# New Tires please help with advice



## RedCruzer (Jun 12, 2011)

So I've been reading through the forum and everyone seems to like the Pirelli Cinturato p7s, the Goodyear assurance fuel max and the Continental pure contacts. I haven't had any issues with the stock tires averaging 40+mpgs for the life of the car and over 71000miles on them which I am very happy with (OCD style rotating) . However winter is coming here in Chicago and that means lots of snow, ice on bridges and having to sometimes deal with idiots I have to swerve around and pull evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions. Therefore I don't want to risk running on my low tred, I would probably push it more if I was somewhere where it does not snow. 

I'm assuming most everyone has used the Goodyears since they are stock but has anyone changed to the Pirellis or Continentals and gotten better results? Let me know what you guys think is the best. I'm not too concerned with money more so MPGs, tredlife, (I see the continentals have 80k warranty and Goodyears only 65k but the only con listed on tire rack is that people dont seem to get 80k out of the continentals and I got more miles on my goodyears than the 65k it is rated for). Snow is a bit of an issue but I never had any problems in wet snow with the Goodyears like everyone complains about, not saying it isnt an issue but I never noticed anything in 4 winters of driving them. Also if I missed some other decent tires in my research I am open to those too. 

OK one last thing, continental has a $70 visa prepaid card if I order 4 by Nov 2nd, is that enough reason to go for those? Thanks for any help! :eusa_clap::eusa_clap:


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> Continental pro contacts


You want to change that to PureContacts. The Pros are often an OEM tire, and they're not really too great in any category (really bad in snow, sub-par in rain, noise...). However, the Pure is a much better all-rounder.

I'm happy with my set, but there are lots of great choices in the class. FWIW, I'll be purchasing a set of the P7's for our other car next month, as I hear they have a softer, quieter ride. Ride softness/quality would be my only demerit for the PureContact vs the FR710 stock tires on my car, but then I went up several speed ratings and have a massive cornering improvement as well.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

Just bought the P7 Cinturato for our mazda 3s hoping they will last longer than the 30,000 miles we got out of all our other tires. 
Haven't driven in bad weather yet but I like they way they drive and are pretty quiet. 
I think I am will get the pirelli's on my cruze when the time comes.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I have the Perelli Cinturato P7 on my ECO MT. I'm seriously considering replacing them when they wear out with another set of P7s.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

There are also the new Continental TrueContact that seems to be getting good ratings on TireRack. I'm curious about those as replacements when my OEM Goodyears wear out.


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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

From what I've heard, continental is a great tire in the "pure" form. Some claim to have lost MPG, I can't quantify that claim personally. My personal preference makes me avoid Goodyear and perelli, but they make decent tires. The ecopia from bridgestone handles snow fairly well for an eco tire, but some people complain about the "somewhat floppy" feeling from them when handling. 

Judging by your location and traffic concerns, if you walked into my shop I'd strongly recommend winter treads and another all season for the rest of the year.


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## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

obermd said:


> I have the Perelli Cinturato P7 on my ECO MT. I'm seriously considering replacing them when they wear out with another set of P7s.


Mike, didn't you report a significant MPG loss when you switched to these?


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## cyclewild (Aug 14, 2013)

BowtieGuy said:


> There are also the new Continental TrueContact that seems to be getting good ratings on TireRack. I'm curious about those as replacements when my OEM Goodyears wear out.


Put a set of those on my wife's car, very happy with them. They ride nicely, are quiet, didn't lose any mpg and they handled the snow here last winter quite well.


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## RedCruzer (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks for all the replys everyone, I am not sure which tires I will go for yet. That $70 rebate card and people liking the purecontacts makes me want to go that way. 

One last thing, has anyone tried to put on some 225-55-r17s on our stock ECO rim? With my last car, a Countour SVT, I was able to go from a 215-50-r16s to 225-50-r16s and they fit on the stock rim fine, I had a couple techs complain to me it was a pain to get them on but I just gave them a tip for the extra work. They seemed to get a boost in handling from the slightly bigger size.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

cruze01 said:


> Mike, didn't you report a significant MPG loss when you switched to these?


