# Good tires for an Eco



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I have a 2012 Eco and I am getting near replacement time for my tires. I notice this mainly bc the wet handling with the tires I have now. I have Fuel Maxs
with @ 50K on them and when it rains the car gets rather "squirly" Esp with braking and turns. Anyone else replace Eco tires yet and your opinions.
Did you stay with Low Resistance tires and what about MPG? I would say MPG is not my main priority since I don't get that "great" of MPG and I do mainly city driving


----------



## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I'm planning to stick with the Fuel Maxes when it comes time for replacement.


----------



## cmarkwart (Aug 26, 2012)

Hi i' a 12 Eco driver to in alberta and I have been using this tire all year round I'm using the Continental DSW06 tire and have been getting great Economy and handling and when it comes to winter it has been very good tire. on average city I get 6.8 and hwy 4.6 

if you want to know a great winter tire Bridgestone BLIZZAK


----------



## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

I put the Pirelli's on mine about 20k ago, been completely satisfied with he performance but never saw any increase in the MPG.


----------



## weimerrj (Dec 4, 2011)

I recently replaced mine with Fuel Maxes, the value proposition was just too good to risk changing to another tire - and they lasted nearly 70K miles with at least 4/32 to go. I got worried about age and dry-rot, they were the originals.

I have heard good things about Continentals, and there is a group of folks here who swear by Michelin. But the "LRR" rating varies a lot from tire to tire and company to company, so I thought that the tire the Eco was designed with was a good, if conservative, way to go.


----------



## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

Has anyone changed from the fuel max to something else, mine are wearing fine. My only gripe is on concrete on a freeway they are noisy.


----------



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

weimerrj said:


> I recently replaced mine with Fuel Maxes, the value proposition was just too good to risk changing to another tire - and they lasted nearly 70K miles with at least 4/32 to go. I got worried about age and dry-rot, they were the originals.
> 
> I have heard good things about Continentals, and there is a group of folks here who swear by Michelin. But the "LRR" rating varies a lot from tire to tire and company to company, so I thought that the tire the Eco was designed with was a good, if conservative, way to go.


Actually this will be my 2nd set if I stay with the Fuel Max. @ 30K I was afraid of bad handling in the winter so I replaced with GY Triple Treads and regretted every mile so I returned them and traded for another set of Fuel Maxs Had these now for @ 50K and as I said they are starting to get squirly in the rain. So just looking around right now but probably end up waiting till end of Summer as they are not all that bad and good comfort drive so.......


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Recommended it elsewhere, but I loved my PureContact. They're "EcoPlus" but I wouldn't say they're a super high MPG tire - they're very grippy in bad and good weather, and I loved that. Quiet too. 

Pirelli P7 actually bumped up MPG a bit on highway trips on our other car. Been reasonably impressed with those as well - very quiet and good wet, snow, and dry traction. 

I have Michelin MXM4 on my 2016, and will probably go back to one of the above tires when they're worn out. I'm not that impressed with them. Premier A/S is interesting in concept in that new tread sipes uncover as they wear to 4/32", but having driven on them, I think they're noisy and don't do anything very well.


----------



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Pat, I couldn't deal with the poor wet traction of the OEM tires. I no longer felt safe or confident on them and had only ~35,000 miles on them when they were replaced. I had a good 6/32" of tread left on them. I did lose a solid 3/5 mpg city/highway after replacing them, but that's a small price to pay for the improvement in wet traction I gained. Granted, I also went with the heaviest touring tire in a size wider than stock, so that had something to do with it as well. 

If fuel economy is your primary concern, you really won't be able to beat the OEM tires, but if you have other priorities, I'd look elsewhere. 



jblackburn said:


> I have Michelin MXM4 on my 2016, and will probably go back to one of the above tires when they're worn out. I'm not that impressed with them. Premier A/S is interesting in concept in that new tread sipes uncover as they wear to 4/32", but having driven on them, I think they're noisy and don't do anything very well.


That makes me wonder how honest those reviews are...


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> That makes me wonder how honest those reviews are...


To be fair, they're on a big boat of a 10-yr old Accord that probably needs a suspension refresh. The handling of that car has never impressed me, but it understeered like crazy when I tried to hustle it through a yellow light. They seem to resist wheel hopping a lot better than others on it though. 

My parents say they're good in rain compared to the MXV4, and the car as a whole is just awful in snow.


----------



## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

If MXV4 are kinda like what came on my Mazda 6 they suck. They did not like to be driven in any condition outside of rush hour traffic. 

I also ate through 2 sets of oem fuel max tires 33K miles each. They were a decent price for the tire but I wanted a more aggressive tire the 3rd time around and better "all season traction". I ended up with the Comp 2 A/S and for the short time enjoyed the super stiff sidewalls. I didn't have them on the car long enough to say the MPG was gone. I also went Z Spec grille which also deleted some aero properties.


