Jump to content

Can we talk tires for a minute? I hate mine.


Recommended Posts

I've got a '17 Escape Titanium.  It came with the 19" Continental ContProContact tires.  They suck.  It's one of the very few things I don't like about this vehicle.

Oh, they're fine on a dry highway.  It's just that with about 1/2 the tread gone, they are very prone to hydroplaning in even a little water.  If you hit a film of water on one side, they pull the vehicle way too hard in that direction.  Don't even try to use them in snow or slush.  They simply cannot clear slush at all.  I just finished another long drive home from the Canadian Maritimes, about 4 hours of which was in snow and slush and I had to slow way down - far more than usual or else I would just be driving an air-boat.

So.. I'm considering a much more aggressive tire -- but curious as to how much of a penalty I'll pay in terms of both mileage and (much more important to me) road noise in dry conditions.

These are what I'm considering:

1.  Michelin DEFENDER LTX M/S  (usually have good luck with Michelin, though the "Premier" model sucked)
2.  Goodyear ASSURANCE WEATHERREADY (haven't bought goodyears in decades, didn't used to like them)
3.  BF Goodrich Advantage T/A  
4.  Yokohama AVID ASCEND GT

Has anyone switched from the ContiProContact to one of these?
How much louder were they?
Did you take a mileage hit?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't blame you, I've never been a huge fan of Continental tires. My Focus has them, and I wasnt terribly impressed. I thought they might be different from the last time I had them 10 years ago but it seemed to be more of the same to me.

 

I personally would go with the Michelins. I don't like Goodyear tires at all and BF Goodrich make good truck tires and their radial T/As are kickass for old cars but anything else to me is very hit and miss. Can't comment on Yokohama, I have no experience with them. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had those on my 2013 Fusion (same size) and never noticed any problems but I'm in Atlanta so we don't drive in snow or slush. 

Can't go wrong with Michelins but they're pricey.

I lost 2 mpg going from the factory Michelins on my 06 Fusion to BFG super sports.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, akirby said:

I had those on my 2013 Fusion (same size) and never noticed any problems but I'm in Atlanta so we don't drive in snow or slush. 

Can't go wrong with Michelins but they're pricey.

I lost 2 mpg going from the factory Michelins on my 06 Fusion to BFG super sports.

The Michelin tires Ford uses from the factory on all Fusions, C-Max, and Focus Electric (and I think Edges too) have a tread pattern meant for low rolling resistance for better fuel economy. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, akirby said:

I had those on my 2013 Fusion (same size) and never noticed any problems but I'm in Atlanta so we don't drive in snow or slush. 

Can't go wrong with Michelins but they're pricey.

I lost 2 mpg going from the factory Michelins on my 06 Fusion to BFG super sports.

No, what we consider "a dusting" in Maine, shuts down your city until it's gone and the puddles are dry.  ?

The only Michelin tires I've had trouble with are the new "Premier A/S" that are supposed to be so great.  On one car we had two fail with sidewall problems, and another car very limited tread life.  I was not pleased, given their expense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in a similar situation with my Fusion. I hate the Goodyear's that are on it. Loud, handle poorly, not good in the rain, and horrible in the snow. I will be changing them out in the spring with what I estimate will be 35k on them. I did a lot of research and am going with Michelin (Primacy). They are more expensive but sound like they are worth it.

 

For your situation, I would try to see what you can find out there in tire test. I would take comments lightly,  unless verified that they actually purchased a tire. Customer reviews are almost becoming worthless these days with fake posts. Tires are one thing I don't skimp on. I'm not rich but 100 -200 bucks for safety and piece of mind is worth it to me. I haven't been impressed with Goodyears as of late.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

The Michelin tires Ford uses from the factory on all Fusions, C-Max, and Focus Electric (and I think Edges too) have a tread pattern meant for low rolling resistance for better fuel economy. 

Yeah.  The ones I'm considering are definitely not economy focused, low-resistance tires.

