I bought my Fit used so this is the first non-oil change thing that I'm doing to it. Tires looked pretty worn so went to Discount Tire to get them checked and front are down to 3/32" and back are 5/32" and 6/32". I definitely want to change the front tires but I was told that if I wanted to save money, I can just move the back tires to the front and put 2 new tires on the back. So, should I just change out 2 tires and wear down the other 2 for a while or should I change all 4 out now? I figured the biggest difference would be that if the back are new and the front are my old tires (5/32" and 6/32"), I won't be able to rotate the tires in the future even after getting the other 2 replaced down the road. Discount Tire rotates for free so I might actually make a point of doing this every 8,000 miles or so (I hadn't rotated on this car prior to this to be honest). Thoughts?

My second question is, when I search for tire sizes for the 2012 Honda Fit base model, it comes up with 175/65-R15 is the default but my tires are currently 185/60-R15. If I only change out 2, I will obviously stick to the current size. But if I switch all 4, which size should I get? Is there an even better 3rd size that I should consider?

Third question, does it really matter what brand tires I get? Money is a concern but I want value so that I get a while out of these tires. My car is at almost 100K miles so this might be the last tires I put on it before upgrading to a different car or a newer model used Fit. Obviously there is a difference but there's $50 ones (Sentury Touring 40K mile warranty "Good"), $70 ones (Kumho Solus TA11 75K warranty "Better"), and $110 one (Bridgestone Ecopia Ep422 Plus 70K warranty "Best") and plenty in between. Anyone have advice for a Arizona/Nevada driver so high temperatures?

Thanks!

 

Firstly... 100k miles? That's it? I'm at 168k on my 2010 Fit. I put all of it and I plan on putting plenty more.

Before replacing any tires, you kinda have another option... rotate the tires so that the thicker ones are in front and just drive with them in those positions until any of them hit the wear bars (roughly 2/32). Since the front tires wear a little quicker in normal driving, you kinda get the most use out of all the tires. Then, replace the whole lot.

Replacing just two does "save" you money for the moment, but at the same time, it creates bigger difference in tire traction "ability" between front and back. That's one thing I definitely try to avoid. The cheap tires has a starting tread depth of 10/32 or 11/32. The Kumho is 11/32. And finally, the Bridgestones are 10/32.

This would only work if you're in an area where traction loss is less likely (Az works, but not so much in IL with winter coming). And you're the type of driver that takes it easy.

That said, I've probably never made it to 2/32... usually when my tires get close to the wear bars, I inevitably get a flat tire that prompts me to just go ahead and replace all four since it's almost time anyway. Yes, it's very bizarre that it's happened on all four(?) sets of tires for my Fit

Going to the size... 185/60 tires are wider, so they allow for a bit more traction overall. If you're a spirited type of driver... you're gonna want the wider tires. But realistically, if you had to ask... you could probably get away with the factory sized tires.

 

Stick with factory sizes. Narrower is better for fuel economy.

I recommend looking for low rolling resistance tires.

Brand does matter, General makes good, high quality cheap tires.

 

I see what happened here, FitWheel I worked for those guys.

They only install new tires on the rear (that actually started while I worked there). it was based on the argument that losing traction on the rear of the car is more dangerous due to fish-tailing.
You can go somewhere else and get the tires rotated how you want, their hands are just tied.

Tires with low tread depth will have reduced ability to divert water. That's an oversimplified explanation of why tires have tread at all. Consider racing slicks used on tracks. More rubber on the ground means more traction, until water gets in between.. Not to mention, ours are a little aged by the time they get down to near bald, and they're not as squishy grippy as they once were, etc.

You can rotate the more healthy tires to the front, but the rear may get slidey on you in wet conditions during hard braking. I'd swap all four and stay more on top of rotations to ensure even wear, but I'm a "spirited driver," and my mother who uses the same vehicles is (at times! I love you mom) a nervous driver. She sometimes needs to stop fast because she didn't see somebody, sometimes rushes off stressed and may make a poor decision. So she needs tires that are as good wet as they are dry, with an AA traction rating. Tire life is still important because, well, we can't afford new tires every 20k miles. I like seeing a tread-life warranty of 50-65k miles. 80k are hard, less than 50k, soft, and may need replacement too frequently for us.

