I had my new tires (Bridgestone Dueler H/T Alenza's) installed
yesterday morning. My observations -

Tire noise is way down, but it never bothered me in any case (I had
upgraded the insulation around the rear wheel wells months ago which
made things much better).

On road handling is MUCH improved. The car now turns much sharper and
you can feel the tires gripping the road. I still plan to upgrade the
struts (I put Koni Shocks in the back months ago) soon, but it is not
as critical. Poor handling is my biggest complaint about the FEH, so
this is very good news to me.

Mileage seems to be down a bit, however I am having an unrelated
mechanical (a/c) issue (see my other post) so it is hard to judge. My
normal drive to the coast would typically have me in the high 30s, but
yesterday I was only around 32 - however the A/C issue may be impacting
my MPG and there was signifcant construction which required many more
stops than normal. Giving the situation 32 is acceptable to me. Today
going to work averaged 29, which again is slightly below normal (but i
was going faster than normal).

The tires look much better than the Conti's they have more tread on the
sidewall (which I was not expecting) which gives it a bit more of a
truck look.

Overall I am very happy with these tires. They have very good snow
ratings (from Tire Rack) which I hope to test out this winter.

I will post more information when I have it.

Chris Brown

 

I'm sure other tires will provide better ride and less noise. The stock Contis are LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) for increased economy and many people on this forum up the air pressure to 40-45 psi which will make the ride even more harsh.

It is all a matter of preference and if you are willing to sacrifice mileage for comfort. Sounds like you have found the balance that works for you. I think most FEH owners are more concerned with mileage so the ride and handling isn't as important to them.

 

Chris,

Do you think it would be cheaper for you to send me your old tires by FedEx or UPS? Taking them off your hands is the least I can do - I'd hate to see your garage get all cluttered up.

What did you do with the "old" tires?

Just wondering. Just don't let WScottCross get them - he's from Connecticut and is probably a Yankees fan.....

 

I left the old tires at the tire shop. I wasn't thinking about somebody else using them. Sorry.

 

What psi did you run in the stock tires and the new ones?

Thanks
Steve
Oregon

 

Bummer. They probably sold them on ebay for ya'.

 

Well since they were worn well past the wear indictators I didn't think they had much value.

 

I used 44 PSI in both. The wear on the old tires was slightly greater in the middle (too much Pressure?).

 

I have about 200 miles on the bridgestones at this point and I still feel that mileage is down from the Contis. I was down to 26 last night, which is about 1 mpg below normal.

Chris

 

Hi all

I've got 27,000 mile on two of the original tires and it does appear the center of one of tires is worn down just a little more than the edges. My tire pressure was raised from 44psi to 52psi two months ago by Goodyear, and they've stayed there ever since. There was not much of a change in ride or noise.

When Wayne Gerdes was driving my FEH, he took a hard, fast U-turn and I couldn't believe that we didn't turn over. Of course he did it to maintain speed. Now I know the FEH is very stable, and take hard turns all the time. Surprisingly, the outside edges of the tires still do not show any wear, which I would normally see on other tires I've had.

Ray, this is the first time I've heard the '07's do not come with the Eco Plus. Are you sure it was not a mistake at the factory or maybe they ran out of them for awhile?

At this point, I have no desire to change from the Eco Plus tires. If michelin starts making a LRR tire, I would consider a change. The Eco Plus was still available the last time I checked with my Ford dealership.


Ray, I have one Eco Plus tire with good tread that Goodyear replace due to sidewall damage. I'll FedX it to you overnight, you pay shipping! Just kidding.

GaryG