Unfixable tire....what to do next??
 

Noticed after work yesterday my TPMS light on, right rear tire has large sc rew in it, slow leak, go to local Firestone Tire dealer to just put a plug in it. They come back and say that the screw/hole is too large to plug and there is a small nail near the sidewall too, can't be fixed....they don't have a comparable tire in stock (not going to buy a tire from them anyway).

So what option should I take now:?

- get a second opinion on the plugging...are some holes too large to plug?

- get a oem, 1 tire and replace the Bridgestone Turanza and be done with it

- or go to tirerack.com and get 4 new Conti extreme dws's (I live in Pennsylvania and the Turanza's completely suck in the snow)

The oem Turanza's have 32k on them now and look like they have another 20k to go.

Thanks for any input

Go get the DWS! Had the Turanzas which were pretty worthless in snow... I was ready to change them out despite tread still being left. Optimally, remember you want 6/32" of tread or more for snow, 4/32" for wet, so going 2/32" is really not something I'd ever consider doing. Your tires are probably around the mark for replacement, for winter use at least.

Get the new tires now as you'll have fresh tires for winter. I'm on the last legs of our Oem tires at 32K (5K are actually on the Snows so it's 27K on the Turnazas) and I'd be surprised if you could get another 20K out of the OE tires. (also, probably not a good Idea to go another winter on tires that low... summer, ok... Snow... Not so much. Plus PA gets more Ice/frozen slush than areas like VT here where we get snow... and it just stays snow forever.

~SB

+1 on biting the bullet and getting 4 new tires. It'll make it a much nicer car (and you'll have to soon anyway; I haven't heard many/any get more than 40K out of OE tires).

It has been years since I needed winter tires down here and I have a suspicion that this winter may be a bitch that will warrant having some... I have multi terrain tires on the pickup and van and the Forester has decent tires and pulls at both ends so things should be fine.

DWS

Stock tires suck

That screw just did you a favor.

Ok, decision made, going with the Conti's...ready to pull trigger at tirerack.com.....tell me if this is the exact tire??

205/50ZR16 Continental ExtremeContact DW
Blackwall In Stock 4 $107.00 $428.00

It doesn't have the "S" on DW, but I'm sure it is the same thing, right??

Thanks for all the replies

Get a set of Continental DWS's. We have them on my wife's 325i and absolutely love them.

Make sure and get the DWS, not the DW. The DW is a maximum performance summer tire.

DWS stands for Dry, Wet, Snow. DW stands for Dry and Wet.

op- here's my response:

- get a second opinion on the plugging...are some holes too large to plug?

ive had tires plugged up to 1/4" hole and no issue.


- get a oem, 1 tire and replace the Bridgestone Turanza and be done with it


honestly look for tires in the for-sale section. you might find a good deal on the same tires (slightly used). if you're not a car person and on a budget, just get any decent tire in that size and run it on the front..wear out the rest of the tires.

- or go to tirerack.com and get 4 new Conti extreme dws's (I live in Pennsylvania and the Turanza's completely suck in the snow)

get snow tires if you have to drive in snow. i run bridgestone WS60's. VERY GOOD tires in snow.


The oem Turanza's have 32k on them now and look like they have another 20k to go.

holy crap!

Go somewhere else. It may be possible to patch the tire.

Most angles have been posted already. If you're going the route of 1 tire, try to get the same kind as the other remaining 3. Mismatches in tread patterns can affect handling.

The DWS are great tires. I have them on my Rex. Good luck!

For bigger holes...
 

(For bigger holes...) you might have to use a plug with a patch inside. This will run you at least $10, and $5 each to dismount and mount the tire, then you would need to rebalance the tire and likely replace the valve stem or TPMS washers, costing you a total of $35-$65 on a tire that you already have gotten way too much life out of rather than replacing it.

The extreme DWS get great reviews in the snow for their first year, but not as good after that (in the snow).

If you are worried about the snow, dedicated snow tires are the way to go...

Kingfisher,

i'm not sure how the DWS all seasons will do in that width (205) in winter so you may want to consider getting a set of snow wheels/tires as well as getting summers (instead of going with just all seasons.) It'll cost more in the short run but not much more as your summer tires will cost less than all seasons and you'll have them for longer (time-wise) as you'll be alternating between summer & snow tires.

~SB

Get a set or blizzaks for winter and a nice set of rubber for summer.
Tirerack all day

Well, had my mechanic install the conti dws,s last evening....big difference in overall ride quality, handling, and they are quiet. Drove to work in the rain this am and the difference is huge....they really grip the corners!! I ended up getting the 205/50/16's from tirerack. Too early to tell about mileage, but I'll take the tradeoff in improved and confident handling in rain and snow

Post back on the MPG if you can. I'm on the edge of doing what you have just done and am looking for a little heads up. Nice thing is new tires do break-in, so in about 3K miles they'll most likely be smooth as butter. I've only heard good things on those DWS's.

There's a lot of feedback on the slight mpg loss with the DWS's if you haven't seen it yet check this thread ---> https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ntact-dws.html

Most people are seeing between a 2-5 mpg drop. I was seeing about 2-3 mpg drop on my first 5 fillups after I got the DWS's. Then I had the motion spring recall done. Since then I've been getting the same if not more mpg (+ 1-2mpg) than the stock Bridgestone's that came with the car from Honda. :confused: I'm guessing this is cause the ecu got reset, but it's been well over 10+ fillups/3,500+ miles since the recall service work. On top of that I've been driving more "spirited" when I can, but also been doing more local city driving w/traffic. On one of the few hwy trips I took I got 48mpg (according to the computer) on a 300 mile trip, which even with the 10% + reading (didn't get that fixed yet) that still 43+mpg. In almost 3 yrs I've never seen that on my car.... Not around here.

Doesn't surprise me if there would be a drop in mpg on the Fit with the tread pattern. Don't know what the rolling resistance is though. Goobers have them on his Fit.