A New Tire For Us!

[Don]

While researching 175/55R15 tires to go on my new wheels, I ran across a new Eco Continental tire in 145/65R15 which is the OEM size for the front of our cars. The good news is . . . . they are only $85 at Tire Rack!!

Don

 

[JoeS]

Hi Don, thanks for that. How about All-Season Vredesteins for $74.23, also at Tire Rack?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...65TR5QT5&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

I hadn't been looking recently - what happened to cause our availability improvement?

 

[bradleydavidgood777]

I won't need tires for a long time but I just thought I really like the dunlops. I think they handle really well. I was buying dunlop signature series for my mazda 3 for many years before getting this car.

I was really surprised at the grip both dry and wet for such small tires.

Seems like they wear well too right?

And that's important for such a light car....I don't know if I would buy anything else. Might be worth a couple hundred dollars to stick to the road well.

Maybe the Continentals are just as good but I don't think I'd be willing to try Yokos or some other cheaper brand.

 

[JoeS]

bradleydavidgood777, the OEM Dunlop Enasave tires are very specific: they are Low Rolling Resistance tires. I've never had a problem with them or their handling, but you might peruse this Wheel-Tires subforum for others' opinions. Lifespan on these tires is unfortunately not all that great as they usually wear out by 25,000 miles, and they cost an arm and two legs. Remember, front and rear are different and the wheels are not interchangeable. I run mine at the upper end of the tire pressure limit, as I believe (no quantitative backup to support this) that not only does the range improve but also that the car handles noticeably better.

 

[jray3]

I hadn't been looking recently - what happened to cause our availability improvement?

I think we have the Smart Car to thank for that.

I'm considering some sinning. Since the fronts wear out faster and the understeer is so pronounced, whaddaya think about a set of grippier, non LRR tires on the front only? That should improve handling without changing wheels and using adaptors, etc, and with the rears carrying most of the weight, that's also where LRR matters more. Anybody tried this, and how great is the risk of triggering the safeties? I'm assuming that the same size will be close enough between different manufacturers, and we do have enough wiggle room as the car tracks wheelspeed to accommodate different degrees of wear between front and rear.

Thx,
Jay

 

[Luddite]

While researching 175/55R15 tires to go on my new wheels, I ran across a new Eco Continental tire in 145/65R15 which is the OEM size for the front of our cars. The good news is . . . . they are only $85 at Tire Rack!!

Don

This tyre is available in the UK too - but might not be as eco as it seems.
It has an F rating for rolling resistance - where A is best and G is worst.

"Over the life of the tyre, fitting an A rated tyre could save you up to 6 litres more fuel every 625 miles - when compared to a G rated tyre."

https://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/continental/Eco-contact-EP/145/65/R15/T/72/f?tyre=11174460

The more expensive dunlops have a C rating.
https://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/dunlop/enasave-2030/145/65/R15/S/72/f?tyre=31070240

Might be worth spending the extra $ if you are hypermiling or going on lots of long journeys.
Looks like the continentals perform better in wet conditions though...

 

[bradleydavidgood777]

Yes thats another good point about the Dunlops, I think they roll very nice. And makes sense that would translate to savings and pretty significant ones. I broke them free this morning around a traffic circle because I didn't want to brake - it was spitting rain...was a little scary for a split second looking at the curb I was headed for but then I tapped the brake and let go and it came right back in line!

 

[DBMandrake]

Hi Don, thanks for that. How about All-Season Vredesteins for $74.23, also at Tire Rack?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...65TR5QT5&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

I hadn't been looking recently - what happened to cause our availability improvement?

I've had Vredestein Quatrac 5's on my Ion since last October and I'm very happy with them as an All Season tyre in the UK.

I used them through the freak ice and snow this winter and they handled it admirably, I didn't actually get stuck once, while a lot of other cars around me did! I'm certain I would have been stuck in the same conditions with the Hankook Kinergy Eco summer tyres that were on it before.

They have very deep tread blocks and loads of tiny sipes so also perform excellently on roads with standing water. The difference in grip between dry and wet roads is fairly minimal, even with running water on the surface.

They are a little bit of a compromise above 20C on dry summer roads though - they start to get slightly "squidgy" with too much power around tight corners, presumably due to the softer winter rubber, so they don't quite have the same outright grip or handling as dedicated summer tyres, but with the pressure bumped up to 40psi a lot of that disadvantage is negated, and they definitely feel a lot better at 40 than 36psi.

I've found about 40psi is optimal in summer and 38psi in winter on these tyres.

As I can't be arsed with changing tyres every six months or trying to find a second set of rims, and the car is used mainly for a daily work commute and shopping runs, the small sacrifice of summer performance being not quite as good as a dedicated summer tyre is a worthwhile compromise for me, and probably makes me drive a bit more economically as well...

