Finally replaced the stock Contis...

[Ataru]

Mounted this morning....Fuzion ZRi in 215/45/17. This is Bridgestone's new line of tire that has been getting some good reviews. They were $80 a tire at Tire Rack. I got all 4 shipped including the road hazard program for $393.28. $65 this morning to have them mounted and balanced:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191040_JPG.jpg

Tires seem awfully tall for a 215/45/17....or maybe its because I am used to the Continentals which were worn down quite a bit before they were replaced. They do fill the wheel wells nicely though:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191051_JPG.jpg
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191052_JPG.jpg

I guess I can go for the WRC gravel setup look with these tires: :wow: Maybe 215/40/17 would have been a better choice.
http://jason.hodges.cc/One%20Year%20Later/thumbs_d/mi_4_jpg.jpg

Funky built in lip means wheel is protected better from curb damage, but the look takes some getting used to:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191088_JPG.jpg
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191090_JPG.jpg

As for how the tires ride, they are MUCH quieter than the stock Contis. A ticking noise I have had in the front left tire is now gone, so I guess it was coming from the Contis. The technician said that the sidewalls on the Fuzions were much stiffer, so I felt the sidewalls of each tire off the rim and they are NOTICALBLY stiffer than the Contis.

Here's my old Contis after 26,000 miles:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191033_JPG.jpg
The sidewall flexed so much that the tire rubbed against itself and wore off some of the rubber, which turned into these rubber "balls" inside the tire. The technician said that they wouldn't have lasted much longer.

I'll see how they hold up this Sunday autocrossing. The Contis lasted 26,000 miles with 9 autocrosses in there, so they had a nice, long life. The Fuzions have a stiffer sidewall, better wet traction, and a higher treadwear (320 instead of 280) compared to the Contis so I am expecting good things from them. Hell, the reviews on Tire Rack are averaging 2 points higher than the Contis are (8.6 to 6.8)....

[PAN360]

That's cool I'm looing forward to your review.
On a side-somewhat related-note: your wheels are immaculate! Mine are all scratched up from various debris. Have you had yours refinished?

[Ataru]

That's cool I'm looing forward to your review.
On a side-somewhat related-note: your wheels are immaculate! Mine are all scratched up from various debris. Have you had yours refinished?

Nope, just wash them thoroughly, including the inside of the wheel, every time I wash the car. I have a couple of nicks from autocrossing, but nothing major on them.

[1Mortoy]

Damn, Those look good! I'm needing to do that myself and thats a pretty good price too!!

[jb10fan]

Would these be something I could trust in the snow? I am still looking for something for the winter :wtf:

[deactivated]

I've heard some good things from members here about the ContiExtremeContacts for all season tires. They still manage to keep a WR rating as well!

[bc21299]

The Tire Rack ratings look extremely good on the Pirelli Nero Zero M+S. They claim to be based off a summer tire design, yet are all-season. The performance ratings on their site suggest these may equal or better the stock Conti for handling and feel. That's how I was leaning for replacement tires (don't want to juggle extra wheels). But they are more expensive. I wonder too how the Fuzion would be in winter; seems to have more water channels than many summer tires; the Fuzion price is amazing!

[deactivated]

Fuzion may have been created to compete with the WanLi and other Chinese tire brands emerging that are based off of top brand designs like Yokohama. The price is definitely appealing.

[focusben]

I too just replaced my rear stocks Conti's with Potenza RE750's. Also W rated. An EXCELLENT tire indeed! The Conti's ran until the belts. The fronts are still good and I'll be replacing those next year with 750's.

I checked for the Fuzion's online, but couldn't find them in tirerack.com.

[Ataru]

I too just replaced my rear stocks Conti's with Potenza RE750's. Also W rated. An EXCELLENT tire indeed! The Conti's ran until the belts. The fronts are still good and I'll be replacing those next year with 750's.

I checked for the Fuzion's online, but couldn't find them in tirerack.com.

Apparently the set I ordered wiped out there warehouse because when my tires were in transit, they didn't have any in stock. They are on Tire Rack's website again now.

[deactivated]

yes, Fuzion is listed as a totally separate brand. Just put in the make and model then you can specify which brand, Fuzion is one of the brands to choose from.

[leadfoot]

I just replaced my Contijunks this past week. Mine had a crack in the rubber right where the tread and sidewall meet on three of the four. On the inside only. Found it on my last rotation. They still had a good deal of tread on them for 28k so I guess I shouldn't complain.
I got a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's. Before everyone starts in about the cost, I got a sweet deal on them. Seems that when I stopped in to price them at the local tire store they quoted me the wrong price. I couldn't believe they were as cheap as what they told so I told them to order them.
When I went to get them they had discovered thier mistake. But they honored what they told me, $127.67 each. :bna
The vibration I had is gone along with all of the noise. I thought I had a bearing problem it was so bad.
The handling is better as far as the tires trying to follow every groove in the road plus the ride is better than it was new.

