Economy tires for an economy car
 

I want to start off by saying I love driving my Fit - it's fun to throw around turns, it carries way more than it ought to, it makes me feel like I'm accelerating faster than I am when working through the gears...BUT

I also realize it is an economy car that makes many compromises that keep it from being a performance vehicle.

It's time for new tires. I've searched the threads about tires, and most of the discussion seems to tend toward high performance aspects. I have no issues with that, but I'm hoping to get some information or suggestions on a good set of economy tires.

I'm about to start a job with a 70 mile commute each way, and I'd rather not have to replace tires every year, so I'm looking for something that has good/great tread life. With that many miles, I'd also like something that might help with the mileage and I'd like to keep the price in the economy range - around $500 installed.

I'm in SE Texas, so I don't need to worry about snow performance, though wet performance would come into play occasionally. The commute will be on well maintained roads with little to no hills (heck, there's barely any curves).

From the other threads and what I've seen from local stores, I'm pretty set on going with the 205/50/16 size, but even that seems scarce in these parts.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. If this has been covered in another thread - my apologies, and could you point me there?

I have Conti Pro Contact in the stock 195-55-15" size... They are touring tires that can be rotated side to side unlike uni directional tires.... They work well on East Texas asphalt, flint stone roads and do well on loose sand and wet roads also.. They aren't cheapies but they outlast soft sticky tires, are smoothe, quieter and last longer than the stock Dunlops... They may not have the 16" size for a GE Sport... This was my choice 2 years ago and the look like it'll be awhile before they need to be replaced.

Check out Tire Rack (tirerack.com). They have huge amounts of info that you can use, even if you do not buy from them.

Good advice Codger01..The information I found there is how I came about choosing wheels and tires that reduced my total wheel and tire weight by 44 lbs.. It made a great deal of improvement to my car.

Yokohama AVID ENVigor

This tire is on the short list for me. UTQG of 560 A A for a good blend of long life and performance, reasonable price and Yokohama claims low rolling resistance, but Tire Rack does not categorize it as such. Yes, its directional tread, but F<->R rotation is the most important in a FWD car to even out wear, not necessarily X rotation.

I went with Yokohama S Drive's when the stock tires gave out. Lost about 1 mpg, but handles much better!

Thanks for the suggestion! I went ahead and pulled the trigger on these - a bit pricier than I wanted to go with, but the guy at Discount Tire is going to work a deal with me. I should have them installed by Friday or Saturday. Unfortunately, there were only 2 in the area, so for the near future I won't have a full set, until he can order in 2 more.

I went ahead and got the 205/50/R16 due to availability, though they have the same tire in the 195/55/R16 size. I'm already committed to the 205s, but what are the merits of one vs. the other? I see the stats of different revs/mile, diam, contact area, etc., but don't really know how all that translates to performance, speedo/odo difference, MPG, etc.

Thanks again ya'll for all your help!

Got the 1st 2 of my tires installed today, the other 2 should be on next Saturday. I went with the Yokohoma AVID ENVigor in the 205/50/R16 from Discount Tire.

If you are looking at getting these soon - Discount Tire is running a promotion this weekend only of a $40 rebate for 4, $20 for 2. The rebate says it's for Yoko YK520, but the salesman said it applied to the ENVigor as well.

Total out-the-door price, with their repair/replacement certificate on all 4 ended up being $610.14, $570.14 with rebate (and a basketball jersey!). When I figured up Tirerack + shipping, installation, etc. I came up with ~$645, so as long as the tires end up being all they claim to be, I think I'll be pretty happy.

Any more tire reviews? I have an 09 Fit Sport 5MT, looking to replace OEM BS Turanzas with something more stable yet maintain handling. Leading candidate is Conti Extreme Contact DWS due to high level of reviews on TireRack.

Would really like to go with Enkei RPF1 15x7 for light weight plus 195/55x15 like TexasCoyote... but don't have the scratch right now.

Thanks

Oh yeah, Enkei plus Continental DWS can get pricey. I did it with 16x7 and 205/50/16s. My most expensive change to the car (or any car I've driven)

Are you happy with the Conti DWS?

Yup. I'm having whole all kinds of fun with my car.

look for the BRIDGESTONE ECOPIA. they're made for hybrids, because of overall rounder shape and blah blah blah are better for fuel efficiency.

Thats awesome, I just did the same thing except I got the YK520's. We'll see how it plays out once they get here. I ordered mine from eBay through their online deal. 425 Shipped, then 80 bucks to install and recycle my old tires. -40 for the rebate but +60 for the replacement certificates = $525 for 60,000 mi rated tires.

I ordered Conti Extreme Contact DWS from W*M today. $549 including Illinois environmental fee & tax.

I've been pretty happy with the performance of these tires - but I went in Friday to have them rotated and the tech came back and told me that it was pretty much time for a replacement!

4/32 all around on less than 30,000 miles...for tires rated at 60k. Discount Tire will give me credit for about $60/tire.

Anyone have any new recommendations? Still looking for a long-lasting tire that will improve, or at least maintain MPG.

Thanks ya'll!

you put close to 30k miles in 7 months?!? dang... no tire is going to last you very long.

what is/was the air pressure in your tires? the reason I asked is, did tech mention if it's outside wear, inside wear or even wear? if its either in- or outside wear, then you might be able to adjust the pressure and get a little more life out of them now and whatever the next set of tires are.

Yep - I drive 140 miles/day for work, sometimes 30-40 more if I indulge my hobbies Tues/Thurs.

The tech said that everything was wearing normally, no alignment issues. I typically run 35-40 psi in each tire.

Hankook has a set of tires that are supposedly low rolling resistance. At the rate you go through tires, you may want to give different sets a try. Also, the UTQG rating is not a standard but one which the manufacture uses to compare one of its tires to another of its own tires so you can't compare between brands. Not quite sure why Tirerack shows this as it isn't a good measurement to compare.

~SB

Info all should consider - especially the UTOG rating.
W/ economy hitting the fore front low rolling resistance and tire wear will hopefully become a more solid part of the NHTSA's standards.

But there's always been industry profit in supporting consumer confusion.... still and all, high UTOG/Warranty numbers are good to aim for.

Tire Tech Information - Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) Standards