Hi all,

I had a flat tire so I'm going to have to replace it on my 2010 Honda Fit Sport. All the vendors around here are out of 185/55/16 tires so I'm thinking of buying it from tirerack.com . There are three options, 2 bridgestone and one dunlop. My current three other tires (came with the car) are bridgestone Turanza. This tire is available but costs $35 extra. My question is it ok to have the cheaper Potenza tire with the three existing turanza tires? What am I compromising by doing this? (I've driven about 25K miles with those turanza tires by now).

Thanks

 

Your handling/balance will be affected somewhat... normally best to change tires in pairs (fronts or rears). And the stock Bridgestones are crap.

Maybe change a pair now to the Potenzas and the other later, or you can bit the bullet and upgrade all 4 to better tires/different size.

 

If you can afford it just replace all 4 with something better.

If not replace a pair.

If you can only afford ONE tire, rotate the oddball to the back of the car. That will negate any handling/breaking difference due to different tread patterns, etc as much as possible.

 

The best way to dtermine beforehand if there might be - and not guaranteed - a problem is to compare the revs per mile between the two tires. If there is more than 1% difference you can - but not assured have a problem as the one tire tries to track differently than the other3. You can find the information on the specs at tirerack.com. Thats probably about 10 revs per mile.
And checking TR they didn't list the important revs/mile or diameters; the Potenza does weigh 4 pounds more which is not so good either. Call TireRack and ask them.
good luck.

 

Thank you all for your responses.

Sturgeon Tire - Tires Catalogue - Turanza EL470
Says Turanza rpmile is 334
while Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid

Says Potenza rpmile is 867.

One of the two must be wrong. The difference can't be that big.

Also
I don't quite understand why people here(on this forum) replace brand new stock tires with another set. How bad could they be? What is the improvement that they are seeking? Handling? Mileage? Durability? Safety?

What are the best tires to buy(for my 16" wheels) and why?

p.s. I'm quite frustrated with the odd size of my stock tires, all of the costcos, just tires and pep boys I called, not only did they not have the right size, at first they thought I didn't KNOW the right size, and asked me what car I drive.

 

For me at least, but I have a base Fit. The only Bridgestones i've ever had I liked were the RE960AS Pole Positions (different car).

16" is an odd size in general unfortunately. 185/x/16 even more odd.

 

The 339 is incorrect; it actually says 839. The calculated revs/mile for 185/55x16 is 840. However, tires don't run absolutely round and because there is a 'flattening' where the tire meets the ground there is a small increase in revs per mile. For the 185/55x16 Potenza the revs/mile is 867 which is pretty typical change. Thats at the normal pressure for the tire, usually 32 psig.

The only good place to find the revs/mile is from the manufacturer, in that case Bridgestone. Let's see what their website says. Interesting, the website doesn't know Turanza EL470 exists in that size, perhaps out of production. They are pretty old.

 

calculating revs/mile is not a sure guarantee that tires will match well so don't put too much effort or faith in that calculation.

Other things such as tread pattern and the rubber compound can cause an imbalance between the pair of tires.

Even if you had a new tire paired with your 25k tire, it's somewhat out of balance.

If I were you I'd switch a pair of tires. The Fit is much more front-dependent, the rears are just coasting along for the ride, so having 4 matched tires doesn't have as much of an effect as compared to other cars.

Put the 2new up front, and maybe those will wear out and catch the 25k used rears at the same time. So that'll save you a little maintenance hassle of not having to do a tire rotation.
(yes yes, there are safety police who will say always put best tires in the rear, as an understeer condition is safer than an oversteer condition, but just don't drive like an idiot in the rain).

 

Thanks again for all the informative responses.

Two things.
1: About the slight unbalance between new vs old tires, isn't it something that everyone just lives with? I mean whenever you have a flat tire, you just go buy one tire to replace right? You don't get a pair.
2: No one has so far said why they don't like the stock tires, or which brand/model tires a great on honda fits and why. Can someone please elaborate on what I might be gaining if I decide to buy 2/4 tires.

Thanks a lot.

 

Depends on how much the tire was worn. If the other tire was near new, then no worries. But I have gotten a pair before throwing away the remaining tire that was only 50% worn.

Then again, I've also had mismatched tires (still z-rated but mismatched) which contributed to me being in a crash, so I've learned my lesson and am more risk averse on being cheap with tires.

 

I don't mind the stock Bridgestones. They ride pretty well for me but seem to be wearing a little faster than I would have expected. I'll be replacing all four when it comes time but I'll also be going to a more lightweight summer tires as I already have snows on a 2nd set of RIMS. with 25K on the tires, your best bet is probably (if you can afford it) to replace all four and sell the others off to individuals here on the forum to help recoup the cost. I'll likely be going to a 205/50/16.

wold'nt replace just 1 tire. especially with that many miles already warn on the other three. i doubt i'd consider two also. I'd keep two on hand as backups if I had to replace as i'd do all 4 keeping the old tires if this happened again.

