Tire update

[AZhitman]

As most of you guys know, I was running the 245/50VR16 Yokohama YK420's on my Q for the past 8 months or so. However, they have required SEVEN balancings, twice on the Hunter 9700.

Manager at Discount offered me a NEW set of tires, (pretty much whatever I want). He's pushing real hard toward the ES100's or the BFG's... I'm leaning toward the ES100's, especially after inspcting the sidewall on those things - They're VERY stiff, and the bead on those things is beefy. I don't like the idea that they're directional, but the manager has offered to rotate them on the rims every 8K miles (for a few thousand miles) to "clean them up" (?).

Any thoughts?

[nuQ]

greg, just had my es100's installed on fri.,,,,,thanks again for the personal advice!!!!! was mislead by the hunter website and the ford dealership that installed the rims/tires--they don't have the hunter 9700, just a regular hunter balancer(didn't find out until about an hour before i was supposed to pick up my Q--told them to just do it). anyway, as anyone from the east coast knows, our recent rains are from biblical proporsions and the yoko's performed wonderfully. don't really "cut" through the water as much as "snowplow" through it. feels like the tire is just pushing the water away, but totally connected to the road. didn't slide once. haven't had a chance to really put it through it's paces on the dry yet, but this week is expected to be dry,,,we'll see. with my new rims and new tires, gives the Q a totally different look,,,,more aggressive, more sleek. RAVE REVIEWS FROM EVERYONE! so far, so good with the es100's. rotation will be a small problem eventually. cross that bridge..... jeff

[AZhitman]

Jeff - It was good talking with you last week... Glad all went well with the install.

How about some pics?

Any other comments on the ES's?

[Q45tech]

Once a month [1500 mile] balances are not abnormal on most tires [except Michelin premium version] [and some of them require it also].

Depends on your standards! Mine are feel 7 grams: rebalance

Moving balance points [same weight level] means at least initially that the tires are moving on the rims due to the interior of the wheels being slick/dirty from the mounting lube..........later sudden increases means the start of internal destruction of the metal grid splices........getting out of round.

On most tires [those less than $100 15"] you can balance them and remount and drive 25 miles [with turns] bring the car back rebalance them and they will be significantly OFF BALANCE.......they are not built to stand the stress of the Q weight and camber in stressful driving [simple turns].

Most won't fail even in high speed heat but that doesn't mean they will be smooth and vibration free!

Rear tires of any brand will generally stay nearer to balance almost twice as long as the fronts..........after they have been broken in and the spinning on the rims stops!

[AZhitman]

Well, I marked all four of mine the second time they were balanced. Even with chrome rims, there was no spinning on the rim... Monthly balancing is ridiculous IMO, especially since I put 8K miles on these tires.

Incidentally, I spoke with someone who USED to work for TireRack... Says they get some of their tires "grey-market". Anybody wanna shed some light on what that means?

Any other thoughts on the ES100's?

[AZhitman]

No more info?

[nuQ]

greg, so far....love them. excellent in the rain, and got a chance to throw them around in the dry yesterday,,,amazing grip. realize they're new and following dennis' advice, might get them balanced in a couple months due to the aggressive driving. as of this point, happy with my purchase!!!! jeff ps---they also look damn good on our rims----had my landlords son with a new mustang bullit-drooling over the Q!!!

[Q45tech]

You rebalance them when they get out of balance...........surely members are sensitive enough to feel vibrations and minute quivers betwen 55-70 mph.

"Monthly balancing is ridiculous IMO, especially since I put 8K miles on these tires"

It isn't my fault that tires don't hold up and I am just the bearer of the news..........."they have required SEVEN balancings, twice on the Hunter 9700."

All I can do is report what I find in day to operation.

The Es100 seems good for a directional tire and low priced.Comes in 215/60/15 that would fit a J30 nothing for a 15" Q though.

[AZhitman]

I understand Dennis - I wasn't disputing your statements, I just expect more for my $650 than spending 4 hours/month at the tire shop.

Any thoughts on the other thread here - Titled: "Which Would You Choose?"

[BadQ45t]

I chose the ES100's getting them mounted Monday, they look so bad ***. Really like the reviews for the Firestones but they didn't look nearly as nice and where 50 bucks or each. All the reviews I saw were positive, not negative that I could find.