Not anywhere near wearing the Duncelop's on my 2010 Sport out but did my first turnpike driving in heavy rain this AM and all I can say is they aren't worth a crap in the rain.

Pronounced hydroplaning and a marked drop in MPG.

I might just ditch 'em as is. I've been eyeing the Cooper Touring. Need to look into the effect they might have on economy, I know I'll take a HIT.
K_C_

 

Interesting. I find them fine in the rain. The very first week of ownership I couldn't get over being paranoid about it. It took a while to gain trust. I've had a bad spinout due to HP in the past. But within a week, I gained trust with the stock DL's. They hold very well for me. Of course, you can help yourself by slowing down to an appropriate speed for the weather conditions. This works amazingly well. If you're HP'ing or on the verge, you're simply driving too fast. OR, you're not using enough common sense and avoiding standing water, generally found at the sides of the road and on highways, the left lane. And also, keep the tire pressure at recommended levels- for the DL's, 33psi. People mess with that number all the time but the tires really do behave best at the default recommended pressure.

Dan

 

I have 22,000 on the Bridgestones (185-55 R16), but they won't see 30K. I'll have to replace them before winter, and I have no real idea what to replace them with.

I'm not impressed with either OEM tire in the stock size, and I don't have any experience with any of the available 205-50 tires to make an educated choice there, either.

 

In two words: not well.

My stock tires have 5,600 miles on them and the two front are wearing in a reverse-sawtooth pattern I think they call "heel and toe" wear.

 

Most certainly not a tire issue, in a word - alignment. Get 'er into a shop and have that checked out.
K_C_

 

Oh, definitely! It is going in Wednesday morning.
I should have said that it isn't only the tires that have 5,600 on them. These are the original tires, the car is only seven months old. Interesting that the alignment would only last that long given my commute of less than 20 miles per day at speeds of less than 20mph, but oh well.

How that is happening I do not know unless they did the original road test by driving it down the steps of the capitol building.

 

Schockwave I hear what your saying, and I was doing all my experience has taught me to manage the situation. I did need to drop speed and that's when I noticed the instant MPG going to hell.

I was way north on the Maine Turnpike and was hit by a tremendous cloud burst. Situation was a light rolling highway grade with long flat stretches. Water was pooling on the pavement. As soon as I realized/felt things going I began to slow down. Things stayed fishy way longer than I have ever seen before. What little traffic there was was all going faster than me. FIT did stabilize, but was really having trouble with the conditions and I could tell it wasn't cut out for what I was plowing through.

Conclusion is a combination of extreme conditions vehicle weight and weight distribution and the tires. One thing that struck me was the lightness in the rear end. I've felt that before in the FIT. Interesting how easy it is to unload and get back - I like that part.

On my return to NY I hit a series of down pours on well crowned sections of the Mass Pike and things were much better. Little FIT held the road as I would expect with out slowing to a crawl.

Guess I'm looking to replace the Dunlop's for any reason I can come up with. I know I could improve the ride/noise levels and those Cooper Tourings made a hell of an improvement to my daughters Yaris.
K_C_

 

Come on back and let us know the verdict. I would seriously go right back to the dealer on this one.
K_C_

 

Ok, so I went in for service this morning and told them about the heel and toe wear on my front tires. I told them I was also perceiving a slight left pull.

They had the car for an hour and a half, wasn't bad. I honestly expected to have to pay for a tire rotation and alignment as part of maintenance, but the service manager told me that the whole thing would be gratis because I'm still in the adjustment period.

She told me that the technician did not feel the left pull but they did notice the wear particularly on the left front tire. They rotated front to back, did an alignment (my sheet says a 4-wheel but I was under the impression you can't do that on a Fit...I dunno) and reset the toe of the car to 0 as the 'toe was out'.

Feels fine now, a bit quieter now that the sawtoothed fronts are on the back. The left one is worse than the right one.

She said hopefully the wear would correct itself. I said that I hoped so too, since I'd be back in 5k to have them rotated again regardless. I intend to get as much wear out of those stupid Dunlops as possible.

As for the rest of the experience, it was fine. They washed the car, which I usually hate because they do it an automatic carwash, but this one has no brushes or rubbing and it air dries, so that was okay.

I also walked all the way around the car before I got in it and looked for things I used to chalk up to benefit of the doubt, like scratched wheels from the rotation and scratches on the recently sealed and waxed paint from their carwash. I had marked the front tires beforehand as well so I could see where they ended up.

Yeah, I don't trust anyone and remember, I was originally prepared to pay for the rotation and alignment.

So I drive out and notice they'd just unloaded an ORM Sport/Nav off the truck which I had to think seriously about for a moment as I sat there eating my complimentary bagel with coffee.

 

I would insist on replacement tires. As hopeful as she "might" be that wear pattern is not going to correct itself. Honda's screw up screwed up your tires - they should be replaced, you did nothing wrong. Insist to get a manager involved.

K_C

 

I felt like I was going to get pounded if I objected. I'm easily intimidated...

