How long will stock tires last?
#21
09-01-2011, 09:50 PM
Got my tires rotated a couple of weeks ago at 30,642 miles. Fronts have 5/32, rears have 6/32 according to the dealership write up.
I'm in the South East, so the more abrasive roads don't seem to be affecting me too much.
I'm in the South East, so the more abrasive roads don't seem to be affecting me too much.
#23
09-08-2011, 01:23 PM
Michelin Energy E3As installed last night @30,400 miles.
1st impressions:
Tall. Dunno if the Dunlops lost that much tread (or if they had it to begin with), but the thing grew a couple inches (it seems).
Stiff. thought they had overinflated the tires, but when I checked this morning they were at about 32.5. Ride is more bumpy; not bad, but I was hoping for smoother.
More quiet. To be expected of new tires though.
Smooth at speed. No issues on the test drive. zero vibration. Tires are stamped "Germany." Back in the 70s when I sold Michelins we always tried to get the "West German" made tires for our customers. They were consistently more round than other countries'. Not sure if they made them in the States then. Today most Michelins come from South Carolina.
Geeky. These are the same size as the Base factory Dunlops, 175/65R15. Tall and narrow.
Tracks much better. I don't know how much is due to the tires and how much due to the alignment. The alignment guy said it was pretty out of whack (didn't get details). But it seems better than the day I drove it off the lot. I took it back to the dealer after a couple of weeks and they drove it and told me, "It's fine," without putting it on an alignment rack. If I did it over again I would have insisted. Might be the tires but I suspect alignment had as much or more to do with it.
Expensive. with the rebate, after taxes and fees it'll come to about $480 plus the alignment ($59). Not sure the cost is justified. It depends on how much longer they last and how well they ride with a lot of miles on them. We'll see. Maybe I'm being cheap; I don't think replacement Dunlops are less...
1st impressions:
Tall. Dunno if the Dunlops lost that much tread (or if they had it to begin with), but the thing grew a couple inches (it seems).
Stiff. thought they had overinflated the tires, but when I checked this morning they were at about 32.5. Ride is more bumpy; not bad, but I was hoping for smoother.
More quiet. To be expected of new tires though.
Smooth at speed. No issues on the test drive. zero vibration. Tires are stamped "Germany." Back in the 70s when I sold Michelins we always tried to get the "West German" made tires for our customers. They were consistently more round than other countries'. Not sure if they made them in the States then. Today most Michelins come from South Carolina.
Geeky. These are the same size as the Base factory Dunlops, 175/65R15. Tall and narrow.
Tracks much better. I don't know how much is due to the tires and how much due to the alignment. The alignment guy said it was pretty out of whack (didn't get details). But it seems better than the day I drove it off the lot. I took it back to the dealer after a couple of weeks and they drove it and told me, "It's fine," without putting it on an alignment rack. If I did it over again I would have insisted. Might be the tires but I suspect alignment had as much or more to do with it.
Expensive. with the rebate, after taxes and fees it'll come to about $480 plus the alignment ($59). Not sure the cost is justified. It depends on how much longer they last and how well they ride with a lot of miles on them. We'll see. Maybe I'm being cheap; I don't think replacement Dunlops are less...
How did you acquire these tires? Did you go through a Michelin tire dealer? Costco? I'm assuming that these are a special order.
Also, the Michelin Energy E3A's are summer tires right? Not all-seasons.
Last edited by warren561; 09-08-2011 at 01:27 PM.
#24
09-08-2011, 02:34 PM
NTB ordered them for me. TireRack also sells them, but with shipping (and they charge tax too I think), it came to more than NTB. NTB will install them either way.
Yes, Energy E3As are "summer performance" tires. H Rated to 130mph. The S tires that come on the Fit are rated to 112MPH (and the Fit is limited to this speed here in the States). The only reason I mention this is the tires are stiffer. Better handling but harsher ride. They have a tread wear rating of 400. Some Michelin's I've had on other cars were over 500 and lasted around 55K. I don't know what to expect from these.
The euro review sites give them passing grades in the snow, but I wouldn't look to these for winter use north of GA. They also report good treadlife, but I didn't see any reviews from Jazz owners.
I don't know the effect on my MPG. Concurrent with the new tires, they also aligned it, and I changed to 0W20 oil. It seems to be getting higher MPG at the moment than before, but I don't know whether it's due to the tires, alignment, oil, or shear willpower. Probably a combination. I expected worse MPG going from the low roll resistant Dunlops. Maybe Michelin has something with the "Energy" juju.
