My new OEM-size tires: Vredestein Quatrac 5

[wellswebdesign]

I was at 35k miles on my original Ensave tires, and had a sidewall bubble in one that finally popped on my way to work last Tuesday. I've seen a few posts on here about the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires that TireRack sells for the Mirage, but I wasn't sure if anyone here had tried them out yet. They seemed to have great reviews, were pretty efficient (not sure if they're technically LRR or not), with relatively good light snow traction. In other words, decently average tires. So I bit the bullet, took one for the team, ordered them Tuesday, and they were delivered by Wednesday. I had them delivered directly to the Mr. Tire near me that was open Saturdays (only time I could reasonably get in). I've only got may 75 miles on them so far, but it's all been on wet to very-wet roads (leftover rain from Gordon), and so far they've been better than the Ensaves. My wife agrees that the car feels firmer and more stable. There's a curving interchange over a bridge that I go over, and there's a bump where asphalt ends and concrete begins, right in the middle of the curve. With the Ensaves, I would always feel the car kind of "bounce" to the side, but going over it this morning with the Vredestein tires, it didn't hop at all. $320 shipped for the tires, $110 for mount, balance, and disposal.

So far, I'm happy with them, though I will preface that with the fact that I'm not super picky or hyper-observant. But as far as tires go, they at least seem plenty safe in the rain so far.

Also, it's kind of fun to see "Made in The Netherlands" on my tires.

[Mark]

Also, it's kind of fun to see "Made in The Netherlands" on my tires.

It's a world market when it comes to tires. I copied & pasted the following quote -

"If you are looking to buy tires made in USA, you should know that most foreign global tire manufacturers already have plants in America. In fact, there are only two genuine American brands: Goodyear and Cooper. The largest foreign tire companies with plants in the US include Michelin, Pirelli, Continental, Bridgestone, and Yokohama. However, to make sure you buy USA tires, you should make sure they were made in the USA-based plants."

I look forward to future updates of your Vredestein tires. If someone really wants to stick with a 165/65r14 all-season tire that can handle winter conditions, I see this tire as the best & maybe only choice! Just because a tire has a tread-wear warranty of 65,000 to 80,000 miles doesn't mean it's the best performance tire for every situation. For example, snow tires seldom come with any tread-wear warranty.

Dunlop Enasave & Bridgestone Potenza tires seemed way overpriced for a small tire. I like the LRR factor, but I've never lost a tire to a sidewall blow out before. I had a Dunlop sidewall blow out @ approximately 15,000 miles a couple weeks ago. It could have been punctured, but I don't recall hitting anything unusual on the road. Thus, my money will go elsewhere in the future.

Unless I jump up a tire size, I could see the Vredestein becoming my go to tire of the future, too! Please keep us posted as time/mileage goes on.

[Top_Fuel]

...35k miles on my original Ensave tires, and had a sidewall bubble in one...

Seems like more than a few people have reported sidewall failures on Enasaves lately. If you ever have an Enasave in your hand (unmounted from the wheel) the sidewalls do seem very thin.

...as far as tires go, they at least seem plenty safe in the rain so far.

You picked a good time to try them out in the rain! Can we get any more precipitation around here right now?!?

Please keep us posted as time/mileage goes on.

+1

It would be good to have another 165-65-14 alternative.

[azdonw]

Please report back with gas mileage, longevity, etc. I found a link that said this "The tire also has 1) "extremely low rolling resistance," which qualifies the tire as green under European Union tire labeling requirements". So they apparently are low rolling resistance tires. Max PSI is 51, so I wouldn't hesitate to air them to 45 or so to get best MPG (assuming ride comfort isn't sacrificed).

[Mark]

Seems like more than a few people have reported sidewall failures on Enasaves lately. If you ever have an Enasave in your hand (unmounted from the wheel) the sidewalls do seem very thin.

Due to a sidewall blow out @ 15,000 miles with a Dunlop Enasave tire, I am currently running a pair of original Dunlop tires along with a newer pair of Federal SS-657 tires.

