I have a new to me 07 FEH, and it needs tires. I've done some research and hear lots about the OEM Contis and the new OEM Michelin Latitudes.

The General Grabbers have great reviews, and they are advertised as low rolling resistance tires, but I'm struggling to understand how that is truly quantified. I figured the best way was to throw it out there to this forum and see if anyone has experience.

If you've used these tires, is the gas mileage better, lower, same?

Any other comments?

 

General tire is owned by Continental so they may have some technology sharing between the Grabbers and the stock Conti's.

Assume you're looking at these in particular: http://www.generaltire.com/tires/T27/Grabber-HTS

Can't really speak to the tire itself but General Tire is based in the US so you may be supporting an American job if you do buy from them (I know, there are other US based tire manufacturers too. I worked for Michelin at on point).

 

Just ordered 4 General Grabber HTS tires. With any luck I'll have them mounted next week. I'll let you know if my gas milage takes a hit in a month or so. The tires were rated petty good on the Tirerack web site so I'll give them a try. Snow is on the way and the original tires are down to 6/32s. Can't have my wife driving around in the snow on marginal tires. Ron

 

Tried them, took them back. Just as noisy as the OEM Conti's and my 'tire guy' (who then steered me to the Michelins') said he's not had good luck with them, either.

Of course, YMMV........

 

I was also strongly considering General Grabber HTS when I replace my tired before the snow flies. I'm looking forward to your opinion of them. The reviews for the HTS's seem rather positive on tirerack.com Currently have 60,000 on stock Continentals. For the HTS's, my local tire place place wants about $118 per tire, totalling $591 for four tires. I was looking at the Michelin Latitudes last night also, for $163/tire, not including the $70 rebate if you purchase 4. I believe the Grabber HTS is a 45k mile tires, while the Latitudes are a 65k tire. Undecided which to go with.

 

Are the Michelin's that much quieter? I know it's subjective, but I'm trying to figure if they're worth an extra $65 per tire.

thanks

 

I'll let you know. I previously used Michelin Cross-Terrain on my non-hybrid FEH, & they were wonderful for being quiet. I've also driven a 2010 Escape Hybrid with the new Michelin Latitude Tour (LRR) tires, & the noise is *MUCH* better than the craptastic Conti's that I've been running.....IMHO.

 

Look up the Sumitumo All-Terrains. I went with the stock size 235/70/16. I bought my vehicle with Continental Contritracs on it (they were almost brand new) and I could not stand them. They were VERY quiet, but yeilded marginal traction in wet weather conditions, so i decided to buy new tires. I put them on at about 105k miles. with over 15k miles on them, the still look, perform, and sound like new. I have a feeling these tires will be on my car until atleast 175k miles.

The Sumi's produce a bit more road noise, but that's a given being an A/T tire. These tires are fantastic in the snow and mud. Just for fun last week I took my 120k+ mile escape out offroading with a few friends of mine that have jeeps. These sumis keep me right behind them. Went through 6-8" of mud with no worries. Even did a few "dead stop" trials to see if I could get stuck. No matter how hard I accelerated in the mud, the car would not get stuck. There is no way I would EVER had tried that with the Conti's. Chicago winters here are no worries either. Used to drive 20 miles one way to work in blizzards. No problems stopping, starting, or turning.

They price out around $110-120 per tire. Not only do they perform well, they look aggressive too. Gives the escape a little less "wimpy" look lol. My gas mileage dropped about .5mpg, nothing major. Small sacrifice for saftey.

Edit: link to the tires http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....65SR7HTRSATOWL

 

Put a pair of Grabbers on my (rear) Ranger a couple of weeks ago. They ride smooth and quiet. Today with heavy rain here in MO they handled great. I don't understand the big noise problem some folks have, I guess my hearing is not that sensitive. I'm more interested in traction in the rain and snow, rolling resistance, price, then maybe noise. Regards, Ron

 

From your post I'm not sure you care, but what is the impact on MPG?