Yes, Energy E3As are "summer performance" tires. H Rated to 130mph. The S tires that come on the Fit are rated to 112MPH (and the Fit is limited to this speed here in the States). The only reason I mention this is the tires are stiffer. Better handling but harsher ride. They have a tread wear rating of 400. Some Michelin's I've had on other cars were over 500 and lasted around 55K. I don't know what to expect from these.
The euro review sites give them passing grades in the snow, but I wouldn't look to these for winter use north of GA. They also report good treadlife, but I didn't see any reviews from Jazz owners.
I don't know the effect on my MPG. Concurrent with the new tires, they also aligned it, and I changed to 0W20 oil. It seems to be getting higher MPG at the moment than before, but I don't know whether it's due to the tires, alignment, oil, or shear willpower. Probably a combination. I expected worse MPG going from the low roll resistant Dunlops. Maybe Michelin has something with the "Energy" juju.
#26
12-18-2011, 02:46 PM
NTB ordered them for me. TireRack also sells them, but with shipping (and they charge tax too I think), it came to more than NTB. NTB will install them either way.
Yes, Energy E3As are "summer performance" tires. H Rated to 130mph. The S tires that come on the Fit are rated to 112MPH (and the Fit is limited to this speed here in the States). The only reason I mention this is the tires are stiffer. Better handling but harsher ride. They have a tread wear rating of 400. Some Michelin's I've had on other cars were over 500 and lasted around 55K. I don't know what to expect from these.
The euro review sites give them passing grades in the snow, but I wouldn't look to these for winter use north of GA. They also report good treadlife, but I didn't see any reviews from Jazz owners.
I don't know the effect on my MPG. Concurrent with the new tires, they also aligned it, and I changed to 0W20 oil. It seems to be getting higher MPG at the moment than before, but I don't know whether it's due to the tires, alignment, oil, or shear willpower. Probably a combination. I expected worse MPG going from the low roll resistant Dunlops. Maybe Michelin has something with the "Energy" juju.
Yes, Energy E3As are "summer performance" tires. H Rated to 130mph. The S tires that come on the Fit are rated to 112MPH (and the Fit is limited to this speed here in the States). The only reason I mention this is the tires are stiffer. Better handling but harsher ride. They have a tread wear rating of 400. Some Michelin's I've had on other cars were over 500 and lasted around 55K. I don't know what to expect from these.
The euro review sites give them passing grades in the snow, but I wouldn't look to these for winter use north of GA. They also report good treadlife, but I didn't see any reviews from Jazz owners.
I don't know the effect on my MPG. Concurrent with the new tires, they also aligned it, and I changed to 0W20 oil. It seems to be getting higher MPG at the moment than before, but I don't know whether it's due to the tires, alignment, oil, or shear willpower. Probably a combination. I expected worse MPG going from the low roll resistant Dunlops. Maybe Michelin has something with the "Energy" juju.
I'm at 3/32" all around at 44,000 Miles. I'm an hour north of St. Louis, so Winter isn't too bad here. Plus I can stay home if it turns to sh**.
#27
12-18-2011, 04:37 PM
They continue to ride as the day I got them. That's to say not too quiet (maybe a bit better than the OE Dunlops), not too smooth (I run them at 32-33PSI) (maybe a bit stiffer than the OE Dunlops). The few times I've had to stop quicker than I would have liked to on wet pavement they surpassed the OE Dunlops: before the ABS would have been chattering, these stayed stuck to the road. Dry pavement stops are more confident too.
I don't toss the car around so performance handling characteristics are largely untried. However it scoots around corners of parking lots with surefooted aplomb.
These seem to be a Euro spec tire (might be a more common size on odd French and Italian cars). In fact they're made in Germany rather than South Carolina. They live up to their "Energy" name (trademark Michelin uses for fuel saving tires). I went from an average 32mpg to 36mpg (not stretching the truth either) over the same daily drive (25mile freeway commute one way).
For me the true value of these depends on how they are at 40,000 miles. I'd hope to get at least 60,000 miles without them misbehaving. Too early to say. The material is made from a synthetic compound that's supposedly more friendly to the environment than conventional tires, but this may be where they lose traction on ice compared to all-season tires.
Do skinny tires make my Fit look Fat?
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