Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Ford Freestyle Tires
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I think you may misunderstand how the term 'profile' is used in reference to tires. The 18" Pirellis are actually a lower profile tire than the 17" Continentals. Profile refers to the height of the sidewall on any given tire. The bigger the wheel size for any given vehicle the lower the tire profile needs to be by necessity to keep the same tire circumference. That is why as wheels get bigger the sidewalls get smaller.
Also, the profile of a tire has nothing to do with how long they will last. That is mainly a function of the rubber compound used to manufacture the tire. Typically lower profile tires are more performance oriented and therefore a softer rubber compound is used. This soft rubber affords more cornering grip, shorter braking distances, and better overall performance, but will wear at a faster rate than a tire with a harder compound rubber.
This is an area of one of the biggest misunderstandings about tires. Many people believe that the longer a tire is designed to last the better the tire. Many people pay huge premiums to buy tires that are advertised to last 60 or 80 thousand miles. What they fail to realize is that in order for a tire to last that long a very hard rubber compound is used making the tire LESS SAFE. A hard rubber compound will not only offer less cornering grip, but it will slip much sooner and will not allow a vehicle to stop as quickly in hard braking situations. These characteristics are amplified in cold weather and as the tires age. Both cause the rubber to harden even further. Just some food for thought.
Maybe you should drive with snow tires all of the time :P
All you have to do is look at the test results with the standard tires, but low mile tires does not equal to higher quality or safer tires...they could just be poor quality tires so they don't last as long. The lifetime miles of a tire does not indicate safety or quality necessarily. So if you think the 50,000 mile tire is safer than the 90,000 tire just because of the shorter life that's a mistake.
Lower mileage rating doesn't equal to a better or safer tire even from the same manufacturer.
Sorry, I meant lower. You are correct of course.
I was basing my observations on what I have seen about lower profile tires not lasting as long as higher profile. Maybe it is because low profile tires are built for performance, and thus the rubber is softer... but this is what my research indicates for tire longevity.
I am glad I don't have the 18", due to the fact that the owner's manual states that the 18" tires cannot be used with tire cables in the winter.
You need to read this brief article.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=48
Mark.
Maybe they changed the process?
q45man, "Replacing Tires" #95, 20 Feb 2000 5:53 pm
tireguy, "Tires, tires, tires" #31, 24 Apr 2000 8:51 am
I went over to Tires, Tires, Tires and asked for an update. (link)
You may notice that most performance tires do not have a mileage warranty. This is because the manufacturers know that a performance tire using a softer rubber compound is not going to last a terribly long time, so no warranties are offered. The Pirellis on the Freestyle Limited are a mild performance tire so they are by their very nature not going to last a long time. The Continentals on the other Freestyles are not really performance tires, but their tread life seems to be on the low side anyway.
My car is the second year of a 3 year lease and we are considering keeping it after or at least buying another freestyle so the tires would last me more than 1 year.
We have a fair bit of snow and these tires will be used in the winter. we dont have far to go for work and only travel about 20 000 km a year.Here are the models I am looking at. I dont know much about tires and your imput will be greatly appreciated.
good year assurance tred
toyo versado lx
yokohama trz
falken 912
michelin hydroedge
and lastly the continentals oem that I can get for way cheap but that are average on a good day,
what do you think?
wondered if anyone has had any luck with that fittment as I'll be buying new tires before winter.
thanks,
Reviews on this tire seem very favorable, with a supposed 60k tred warranty.
Jim
Chad
Jim
As far as my firmness comment. I was only trying to relay that compared to the stock Continental tires the vehicle rides firmer with the YK-520s.
- Chad
How did I do it.. I searched the net and on Ebay.. Discount tire has a store there.. delivered the price was going to be 404. But one would have to get em mounted and balanced etc. I got the road hazard insurance ( I called the Ebay discount tire place and they offered it for all 4 tires at 8.00 a piece) I then said let me call the local store and see how much to mount them. Discussions with the local store, met the 404 delivered price. they met the 8.00 per tire insurance.. with everything all said and done.. 496.25 for all 4.