About 1-2 MPG, but you always lose MPG when you put new tires on. My last tank, pump measured was 49.6 MPG. The trade off I'm debating is the extra traction from the P7s vs. the 1-2 MPG extra from the Goodyear FuelMax Assurance. The P7s are definitely quieter and softer. The extra traction might be nice in the winter since I'm now driving the west side of Denver and have a significant hill to climb in each direction on my commute.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> About 1-2 MPG, but you always lose MPG when you put new tires on. My last tank, pump measured was 49.6 MPG. The trade off I'm debating is the extra traction from the P7s vs. the 1-2 MPG extra from the Goodyear FuelMax Assurance. The P7s are definitely quieter and softer. The extra traction might be nice in the winter since I'm now driving the west side of Denver and have a significant hill to climb in each direction on my commute.


Mine were about a 2 MPG hit for the first 7,000 miles or so. Been a year or about 10,000 miles on them now. This summer into fall, my MPG is right back where it was with the FR710s. Granted, those weren't a LRR tire though.


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## RedCruzer (Jun 12, 2011)

Yea upon further review the P7s look like the way to go, they are quite a bit more money though. trying to find them under $700 installed is tough


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

I'd like to add something else here. For those of you that have the Conti PureContact or the Pirelli P7 how has your treadwear been? I am curious because the Cooper CS5 Ultra Tourings (I have a thread on them) are going to be worn out be this spring.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jmlo96 said:


> I'd like to add something else here. For those of you that have the Conti PureContact or the Pirelli P7 how has your treadwear been? I am curious because the Cooper CS5 Ultra Tourings (I have a thread on them) are going to be worn out be this spring.


They still look like brand new 10k in. Can't say the same for my Firestones - they wore very quickly.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

Very cool! I agree with you on the Firestones, but the Coopers I bought to replace the Firestones are even worse. All 4 are at 5.5/32nds with 5k on them. I'm not too happy with them, but they were cheap. So I guess I got what I paid for.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

My P7s have about 5-6/16ths left after 40K miles - just enough to head into the winter with. I have one not holding air but I believe its the one I had to repair due to a large (soda straw sized) puncture in the tread. I run mine at 45 PSI. Assuming the one tire doesn't decide to just not hold air any longer I'll replace these in the Spring with about 50K miles on them. I don't want to drive to Lordstown with a tire that leaks.


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## H3LLON3ARTH (Dec 16, 2011)

I went with more of an aggressive summer tire, Falken Ziex. But I wanted more grip and don't really care for the lose of MPG even though I can still get good MPG.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

H3LLON3ARTH said:


> I went with more of an aggressive summer tire, Falken Ziex. But I wanted more grip and don't really care for the lose of MPG even though I can still get good MPG.


Don't you autocross? This requires as sticky a tire as you can get.


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## H3LLON3ARTH (Dec 16, 2011)

obermd said:


> Don't you autocross? This requires as sticky a tire as you can get.


Yes but u haven't been since I put these tires on I will hopefully go in November


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## RedCruzer (Jun 12, 2011)

obermd said:


> Don't you autocross? This requires as sticky a tire as you can get.


 The cruze can autocross? I have been very disappointed by the handling of the Cruze but attributed it to it being more of an econ car but maybe the non eco varieties have better suspension systems. I take off and on ramps for the highway at least 20% slower then I used to in my old car


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

RedCruzer said:


> The cruze can autocross? I have been very disappointed by the handling of the Cruze but attributed it to it being more of an econ car but maybe the non eco varieties have better suspension systems. I take off and on ramps for the highway at least 20% slower then I used to in my old car


Z link + good tires ftw!

The LRR ones on the Eco don't care much for gripping in corners.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

RedCruzer said:


> The cruze can autocross? I have been very disappointed by the handling of the Cruze but attributed it to it being more of an econ car but maybe the non eco varieties have better suspension systems. I take off and on ramps for the highway at least 20% slower then I used to in my old car


The Goodyear FuelMax Assurance are good for street use, but they really don't have a lot of lateral grip. This is why Chevy switched away from them for the 2016 Volt - owners wanted better handling. The ECO has a decent suspension - not as good as the z-link in the RS trims, but decent. Changing tires definitely helps.


