I'll enter this post as an initial impression of the Bridgestone Dueler 422 Ecopia tire. I finally made the tough decision and chose the Bridgestone model over all the other models mentioned in this thread. Initial impression: not much different from the original stock Continentals. Only driven on dry roads so far, at both 32 and 40 psi. 40 psi has a noticeable but small effect on comfort and road noise, but that's inline with expectations. Overall, I don't notice any changes in noise level, braking feel, grip, and bumpiness compared to the stock Conti's. And since I really liked the stock Conti's, I'm giving the Bridgestone a thumbs up for now. I'll be back after a few months with more impressions on fuel efficiency, treadwear, and other stuff.

 

Nearing 65K miles on our 09 FEH and it's getting time to start looking for replacement tires for our fuel sippin' beauty. Started out reading this and another thread there to get some ideas of what you all are buying as replacements, also checked with a few local Ford dealers for their suggestions and TireRack.com as well.

I'm a little confused and hope you all can clear things up for me.
On TireRack they show the OEM for the 09 FEHL to be Michelin Lat Tour 235/70-16 but it doesn't show them as the GreenX. I thought we had LRR tires on our FEHL's. Are LRR tires no longer available in our size or is this a TireRack missprint?

To add to my confusion I contacted the 3 nearest Ford dealerships for price quotes on 4 replacement tires. All three quoted me prices for Michelin Defender 235/65-16 Ford part #9004 05573 Speed Rating T, UTQG 820 A B, Load Rating 103. They all said the Lat Tours in 235/70-16 weren't available at this time.

Should I go for the Latitude Tour's listed on TireRack.com or the Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season or Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season.

TireRack Comparison of all 3 Tires

 

If you look at Michelin's own website, you can see they still list two different 235/70-16 Latitude Tour tires, one is lighter and more expensive (Michelin part# 24051), I'm assuming that is the Escape Hybrid tire.
However since the Escape Hybrid has been out of production for almost 2 years now, it is quite possible that Michelin no longer manufactures the LRR version under Ford OEM contract which could be why Ford dealers no longer carry them.

 

Just speaking personally... I didn't choose the Goodyears based on TireRack's review, user reviews, and price. I chose the Bridgestones based on TireRack's review (fuel efficiency) and price. The user reviews were pretty good too, plus I don't encounter rain and snow much where I live. The risk I'm taking is on treadwear and warranty. Unfortunately, it's too early for me to answer those questions right now (only 500 miles on my tires). Latitute Tours were more expensive than my Bridgestones, but they also received many good reviews both here and on TireRack. When I called my Ford dealer to price out tires, they didn't give me Latitude Tours either. I was surprised too. They told me they just don't carry them (I didn't ask why). One of my local tire shops (great reviews on Yelp) carries all kinds. They'll get and mount whatever you want. So if you have that option, you can go to a local tire shop instead of Ford.

 

I called a bunch of local tire dealers to see if I could find Michelin Latitude Tour GreenX in 235/70-16. No joy, no one had the GreenX version.

I took a closer look at the Michelin Defender's that Ford suggested in size 235/65-16 as they are not available in 235/70-16.

The Defenders are LRR/GreenX and have a UTQG of 820 A B and are 27 pounds. But on the down side due to the smaller size spec at 742 revolutions per mile. Compare that with the 718 revolutions per mile and 29 pound weight of the non LRR/GreenX Latitude Tours do you all think the lower weight will make up for the additional revolutions per mile? Or am I just thinking about this way to hard?

 

Personally, I subscribe to your last thought. Perfection is not one of the choices.

 

By downsizing to 65 aspect ratio (from the stock 70), the speedo will be off. If you're traveling at 70 mph, your speedo will read 67.7 mph on the smaller tires. Is that acceptable to you?

I'm not a tire expert and I haven't read about any performance effects of smaller tires. I know your 33.5 mpg mileage is in line with what many people are getting. I'm around that number too in my '08 FEH on the Continental tires. (70 aspect ratio)

Just based on the revolutions per minute numbers you calculated, if I need to go XX miles, the smaller tires would have to spin ~3% more than the stock tires. Assuming that directly translates to ~3% more energy required, your fuel economy will reduce by ~3%. (Is that true? Any auto engineers here?) According to this EPA paper I found on the interweb, Goodyear "estimated that a 10% reduction in tire weight results in approximately 0.1% combined fuel economy gain."

Again, I'm no expert, and this is just what I've found thru University of Google. It seems like a small reduction in tire weight does not make up for the negative effects of spinning the wheels too much.

 

Hi Mike

I don't ever recall the Latitude Tours for the Escape being a GreenX tire. It sounds to me the 235/70-16 is the same tire I have on my '09 FEHL. The original Tours are 29 pounds new and the old FEH Contis were 31 pounds new.

Ford had these special Tours made by Michelin LRR, but did not mark them on the tire itself. I bought a new Latitude Tour tire and FEH Limited Rim new the week I took delivery of my '09 FEHL for a spare. The new Tour was 29 pounds, so I think it is the same tire Michelin is still making. This tire was put on all Escapes new with 16" rims beginning in the '09 models. In addition, I purchased a set of 29 pound Tours for my '05 FEH, and I can assure you they are LRR tires. These tires and the '05 hybrid rims got me a record 65mpg and 884 mile tank on my '09 FEH. The FEHL rims are a few pounds more than the standard hybrid rims.

I researched every article written before the Latitude Tours were available in 2008, and they all claimed the Tours were LRR. In fact, the Latitude Tours did not come in 235/70/16 before Ford had them specially made for the '09 Ford Escape.

I would purchase the correct size Michelin Latitude Tour tires that are 29 pounds new.

GaryG

 

The speedometer on my Escape has never been accurate with my OEM tires or with my new ones. It has always read higher than my actual speed. Sometimes I wonder if Ford did this on purpose to inflate the gas mileage.

 

Interesting to hear that. What year and model of the FEH do you have? What model and size tires? How far off is the speedo?