Their rolling resistance rating is actually better than the Hankook Kinergy "Eco" tyres that were on the car before that claim to be low rolling resistance!

I've only done 6000 miles on them so far but there is no real sign of wear yet, apart from the slight normal feathering of the surface of the tread.

 

[kkanoski91]

Will the slightly wider size work on the stock front rims? Are the rims different on the car - front vs. back?

Quatrac 5 - Size: 155/60R15

Grand Touring All-Season


Size: 155/60R15


It is within a few mm of stock overall height.

thanks.

 

[DBMandrake]

Will the slightly wider size work on the stock front rims? Are the rims different on the car - front vs. back?

Quatrac 5 - Size: 155/60R15

Grand Touring All-Season


Size: 155/60R15


It is within a few mm of stock overall height.

thanks.

Front and rear wheel rims are completely different in width.

I'd strongly suggest against substituting different tyre sizes, especially at only one end of the car - even a small relative difference in rolling radius between front and rear tyres will cause the traction control system to falsely activate, cutting power and regeneration.

I had this issue with fitting new tyres to the rear (full height tread blocks) while leaving old worn tyres on the front - despite the sizes of the tyre being the same the wear on the front tyres reduced the radius enough to trigger the traction control. (I later fitted new front tyres as well, which solved the problem)

I'm not sure why you'd want to fit different sizes - the Quatrac 5 are available in the original OEM sizes, and that's what I fitted to mine!

 

[kkanoski91]

I will just stick with the OEM size than.

The reason I was wondering if the 155/60r15 would work is that I did want a wider tire. Purely for looks. The front tires just look so skinny to me. I did have a slightly wider tire put on the back wheels in a pinch when there was a flat and that's all they had. The mileage/range did not seem affected. it was 185 vs 175.

With all of the Jeeps and trucks around that can change tires as much as they want, I feel limited by the exact specifications of the original tire/wheel. But I have read through and changing it on this car does cause problems, so I guess I will stick with OEM. The guy from TireRack did not suggest changing the size either. Actually, he said they cannot go against what their fitment chart says, so the 145mm it will be!


Thanks.

 

[Don]

Another tire for us!

We're having our driveway poured with concrete and Carolyn brushed up against one of the form boards and poked a little hole in the sidewall of a rear tire. The Dunlop Ensaves are $148 each from Tire Rack and to be truthful, I've never been in love with Dunlop tires anyway, so I got to searching again

Her tires were the originals that came on the car (made in 2011) so it's no big deal that the tire is ruined - I was going to replace them shortly anyway. I put 2 new front tires on this car a few years back when I hit a chunk of asphalt that fell out of a truck immediately in front of us, causing a blowout, so new rears are all we'll need for now

Anyway, I found these Achilles tires in 175/60R15 from Amazon and they are supposedly rated LRR and for $100 less per tire than the Dunlops, they deserve a chance (in my book) so I ordered a pair. Saved me about $200!!!

https://www.amazon.com/Achilles-Sport-Performance-Radial-Tire/dp/B00GOXWCPS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1528581063&sr=8-2&keywords=175%2F60r15+tires

Don

 

[DBMandrake]

I wouldn’t recommend 175/60/15 on the rear.

That higher profile will increase the rolling radius and will probably cause the same issues with traction control and regeneration that I had.

Good luck...!

 

[Don]

I wouldn’t recommend 175/60/15 on the rear.

On the North American models, 175/60R15 is the OEM size - People here who fitted 175/55R15 found it disables regenerative braking

Don

 

[DBMandrake]

Ah interesting. Is the front size different to the European version too ?

 

[Don]

No - The front size is the same. Evidently tire size is programmed into the software so that the relationship between the front and rear tire sizes and the number of revolutions per mile each makes is accepted by the computer. Domestic and Euro programming must be different from the NA models

Don

 

[Don]

Got the Achilles tires mounted on the back today. I really like the look if these - They look a lot like summer tires to me . . . . big wide grooves for the water to escape and they're directional like most summer tires are. We'll see how low the LRR actually is after a while, but for less than $50 per tire I can buy a few extra electrons if necessary since I'm saving $100 per tire off the Ensave prices

For you west coasters - These were shipped to me from Los Cerritos CA. Don't know how long Amazon will keep the $48 price . . . . it cost me more than that to mount and balance the pair

Don

 

[kiev]

Howdy Don,

i may give those a try also, what is the date code on the tires you got?

 

[Don]

4217, so the last half of October, 2017

Don

 

[JoeS]

Don, great to hear that and I've already passed this on to my neighbor and the fellow who bought my first i-MiEV. Any problems with the stability control system kicking in when pushed on curves?