Hi Y’all! My OEM firestones are utter garbage and one of them may need to be replaced soon (sharp piece of metal is stuck in the sidewall but so far if it’s pierced through then the leak is very minor). I’m leaning towards the Michelin Defenders but was wondering if anyone has any other recommendations or bad experiences to share. I live in North Texas so we deal with extreme temperature swings, flash flooding, and the occasional ice and snow (potentially all in the same day…just kidding…sort of). The OEM tires terrify me in the rain so getting a tire with better wet traction is very important to me. If the car would be quieter then that would be a lovely bonus but safety is my number one concern. Any thoughts?

 

Yokohama Avid Ascend GT's.

 

I have these on my '13 Fit. My second set. Good tires. Good wear. Not as pretty as the Michelin's, but good value.

 

Yes, Yokohama Avid Ascend GT, just make sure that ALL those words appear on the tire because they make many similar-sounding tires.

 

I considered those for my new-to-me '19 Fit EX I got last December that came with those Firestones on it until I learned about Bridgestone WeatherPeak tires.

 

General Altimax RT43. Had these put on last year. Quiet, good traction, no complaints.

When I had them installed and I was in reverse to get out of the parking lot, I immediately noticed it was easier to steer - in reverse! Same experience in forward, it was quite pronounced. I can't remember ever having a similar experience from replacing tires.

 

The Yokohama Avid Ascend GTs are excellent tires.

 

I eventually went with General AWS. General RT43 were hard to find and I live in Minnesota where 5 months out of the year one may have snow or ice with which to contend. I wanted a tire that was a bit better rated for winter conditions than the Yokohama's being recommended. I know you mention snow and ice, but probably not serious snow and ice the Ascends couldn't handle. Of course the clearance under the FIT isn't great so anything over 6" is going to hang up a Fit, but we still regularly had to drive in several inches of snow this winter and we didn't have any issues with the AWS. I may have noticed a slight hit on our mileage. We used to get in the high forties mpg on highway trips but seem to be in the lower forties now. Mind you, there could be other factors at play such as ageing of the car.

 

I appreciate your recommendations! I’ll look into both the Yokohamas and the General Altimax tires. Thanks!

 

Having lived in Boston through multiple blizzards and record snowfall, I completely agree that my needs in Dallas are nowhere close to what y’all need in Minnesota. I’ve been to Minneapolis in January and was thankful that I wasn’t driving (the skyway system is fantastic). The good thing about snow and ice in Dallas is that we generally avoid going anywhere when it snows and the city pretty much shuts down when there’s ice. If I ever move back up north then I’ll definitely look into these General tires. I was pleasantly surprised by how well Firestone’s winter tires did in Boston on my MINI Cooper, which has similar ground clearance to the Fit. With that positive experience with the winter tires, I’ve been incredibly disappointed in these all season firestones.

 

Agreed. Installed them in December just before our rainy season. Big improvement over the factory Firestones.

 

Always ran Toyo Proxy Sport A/S and they seem great. Been hearing a lot of good stuff from Yoko lately and see some above stuff makes me want to try something new.

 

4 Sentury 185/60 R15 84H BSW Around $300 for 4, balanced and installed by Discount Tires in Texas, for 2017 Fit LX CVT.

Don't let these tires, made in China fool you as something that can't be any good. They are sold at Discount Tires. I was able to get 44,336 miles from the OEM Firestones. Now, I am on my 2nd set of the Century tires at 119K miles. My recommendation is probably too late, but keep them in mind.

 

When I had my Fit : Nokian WRG4 195/55/16V. Normally I would prefer summer only and winter only tires but I had to get a true all weather tire and have been very happy with them.