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Thread: Stock Dunlops=never again

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by MirageSEFan View Post
    I recently hit a pothole with my drivers side front tire. Afterwards, I had the exact same bulge on my sidewall. Luckily, I did not damage my wheel. I did however, throw out the alignment. My tire only had about 5,500 miles on it at the time. I had to order a new one from Sam Club for about $145 with tax, mounting and balancing. I'm thinking you must have hit something. The sudden increase in pressure, from hitting a pothole, will balloon out the tire at the weakest point. In this case, it's the thin sidewall. It really sucked for me to replace a fairly new tire due to this kind of damage. These tires are very fragile compared to other tires I have owned in the past.
    I guess it's possible I hit something, but my point was about how fragile these tires are, like you mentioned. I didn't hit anything substantial, there is no damage to my wheel, and my alignment is perfect. I only looked at the tire because a strange rubbing sound got louder and louder over a course of a few days, and I was surprised to see the bulge. I fill my tires to 40psi, so maybe the bulge occurred when the tire temperature increased, or when I hit a minor bump? Either way, it's unacceptable, especially since I previously had two small leaks and then had another hole form in the sidewall.

    Sorry this happened to you too. $145 to replace a fairly new tire with another of the same is a bummer.



  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by emki View Post
    Ha! I laughed when reading that you were running two remaining Dunlops in the back and two different ones in the front. I'm doing the same thing. I'm glad the Federals are treating you well. Thanks for all the extra information about tires, it was helpful.

    I was planning to hold out for a Discount Tire Memorial sale, so bought a cheap $30, 175/65/14 Westlake RP18 tire from Amazon and had Walmart install it, thinking it would just be a temporary thing. Then I had a second Dunlop go flat, so I got another Westlake and am running the two on the front, with the Dunlops in back. So far the Westlakes are surprisingly quiet and smooth, balanced easily, and my MPG is still good...or at least hasn't plummeted (might be just a bit lower, but too early to tell).

    I'm not thrilled with this Dunlop + cheap Thailand-made/Chinese rubber tire combo, but I suspect I'll run with it for awhile. I might throw a spare winter tire in like Mark during long trips
    Anyone willing to jump to a 175/65-14 tire size will find lots of good tire options. I do think a person takes a gamble with cheap tires. Ironically, the Dunlop Enasave tires are the opposite of cheap. Falken and Federal seem to be more established brands of affordable tires. A 80,000 mile Falken tire for $44 is not a bad deal. Falken tires have a decent reputation in my mind.

    You may want to read this "Top 5 Worst Tire Brands To AVOID Purchasing In 2019".

    https://carfromjapan.com/article/ind...id-purchasing/

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    Quote Originally Posted by emki View Post
    I guess it's possible I hit something, but my point was about how fragile these tires are, like you mentioned. I didn't hit anything substantial, there is no damage to my wheel, and my alignment is perfect. I only looked at the tire because a strange rubbing sound got louder and louder over a course of a few days, and I was surprised to see the bulge. I fill my tires to 40psi, so maybe the bulge occurred when the tire temperature increased, or when I hit a minor bump? Either way, it's unacceptable, especially since I previously had two small leaks and then had another hole form in the sidewall.

    Sorry this happened to you too. $145 to replace a fairly new tire with another of the same is a bummer.
    I have done some research on a better replacement tire, as have others in this forum. For my next set of tires, I will choose the Quatrac 5 for quality, ratings, and price.

    https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.j...E&autoModClar=

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    Anyone willing to jump to a 175/65-14 tire size will find lots of good tire options. I do think a person takes a gamble with cheap tires. Ironically, the Dunlop Enasave tires are the opposite of cheap. Falken and Federal seem to be more established brands of affordable tires. A 80,000 mile Falken tire for $44 is not a bad deal. Falken tires have a decent reputation in my mind.

    You may want to read this "Top 5 Worst Tire Brands To AVOID Purchasing In 2019".

    https://carfromjapan.com/article/ind...id-purchasing/
    Thanks for sharing the link. I read that too. It does seem like a gamble, but the Amazon reviews for the 175/65/14 tires are surprisingly good! Amazon reviews don't always mean much, but reviews for the enasaves on amazon are horrible, so reviews aren't totally worthless.