Jim
As far as tire pressures. I have tried different pressures but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference in ride quality. The YK520s are H rated, and in order for a tire to be H rated they have to have stiffer sidewalls to sustain the 130mph tests. These stiffer sidewalls are going to firm up the ride no matter what the tire pressure.
- Chad
Given this, are there any particular ones that seem to add a much better snow-readieness to a FWD Futile, I mean, er, Freestyle? Thanks!
I went up a little hill or two, that were not really plowed and got up just fne.
Jim
Mark
See picture at above site.
These are General Grabber UHP. They fit with no modification to factory 18" rims.
Since purchasing the tires we have put 22,000 miles on them and have rotated them three times. I was shocked to see as I looked more closely at the tires last weekend that the tread had already worn to within a few mm of the wear bars. This rate of wear indicates I may only have 10,000 miles left on these tires. This means they will likely only last a few thousand miles longer than the Continentals. Based on the 60,000 mile warranty I would have expected much better.
I'm am now curious if the AWD system of the Freestyle somehow causes more wear on the tires than perhaps a FWD vehicle might, or if these tire tread-wear estimates are simply marketing driven and wildly optimistic.
In any case, I believe my next set of tires will be required about 2 years sooner than planned and will be needed before next winter. At this point I'm leaning towards Goodyear TripleTreads. I have these on another vehicle and are happy with them and they do come in the Freestyles size. I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever be possible to get even 40,000 miles out of a set of tires on the Freestyle.
- Chad
I am not in agreement that the Freestyle is that heavy of a vehicle. The Freestyle is one of the lightest crossovers on the market and many family cars these days are approaching 4,000lbs. I suspect the biggest issue is the tire is simply undersized and wonder how much of an impact the AWD system has.
- Chad
About those Michelin Hydroedges, they have a UTQG of 600AB, which means they are very thick and have good traction (A). Interestingly, the Pirelli 4seasons have the best tread thickness, at a whopping 760, followed closely by the TripleTreds and Serenity (my favorite), so they all should last.
I would appreciate any feedback on the Y520 for ride comfort and noise which are more important to me than long life. I intend to go with the 225/65/17.
I can't in good conscience recommend the YK-520s for the Freestyle at this point. I believe they are likely better suited for small sporty cars. Not only am I disappointed with the tread life, but after only 22,000 miles they have become noisy and the ride has always been a bit harsher than I would prefer. The stock Continentals definitely offered a more compliant and pleasant ride and now I know after the fact that they last just as long as the YK-520s. I think I'm only going to get about half the 60,000 miles I expected out of the YK-520s.
- Chad
I'm on my second set of OEM Continentals and I think they're fine. The first set lasted 2 1/2 years and 50,000 miles, and I bought a new set online for $65each including shipping, so they're a great deal too.
Is your Freestyle AWD or FWD? I'm trying to figure out why some here can get 50k miles out of the stock Contis when others are worn out by 30,000 miles or less.
- Chad
I think an informal poll is in order:
If you have purchased new tires for your Freestyle or Taurus X please list whether you have AWD or FWD and how long your stock tires lasted.
- Chad
- Chad
It's 100%.
FWD Minivans have brake equalizing gizmos to shift some of the braking force to the rear wheels. They are still hard on front tires. I seem to remember people saying that the Freestyle has the same kind of gizmo - may be something to check to make sure it's working.
Anthony
Went with Goodyear Triple Treads. Loved them at the start. Snowstorm last winter, with 18-20" of snow, no problem in 4 to 6" of infrequently plowed road, amazing in wet, and reasonably quiet, with a stiffer sidewall (and turning) than Conti's. Now, after 30k, lots of tread (much more than Conti's), but the dang cupping and constant road hum is back. Worse after a rotation.
All the tires were rotated, inflated and aligned to spec. The triple treads were rotated every oil change.
Tire guy says the shocks and struts are 'weak' and need to be replaced to the tune of $1k. HELP. This can;t be so. How did the original set cup so much?
Any thoughts about this. Is it me or this vehicle?
Have pictures of originals with cupped tread block if interested.
=H
I want to change the tires of my Ford Freestyle 06 moving from the
ones that came with the car to a 225/65R/ 98H B. I prefer wider tires. Is it going to have a negative effect on the car's performance? Is it safe? Any comments?
Thanks
Al