Time has come to finally get a new set of times on my wife's 2010 Fit Base. My local Discount Tire has to order-in tires in the stock 175/65-15 size. The manager did have tires in-stock in the 185/60-15 size, and he was trying to sell me on this alternative fitment.

The car is a daily-driver and has no aspirations beyond that. Who here has opted for this alternate size tire on their Fit, and how has it worked-out for you? The car rides so stiff now, that I'd think, even at such a slightly narrower sidewall height, the ride would be a bit worse. My gut says to stick with the stock size.

Thanks.

Oh...And, if anyone has a recommendation for a great all-season tire for this car, I'd be much obliged. The two options DT lists on their website are less than confidence-insipring.

 

My wife has been extremely pleased with her P175/65 R15 84H General Altimax HP tires at a measley $77 per tire from Tire Rack(dot)com. They are pretty fantastic tires and wear like steel (they are warranty-rated for 55,000 miles but 70,000+ miles is reported quite often in the customer reviews ). At $77 per tire, it is tough to beat these tires for price/performance.


LINK: General Altimax HP Tires (Click Here)

LINK: General AltiMax HP @ TireRack[dot]Kom (Click Here)


So my advice is stick with the stock size but absolutely dump the Dunlops.

 

Discount Tire annoys me. They turned out to be very expensive after damaging an older Honda (Stripped studs on all four wheels) and claiming it was an issue with Hondas. I'd go almost any route other than buying there.

I opted for Michelin Energy in the correct OE size and am not disappointed; but they're not good all season tires and they were more expensive plus I don't see them listed at the regular places today.

The Generals seem like a no-brainer at that price. Even with shipping and mounting. Just don't have them put on by Discount Tire!

 

Sloppy_Snood...How did they do in the snow? We're in Indiana, too, and my wife drives regular long commutes.

 

Our history with DT has been the exact opposite as yours, Steve244. The store we have in Muncie has always been great.

 

The light snow (1"-3") so far has been fine. Decent grip for an all-season tire.

If you look at the reviews for this tire on tire rack, they do not perform well on ice from what I have read (tread design limitation) but they rock in rain and wear like iron! Once my wife has driven through the central Indiana winter some more, I will tell you more. Most all-season tires I have ever owned pretty much stunk on ice though. I have also read that these tires get a little noisy as they wear so keep that in mind if you cannot stand a noisy tire.

Ideally, a seperate set of 15-inch steelie wheels and 175/65R15 H-rated Michelin X-Ice Xi3s would be the obvious choice for me but I won't know until we hit the winter in January/February.

I generally have the tires shipped to me and installed and balanced at Wally World for about $7.50 per corner.

 

175/65/15 good for gas mileage or snow tires, that's about it.
185/60/15 good for all seasons, lots of tire options, fit fine
195/60/15 good for all seasons, lots of tire options, fit fine, much improved dry grip over 175 and 185
195/55/15 best performance tire size option for base steel wheels while keeping speedo accurate within 2%, will probably lose a little comfort with shorter sidewalls.

I've had all of those sizes except the 195/55 (next for me), and for you i'd suggest the 185/60/15 for better comfort, tire selection and all around useability in both summer and winter. Gas mileage wasn't effected as much with the 185 as when I upped to 195 (vs 175).

I ditched the 175 stock tires within a few 1000 miles, they were dangerous garbage that had no place on a 2500 lb vehicle.

I love Discount tire/America's tire and have always had excellent service from them in every store i've been to from LA to Vegas to SF.

 

Thanks, all.
Now, if I could add a follow-up question...
I'm in the process of making an appointment to get tires for my wife's Fit at my local DT. Their online checkout is yelling at me about adding what they call a TPMS Rebuild Kit. Their website is saying that using standard valvestem parts will damage the pressure sensor, and this kit will rebuild the sensor.

This is the first car we've owned that had a pressure monitoring system, so I'm at a real loss here. Is this a standard thing now, or can I safely skip this kit. It's only $10/tire, but it was an unexpected add-on.

Thanks!

