yourself into the culture and really learn the language. I speak portuguese and so does our nanny, so that would make it more of a vacation.
College admission exams in Brazil require a foreign language (French or English), and both had their score spike upwards after the time spent here.
-juice
I was out pretty much all last week doing some training in Chicago and took a day off yesterday, so I'm just now getting up to speed on everything.
Met up with some of the locals... Thursday night we actually had about 15 people meet at Gameworks for drinks & games. It's like Chucky Cheese for adults, minus the animals and add a bar. Stayed until 1AM at closing, boy that hurt Friday morning at the training class. Getting too old for that stuff!
It was really cool meeting them all. If I have to travel near any of the Crew in the future I'll let you all know.
-Colin
-juice
-Colin
-juice
Between the holidays, travel and work (gasp, yes work!), I'm now behind by over 2300 posts in the various Soob topics (this and the Forester topic are the only two I've caught up on). I'm tempted to skip over the past month and just start fresh but hate missing good stuff.
Speaking of snow, Atlanta got one of its biggest storms ever earlier in the month. Although the amount varied depending on where in the metro area one lived, we had 7" of snow in our front yard. There was lots less on the streets but still, the whole city pretty much shutdown (4 million people divided by 30 snow plows will do that). Of course by the afternoon the streets were clear and the sun shinning.
Pat- Sorry to hear about your loss, I know the feeling well. It took us a year and 1/2 before we were ready for a new dog. For anyone considering a new pet, I highly recommend adoption. There are way too many cats and dogs already and thousands are being destroyed every month. Those considering adoption should check out the various Rescue Associations around the country. These associations "rescue" pets from various places (such as pounds) after they've been abandoned by their owners. The animals are medically checked out, given a clean bill of health, and all the required shots by a network of affiliated vets. We used the Golden (& Lab) Retriever Rescue Association (GRRA) to get our new dog and he has been a true joy (though for some reason he thinks he too should get to sleep on the people bed even though he has his own).
-Frank P.
-juice
..Mike
..Mike
-Brian
I think your idea of paying for a trial service for tires is interesting. The problem with the 30-day trial periods offered with some tires is that you barely even get to break in the tires during that time.
I don't think a tire company would offer such a service. It probably would have to come from the resellers.
Ken
We're getting a sonogram next month, so we'll see if it's Dave Michael or some name with a "K". ;-)
Q: what would tire companies do with the returns? Maybe they could have demo tires, but then mounting and re-mounting would cost extra.
-juice
Jim
So, Juice, you want to know, eh? Not one for surprises?
I was a good Mom today. I went out and got my son a new bass. He's goin' to be a happy boy when I get home from work.
Parenthood is great!
Patti
Yeah, I want to find out this time. Our 1st was a surprise.
Guitar? You got ear plugs? ;-)
-juice
Ross
we wanted to know what Brooke was, but couldn't tell in the ultrasounds. she was keeping her legs closed that day. everyone thought we were having a boy (carrying it low, older women saying "I'm never wrong - it's a boy...", etc.) of course we were surprised, but couldn't be happier with her.
if you can find out, it's very cool. good luck!
-Brian
Ross
hundred, eh? isn't it more like 50?
-Brian
It's fun comparing notes with you.
Don
-Brian
Now - I personally prefer sea bass!
Patti
Does this mean I have to legally change my daughter's name so there is a "K" in it? The pattern is amazing.
I just love the word "Babinga". It's almost as cool as the phrase "periodic vortex shedding". ;-)
-juice
Join Ramana Lageman, the newest driver of the Subaru Rally Team USA, and Ed Bentley of PRODRIVE to discuss the performance of the team drivers and the WRX after the first rally race of the 2002 season. The twenty-two year old Ramana Lageman is the youngest driver on a factory-based team, and has achieved 2 Gp. N wins and placed 3rd overall in Wild West Pro Rally. Ed Bentley is responsible for the U.S. based operations for PRODRIVE located in Dearborn, Michigan. PRODRIVE is working with Subaru and other leading vehicle manufacturers and motorsports teams to develop new innovative technologies which will help them compete on the world stage of racing and rallying.
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