I went this direction, because I didn’t want to toss the remaining Dunlop tires (they seem to have a lot of tread life left). I also didn’t want to mix tire sizes on my Mirage. As I use up my Dunlop tires, I am experimenting with the Federal tires at the same time. This also gave me a spare tire. Given the odd tire size, I don’t mind having an extra around. I could have search for a used Dunlop, but the new Federal tires were shipped to my home in 2-days for free. For a $20 bill my local mechanic mounted/balanced them for me. My time is valuable, too.


My initial impression of the Federal SS-657 tires is very good. My local mechanic had no problem mounting/balancing the Federal tires on my steel rims. They have a UTQG of 420 A A, which is better than the Dunlop Enasave & Bridgestone Potenza tires. I've read enough to know these ratings aren't always accurate, but the $50 Federal tire is a much nicer tire than I expected. Even if all three tires were the same price, I would pick the Federal over the Dunlop & Bridgestone.


As long as I can find them, I really don’t mind sticking with 165/65-14 tires. It’s a small economy car to me. I presently have a mix of tires. If I could replace all of them with a good quality all-season tire that handle some snow, I would do that as time goes on. I am not totally opposed to jumping tire sizes, but I don't want to mix tire sizes either. Thus, the 165/65-14 Vredestein tire may be a good future option to consider.

[wellswebdesign]

Here's my 2 week review so far: I'm quite happy with the tires.

Traction overall isn't *as* nice as I'd like, there's still some tire slippage. I'm guessing it's just the combo of skinny tires + me + manual transmission.

I feel (I don't pretend to have senses attuned enough to verify) that the car doesn't roll as much in turns. It feels more stable than with the factory tires.

And gas mileage. I haven't aired the tires up any more than what the tire place did, but my gas mileage is just as good as with the Ensaves. The mileage reported from my driving yesterday (~70-80 degrees, to work and back, and then to the grocery store and back, all 25-45mph roads, no highways, some AC, some windows down) was 48.3mpg.

So yeah, overall, I'm pretty happy. We'll see how they do in the snow this winter, and how long they last.

[Mark]

Here's my 2 week review so far: I'm quite happy with the tires.
So yeah, overall, I'm pretty happy. We'll see how they do in the snow this winter, and how long they last.

Have you had a chance to try out your Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires on snow/ice this winter yet?

[wellswebdesign]

Have you had a chance to try out your Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires on snow/ice this winter yet?

I actually haven't. It has been an incredibly mild winter in Central Ohio so far. I'm not complaining!

I will say I'm not as pleased as I hoped to be about wet weather traction. Maybe it's the way I drive, or at least how I release the clutch to take off from a stop, but with both the Ensaves and the Vredesteins, I will occasionally spin the tires. Once I'm going, wet weather traction has been fine. Really my only other driving experience was 15 years in my Saturn (automatic transmission) where I always used Goodyear Assurance tires and never had issues.

I'm sure we wont escape snow/ice all winter, so I'll definitely post when I do drive in it.

[inuvik]

I actually haven't. It has been an incredibly mild winter in Central Ohio so far. I'm not complaining!

I will say I'm not as pleased as I hoped to be about wet weather traction. Maybe it's the way I drive, or at least how I release the clutch to take off from a stop, but with both the Ensaves and the Vredesteins, I will occasionally spin the tires. Once I'm going, wet weather traction has been fine. Really my only other driving experience was 15 years in my Saturn (automatic transmission) where I always used Goodyear Assurance tires and never had issues.

I'm sure we wont escape snow/ice all winter, so I'll definitely post when I do drive in it.

You can’t unleash all that 74 hp without careful planning! “With great power comes great responsibilities”

[dspace9]

I'm sure we wont escape snow/ice all winter, so I'll definitely post when I do drive in it.

I live across the pond of Lake Ontario where the winter has been pretty mild so far too. I'm on my second set of tires since buying my Mirage back in 14, I went with Bridgestone Potenza 14" 's for my new set, and they don't spin nearly as much on the get-go as the Dunlops did... and I feel they are pretty good in all conditions and haven't shown much wear in the thread yet after like 30,000 kms on them (Dunlops were bald @ 70k). They feel higher quality (they say 'made in Japan' on them almost matches my Mirage).