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Thread: Federal SS-657 (165/65-14) - long term thoughts?

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    Federal SS-657 (165/65-14) - long term thoughts?

    Walmart's price on 165/65-14 Federal SS-657 tires fluctuate. I would say $45-50 is the norm. Walmart has them listed @ $37.90 today. I am not endorsing these tires, but inquiring about them instead.

    If you have used these tires for quite some time, I would like to hear your verdict on them? How many miles did you get out them? Did you buy a second set?

    I realize many members bail on 165/65-14 tires and go with something else. I would rather not hear about that here. I would like to hear long term user's opinions of the Federal SS-657 tire.



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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    Walmart's price on 165/65-14 Federal SS-657 tires fluctuate. I would say $45-50 is the norm. Walmart has them listed @ $37.90 today. I am not endorsing these tires, but inquiring about them instead.

    If you have used these tires for quite some time, I would like to hear your verdict on them? How many miles did you get out them? Did you buy a second set?

    I realize many members bail on 165/65-14 tires and go with something else. I would rather not hear about that here. I would like to hear long term user's opinions of the Federal SS-657 tire.
    I've been running them since the OEM Enasaves were toast at 30k. I got 45k out of the 1st set and just put another set on a couple of months ago. Excellent in the rain, quieter than the Enasaves. No problem with flats. Took a small 1 mpg hit. Max psi is 44 but I found 38psi to be the best for driveability. Hope that helps.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    I have heard good things here on the forum about the Federal Super Steel SS-657s, so I ordered a set when they were cheap somewhere even though I did not need tires at the time. I am a bit of 'tire hoarder'...not sure why. I always like to have a spare set or two laying around for some reason. IIRC, they were about $40 each with shipping.

    I have not installed them yet, opting instead to first use up the set of 10k take-off Enasaves I got from Subcompact Culture earlier this year. I installed those a couple weeks ago, and the Super Steels are sitting in my garage. Upon inspection, they look like very nice tires, as I expected they would.

    What I can tell you is that I have used this exact model of tire in the past, and have always had good luck with them. I think the last set I had was 155/80-13, and they were on a '97 Geo Metro. If you can get them cheap and in the right size you have little to fear about buying them.

    Federal is a good brand. They are certainly not going to be worse than the Enasaves.

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    Quote Originally Posted by inuvik View Post
    I've been running them since the OEM Enasaves were toast at 30k. I got 45k out of the 1st set and just put another set on a couple of months ago. Excellent in the rain, quieter than the Enasaves. No problem with flats. Took a small 1 mpg hit. Max psi is 44 but I found 38psi to be the best for driveability. Hope that helps.
    Inuvik - I appreciate your feedback on these tires. I ask this question not only for myself, but anyone else who may want to stay with 165/65-14 factory stock size tires.

    165/65-14 tires -
    Bridgestone Ponteza RE92 (40,000 mile warranty) @ $88.32 (simpletire.com)
    Dunlop Enasave @ $118.99 (simpletire.com)
    Federal SS-657 tire @ $44.62 (simpletire.com) or $37.90 @ Walmart
    All prices reflect free shipping.

    I lost a Dunlop @ 15,000 miles. My Mirage turned over 26,000 miles today, & I have a pair of Federal tires with 11,000 miles on them. The Federal tires were on the rear this past winter, & they are up front this summer. The Federal tires are more planted to the road than the Dunlop. I have not seen a difference in mpg since adding them to the car. I keep my tires around 40 psi.

    It helps to know someone else has gotten 40,000+ miles out of the Federal tires, & they have bought a second set of Federal tires to replace them.
    Last edited by Mark; 07-16-2019 at 11:49 PM.

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    Azariah747 (04-14-2021),davidricardo86 (07-16-2021)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    Inuvik - I appreciate your feedback on these tires. I ask this question not only for myself, but anyone else who may want to stay with 165/65-14 factory stock size tires.

    165/65-14 tires -
    Bridgestone Ponteza RE92 (40,000 mile warranty) @ $88.32 (simpletire.com)
    Dunlop Enasave @ $118.99 (simpletire.com)
    Federal SS-657 tire @ $44.62 (simpletire.com) or $37.90 @ Walmart

    All prices reflect free shipping.
    Interesting side note, I ordered my last set from Walmart and they had Simpletire labels on them. No Wally World labeling at all.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by inuvik View Post
    Interesting side note, I ordered my last set from Walmart and they had Simpletire labels on them. No Wally World labeling at all.
    I've seen Walmart list the Federal tires from other sellers. I've also seen them range from $37.90 to over $100 for the same tire. $45-50 seems to be the norm for these tires, however.

    I bought a pair of Federal tires from simpletire.com, because they were cheaper there at the time. Today they are cheaper at Walmart. It really fluctuates.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    I have heard good things here on the forum about the Federal Super Steel SS-657s, so I ordered a set when they were cheap somewhere even though I did not need tires at the time. I am a bit of 'tire hoarder'...not sure why. I always like to have a spare set or two laying around for some reason. IIRC, they were about $40 each with shipping.

    I have not installed them yet, opting instead to first use up the set of 10k take-off Enasaves I got from Subcompact Culture earlier this year. I installed those a couple weeks ago, and the Super Steels are sitting in my garage. Upon inspection, they look like very nice tires, as I expected they would.

