hjkan
10-16-2003, 09:38 AM
Just wanted to thank everyone for advise on replacement tires for my wife's allroad. After my wife smacked a curb and blistered the terrible OEM Goodyear F1 Wranglers, I replaced all 4 with the Michelin Pilot Sports A/S of same size. Boy, what a transformation it made to the AR. Even my wife who cares nothing about tires immediately noticed a quieter and smoother ride in the passenger seat. Behind the wheel, we both noticed the AR tracked substantially better and delivered much sharper turn-in. A major criteria for purchasing the Michelins was for traction in occational snow (without going for full snow tires), I will report back once I've had a chance to experience this. In summary, my experience in cars/tires/suspensions/etc dates back some 35-yrs. I have never experienced such a drastic improvement from just changing tire of similar size. Perhaps it illustrates just how terrible the OEM Goodyears were.
markcincinnati
10-16-2003, 10:37 AM
What was your reason to stick with the stock size? It seems that many who replace the OEM tires go with a plus zero size of 245 x 50 x 17" -- not that you did anything wrong, mind you. Just wondering why not go for the bigger footprint and lower (and stiffer) tire?
hjkan
10-16-2003, 09:15 PM
The reason I didn't go with plus zero was because I needed to replace the Goodyears immediately and the Michelins would take 2-wks to arrive. Besides, I questioned whether my wife would tell the difference.
Jack Hinks
10-17-2003, 03:38 AM
The smaller the footprint, the better.
-- JH
What needs to be discussed here is footprint aspect ratio -- short and wide for perf tires and longer and narrower for high-sidewall tires.
The actual size of the footprint is a function of the weight of the car and the pressure in the tires. Sidewall stiffness makes a slight difference, but it's not that significant.
There have been volumes of discussion about how (and whether) the long, narrow aspect ratio footpring performs better in snow, with the loudest voices saying "yes." But for those of us who do most of our winter driving on dry pavement, the handling compromise is also a big consideration. HPH