[Dmccoy]

I just replaced my Contijunks this past week. Mine had a crack in the rubber right where the tread and sidewall meet on three of the four. On the inside only. Found it on my last rotation. They still had a good deal of tread on them for 28k so I guess I shouldn't complain.
I got a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's. Before everyone starts in about the cost, I got a sweet deal on them. Seems that when I stopped in to price them at the local tire store they quoted me the wrong price. I couldn't believe they were as cheap as what they told so I told them to order them.
When I went to get them they had discovered thier mistake. But they honored what they told me, $127.67 each. :bna
The vibration I had is gone along with all of the noise. I thought I had a bearing problem it was so bad.
The handling is better as far as the tires trying to follow every groove in the road plus the ride is better than it was new.
I went from contis to yokos to re750s and now im on the f1s the same as yours. They are by far the best tire that has been on the car yet, I like the re750 next, but the 750s seemed to wear out rather quickly.

[deactivated]

good lord you go through tires like water!

[Dmccoy]

good lord you go through tires like water!
Who me?
I just love having on new meats. And you know what, I think I left out that I had the sumitumos HTZRIIs, and one more set I know I am forgetting, but I really dont think I am going to get any other kind besides the f1s from now on.

[leadfoot]

Yeah he goes thru tires allright but look at what he's running!!
And new tires just feel good. So if you can afford it.........why not?

[Ataru]

Okay....results from the first auto-x on the new tires.

I had about 250 miles on the tires before the auto-x with most of those being highway miles, so they probably weren't scuffed in enough before I ran them.

The sidewalls on these tires did not flex nearly as much as the stock Contis did. I usually ran the Contis with 50psi to stop the massive rollover. I started with 48psi on the Fuzions and by the end of the day I was using 42psi still without any rollover.

Here's what the sidewall looked like afterwards:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-22-04%20NEOKLA%20Autocross/thumbs_d/mi_P8231117_JPG.jpg

I am not the most technical when it comes to describing how something feels, but on the course, the Fuzions felt more "stable" than the Contis.....more predictable. When using the Contis I would go into a corner and they would scream at me. The Fuzions simply broke away slowly.

I also did have some instances where the tires would rub. If I was cornering hard I could hear the tires rubbing the fenderwell (or lip, I couldn't tell). This also happened a couple of times to me on the street. For a tire that is supposed to be the stock size, hearing some rubbing from them is disappointing....especially from the stock suspension. :( 215/40/17 would have definitely been a better choice.

Here is what they looked like this past Thursday with just 10 miles on them:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-19-04%20New%20Tires/thumbs_d/mi_P8191040_JPG.jpg

And here is what they look like after 8 runs at the auto-x:
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-22-04%20NEOKLA%20Autocross/thumbs_d/mi_P8231119_JPG.jpg

Yeah, there is quite a bit of wear on each of those blocks after just ONE auto-x :eek: especially for a tire that is supposed to have a higher treadwear rating....
http://jason.hodges.cc/8-22-04%20NEOKLA%20Autocross/thumbs_d/mi_P8231123_JPG.jpg

I know these aren't the best choice for autocrossing, but when you have to use one tire for daily driving and auto-x, you have to make compromises. I just hope these things last as long as my Contis did. After one auto-x I am a bit concerned. :dunno: Maybe I should have went with those Yokohama AVS ES100's afterall.....

[deactivated]

that doesn't look too bad...I can see a little hard wear on the leading edge...they just look nice and broken in now. Did they help your faring for the day?

[Ataru]

Didn't help or hurt really. I was still behind the average time for the day since I wasn't running R-compunds or Falken Azenis.

[deactivated]

heh, I think they need a new class. DDS (Daily Driver Stock) make everyone race the configuration they drive to work everyday....


....of course, someone is going to say they drive R compounds to work :p

[Ataru]

heh, I think they need a new class. DDS (Daily Driver Stock) make everyone race the configuration they drive to work everyday....


....of course, someone is going to say they drive R compounds to work :p

That's supposed to be what STS is. You can't have a tire with a treadwear rating of less than 140. That's where everyone uses the Falken Azenis. They have a rating of 140 and are the closest thing to R-compounds without being one.

If I used Azenis on my car everyday, I would be lucky to get 7000 miles out of them......and they are $100 a tire.

[deactivated]

yeah, I guess no matter how you break down the classes there will always be something that pushes the boundaries.

[focusben]

I wouldn't count on harder tires to give you a better time. You're talking about softer Azenzi's, which will probably give you the best times.

Running the RE750's right now, they're wearing very good so far. They would be the best on road courses and not Auto-X courses.

I'm taking corners at speed. ;) Can't really do that with worn-out Conti's.

[canadasvt]

But they RUB??! I couldn't live with that! What damage are you doing when your tires are hitting the inner wheelwell?

[Ataru]

But they RUB??! I couldn't live with that! What damage are you doing when your tires are hitting the inner wheelwell?

They only rubbed when I was doing some HARD braking and started to turn into a corner, or was braking hard and hit a dip, both on the auto-x course. They have yet to rub on the street. And I looked all around my wheel well, there was no damage. The rubbing was slight, but I did hear it.

My next tires will probably be 215/40/17 no matter what brand they are.