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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

Oh it can autocross. Is it a mini or miata? No, but anything can autocross. I've got one more event this season. Next year will be alignment adjustment testing. Trying to kill off understeer with that before moving to coilovers. Remember, unless your doing nationals, you're just racing yourself.


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## H3LLON3ARTH (Dec 16, 2011)

RedCruzer said:


> The cruze can autocross? I have been very disappointed by the handling of the Cruze but attributed it to it being more of an econ car but maybe the non eco varieties have better suspension systems. I take off and on ramps for the highway at least 20% slower then I used to in my old car


I did very well with my LRR tires I came in first in mt class everytime. I can't wait to try it with my new tires.


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## H3LLON3ARTH (Dec 16, 2011)

170-3tree said:


> Oh it can autocross. Is it a mini or miata? No, but anything can autocross. I've got one more event this season. Next year will be alignment adjustment testing. Trying to kill off understeer with that before moving to coilovers. Remember, unless your doing nationals, you're just racing yourself.


Lol fighting a loosing battle with understeer I've been letting off the gas for a split second to regain grip then lay I to the throttle.


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## TheDog (Mar 27, 2014)

I'm kind of blown away that nobody has yet said... If you live in Chicago you really would benefit from having a set of winter tires such as Blizzaks. I got winter tires when I lived in Portland Oregon (where most people just carry tire chains for the occasional snow emergency) and it was amazing being able to drive up really steep snowy hills with just my tires while many people could barely get down a flat street. Then you can focus on getting really great summer tires for the rest of the year.

That obligatory advice over with, I have been completely surprised with how not awful the Goodyear Fuel Max tires have been though I haven't been on the snow with them. On my other car (2010 Malibu) I stepped up and got some Conti Extreme Contact DWS tires and they are certainly the highest performing, hard to over drive tires I've ever experienced. Many Tire Rack reviews say they are surprisingly good on the snow too and they have tread indicators to suggest when you have enough tread for snow use and when they are probably not winter ready. Consumer Reports on the other hand says that they are mediocre for snow. So who knows.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

TheDog said:


> That obligatory advice over with, I have been completely surprised with how not awful the Goodyear Fuel Max tires have been though I haven't been on the snow with them. On my other car (2010 Malibu) I stepped up and got some Conti Extreme Contact DWS tires and they are certainly the highest performing, hard to over drive tires I've ever experienced. Many Tire Rack reviews say they are surprisingly good on the snow too and they have tread indicators to suggest when you have enough tread for snow use and when they are probably not winter ready. Consumer Reports on the other hand says that they are mediocre for snow. So who knows.


The DWS are the best all-season I've ever driven on in snow. And I'd agree, great traction in wet and dry conditions as well - they love corner carving. Very poor tread life though, and fairly loud, at least on the car I had them on.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

TheDog said:


> I'm kind of blown away that nobody has yet said... If you live in Chicago you really would benefit from having a set of winter tires such as Blizzaks. I got winter tires when I lived in Portland Oregon (where most people just carry tire chains for the occasional snow emergency) and it was amazing being able to drive up really steep snowy hills with just my tires while many people could barely get down a flat street. Then you can focus on getting really great summer tires for the rest of the year.


Actually, I was going to mention that but then figured that the snow tire, yes...no debate has been beaten to **** over the years so I decided to just sit back and follow this tread. That being said....and not approving ANY tire brand, I drive Altimax Artics in the the winter and Altimax RT43s in the summer.


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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

H3LLON3ARTH said:


> Lol fighting a loosing battle with understeer I've been letting off the gas for a split second to regain grip then lay I to the throttle.


Might be surprised. Not going to eliminate it, but going through a soft curve without pushing will be nice. Toe out a touch a little extra negative front camber, might go a long way with some sticky rubbers. 



I mentioned blizzaks. Well snow tires. I use them in Kansas even though we don't get much snow. But I can't afford to take the risk of ditching my car without them.


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