 

Follow-up:

Snow - The General AltiMax HPs did just fine in the lighter snow (<4 inches). There was a fair amount of "slippage" if the tire was on ice though (this is expected as this particular tire has more larger channels in the rubber for rain performance). I would have no problem using them for snow up o the "lip" of the front end of the car.

Slush - They push wet slush out of the way nicely (rain is no challenge for these tires; very good wet performance). Mind you, this is my feeling with more than 8/32" of tread depth (measured) on my fronts and 9/32" on the rear (about 19,000 miles on the tires so far; lots of 70 mph highway driving).

Druthers? - If I could force myself to complain about something with the AltiMax HPs, it would be road noise on dry pavement. But that seems to be a problem with any tire on the Fit given that it has very little sound-deadening material in the car.

Purchase Again? - Yes. For $76 tire + $10 install & balance, I would buy them again in a minute.

 

I wouldn't bother with the rebuild kit, I didn't use one yet and i've changed my tires twice (50k miles). If I was swapping the sensors to new wheels I would consider one since the sensors and stems have to be moved.

 

Thanks, Wanderer.
My concern, of course, is that DT always installs new stems with new tires. Would this wreck the pressure sensors? I have no idea how they work. DT seems to imply the sensors are part of the stem.

 

You can't install new stems with TPMS sensors. The stems are metal and part of the sensor.

A rebuild kit may be new valve cores and seals to re-seat the TPMS stem. I'd skip it. New valve cores wouldn't be a bad idea if that were all they were offering. They remove the old ones anyway to let the air out. But valve cores are a couple dollars for 4

With rubber stems it's normal to replace them.

 

Skip it, I will. Thanks!

 

FYI only.
175/65/15 tire => 24 inch diameter ( 608.5 mm )
185/60/15 => 23.7 in ( 603 mm ) 99.1 % of stock size
195/55/15 => 23.4 in ( 595.5 mm ) 97.9% of stock size
205/55/15 => 23.9 in ( 606.5 mm ) 99.7% of stock size

 

How much of this is applicable to 16" tires?? Thanks for the info!!


FYI only.
175/65/15 tire => 24 inch diameter ( 608.5 mm )
185/60/15 => 23.7 in ( 603 mm ) 99.1 % of stock size
195/55/15 => 23.4 in ( 595.5 mm ) 97.9% of stock size
205/55/15 => 23.9 in ( 606.5 mm ) 99.7% of stock size

 

Just use this site and put your own info in:
Tire size calculator

 

Hi all

I have a 2009 base fit about 30k miles and orig tires. I live in the washington DC area so we get all weathers.

Its about time to get new tires. After reading a few threads on sizes I think I want 185/60R15 , but I can be persuaded different.

After looking around at tirerack.com and going by the consumer ratings, which are many so that makes it pretty accurate, the top picks are

1. P185/60R15 Firestone Precision Touring Standard Touring All-Season ( 8.6 out of 10 of 60 reviews)
$74.00 a tire $296.00 for all 4 + $43.02 shipping = $339.02
UTQG: Treadwear: 560
Traction: A
Temperature: B560 A B

2. P185/60R15 Hankook Optimo H727 Blackwall ( 8.2 out of 646 reviews) $70.00 $280.00(4) + $43.88 sh = $323.88
UTQG: Treadwear: 700
Traction: A
Temperature: B700 A B

3. P185/60R15 General Altimax HP Grand Touring All-Season ( 8 of 10 out of 2133 reviews)
Set of 4: $280.00 + $53 SHIPPING = $333
UTQG: Treadwear: 440
Traction: A
Temperature: A440 A A

4. Continental ProContact with EcoPlus Technology( 8.0 OF 10 OUT OF 101 REVIEWS) $312 SET OF 4 . UTQG: 600 A B

5. Pirelli P4 Four Seasons ( 8.0 OF 10 OUT OF 428 REVIEWS) $312 SET OF 4
UTQG: 760 A B

what would you all choose out of the above?

 

no love huh? ok

 

where do you all recommend having a tire installed?

 

"where do you all recommend having a tire installed?"

Use any good tire shop that knows how to work with TPM systems. If using Tire Rack they should have a link to a tire dealer near you.

Clifton