Tires Tires Tires

[Jilogethan]

Call me a *******, should've rotated them sooner but my fronts are down to the wear bars and the rears had a good 7-8k left. Took it in for a rotation and a slight knock from the front left suspension which was discovered to be a slightly loose tie rod end. My mechanic said that because of the difference in wear the AWD system could sense slight slippage from the front and engage the coupling for power to the rear. Hence causing a lot of unnecessary wear in the system, something he has heard of from Ford, mind you he isn't a Ford dealer. The transfer case problems he has seen in the past run over $4k.

Not wanting to catch that big of a bill, he advised replacing all 4 tires and get onto a good regiment of rotating every 5-6k. I drive 4k a month so that is difficult but will do that moving forward. He will align and do the tie rod once I get the tires.

Any suggestions on tires? I need to keep the total cost low as the wife is not going to be happy with this new development.

 

[SHOdded]

Sounds like you wear out 1 set of tires a year! You need a tire with good traction (all season) and great tread wear. Michelin (Pilot Sport or Primacy), Continental DWS, Hankook Ventus Noble, and General G.Max are some of the tires I'd consider. You can use some of the "lower" rated tires in this list if you don't do a lot of high performance driving.

And, yeah, I'd consider swapping out the PTU and RDU fluids for good insurance.

 

[WojoMojo]

I run Nitto Motivo's on my SHO. 60,000 mile treadlife warranty and high performance all season. Perfect tire for the SHO. And they ride super smooth with no road noise. I picked up 4 tires (20 inch rims) for 776$ online from discount tire.

 

[Jilogethan]

I run Nitto Motivo's on my SHO. 60,000 mile treadlife warranty and high performance all season. Perfect tire for the SHO. And they ride super smooth with no road noise. I picked up 4 tires (20 inch rims) for 776$ online from discount tire.

How is the winter weather performance? HUGE concern for me in eastern Iowa with wife using it 2-3 times a week

 

[Jilogethan]

Sounds like you wear out 1 set of tires a year! You need a tire with good traction (all season) and great tread wear. Michelin (Pilot Sport or Primacy), Continental DWS, Hankook Ventus Noble, and General G.Max are some of the tires I'd consider. You can use some of the "lower" rated tires in this list if you don't do a lot of high performance driving.

And, yeah, I'd consider swapping out the PTU and RDU fluids for good insurance.

I know this goes against your considerations but Im getting the Eagle RS-A's, 2 reasons, need tires asap, all other considerations are 2-3 weeks away, same tires that were on it and they wore well at 41k. How much would swapping PTU and RDU fluids cost?

 

[SHOdded]

If they work well for you, why not? Sounds good to me!

Not sure on the fluid swap cost, but if the car is on a lift, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours to get them both done for a simple exchange, plus the cost of the gear oil (I think about a quart or so of each at $15 a quart?). Normally, I'd just say PTU, but sounds like both the PTU & RDU got heavy use. PTU would be priority if I had to choose. Then get the RDU done later, but do get it done.

IMHO, this is worthwhile "insurance" since you drive so much. Even if you have a warranty, do you really want to be without your car for a significant period of time?

 

[WojoMojo]

I'm in northern Minnesota so trust me we have it a bit worse We just got 15 inches of snow yesterday and I was out tooling around. They do amazing in the snow and ice. I think everyone in their pickups were surprised how easy I was blowing through 2 foot drifts! Quite a few pickups/suv's were stuck and I never did even when I was trying!

 

[jontyrees]

Call me a *******, should've rotated them sooner but my fronts are down to the wear bars and the rears had a good 7-8k left. Took it in for a rotation and a slight knock from the front left suspension which was discovered to be a slightly loose tie rod end. My mechanic said that because of the difference in wear the AWD system could sense slight slippage from the front and engage the coupling for power to the rear. Hence causing a lot of unnecessary wear in the system, something he has heard of from Ford, mind you he isn't a Ford dealer. The transfer case problems he has seen in the past run over $4k.

Not wanting to catch that big of a bill, he advised replacing all 4 tires and get onto a good regiment of rotating every 5-6k. I drive 4k a month so that is difficult but will do that moving forward. He will align and do the tie rod once I get the tires.

Any suggestions on tires? I need to keep the total cost low as the wife is not going to be happy with this new development.

Tirerack website has thousands of customer reviews - take a look there at what tires are highly rated and reasonably priced.

"A lot of unnecessary wear in the system" sounds like BS to me. That's what the sytem is designed to do, and it's not going to see much slippage because the tread is low on the front anyway. Almost all your miles are done cruising in a straight line, or gently cornering - there won't be any slippage 99.99% of the time. Good idea to rotate the tires fairly regularly though. No harm in that.

 

[markathome]

I just put the Michelin MXV4's back on my SHO this past weekend. I got around 45k on the original tires, but, they were badly dry rotted and cracking.
I waited until the last minute and found that 245 45 20's are really hard to find in stock. The only place that had them was my Ford dealer. And, I was shocked to see that their price was within $4 of Costco/Sams. Plus, Ford currently has a $60 rebate on 4 tires.

 

[SHOdded]

I believe 255/45/20s are easier to find, and are commonly sized replacements with acceptable mph variation. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?skipOver=true&width=255/&ratio=45&diameter=20

 

[esfoad]

I just ordered a set of Pirelli Cinturato AS4 (All Season 4) in 245/45/20. They have superb reviews on Tire Rack. I am installing tomorrow and will report back once I use them for a while. I put a set of Conti ExtremeContact DWS tires on my Vette and they are great but this is a newer model and seemed more suited to the driving I do in the SHO.

 

[sho/saleen]

I purchase DWS Continental for my 2010 SHO with PP and I'm a spirited drive. I have over 20k on the tires and I have the tires rotated every oil and they are not even half gone. Last winter we had a lot of snow, one snow fall we had over 7 inch on the roads around here and I didn't any trouble driving and I live in hilly country. Also when I drag race the SHO (stage 4 tune and a cold package) I drop the tire pressure down to 25psi and the car hooks very good. Best time is a 12.92 at 105.

 

[bpd1151]

'Z' Rated Continental DWS' here.....

Nothing but high praise all year 'round with them and that's saying a lot driving in/around the Chicagoland area.

Good luck in w/e you choose though.

 

[SHO_Fast]

If you haven't purchased yet consider the Pirelli Cinturato P7. I got them in a day from Belle Tire in May, replacing Goodyear OEM tires and I am very pleased. Excellent reviews on Tire Rack in snow and all around driving. See my other post in Performance Upgrades, 2011 SHO DIY brake upgrade, you can get a peek at the Pirelli's there.

 

[esfoad]

+1 on the Pirellis. I now have 10K miles on my set and they are fantastic. Quiet, they still look new and they handle well enough for day to day driving. Used them a little at the end of last winter here in NJ and they performed as well as the Michelins that came with the car. You won't regret getting these.