I need to take a fellow Fitfreaker with me whenever I get service.

 

I only got 24000 I just replaced them one was 2/32 the rest were 3/32 I never burnt out or did powerslides so idk y they diddent last for my 90% of my driving was freeway I had the stock dunlaps

 

Well hang around here long enough and you'll build some confidence. Remember, you need to be able to understand all the parts and how it all adds up and hidden agendas.

Nothing wrong with "sleeping on it" to clear the mind/logic. Probably not too late to go back and talk it over with them. Explain that they just aren't meeting your expectation of quality service and the terms of your warranty.

Keep it cool - you've nothing to loose.

K_C_

 

You had to slow down, and that made your MPG go to hell? Or are you trying to tell us that the rain made your MPG go down? All the people with mechanical knowledge are scratching their heads to your posts.

Except that it wasn't a screw up, the alignment was off. Was the alignment Honda's fault? Most likely not. It would take a decent hit from a pothole, curb or road debris to affect the alignment. Unless it was a used Fit bought from a Honda dealer and the alignment was off before they sold the car (never inspected), and you could somehow prove all of this then it's not Honda's screw up. He got the alignment for free too didn't he?

 

I'm talking about the performance of the tires.

And who might you be talking for?

As for the rest of your "comments/criticisms" I would suggest you carefully read the post concerned. Get off your horse and become a part of the solution instead of looking for problems - counter productive DUDE.

K_C_

 

I think that may be true. As you noted, it was extremes and inferior road grade causing your HP'ing. It could very well be every tire would have had trouble in that instance. And also as you noted, when on a better graded highway even with extreme conditions, the tires handled it better. I'm not a Dunlop fanboy by any means. But they're doing the job rather well, ime. Approaching 7,000 on my Fit and I can't see any wear at all yet, frankly. And I'm looking rather closely. What I'm really not a fan of is low profile tires in general. This is my first experience with them. I like the looks, but they are a bit too finiky for what can be rather brutal road conditions in these parts in winter and spring. I already bashed one to hell and had to replace it because of a monsterous pothole. But I can't help feeling that a regular tire would have held up to it.

As far as you losing mpg's because of slowing down inthe rain, I'm a little confused there too. I've never experienced that. If anything, my mpg's shoot up when I slow down on the highway in rain. The only time slow doesn't equal better mpg's for me is in snow.

I have one question for all. How many miles out of the Dunlops would it take for you to consider them good? 50,000, 80,000- what? What is the expectation? The longer the better for sure, but realistically? And if they are wearing early, I really have to question what the driver is doing. I realize everyone in jail is 'innocent', and I realize 'it's not me' when tires crap out early. And then there's reality.

I can't find who said it to quote it, but someone recently suggested confirming the tires are pointing in the proper direction? Such as an arrow on the sidewall indicating this? On the Dunlops I find two things, neither of which I'm certain matters. One is an actual arrow. The second is the word 'outside'. All of my tire have the word outside showing, but my driverside front and back have the arrow pointing backwards- seemingly in the wrong direction. This is the first I ever heard about proper direction and now that I'm looking at my tires, my head seems ass backwards with this! Any further insight would be appreciated.

Dan

 

Here's the thread about directional concern with the tires. It's the last post of the thread.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ire-noise.html

Dan

 

Thank you Shockwave.

The loss in MPG was immediate. I felt the handling go bad - did what I needed to to correct that - was still plowing H2O - and saw MPG's drop. This whole thing didn't last no more than 5 miles, then I exited the Pike.

My point is two fold - you spotted part of it - I'm really not liking the tire and they are not great rain tires plain and simple. Compared to other tires in similar rain/water conditions I feel the Dunlop's let me down.

When I picked up my car I asked the Honda tech what I might expect out of them and he state 30K on average. That tells you something on a light car like the FIT. I'm positive Honda chose them to contribute to the economy of the vehicle at the sacrifice of ride quality. Are they junk - no.

Personally, I doubt I'll ride them into the winter. FIT is light and rides close to the ground - snow/slush/ice gets forbidding in these parts.

I know there's better choices, and that's what it's all about. Just because the tires came on the car doesn't mean they the correct ones - I've come to appreciate the fact that one size does not FIT all

As far as directional - some tires are.

Here's what Tire Rack has to say: Tire Tech Information - How to Install Your Wheel & Tire Package

Now I gotta go look closely at mine.... arghhh, that would sure suck if they're mounted wrong way round.

K_C_

 

Again from Tire Rack: Tire Tech Information - Original Equipment (OE) Tires

Great site w/ solid info.

K_C

 

Thanks for those links. Interesting- Michelins get the nod. Wonder what compatable size they have for the Fit. I'll have to take a look. So, are our tires [Duns or Bridges] really OE tires or are they generic tires that work best in all catagories for our cars?

On the directional thing, I think the dunlops are both directional and asymmetric. Someone confirm this please? If that's the case, two of my tires are rolling the wrong way and that can't be good for anything!

Dan