As for tire advice, do yourself a favor and check out tirerack.com. You don't have to buy from them, you can still order from discount, but they have tons of​​​​​ REVIEWS!!
From customers and their own staffed drivers testing in all weather conditions on a track. Good, better, best is rather oversimplified, and since you're here I assume you need more. Discount didn't ask about if you're a spirited driver, if you drive on gravel, what the climate is like where you live, if most of your driving is freeway. (examples)
What's more important to you, better traction or longer tire life?

*I just want some darn tires and I want them to be good!*
Try the Bridgestones, they have a nice profit margin 😂
I'm told the lowest profit margin tires there are the GTs, but I don't know if it's true.

Haha, well again, you came here with a question. Tirerack will give you a good, real range of options and some driving condition questions. Then you can come back (if you feel need to) with specific names of tires (like Michelin Pilot A/S 3+, which I have on my Fit) and get opinions on how they do on our specific car vs. how they do on other cars mentioned in tirerack reviews, and hopefully other folks will chime in 🙂
Original tire/wheel size does prioritize fuel economy over grip/performance, but there should still be some well-rounded 🥁 options.

Edit: Goobers and Mike
​​​​​​

 

Make sure your rims are OEM. Then, as Mikey says, stick with factory size tires. There's no reason to get fancy.

Change all four tires now. Reason: Wear and age. Tires degrade over time even without driving the car. Plus, if all four are new, you don't have to worry about wear differences front vs. rear.

Go to TireRack to see what tires are available at what prices. Then, if you must use Discount Tire, see if they will sell you the same tire at the same price. Don't let them switch you to something "similar."

Sentury Touring, Kumho Solus TA11, Bridgestone Ecopia Ep422 Plus — I wouldn't buy any of these. I just bought four Avid Ascend GT. I wanted to support my local tire shop, and he was able to match the TireRack price.

Always feel good about spending money on tires. It's the most important single thing that you can do for your car and for your safety. (I just had a blowout because I was driving on tires that needed replacing, and I had them (stupidly) over-inflated.)

Good luck, hombre.



P.S. Every shop does free tire rotation if you buy tires from them — even if you buy the tires from TireRack, and the shop only does the install. My shop will fix flats for me, too.

 

Recommend General Altimax RT43 ( H-rated ) or the newly designed Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S ( H-rated ) , https://www.uniroyaltires.com/homepa...ng-all-season0 and https://www.uniroyaltires.com/produc...ing-all-season . Let us know on your decision and how the tires perform .

 

I went with Yokohamas. Nice ride, did not change MPG. Got them at Discount Tire.

 

Sorry for the radio silence for a month. Had some family things come up (2020 is a weird year) and the Fit sat quietly in the garage for a month. Back to business now.

Based on feedback, looking to change all 4 tires so that I can rotate them in the future and keep wear even throughout. Plus, they are all coming up on 6 years in early 2021 and I heard 6 years is when tires start getting iffy even if they still have decent tread. On a side note, will I need to get my car alignment done after 4 new tires put on at Discount Tire? And if I rotate them at Discount Tire in the future, will I need to go to another shop to get alignment redone ever rotation? If so, I figure this might get pricey even with free rotations. How often do you guys rotate your tires at a shop if it's free?

About the actual tires, I went to TireRack as recommended and compared to what DiscountTire has in stock. I figure DiscountTire is okay for this sort of thing as their reviews are good and several friends recommend them. Is there a better chain that I should use? I have Costco but I heard DiscountTire is better. Is that true?

If I go back to the factory size (175/65-R15), my top 3 choices would be:

Cooper Evolution Tour $75 with 8.2 average TireRack rating
General Altimax RT43 $84/8.4 rating
Continental TrueContact Tour $94/8.9 rating.

The Continentals have the best rating and longest warranty (80K vs 65K/60K miles of the other 2) and at $20 more per tire, I might be okay spreading the extra $80 across 6 years and seeing it as a cheap ~$1 a month upgrade. The General Altimax have a bunch MORE reviews but that would be the only advantage for them, more popular I guess.

If I stay with the current size I have (185/60-R15), my top choice is probably the Hankook Kinergy ST H735 with 70K warranty, $73, 8.3 rating. I would get same rating 8.3 with Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus but price goes up to $90 for the 90K warranty. The General Altimax RT43 is only available in T speed rating and NOT H which is similar rating but I heard H is better overall. That would be $85 per tire for T's and only difference seems to be quantity of reviews again. Third option would be Cooper Evolution Tour 65K warranty, $73, 8.2 rating which seems almost identical to the Hankook Kinergy so is Hankook Kinergy better than Cooper Evolution Tour? There's also a Cooper CS5 Grand Touring with 80K warranty but rating are 8.1 and price is $88 so paying for longer warranty pretty much.