That's why I'm asking about other people's experience in terms of road noise and mileage impact.

Michelin Defender LTX M/SMichelin Defender LTX M/S

The ones I'm replacing are.
Continental ContiProContactContinental ContProContact

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, jcartwright99 said:

I'm in a similar situation with my Fusion. I hate the Goodyear's that are on it. Loud, handle poorly, not good in the rain, and horrible in the snow. I will be changing them out in the spring with what I estimate will be 35k on them. I did a lot of research and am going with Michelin (Primacy). They are more expensive but sound like they are worth it.

 

For your situation, I would try to see what you can find out there in tire test. I would take comments lightly,  unless verified that they actually purchased a tire. Customer reviews are almost becoming worthless these days with fake posts. Tires are one thing I don't skimp on. I'm not rich but 100 -200 bucks for safety and piece of mind is worth it to me. I haven't been impressed with Goodyears as of late.

The problem with tiretest and tirerack and so on, is that I'm looking at a change in category, so the top rated "noise" value in one won't necessarily compare to the top rated noise value in the other.  I really want to hear from people who have made a similar switch and see what they're saying the impact was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, FirefighterGeek said:

The problem with tiretest and tirerack and so on, is that I'm looking at a change in category, so the top rated "noise" value in one won't necessarily compare to the top rated noise value in the other.  I really want to hear from people who have made a similar switch and see what they're saying the impact was.

That's a tough one. I would probably just expect the mileage penalty and noise to go up. You may want to pick the quietest one of those 4. It sounds like you need the performance though for safety.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Michelin Defender LTX M/Ses on my truck ('13 F-150). They're the same as the tires that came on it from the factory, so I can't comment on the difference in noise from other tires, but I don't recall the noise from the new tires changing much from the old ones, which were reasonably quiet. 

ETA: I normally don't replace tires with the same make and model, but I did with these. That should tell you that I've been happy with them.

Edited by SoonerLS
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, SoonerLS said:

I have Michelin Defender LTX M/Ses on my truck ('13 F-150). They're the same as the tires that came on it from the factory, so I can't comment on the difference in noise from other tires, but I don't recall the noise from the new tires changing much from the old ones, which were reasonably quiet. 

ETA: I normally don't replace tires with the same make and model, but I did with these. That should tell you that I've been happy with them.

That's a pretty awesome tire for an OEM.  I didn't realize the Defender LTS M/S was available in 13.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're in Maine I'd highly recommend snow tires for winter.  Even in northern IL I run them on both our primary vehicles. The difference between regular all-seasons and dedicated snow tires is eye opening. It's very comparable to the difference between 2 and 4 wheel drive. Personally I've tried the General Altimax Arctic and Continental Winter Contact SI. I'd recommend both. If you're like me and drive approximately 1500 miles/month, a set of snow tires will last at least 4-5 winters.

As for all seasons (which I only run April thru November), I find that brand/model isn't nearly as important as tread life rating. Anything greater than 60,000 mile rating requires a very hard rubber compound and traction suffers. The 70/80k mile rated tires usually suck in my experience. Personally, I've found the Cooper CS5 to be a very good value while delivering acceptable performance throughout the treadlife.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Sevensecondsuv said:

If you're in Maine I'd highly recommend snow tires for winter.  Even in northern IL I run them on both our primary vehicles. The difference between regular all-seasons and dedicated snow tires is eye opening. It's very comparable to the difference between 2 and 4 wheel drive. Personally I've tried the General Altimax Arctic and Continental Winter Contact SI. I'd recommend both. If you're like me and drive approximately 1500 miles/month, a set of snow tires will last at least 4-5 winters.

As for all seasons (which I only run April thru November), I find that brand/model isn't nearly as important as tread life rating. Anything greater than 60,000 mile rating requires a very hard rubber compound and traction suffers. The 70/80k mile rated tires usually suck in my experience. Personally, I've found the Cooper CS5 to be a very good value while delivering acceptable performance throughout the treadlife.