----------



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

Kinda looking at the Continental Pure Contacts. But haven't heard much of anything mentioned about them. They look to have a good tread and reading 
Tire rack reviews. It was just something that happened yesterday when we had a big rain and I was going a little fast for the conditions and tried to take a turn 
too fast and I noticed I do quite a few water "burnouts" with them when it rains. Now my son's car and my LS had Firestone 710 and they are not too bad I bought his 710s at a buy 3 get 1 free deal which came out less than 300. Price is becoming a consideration esp since the Fuel Max are going 600 + for a set and I know how they behave. I will let it go a little longer and look around some more.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> Kinda looking at the Continental Pure Contacts. But haven't heard much of anything mentioned about them. They look to have a good tread and reading
> Tire rack reviews. It was just something that happened yesterday when we had a big rain and I was going a little fast for the conditions and tried to take a turn
> too fast and I noticed I do quite a few water "burnouts" with them when it rains. Now my son's car and my LS had Firestone 710 and they are not too bad I bought his 710s at a buy 3 get 1 free deal which came out less than 300. Price is becoming a consideration esp since the Fuel Max are going 600 + for a set and I know how they behave. I will let it go a little longer and look around some more.




http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99657


----------



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Conti Pure Contact impressions


Pat, I really don't think you can go wrong with this tire^.


----------



## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

I just purchased some new wheels for my Eco and am contemplating a new set of tires. I am currently on my 2nd set of Fuel Maxes (6/32" tread left) and can also attest that I really haven't had any complaints of this tire whatsoever except for a little tire slippage in cold rainy conditions.

Since I no longer need to drive large distances to work, fuel economy is no longer a first priority. But I'm torn from walking away from the tire that was designed specifically for the Eco. Especially if that means potentially altering the way it drives just for the sake of finding a tire that has better wet traction.


----------



## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

Patman said:


> Kinda looking at the Continental Pure Contacts. But haven't heard much of anything mentioned about them. They look to have a good tread and reading
> Tire rack reviews. It was just something that happened yesterday when we had a big rain and I was going a little fast for the conditions and tried to take a turn
> too fast and I noticed I do quite a few water "burnouts" with them when it rains. Now my son's car and my LS had Firestone 710 and they are not too bad I bought his 710s at a buy 3 get 1 free deal which came out less than 300. Price is becoming a consideration esp since the Fuel Max are going 600 + for a set and I know how they behave. I will let it go a little longer and look around some more.


I currently am running the PureContacts on my car. I've had them on for about 8500 miles now. Here's a little review--

Tread depth after 8500 miles: Front 6-7/32nds Rear 5/632nds

Pros- Fantastic cornering, pretty good in the snow (from the 2 little snows in my changeover period, I run Blizzaks), wet traction is good, they seem to have good rolling resistance, tight steering, and they track well

Cons- Ride a bit stiff (especially over big bumps), hydroplaning in deep water seems to be kinda meh, and they became noisy recently. 

I actually bought my replacement tires to replace these once they hit about 4/32nds, and I went with the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus. I'd say they are soft rubber and that's why they have good traction. I'm sure they'd last longer in a flat state, but I bet mine will be worn out by June or July. If you don't mind buying tires a little more often and want cornering over a comfy ride, I'd say absolutely buy them.


----------



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Pat, I really don't think you can go wrong with this tire^.



Sounds like a road trip to me! To Tire Rack in Indiana from Cincinnati. Good price and a 70 rebate!


----------



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I am at Tire Rack right now waiting for installation I'll let you know how they are when I drive home.


----------



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

Now the pure contacts are installed, I love the ride/ handling! Much improved over the Fuel "Maxs" Just need to put some mileage on them to get the LRR but I saw 41 MPG on the way home so.... See how they are in the "weather"/rain etc.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Patman said:


> Now the pure contacts are installed, I love the ride/ handling! Much improved over the Fuel "Maxs" Just need to put some mileage on them to get the LRR but I saw 41 MPG on the way home so.... See how they are in the "weather"/rain etc.


I knew you'd like em! :th_coolio:


----------



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> I knew you'd like em! :th_coolio:


That's why I asked you guys what would be best. Before I just went ahead and found something that sounded like it was a good deal and regretted it or committed the definition of insanity(doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results) bought another set of Fuel Maxs. I don't know about you J but there are not a lot of Continental suppliers around Cincinnati(esp. with the sale Tire Rack had 124 ea with the rebate that ended yesterday). So that is why it turned into a road trip to go to South Bend but it was worth it!!! Thanks guys:clap: Besides wife wanted me to buy new tires as I told her I was just going to Indiana. What part I did not mention but I beat her home anyway and got the grass cut before the storms today! So all is good!


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Patman said:


> That's why I asked you guys what would be best. Before I just went ahead and found something that sounded like it was a good deal and regretted it or committed the definition of insanity(doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results) bought another set of Fuel Maxs. I don't know about you J but there are not a lot of Continental suppliers around Cincinnati(esp. with the sale Tire Rack had 124 ea with the rebate that ended yesterday). So that is why it turned into a road trip to go to South Bend but it was worth it!!! Thanks guys:clap: Besides wife wanted me to buy new tires as I told her I was just going to Indiana. What part I did not mention but I beat her home anyway and got the grass cut before the storms today! So all is good!


Yeah I ordered mine from Tire Rack and had them installed at a NTB, but even with the $80 shipping it was cheaper than buying through a store. I wish I could pick them up myself!

Let us know how mileage turns out. Keep in mind they may take a little bit to wear in.


----------

