[rebelx]

Yes, there's a tire subforum, but I'd prefer to only hear from the MK3 folks.

I drive a consistent 75 miles everyday unless I have to go off site. Most of these are highway miles (90%), but the state of the freeways are terrible here. Potholes everywhere, cracks, you name it.

I have the 16" alloys (Sport package) with the OEM Contis on there. No other modifications.

What can I purchase once the tread is worn on the OEMs that will give me significantly reduced cabin noise, and more importantly, a smoother ride.

If I'm correct, Grand Tourings seem like the way to go (Summer variety? All season)? Rain is a concern maybe 2 weeks out of the year. No snow.

Any experience on premium Grand Tourings (or whatever else would work)? Budget is a max of $200/tire regular price (which will likely be around $160/sale price). No interested in changing wheels at this point, just tires.

Thanks!

 

[kam327]

I wouldn't focus on the labels (I.e. "Grand Touring") which are just marketing ploys. Instead I'd go to tirerack or consumer reports and study the individual attribute ratings you're most interested in. And $200 per tire??? That's about the most expensive you can get on the Focus.

 

[ProjectCommuter]

I drive about 110 miles a day, 5 days a week. The Contis were fine but when I got new tires I got the Pirelli Cintuartos thinking they were good for the reasons you mentioned. They were crap on my car. They tracked like crazy on the concrete section of I-80 from Sac to Napa. I took them back after 1500 miles to America's Tire and they exchanged them for me to the Continental Controlcontact Sport A/S. These tires are great. During the recent severe rain storms they performed perfectly. Great traction, no hydroplaning and highway speeds. As far as road noise I can't comment, due to my exhaust. LOL.

 

[rebelx]

I wouldn't focus on the labels (I.e. "Grand Touring") which are just marketing ploys. Instead I'd go to tirerack or consumer reports and study the individual attribute ratings you're most interested in. And $200 per tire??? That's about the most expensive you can get on the Focus.

Good point! I actually learned about the grand touring label from tire rack, but outside of that side, it seems a bit nebulous of where to get additional info (besides marketing pages).

I really don't like my commute, so anything to make it better is worth the cost but you're right, $200 is a bit much, but I'd only pick them up on sale.

 

[rebelx]

I drive about 110 miles a day, 5 days a week. The Contis were fine but when I got new tires I got the Pirelli Cintuartos thinking they were good for the reasons you mentioned. They were crap on my car. They tracked like crazy on the concrete section of I-80 from Sac to Napa. I took them back after 1500 miles to America's Tire and they exchanged them for me to the Continental Controlcontact Sport A/S. These tires are great. During the recent severe rain storms they performed perfectly. Great traction, no hydroplaning and highway speeds. As far as road noise I can't comment, due to my exhaust. LOL.

Thanks! We drive on similar roads it seems. I was thinking about the pirelli set since they got rave reviews on tire rack, but it looks like I'm avoiding those!

 

[rebelx]

I drive about 110 miles a day, 5 days a week. The Contis were fine but when I got new tires I got the Pirelli Cintuartos thinking they were good for the reasons you mentioned. They were crap on my car. They tracked like crazy on the concrete section of I-80 from Sac to Napa. I took them back after 1500 miles to America's Tire and they exchanged them for me to the Continental Controlcontact Sport A/S. These tires are great. During the recent severe rain storms they performed perfectly. Great traction, no hydroplaning and highway speeds. As far as road noise I can't comment, due to my exhaust. LOL.

Why did you end up with those Contis and not another variety?

 

[morrjr]

I replaced the worn Coopers that came on my used Focus with Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval AS tires. The Firehawks are rated as ultra high performance all season tires, so the tread wear warranty is only 40,000 miles. I've got around 6,000 miles on them since they were installed, and I'm very happy with them: the ride is comfortable, they are quiet, they don't hydroplane, and they had very good traction on slick light snow-covered roads the other day. I paid a bit over $100 per tire.

 

[thenorm]

Yes, there's a tire subforum, but I'd prefer to only hear from the MK3 folks.

I drive a consistent 75 miles everyday unless I have to go off site. Most of these are highway miles (90%), but the state of the freeways are terrible here. Potholes everywhere, cracks, you name it.

I have the 16" alloys (Sport package) with the OEM Contis on there. No other modifications.

What can I purchase once the tread is worn on the OEMs that will give me significantly reduced cabin noise, and more importantly, a smoother ride.

If I'm correct, Grand Tourings seem like the way to go (Summer variety? All season)? Rain is a concern maybe 2 weeks out of the year. No snow.

Any experience on premium Grand Tourings (or whatever else would work)? Budget is a max of $200/tire regular price (which will likely be around $160/sale price). No interested in changing wheels at this point, just tires.