Thoughts? (Thanks in advance for your advice!)

 

Why would you do an alignment at every tire rotation?

 

Geneeral Altimax RT43 ( H-rated ) are available in 185/60-15 . Go to website for verification as I did .

 

Always go with the OEM size for a non modded daily driver. I swapped out the stock Firestone tires with Michelin's and it drives much nicer. Smoother and quieter.

 

If you want to save money on your tires, Sam’s Club or Costco‘s when they have their good sales, I find it cheaper to buy for on sale then buy two and two, last time I replaced all four with Michelin defenders size 185 6015 the bill out the door with tax everything was $380, they come with free rotation, and road hazard, and roadside assistance for three years , Hard deal to beat,

 

Michelin Defenders will probably be 5ply and have a mighty sidewall. Maybe too great for a lightweight driver lol. IDK.
Coopers (most are probably made in the USA) have been pretty good so far on another dd sedan.
The two sets of Yokohamas I've bought had great dry traction but quickly turned into slicks. Won't buy them again. I don't have that kind of money.

 

I always stick with the OE size for stock suspension setup. The 2011 had 205s on it when we bought it, and when in need of new tires I found a set of OE-size Sumitomos super cheap, so went with those. Steering was restored to that nice light feel, it was too heavy with the wider contact patch. Typically I'll go by the reviews on TireRack, and pick the best tire at the time (it is always changing, you can't assume that one manufacturer is always best) for the budget.

 

More choices in 205. Went that way, won't go back!

 

For the gent asking about alignments, it's recommend you get one when putting on new tires to avoid premature wear. Alignment shops often do free inspections, if all is well they won't charge and you're not committed to any repair recommended.

Discount tire recommends rebalance and rotation every like.. 3-5k miles. If your shop has good reviews, sweet, go for it. I'd caution yuh that rushed repetitive work is a bigger threat than imbalanced wheels and urge anyone that's physically able to handle these things themselves ​​​​(along with fluid changes)

 

Quick update:

So I decided to go with the Continental TrueContact Tour tires. I went to Discount Tire and they actually had a mail in rebate of $70 for these tires so they were $94 a piece plus installation. After the mail in rebate, which I assume will come eventually, it will be $76.50 per tire which seems like a good deal for these tires based on good reviews on TireRack.

The tires feel great which could only mean that my old tires were getting pretty bad. I definitely feel a difference and the ride is much smoother. I'm going to stay on top of the tires from here on out with proper rotations.

One thing that I got to thinking is that the car feels so much smoother now. I was wondering if there's anything else to do to the car to make the ride even smoother. My one complaint with the Honda Fit has been that I feel a whole lot more minor bumps in the road. When I'm driving other cars, the ride feels smoother but with my Fit it's more bumpy. Is that just the car or are there things I can do to improve this?

 

I don't think you'll like this answer.
Well, you can check out your suspension bushings to see if stuffs damaged, and test your shocks and struts as shown in this The ride in this car is supposed to be stiff, sporty, and controlled. If you wanted to make it softer, check the pressure n make sure they're not overinflated (cold pressure 32psi, after driving/warm ~35) though winter temps have likely taken it lower.
or uh, add/swap to airbag suspension. I'm not familiar with how all that goes, likely pricey, but that's how luxury cars run smooth.

 

Consider replacing some suspension bits. They have a limited lifetime and at 100k miles, just swapping in new parts might get you a better ride and handling. OEM shocks and struts are fine. I don't know what premium brands (e.g. Bilstein) are available for the Fit but I would avoid discount parts.

You should have all the suspension bits inspected as some parts may be failing or wearing.

On a similar (non-Honda) car with 80k miles, we replaced the shocks, struts, springs, strut mounts, drop links, tie rod ends... Comfort and handling are so much better - like a new car.

Bilstein catalogue:
Passenger car
In Arizona, maybe the coil springs have a longer lifetime. We live in a salty area so the rust can prematurely weaken and break the springs.

Slightly lower tire pressure (still within factory spec) and higher profile tires can make the ride a bit more comfortable.