Tires

[jjsv1]

Howdy. I have a tire that can't be patched, it's not terrible so I can wait a little bit. I've decided it's time to start shopping for tires. I'm not sure if I'm going to replace all 4 or just the rears.

With that being said, what is everyone running? I don't want to get the wrong tire and lose a ton of range considering i'm at 15.9 Kwh usable but at the same time I don't want to to pay $200 for the OEM tires.

What's everyone else running/what are experiences?

I'd love to run the Continental Extremecontact DW (I ran them on my last car) and TireRack has a great price on them. $307 after rebate for 4.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...ar=2013&autoModel=Focus Electric&autoModClar=

Thank you.

 

[Elektra]

I tried some cheap Vouge Signature all seasons tires and they were terrible and got about 10-15% less range. I'm using Continental Purecontacts now and they have better traction than the Energy Savers, but a decrease of 0-5% less range. Don't get summer tires, you will lose a lot of range.

 

[EVA]

Funny you should ask, I just went through this.

Don't just buy one new tire. The used FFE we bought had a brand new super cheap tire on it (the person that turned the car in for lease end probably had a flat and didn't want to spend money on all four tires, so they bought a super awful super cheap single tire), and paired that with the three tires from the factory with 35,000 miles on them. Guess what, the car acted terrible with that mismatch - grabby brakes, some pulling, and lots of tire noise.

I just had Costco do a set of 4 same as from the factory Michelins. They were doing a $70 off a set of 4 and $0.01 per tire installation. That worked out to around $740 for the four tires, installed with tax and disposal fees.

Frankly, we've had three FFE's, all had the same Michelin tires, they all drive perfectly well, get good range, are quiet, and wear well. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[edisonb5]

Conti is a decent tire and not expensive. Had the DWS on another car and had no problems with them.

 

[EVA]

OK JJ - you asked specifically about those tires. I would pass on them. They are not low rolling resistance (LRR). They are high performance summer tires. They will stick like glue and reduce your range. They will also wear out a ton load faster than the Michelins. If the 320 wear number for Continental equates to Michelin's 320 (I realize they don't exactly), you'll get about 15,000 miles out of those tires. You'll get 30,000 from the Michelins.

I ran the summer Michelin performance tires on the Focus Titanium with the handling package ICE (320 wear number). We didn't even get 14,000 miles from those tires. And I had to have a set of snow tires. I've just switched to Michelin A/S Sport 3+ all season. Never going to put soft rubber on again.

 

[user 5595]

This is a topic I have been thinking about myself recently. I am awaiting delivery of my 2017 FFE in May, and am already thinking about next winter.

I bought winter tires for the first time last December. I never before thought they would make a difference in Vancouver, and I was quite surprised how much better my 2003 Civic made it through the usual fall rain and *three months* of on-again-off-again snow and ice this year.

And this was not with dedicated winter tires, but with Hankook's "all-weather" Optimo 4S. I live in a small place, with no room for tire storage, so I thought I'd try this instead of my usual all-seasons. I was not disappointed.

But I am curious whether anyone has experience how these or other all-weathers (not "all-seasons") might compare with the FFE's factory tires, especially in terms of rolling resistance and noise. I'm wondering if this fall I should repeat the purchase, or instead buy a full set of rims and winter tires (and find someone who can store them).

 

[triangles]

I plan on getting some Falken Ziex ZE950 all season tires when my OEM tires wear out. They supposedly are LRR tires. I don't remember if they were the Ziex ZE950 but I had similar if not the same tires on my ICE. They were awesome on wet pavement which is what I care most about. The trade off being that they wear out quicker since they are softer/have more grip. I haven't looked at pricing for the FFE tire size but for my old ICE they were much cheaper than the Michelins I was looking at.

 

[EVA]

This is a topic I have been thinking about myself recently. I am awaiting delivery of my 2017 FFE in May, and am already thinking about next winter.

I bought winter tires for the first time last December. I never before thought they would make a difference in Vancouver, and I was quite surprised how much better my 2003 Civic made it through the usual fall rain and *three months* of on-again-off-again snow and ice this year.

And this was not with dedicated winter tires, but with Hankook's "all-weather" Optimo 4S. I live in a small place, with no room for tire storage, so I thought I'd try this instead of my usual all-seasons. I was not disappointed.

But I am curious whether anyone has experience how these or other all-weathers (not "all-seasons") might compare with the FFE's factory tires, especially in terms of rolling resistance and noise. I'm wondering if this fall I should repeat the purchase, or instead buy a full set of rims and winter tires (and find someone who can store them).

Probably best to go through a winter with the stock tires. In four winters in Chicago, never got stuck once. How Chicago compares to Vancouver - sorry can't help you there.
On the Focus ICE, we have a set of winter tires, the Michelin Ice 3 (or whatever the exact name). Hate those tires. They were top rated on Consumer Reports and Tire Rack said they were outstanding winter tires. Compared to Blizzaks, they are terrible. Oddly, the Focus uses exactly the same size tire as the Mercedes E320 I had. That car had Blizzaks first, when they wore out, I bought Michelin's for both the Focus and the Mercedes. Worst winter tire decision ever. I'd go back to Blizzaks in a heartbeat.

 

[Pearl]

I have the same Michelin LRR tires on my C-Max Energi as are on the Focus Electric. They are horrible in anything more that a trace of snowfall. I put up with them only one winter here in Cleveland, and then bought a set of Blizzaks for the next season. When I picked up my used FFE, I bought the exact same tire. Well worth it!

 

[FFEsquared]

First 9,900 miles with stock tires I was at 243 Whr/mi.
Switched to Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 and now I am at 247 Whr/mi for the last 5,000 miles. The Hankook's are not LRR tires. I like them much more than the OEM tires.