Well, I've been in Maine 25 years or so now, and for the last couple of winters I make regular trips 350 miles (each way) to the Canadian Maritimes where my daughter is in college.  So far, I've been fine without putting snows on any of the AWD cars I've had.  I did put snows on my wife's van when the kids were younger, but she's also driving an AWD now and doesn't need them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My experience with Continentals is limited to instances where FoMoCo used them as OEM tires. On each car, they have proved noisy and to have low treadlife.  We too have an Escape ( 2017 Escape Titanium), but ours came OEM with the Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires.  I'm a fan.  They have proved quiet, very stable in the rain, surprisingly good in light snow, and to have worn well.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, BoomerSooner said:

My experience with Continentals is limited to instances where FoMoCo used them as OEM tires. On each car, they have proved noisy and to have low treadlife.  We too have an Escape ( 2017 Escape Titanium), but ours came OEM with the Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires.  I'm a fan.  They have proved quiet, very stable in the rain, surprisingly good in light snow, and to have worn well.  

Interesting.  Same year, same model, same sub-model but mine has the 19" Contis.   Those Michelin Latitude HP don't rate very well at Tire Rack at all.  About middle of the pack for Crossovers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, jcartwright99 said:

I'm in a similar situation with my Fusion. I hate the Goodyear's that are on it. Loud, handle poorly, not good in the rain, and horrible in the snow. I will be changing them out in the spring with what I estimate will be 35k on them. I did a lot of research and am going with Michelin (Primacy). They are more expensive but sound like they are worth it.

 

For your situation, I would try to see what you can find out there in tire test. I would take comments lightly,  unless verified that they actually purchased a tire. Customer reviews are almost becoming worthless these days with fake posts. Tires are one thing I don't skimp on. I'm not rich but 100 -200 bucks for safety and piece of mind is worth it to me. I haven't been impressed with Goodyears as of late.

We have Toyo's on our Fusion. I teased my wife about putting Japanese tires on our Mexican Ford. I can't say enough good things about those tires. Make sure you keep them rotated & all is good. 

 

I don't care for Michelin anymore. They're no longer worth the extra money. The last two sets I've had have disappointed me. I think they moved production to China a few years ago. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been running Conti ExtremeDWS tires on my old Mustang and now SHO for 10+ years now and they are a great all season performance tire. 

I think my wife's 2017 Escape has Contis on them also-I haven't heard her complain and I haven't had complants about them when I drive it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, FirefighterGeek said:

You guys know that when you mention switching to some brand, that each of them makes dozens of different versions of tires and they're all entirely different from one another, right?

 

Not only are the models entirely different from one another, sometimes within the same model they're vastly different.   At one time there were 4 versions of the Michelin pilot mxm4 (I think that's the one).  The OEM version for Ford, the OEM version for Honda, another OEM version and the aftermarket version.   They do a lot of custom tire designs for OEMs.   One Ford engineer told us they went through at least 10, maybe 20 different versions of the Firestone firehawk tire for the Lincoln LS before they approved it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, danglin said:

Check out Cooper Tires.  I have been very pleased with my Discoverer tires on the Super Duty.

They offer a Discoverer True North tire for the Escape.  One Hundred Percent American Company Also!

...however, their tires, while "engineered" in America, some are in fact manufactured in China, best to check before you buy if that is important to you.

Edited by twintornados
clarification
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

I think my wife's 2017 Escape has Contis on them also-I haven't heard her complain and I haven't had complants about them when I drive it. 

The thing about this statement, is that not everyone is the kind of driver who can tell the difference except in extremes.  I'm more inclined to advice from someone who does prefer to pay attention to that sort of thing, than someone who just notices when things aren't working well.   I think for the average driver, driving around suburbia, it makes very little difference what tire they pick.  For me, taking 7 hour drives fairly regularly to places north of the Bay of Fundy in sometimes challenging conditions, the difference can be more important.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...