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To those who have replaced OEM tires...

12K views 69 replies 38 participants last post by  gkirk 
#1 ·
Hey guys and gals. Who out there has replaced their OEM Continentals? Aftermarket wheels or not... How many miles did you get out of them, and would you recommend a particular tire? Thanks!
 
#36 ·
I can get the DWS (215/50/17) from Discount with road hazard certs for solidly under $700 out the door which is a good price to me. The single tire price was $133 but on Tire Rack you can get them for $118 but shipping adds that up. I just checked Cosco and their selection sucked in various sizes.
 
#42 ·
I have Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3's, they are considered a performance winter tire so they don't feel like marshmallows at speed. I'm really happy with them and they provide a ton of grip all things considered. They are pricey though, I think I paid like $200 a tire for them plus a set of MOMO Winter 2's to mount them on. I'd really recommend getting performance rated snow tires, you live in a major city so the roads are probably pretty well taken care of. You'll be thankful you got them when it's dry out.

Steelies will be fine, but if you're looking for something in a bit larger size the MOMO's are where it's at.

Which 18in tire would you recommend for Minnesota weather? I want something that I can use year round.
Continental DWS's seems to be the tire of choice for people looking for all-season tires. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus's probably aren't bad either since people with Mercedes, Audi's, Caddy's and BMW's run em as replacement tires.
 
#40 ·
Yes, get a separate set of rims. You will save money pretty quickly just in tire mounting/rotation.

As for brands, I believe it depends on what conditions are prevalent in your area.
-Snow (both light and heavy)
-Slush (aquaplaning risk)
-Ice (hard and black)
-Sleet
-Dry but frozen

I loved my Toyo G-O2 Plus Observe tires on my big old BMW 740i. I never got stuck anywhere, and they've always tracked true in all above situations. Blizzaks are better for those where ice is more prevalent. If you have more snow, take a different tire.

Most of all, never cheap out on winter tires; get the best you can afford. The road conditions are the slipperiest and those dedicated tires are what will keep you and your family alive.
 
#43 ·
The DW's and DWS's are some of the best tires you can buy. I had 275 width Conti DW's on my old Mustang on all four corners. The grip, was astonishing.

I plan on running a 18x8 or 18x9 on all four corners of the Focus next spring, with a 235 to 255 width tire.
 
#44 ·
I plan on using the same size tires that came on the focus. I have the 18 inch wheel from ford on my 2012 titanium. I plan on keeping the same wheels but from what I gather the michelins on the car are not an all season tire. Living in MN that is just not gonna work. I had continentals on my fusion but it seemed to chew them up pretty fast. The manager at the dealership said that an 18 inch tire tends to wear pretty fast. Anyone else notice this or was it just the tire?
 
#46 ·
The 18" wheels come with Michelin Pilot Sport 3's which are rated as a Max Performance Summer tire. They are going to wear quicker than an all-season just because they are made of a different type of rubber. Just be aware replacing the OEM Michelin's with something that's not a summer tire is going to make the handling feel really different and will defeat the point of having the handling package.

You can pick up a set of winter wheels are tires pretty cheap, especially if you buy them used from someone.
 
#45 ·
I have the DWS and it's grip is quite good with solid warning when they are giving way and would love to have a set of the DWs on the Focus but can't afford to be caught around here in a surprise snow without a solid A/S. If I know it's going to snow and already is snowing the Focus just stays home.
 
#47 ·
I'm just really not interested in having wheels sitting around all year. Has anyone else replaced the OEM 18 with an all season tire? Did the handling suffer a lot? I'm okay with a little. It's not like I'm doing anything other than normal driving. I would even mind if they gave me a little less road noise and a smoother ride. :)
 
#48 ·
Ditched OEM Tires at 26K

I ditched my OEM tires at 26K. I drive mostly highway miles, and rotated them every 5K, but they still cupped and had vibration. I replaced them ith Michelin Primacy MXV4's and am very pleased with about 8K on them.
 
#49 ·
Any recommendations for cheap 18" tires?

I'm trading the 2012 Titanium in when the 2013 gets delivered on Sept 6th. I can either take the hit and listen to the "tires cost $1,200 so we'll deduct" line or I can put something.anything on.

Thoughts . . .
 
#50 ·
If you want new tires it looks like the Nankang Ultra Sport NS-II's are some of the cheaper tires. They are $87 through Discount Tire Direct, which also has free shipping I believe.

Otherwise go to your local tire store and ask if they have any used tires. I bought a set of used tires for hoonage with my Neon and they were like $20 each.
 
#53 ·
Let me guess--cupping on the rears? My '01 cups tires very quickly at the LR position. I have to be sure to rotate every 2-3K miles to keep it from becoming a roar and vibration issue. Alignment doesn't seem to be the cure--I think there are some bushings that wear on the rear.

It will be interesting to see if the 2012 does this after a lot of miles. The control blade suspension is the same basic design, but hopefully that issue has been improved.
 
#58 ·
#62 ·
I had to replace mine (OEM optima's 2008 coupe 5speed) after two summers. And half was sitting due to me being gone for work.
It all depends on the set up. I was just over 200hp and the stock 15's would break loose with 'slightly' too much acceleration that and dirt roads tore them up. I switched to 17's with falken ziex tires when I moved from Alaska. The tires are so much better then stock. No more squeaking tire at stop lights. Corner speeds were increased and less sloppy.
If you're worried about loosing power by going to 17's a 205/45-17 is the same diameter as the stock 15's (on the 2008) and if you don't get crazy rims don't weigh much more either
 
#63 ·
I'm likely going Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500's on my car. We rarely get snow in my neck of the woods, and even in the snow I've never had issue with running ultra-igh performance summer tires. Just have to drive a bit slower than if using all (re: no) season tires.
 
#64 ·
I replaced my tires around 2000 miles because they were downright dangerous. I have the SFE package so it came with a set of LRR Contis that slid around like crazyeven in a mild shower. They were also loud, very harsh, and really dampened the cars' cornering abilities. Wish I had the money to upgrade to 17iinch alloys when I did the change, but I'm satisfied with the 16inch Michelin Primacy MXV4's that were put on; quiet, and a perfect mix of comfort and handling.
Now I know what you're thinking, why the heck would I buy a $500 package only to ditch the tires that came with them. Well the answer to that is my Focus was the only one they had on the lot except a 27k Titanium. I started the process of ordering a Paino Black SE with the sport package and they told me it would optimistically take 2-3 months to arrive, but if I bought the one off the lot they'd knock $500 off the price. I figured that I'd be ditching the wheels/tires at some point anyway, and with that package I still got disc brakes so I caved.[wiggle]
 
#66 ·
I replaced my stock Conti's last week with General G-Max AS-03's. I've stayed w/ my stock Ti alloys and the stock size (215/50-17). The Conti's had about 17,000 miles on them with probably about 10,000 miles of tread left, but I couldn't take the hydroplaning. They were downright dangerous. So far, the Generals are better in every way.

In winter, I got a Tire Rack set-up w/ wheels, tires & TPMS. I went w/ Bridgestone Blizzaks @ 195/65-15. The 15's are cheaper and even though the narrower & softer tire gives up the ghost in performance, they are excellent in the snow.
 
#69 ·
AWD and all seasons worked well for me for 8 Colorado winters up in the mountains and only got stuck once and that was because of high centering and alot of local Subi guys run Conti DWS on their cars and report no issues but with a fwd car the results will be not so stellar but I plan on taking the Focus out when it snows a bit and see just how well the DWS does. I'm expecting decent results but I'm not overly concerned since the Focus won't be driven in the snow if I can help it.
 
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