Tire suggestions wanted
 

My son’s 2009 Fit Sport will need new tires soon...so I’m looking for suggestions. Treadlife and MPG/efficiency are my top concerns, along with being able to wet road conditions. My Yokohama’s Envigor will only achieve about 34K actual miles when they need to be replaced, so I’m disappointed with their actual treadlife...otherwise they were good tires. I upsized from stock 185/55 to 195/55, but that’s a different story. Any suggestions please give me the full tire name/model...thanks in advance.

On my list: Continental PureContact, Firestone Precision (but I just started)

I've always used thefactory Dunlop SP Sport 7000 A/S . First set lasted me over 50k miles. I almost always get about 40mpg highway. I have over 100k miles and still on my 2nd set.

I suggest you go to TireRack.com and selrect the tire you want based to these:
1. utog, as high as possible, say at least 500
2. best wet weather conditions lap trials in the test schedules.

I'm running a set of 195/55-16 Goodyear Eagle GT's on my 09 sport. Pretty happy, awesome wet weather traction, slightly noisy, wears well. I have to run them at ~38 PSI to get them to wear evenly across the tread. I got a set of them from tire rack for 420 with a $40 rebate, and got them balanced and mounted at the local wally world for less than $35.

Opinions are a penny a hundred; show me the stopwatch times, UTOG, and mass user reviews on tirerack.net

Keep in mind you need to find that balance that works for you. Every tire will have a trade-off. LRR and longevity means poor'er traction and braking performance. I would suggest sticking with stock size (weight). It benefits the Fit's small motor.

You prob want something in the premium Grand Touring All-Season Tires: Michelin Primacy comes to mind. A tire is a tire is a tire. You don't need Fit owner reviews. You prob get better feedback from Tire Rack reviews. Here's what I do. First, identify the category you need/want (GT-AS). Look at the "User" reviews for that category and pick the top 3 highest reviewed tire. Then read TR's professional reviews of said 3 tires and pick the one that has the characteristics that meet your needs.

Else, go to Priuschat.com (something like that) and see what's popular over there. They are up there as the ultimate efficiency misers. Fit owners are a more sporty bunch.

you probably will get a lot more responses if you tell us the full tire size you are looking for (195-55-WHAT?). For instance, the OEM GD sport tire size is 195-55-15. When I do searches for replacement tires on tirerack.com, I find a lot of manufacturers only make a 195-60-15. While I don't know anything about changing the aspect ratio on my car's tire, I tend to avoid mismatched numbers. As such, I will be going with the Firestone Precision Touring, which gets great reviews on tirerack, and it comes in my 195-55-15 size. It seems a bit pointless for people to throw out names of tires to you when the manufacturer doesn't even make a tire in that brand name and size.

Guess I assumed that everyone knew that the 2nd gen Sport took OEM 185/55-16 tires. That's why I mentioned that I have a 2009 and posted under the 2nd gen forum. Anyway, I order 195/55-16 Firestone Precision Touring which is a one-up size, and is the current size tire I'm using. Came close to ordering the Continental Purecontact in the 205/55-16 size,but was concerned about getting them mounted and possible issue with MPG drop.

By the way...the numbers...195 (width of tire)...55 (aspect ratio of sidewall to width...the greater the number, the taller the tire sidewall)...and 16 is the rim size.

I hope we will both like the Firestones.

definitely go 205/50/16. better choices available.

Thanks for that Spacecoast. I for one would be very grateful if you would post back from time to time on how you like the Firestone Precision Touring tires. My Kumho LX Platinums are still good for the rest of this year, but come winter time, I may have to buy them on line. Users seem to like those Firestone Precision Touring tires very much. Some complain about road noise over time; some do not.
Thanks again.

Your talking 195 55 R15?

The Kumho Ectsa PA31 looks to be a good value tire. It outperformed the other contenders on Tirerack's tests, especially Wet Traction and handling. The fact that it's also rated UTQG 500 gives you the lifespan your looking for.

I've been using a variety of Kumho's for about 10 years now. They never disappoint me and are almost always better than the stock tire Honda gives.

Very true FitGuy, except that some of the feedback by owners on various tire websites has been concerning. It is said that the PA31 has very soft side walls and owners are reporting irreparable blowouts from simply scraping curbs. Although the tirerack tests have been excellent, I've decided to put the Firestone Precision Touring ahead of the Chinese made Kumho PA31s.

ive got almost 6k on these ... no complaints so far.
ride is quieter and seem to be sturdy, have hit some postsnow potholes with the back fully loaded .. no issues. plus the price point is fantastic :)

they are hankook Optimo H426s
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....se&tab=Reviews

Sorry Sean, but the 426 is a dreadful tire. Did you really look at the survey numbers on Tirerack? This is the tire that comes on most low end Kia and Hyundai. They are simply scary on snow. I was very happy to get them off after 20,000 miles and put the real Hankook winner, the H727 on instead.

Huh, I was unaware of these issues. Well, scrap that tire idea. The firestone precision touring look good as well.

yea I read them.
tires have some deciding factor but at the end if the day its driver style.i had these for the tail end if our 6th worst pa winter on record .. they were fine.

Better as in what? I think the 205 sizes are more sport oriented. Just like with the GD, I get 205/50/15's for performance tires, but stick to 195/55/15 or 185/60/15 for commuter/Eco tires. Just from a quick glance as the different tire sizes for the GE, I believe same applies. Plus, the tires are slightly lighter with the 195/55 size and cheaper as well. Selection is just as good as 205/50's (actually more tires available on tirerack). 195/55 should work out better for the OP.

Any decision on these tires OP? what did you end up going with?

I went with the Firestone Precision Touring...purchased from TireBuyer.com, in the 195/55-16 size. The only thing I didn't like from TireBuyer was getting hit with tax upon final checkout because they have a store in Florida. I don't recall seeing any prior warning before hitting the "confirm purchase". However, I did get a $20 off new customer coupon.
Firestone Precision Touring - Free Delivery Available | TireBuyer.com
The UTQG (560) is the same rating as the Yokohamas that I have now...which will be gone at around 35K miles. Rotated and balanced every 5K miles...so I hope these Firestone's do better.
Here is what's on the car now:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes
And a comparison...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/CompareTires.jsp

Just remember that treadwear ratings can differ greatly with different brands.