Thanks!

with that many miles per day, i would consider a low rolling resistance (LRR) tire that also fits your other needs. you might be able to save a few mpg. Or not lose mpg as often happens with new tires, as sometimes the OEM tires are LRR even if it doesnt specifically state.

 

[chemistkremer]

Yes, there's a tire subforum, but I'd prefer to only hear from the MK3 folks.

I'll throw my hat in here for ContiPureContact DWS I actually have the ExtremeContacts, the only thing I can't stand is the 50k treadwear; the Pure's have 70k. But generally you want to look at the top 10 or so tires on tirerack for Grand touring A/S and up. It helped me not only to listen to folks here but to read reviews posted by drivers of similar cars (most list make, model, and year of the car in the review) and really pay attention to the ones which are similar to the Focus.

 

[ProjectCommuter]

Why did you end up with those Contis and not another variety?

I got them from America's Tire in West Sac. They are (apparently) made for America's Tire exclusively by Continental. The way it was explained to me was that they are the replacement for the DWS and, the price was right so I thought I would take a shot at them. They have been great so far.
The Pirellis were fine. Good grip, quiet and smooth but the way they tracked was just too scary for me.

 

[rebelx]

I got them from America's Tire in West Sac. They are (apparently) made for America's Tire exclusively by Continental. The way it was explained to me was that they are the replacement for the DWS and, the price was right so I thought I would take a shot at them. They have been great so far.
The Pirellis were fine. Good grip, quiet and smooth but the way they tracked was just too scary for me.

I thought I knew what tracking was, but it seems that I do not. Do you mind explaining?

 

[ProjectCommuter]

Tracking is when the tread of your tires follow the grooves in sections of concrete on the freeway or on metal bridges and you feel a pull back and forth that you cannot control. As you try to correct it weaves back and forth. At highway speeds it can be very dangerous. When I described what I was experiencing to the guys at America's Tire they knew what I was talking about and referred to it as tracking. So, they exchanged the tires.It does not happen with the Continentals.
Low rolling resistance tires are not very beneficial in my opinion. I did not see any MPG gains whatsoever.

Where abouts are you in NorCal?

 

[ProjectCommuter]

http://www.discounttire.com/infocon...nentalcontrolcontactsportas.html#!prettyPhoto

 

[rebelx]

Tracking is when the tread of your tires follow the grooves in sections of concrete on the freeway or on metal bridges and you feel a pull back and forth that you cannot control. As you try to correct it weaves back and forth. At highway speeds it can be very dangerous. When I described what I was experiencing to the guys at America's Tire they knew what I was talking about and referred to it as tracking. So, they exchanged the tires.It does not happen with the Continentals.
Low rolling resistance tires are not very beneficial in my opinion. I did not see any MPG gains whatsoever.

Where abouts are you in NorCal?

Gotcha! That definitely does not sound safe. Sucks cause the Pirellis had good reviews otherwise and I thought I'd settle on that, but since your roads are similar to mine (East Bay), it doesn't seem like they'd work for me.

What about something like this? They say that they're often used in "luxury" vehicles, which might mean that they might provide better ride comfort than a more "performance" based tire?

 

[ProjectCommuter]

That tread design looks like you wont have a problem with tracking. I looked at those too but leaned to the more performance based tire. You should do well with those I think. Good luck.

 

[rebelx]

That tread design looks like you wont have a problem with tracking. I looked at those too but leaned to the more performance based tire. You should do well with those I think. Good luck.

Thanks! I haven't decided for sure yet, but I am definitely going to keep them on my short list.

 

[Pennut]

Also put General AltiMax RT43 on your list. I've had them on my Focus since October. Better traction, much better ride quality than the OEM Conti's.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ocus 5-Door&autoModClar=SE with Sport Package

 

[Brindfan]

Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus. Great tire, very quiet and actually does decent in the snow. Excellent in wet conditions and cornering. 80,000 mile warranty unless you go for the "V" speed rated, like I did, then the warranty is 75,000 miles.

 

[IDare]

I have a 2012 - almost 3yrs old - managed to put 62,000 miles on the car so far.

I wore out the stock Conti's at 58K miles and went with the ContiPure's

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...wall=Blackwall&partnum=15VR7PURECXL&tab=Sizes

Got a great deal at $117/tire in 17" size delivered through DiscountTireDirect on one of their buy 4 get $100 off sales.

Great tire so far and I average 60-miles of driving a day.

 

[madmole]

In the UK we call it Tram-lining. Tracking is setting where your tyres point

Tyres that have very square corners are more prone, those that have rounded shoulders less