    Honestly, at this point, I trust these cheap West Lakes at least as much as the stock tires. The two I bought are about 2lbs heaver each tire, but feel more substantial. Definitely a thicker sidewall. They balanced easy, and have done well on dry roads and have had good traction in rainy weather. No hydroplaning in very rainy weather. They've held consistent tire pressure, and have ridden quieter/smoother than the stock tires.

    I'll report back again, but so far I have 2000 miles on the westlakes and I'm happy with them. The rubber is much softer than the enasaves, and I suspect they will wear faster. Also, it's been interesting feeling the rubber after long drives. The westlakes are quite warm long trips, and when I feel the enasaves on the rear they are about body temperature (98.6 degrees). The westlakes are hot compared to body temperqture. So the stock tires definitely run cooler, which is consistent with the theory behind LLR rires, which conserve energy by generating less heat. It's hard for me to tell so far how much, but my mpg are definitely down a bit since putting the two westlakes on the front. Not down a ton, but definitely harder to break 50mpg for me.
    Last edited by emki; 06-13-2019 at 05:43 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MirageSEFan View Post
    I have done some research on a better replacement tire, as have others in this forum. For my next set of tires, I will choose the Quatrac 5 for quality, ratings, and price.

    https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.j...E&autoModClar=
    Those look great! I'll consider those too.

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    My then new Dunlop stock tires lasted til they went bald and never bulged like that however, and now my Bridgestones same story and minor cracks, getting soon to toast really.

    With tires it's worth the money to spend right, traveling at 100 feet a second it's worth more than $600 on anything else you know.

    Gonna be the 3rd set of tires in 5 and a half years, ouch still finding 14" tires in North America except Mexico and other countries.

    In Canada 14" tire prices are gouged I think and they are rare and don't last. Same great fuel economy on Dunlop and Bridgestones, to their end, 40 mpg or more in 4th gear for the 8 tires total
    Last edited by dspace9; 06-13-2019 at 09:30 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by dspace9 View Post
    My then new Dunlop stock tires lasted til they went bald and never bulged like that however, and now my Bridgestones same story and minor cracks, getting soon to toast really.

    With tires it's worth the money to spend right, traveling at 100 feet a second it's worth more than $600 on anything else you know.

    Gonna be the 3rd set of tires in 5 and a half years, ouch still finding 14" tires in North America except Mexico and other countries.

    In Canada 14" tire prices are gouged I think and they are rare and don't last. Same great fuel economy on Dunlop and Bridgestones, to their end, 40 mpg or more in 4th gear for the 8 tires total.
    I'm having a hard time following what you're trying to say here.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    I'm having a hard time following what you're trying to say here.
    Sorry lol too much working all the time, so I'm tired. My point is, I've had 2 sets of tires for my own 2014 Mirage.

    I have had the Dunlops that came with the car new, and the Bridgestone Potenzas. I'm trying to explan the good and the bad with those tires. Generally with the Mirage after around 115,000 km's of ownership, 5+ years.

    Trying to pass on advice, but I'm too tired to be typing on online forums, sorry Eggman for being non- sensical, my bad.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


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    In this part of the world there is absolutely no lack of tyres for small cars.
    I'm using Continental EcoContact5 LRR tyres. They have been on the car for about 50 000km now, and still have about half the tread left. Air pressure is the max it says on the tyre, being 3.0Bar or in medieval measures 45psi. They are rotated every 10 000 or so. The rear axle is almost within specs, and the front axle has been adjusted for neutral camber and neutral toe-in.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dspace9 View Post
    Sorry lol too much working all the time, so I'm tired. My point is, I've had 2 sets of tires for my own 2014 Mirage.

    I have had the Dunlops that came with the car new, and the Bridgestone Potenzas. I'm trying to explan the good and the bad with those tires. Generally with the Mirage after around 115,000 km's of ownership, 5+ years.

    Trying to pass on advice, but I'm too tired to be typing on online forums, sorry Eggman for being non- sensical, my bad.
    I had trouble finding 14" tires in Nova Scotia as well... cheapest I could find locally were well over $120 a pop, which is crazy for such a small tire, and they were special order ins.

    I got my tires from Quattro tires after my Enasaves wear bars appeared.

    https://www.quattrotires.com/tires/k...olus-ha31/3996

    Shipping was free and quick. Far cheaper for the exact same tire than anything I could find locally in Nova Scotia.

    Quattro is based in Quebec.


    Last edited by javensbukan; 07-16-2019 at 02:34 PM.

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