    What I can tell you is that I have used this exact model of tire in the past, and have always had good luck with them. I think the last set I had was 155/80-13, and they were on a '97 Geo Metro. If you can get them cheap and in the right size you have little to fear about buying them.

    Federal is a good brand. They are certainly not going to be worse than the Enasaves.

    Cobrajet - I really appreciate your input, too. I can't say that I ever heard much about Federal tires prior to searching for 165/65-14 tires.

    Federal seems to be legit tire company with a good history and a decent product for the price. I've had zero experience with them in the past. It's good to hear that you have had good luck with Federal tires on other vehicles.

    I haven't really seen any red flags on Federal tires at this point. Since 165/65-14 is not a common tire size in the U.S., I don't see stockpiling a pair or set of tires as being bad either. Since tires age over time, I wouldn't want them sitting around for years, but a year or so is no big deal. I would hate to be stuck over paying for a tire, because my timing to need one is bad.

    For those who want to stick with factory size 14" tires, the Federal tires are surely an option. It helps to know they may last 40,000+ miles or so. I don't have the impression that the more expensive Bridgestone or Dunlop tires do much better than that.

    Since I travel on snow covered ridge roads at times, tire traction can trump things for me, too. I wouldn't claim Federal SS-657 are great in snow, but neither are the Enasave tires. In that case, the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires may sway me more. Then again Dunlop Winter Maxx @ or Nokian Nordman 7 snow tires are even better choices. I wouldn't want to drive those snow tires year round, however. Thus, the Federal tires are still a viable alternative for a good part of the year.

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    I bought these Federal SS-657 165/65R14 about the end of last year. i have put 16,000 miles on the tires with moderate uber driving and turning with lots of rough roads and pot holes. i live in rochester NY. so far the tires have worn well. i had bad rotors for a bit and the edges of 2 of them got a little washboardy, but otherwise they have worn evenly and held up good. like like i should get another 15k at least. if i didnt live in rochester i would get 45k easily from these tires. great tires for the price, really cant beat it. first to picture are the tires that recently got rotated to the back and the second pictures are the front tires which used to be on the back. they were rotated at 10k.Name:  tread1.jpg
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    Last edited by Azariah747; 04-14-2021 at 03:40 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Azariah747 View Post
    I bought these Federal SS-657 165/65R14 about the end of last year. i have put 16,000 miles on the tires with moderate uber driving and turning with lots of rough roads and pot holes. i live in rochester NY. so far the tires have worn well. i had bad rotors for a bit and the edges of 2 of them got a little washboardy, but otherwise they have worn evenly and held up good. like like i should get another 15k at least. if i didnt live in rochester i would get 45k easily from these tires. great tires for the price, really cant beat it. first to picture are the tires that recently got rotated to the back and the second pictures are the front tires which used to be on the back. they were rotated at 10k.
    Thanks for sharing all that!

    For the money, I feel the 165/65r14 Federal tires are a good alternative to Dunlop Ensave tires that may cost 2-3 times more.

    Since this thread was started, I sort watch the prices of three tires. I feel these three 165/65-14 tires represent a good alternative to 165/65-14 Dunlop Enasave tires -

    Federal SS657 (40,000 warranty ?)
    Nexen N'Priz AH5 (50,000 warranty)
    Kumho Solus TA31 (60,000 warranty)

    When I lost a factory Dunlop (sidewall blow out) in 2018 (@15,000 miles), I bought a pair of Federal SS657 tires. I can't even say the Dunlop tire had 15,000 miles on it, because I was using a pair of snow tires up front during the winter before this happened. At the time, the Nexen & Kumho tires weren't on the scene. I paid about $40/tire for the Federal tires at the time.

    I bought a pair of Nexen tires on sale last summer for $50/tire. If the Nexen tires are $75/tire, I would buy the cheaper Federal tires instead. I have no complaints with the Federal tires. I just want to see how the Nexen tires compare, & I will probably do the same with the Kumho some day.

    FYI - 2021 Mirages no longer come stock with Dunlop tires.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    Thanks for sharing all that!

    For the money, I feel the 165/65r14 Federal tires are a good alternative to Dunlop Ensave tires that may cost 2-3 times more.

    Since this thread was started, I sort watch the prices of three tires. I feel these three 165/65-14 tires represent a good alternative to 165/65-14 Dunlop Enasave tires -

    Federal SS657 (40,000 warranty ?)
    Nexen N'Priz AH5 (50,000 warranty)
    Kumho Solus TA31 (60,000 warranty)

    When I lost a factory Dunlop (sidewall blow out) in 2018 (@15,000 miles), I bought a pair of Federal SS657 tires. I can't even say the Dunlop tire had 15,000 miles on it, because I was using a pair of snow tires up front during the winter before this happened. At the time, the Nexen & Kumho tires weren't on the scene. I paid about $40/tire for the Federal tires at the time.

    I bought a pair of Nexen tires on sale last summer for $50/tire. If the Nexen tires are $75/tire, I would buy the cheaper Federal tires instead. I have no complaints with the Federal tires. I just want to see how the Nexen tires compare, & I will probably do the same with the Kumho some day.

    FYI - 2021 Mirages no longer come stock with Dunlop tires.
    yeah if i get 30k out of them ill be happy for what im doing. 50 USD a pop you cant go wrong. i may buy an extra set or two while they still cheapo lol ill see what i get total out of them. i got 37k out of the dunlops that came on it. should have changed them at 33k



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