~SB

 

Honda should have put 195/55/16 on the Sport Fits. The tire size and the battery are way too custom/oddball.

 

I will buy 2 GOOD top notch tires and install them in the front.Install the two better Turanza in the back and keep the other Turanza for a spare.Rotate your tires and when the Turanza are in bad shape just buy the new same two that you buy for the front.In this way you will have the 4 same tires.Good luck.

 

195/55 has two disadvantages. Larger overall diameter and also heavier. These two would make the fit even slower than it already is and likely make it feel a little less sharp in handling due to the taller sidewall. Honda usually finds a good balance between overall diameter and handling when choosing sizes but unfortunately, this often ends up with oddball sizes. (My integra was 195/55/15 which like the fit, had limited options so I went to a 205 there as well)

~SB

 

Thanks everyone for the valuable information.

After all the input, now I'm leaning towards this strategy. Anyone recommend a "good top notch tire" to go in the front with 2 turanzas in the back?

 

Yet the 2007/2008 came with 195/55s albeit on 15" rims.

The problem with 185/55/16 is that there's almost nothing in that size out there, and the proper upsize results in a 205/50/16, which results in a heavier tire, loss of speed/etc.

195/50/16 should address the taller sidewall issue, and is a nice in-between 185/55/16 or 205/50/16.

 

!85/55x16 tires are noiminally 24" in diameter; 195/55x15's are 23.44". One would think, and yes it is demonstrated by users, that 195/50x16's (23.67") or 205/50x15's (23.07") are excellent replacements. Both are a little less diameter to make up for the heavier tire and neither have much problem obtaining, especially the 205/50x15's. And neither have much of a speedometer error unless you call 2.3 mph error (The worst you can get) at 60 mph a problem.
I suspect the 'oddball' size is due to pricing from potential suppliers.
PS if you are really out for mpg 175/65x15 is a good choice.

 

Thanks, can you explain why that size is a good choice?

So far what I've understood is the following.
- Try to stay close to the stock tire diameter
- the shorter the wall, the better the handling (55 vs 50 vs 40)
- wear and tear depends on the brand/model and the rubber they use for the tire.

I'm still looking for a good brand/size recommendation.

I'll give you a bit more info about my situation.
- I live in Los Angeles, so a lot of freeway miles
- I have a short commute and I drive around LA with my wife, that's the main use. Every winter I go up the mountains a few times with snow-chains, but you can probably ignore that.
- My priorities are mpg and safety, after that noise and handling. I don't care about the look much.

If I don't get any other recommendation soon, then I'll probably order 2 potenzas of the same size and install them in the front. I read online that potenzas wear out faster than turanzas so I'll probably be replacing all the four tires together sometime in the future.

I'll keep the 3rd turanza around. Is our donut(5th spare wheel) 16" wheel? can I put the 3rd turanza on my donut?

Thanks a lot.

 

Ugh, tirerack has all three 185/55/16 tires backordered. tirebuyer can get me only Dunlop SP Sport 7000 A/S in 1-3 days.

How is this Dunlop SP SPort 7000 A/S ? Is it ok to put 2 of those in the front with 2 turanzas in the back? Any other tire I should be considering?

 

175/65x15 has a diameter of nominally 23.95", close to the 185/55x16 tires 24" and somewhat better than the 195/55x15's (23.44") yet it is lighter and of course narrower. Lighter weight tires offer much easier effort for the engine to rotate, hence better mpg and better acceleration. Going thru snow is also beneficial to have a trifle more diameter as that means the 'ramp' that the tire has to overcome to push into the snow is more shallow so its easier to not only ramp up on the snow but has less snow to push out of the way when the tire is more narrow. The higher sidewall has more comfortable ride; shorter sidewalls are indded better handling but ride gets harder quickly. I have 195/40x17's for summer but only because I really hate to slow for corners.
The narrow tire also cuts thru snow much better than wider tires and depending on the tread. offers much better trsction thanks to higher pressure that results in sinking better into snow, or ice but naturally too much speed will get anything in trouble. The limit for 175/65x15 is a little higher under equal conditions.
PS lighter wheels are helpful if you are racing but not much on the street because the weight of the tire, being further from the axle centerline, matter a whole lot more. A tire that weighs 2 lb less is an advantage.
And if memory serves the prices are better too. thats why our Fits are equipped thus in winter for the mountain roads in western NC. Nothing over 5500 ft but then the roads are just as treacherous as the ones east of san diego. And yes it is a good idea to match tires on the same axle. good luck.
You may also notice tire prices have risen sharply thans to crude oil prices.
One further comment:
make sure you rear tires are larger in diameter than the front and naturally not any morte than can be helped. The reason for raking toward the front is to porevent unloading the rear tires on braking. When the rear axle centerline is lower than the front the rear axle rises quicker on braking and results in a squirrelly back end. Drives the VSC crazy too. If you have new tires on the rear and worn ones front that should be good. If not make sure to adjust tire pressures accordingly but don't overdo it. cheers.