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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!
 
#2 ·
Yes, I replaced my OEM Continentals (215/50/17) with only 22000kms and they were about 70% worn already. Wasn't a big fan of them at all, I had very bad feathering on the fronts due to a bad steering rack (replaced under warranty ) and Ford wouldn't pay for new tires....so, I replaced with better Toyo s myself. I personally wouldn't recommend Continentals, but YMMV.
 
#8 ·
I went with the Toyo Proxes 4 (Z rated) mainly because a local retailer had an incredible deal on them, but, night and day difference. I mainly just wanted a tire that was very smooth and quiet, wasn't too concerned over high speed ability, but, so far these tires deliver on all fronts and much quieter than the Conti's, especially on concrete freeways which I commute on a lot. I've heard good things about the Kumho Solus KR22 as well...
 
#4 ·
I replaced my OEM wheels and tires I got the BF Goodirch G-Force Sport Comp-2 in 225/45/17 and I gotta say it was day and night for me ! Will buy again and again think I found my tires ! Super grippy dry or wet and the sidewall is much more stiffer than the Conti so alot less bouncy wich I like[thumb] !
 
#11 ·
At 13,500 miles, I moved up to 16" wheels, and put a set of 215/55-16 BFGoodrich G-Force SportComp2s on them. Drove the car out to Willow Springs a few weeks ago, and I really like them. Great, smooth daily drivers and really grippy on the track!
How did the brakes hold up? I wasn't going to go to the track until i put bigger brakes on
 
#37 ·
I know this gets pointed out all the time. But snow tires.

If you want the car to handle well in the snow, get snow tires. It might save you life. Mine have.

I recently moved to md and last winter had zero times when i had to drive on the frozen stuff, so it's not worth it. But if I lived up north still, i'd spend the money on snow tires.
 
#12 ·
I really like the Continental ExtremeContact DW (dedicated summer tire)
The DWS is a pretty good all season tire as well.

I've heard great things about the Hankook Ventus V12 as well.

As always, your "mileage" may vary.
 
#15 ·
at 16000 miles, with rotation at every oil change, they are showing more than 70% tread left on the tire...It only gets aggresively driven when I'm in it (about 10 pecent of the time). mY wife drives very gently, except she loves hugging curbs...I showed her what that does to wheels and tires, and now she minds the curbs!
 
#28 ·
I'm at about 24k miles, and my ContiProContacts will be done by the end of the season. They're now AWFUL in very wet conditions (especially standing water/hydroplaning). I about shit my pants the other day during a trip to Ohio when a storm opened up, and giving it light throttle on the freeway broke the front tires loose.

Anyways, I'll be putting snows on a set of dedicated wheels. Not sure what will go on the OEM wheels. Might go with the DWS, although that wouldn't be entirely necessary since I have snow tires. I haven't really found a good summer performance tire I like that offers good wet performance, isn't too expensive, and has decent tread life.

I might just bite the bullet and get some high end performance tires. Never driven a car with them. Will be interesting to see how well they hold up to a fair amount of aggressive driving, plus wet weather.
 
#29 ·
Also, there doesn't seem to be a huge selection of performance tires fitting the 17" OEM wheels (215/50R17), what other sizes are you guys using? I've found at least one other size that seems (on paper, at least) to not screw up the speedo accuracy and has a much larger selection.
 
#31 ·
The OEM Conti's were pretty awful, I was happy to ditch them around 20,000 miles. There was still probably 40% tread life on them so I ended up siping the hell out of them and using them for Rallycross tires on my racecar, they work oddly well too.

But I replaced them with a set of 235/40/18 BFGoodrich Sport COMP2's and they are awesome.
 
#32 ·
Where do you rallycross at? Do they offer any sort of amateur racing for beginners, or mostly pro/semi pro stuff?

I've been wanting to try rallycross for a while now. But I'm looking for someplace that allows for those with cheap (read: NOT racecars...) to compete and actually have a chance.
 
#33 ·
The Detroit Chapter of the SCCA offers them, the last one I went to was in Chelsea. This is my first year doing it and everyone is pretty chill with new people as long as you don't destroy the course (i.e. drive like an asshat). And my racecar is less than $2,000, it's a 95 Dodge Neon with a Stratus motor in it, all junkyard bought and built.
 
#35 ·
What prices are you guys paying for tires?

Previous car I had a set of 16"x8" with 225/50/16's Potenza G019's from Bridgestone that were almost $650 with warranties from Tires Plus. (I will never shop there again, over priced, charge for this/that, and inconsiderate)

Then bought some 17"x9" wheels and new Bridgestone Potenza RE760's in 275/40/17 for about $970 from Costco.

what should I expect with replacements for the Contis? I will NOT venture out to off brands or cheap brands.
 
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