Tested: Enasave vs. Bridgestone RE92 rolling resistance

[Eggman]

The stiffening typically occurs due to that same leaching of waxes and oils to the surface. It forms a crust on the surface of the rubber that can be "hard" (stiff} it could be tacky, or it could be slippery (what killed Paul Walker) so so so many variables...

Like so many things that get tossed around and believed about tires, there are bits of truth here. As I mentioned before about aging bringing the oils and waxes to the surface, cold can do this as well, and as such the product could be compromised.

This seems to suggest that burnouts (with or without bleach?) might be beneficial to traction by removing harmful deposits from the tread surface? Is that how we should start our commutes or grocery runs? How far can we take this...

[MetroMPG]

OOHHH... Mark's post here with the specs gives me another question. Are the tread depths close?

Measured tread depth this aft:

Enasave = 5.6 mm / 0.22",
RE92 = 5.1 mm / 0.20"

And here's the requested pic of their respective tread designs:

[MetroMPG]

This seems to suggest that burnouts (with or without bleach?) might be beneficial to traction ... How far can we take this...

Well... burnouts ultimately improve efficiency by wearing down the tread.

"HOONING FOR MPG!"

[Mark]

This tire test must have re-aligned the tire stars?

Dunlop Enasave tires have always been more expensive than the Bridgestone, until now. As a matter of fact, I have never seen Dunlop Ensave tires prices dropped this low before. Dunlop Enasave tires have been $160+ for months, maybe a couple years even.

I've never seen the Dunlop Enasave tires for cheaper than the Bridgestone tires before, but it's cheaper most everywhere now.

Walmart
Dunlop = $114.08/tire
Bridgestone = $145/tire

tires-easy.com
Dunlop = $111.84/tire
Bridgestone = $139.75/tire

Tire Rack
Dunlop = $139.32/tire
Bridgestone = $166.05/tire

SimpleTire
Dunlop = $113.98/tire
Bridgestone = $152.96/tire

Personally, I think the Kumho Solus TA51a (640AA/75,000 mile warranty) tire is the best 165/65r14 tire option currently in the States, but it's nice to see the Dunlop Enasave tire price come down some.

[7milesout]

This tire test must have re-aligned the tire stars?

Dunlop Enasave tires have always been more expensive than the Bridgestone, until now. As a matter of fact, I have never seen Dunlop Ensave tires prices dropped this low before. Dunlop Enasave tires have been $160+ for months, maybe a couple years even.

I've never seen the Dunlop Enasave tires for cheaper than the Bridgestone tires before, but it's cheaper most everywhere now.

Walmart
Dunlop = $114.08/tire
Bridgestone = $145/tire

tires-easy.com
Dunlop = $111.84/tire
Bridgestone = $139.75/tire

Now's the time to INVEST while the prices are HOT HOT HOT!

I've had really good performance so far, out of my original Enasaves. They've "saved" a lot of "Enagy." I've towed a got bit with them too.

[Mark]

Now's the time to INVEST while the prices are HOT HOT HOT!

I've had really good performance so far, out of my original Enasaves. They've "saved" a lot of "Enagy." I've towed a got bit with them too.

Someone can surely correct me if I am wrong, but I haven't seen Dunlop Enasave tire prices this low since I bought my Mirage back in October of 2017.

As far as energy savings goes, I would have to see some hard data on that one. I think most any 165/65r14 tire inflated properly is going to roll pretty good on a Mirage, but new tires may not roll as well as older ones.

165/65r14 - Most common all-season tire choices today -

Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S (340AB/no warranty) *
Bridgestone Potenza RE92 (260AB/40,000 mile warranty)
Falken Sincera SN250A A/S (320AB/no warranty) **

Nexen N'Priz AH5 (460AA/50,000 mile warranty)
Kumho Solus TA31 (500AA/60,000 mile warranty)
Kumho Solus TA51a (640AA/75,000 mile warranty)

* factory tire
** current factory tire on newer Mirages

Thanks to Dunlop Enasave sidewall issue in June of 2018, I have been using pairs of tires ever since. At 82,000+ miles, I have tried

Federal SS657 - worn out & replaced. Used them with the remaining pair of Enasave tires. Decent tire for the $40/tire price back then. No longer found in the States.

Dunlop Enasave - worn out pair in my garage. The remaining pair did well, but I started carrying a full size spare because of these tires.

Nexen N'Priz AH5 - currently on my Mirage rear axle, have done rear axle winter duty & front axle summer duty, too. Replaced my worn out Federal tires. I got these on sale for $50/tire, and they have been the best tire value so far.

Kumho Solus TA31 - currently on my Mirage front axle & have done rear axle winter duty, too. I paid approximately $68/tire for them at the time. I would rate these close to the Nexen. I expect the Nexen & Kumho tires to take me well past 100,000 miles on my Mirage, but I have a hard time stating exact mileage for every tire I am listing here.

Nokian Nordman 7 - front axle duty the past 6 winters. All four of the tires listed above have done rear axle duty with my pair of Nokian Nordman 7 snow tires. Whatever pair seems the newest/best gets that job.

Vredestein Quatrac 5 - My hope is these tires will replace the worn out Enasaves in my garage, but they have been on backorder since November of 2022. If I get them for the rebate/sale price, they will be approximately $68/tire. I want to see how an all-weather tire compares to all-season & dedicated snow tires.

I can't test them all, but I have done my share for sure! If I was buying tires today, the new Kumho TA51a might be my first pick. I wouldn't pass on the Nexen or other Kumho if they were on sale (much, much cheaper). If priced about the same, the Kumho TA51a is what I would try next.

If someone really lkes the Enasave tires, however, it may be a good time to buy them. I would at least watch the pricing of them. Maybe they will continue to go down. Tire prices are not stable these days.