economical tire consensus?

[Dirk Diggler]

Wasnt it posted if you put in 40 psi the 175s dont even lose hardly any mpg? I know Im making the switch soon my back tires are balder than Luc Picard.

[Cobrajet]

I have set of the Federals sitting in my garage. They look like very nice tires...especially for the money. DO NOT buy the Vee Rubber 'Sh!ttyStars'. They are so bad I had to remove mine after about ten miles and throw them away!

[AtomicPunk]

Wasnt it posted if you put in 40 psi the 175s dont even lose hardly any mpg? I know Im making the switch soon my back tires are balder than Luc Picard.

Set tires at 40 psi; engage!

[Daox]

I am still really loving my Hankook Kinergy St tires. They are LRR and not crazy expensive. I think I paid $60 per tire and there was a rebate going on for $50 I think. They definitely boosted my MPG up from the Fuzion HRi tires I had on before them.

Some more info on my research:
https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...quot-OE-wheels

If you're looking for the lowest cost per mile, I think the Falken Sincera tires are probably the way to go.

[Top_Fuel]

...Was it Top Fuel or Cobrajet that upsized and didn't lose much economy?

I put 185-55-15 Bridgestone Ecopia tires on my car when it was brand new. Did I lose any fuel economy? Based on my fuel log, I don't think so.

These tires are approaching 80,000 miles and the end of their useful life. I will be replacing them as soon as Costco has their next Bridgestone promotion. Costco is the least expensive way to purchase these tires.

I'm going to replace them with 185-60-15 instead of 185-55-15. Why? Because 185-60-15 is a much more common tire size in the US. This means they're less expensive and it will be easier for me to find a replacement if I'm in a jam. The Tire Rack has almost 50 tires in this size!

A 185-60-15 is slightly taller...so my speedo will be off slightly. That's OK with me. Ultimately it means slightly lower RPMs for me on the freeway. I'll do a full write-up when I do this...which should be before the end of the year.

Because I am able to run a Low Rolling Resistance tire that also has a long tread life (a combination that doesn't seem to exist in a 14" tire), my tire cost-per-mile is probably among the lowest on this forum. So if you really want the best economical tire, don't forget to consider tread life and rolling resistance along with the price.

[Dark Magenta]

Also I see a lot of people get bigger tires but has anyone tried to get smaller/less wide tires to improve MPG?

Depending on the year of your car (front brake size) you can go to 13" tires and find narrower ones.
Nokian had (has?) some 155/70-14 and 155/65-14. I was excited about the 155/70 but they discontinued them...possibly still available if you can run tires with studs. I, too, like the idea of narrower for wind resistance, less hydroplaning, cutting through snow and slush, but I do a lot of highway miles, so I don't want a shorter tire.

I got a set of Dunlop Winter Maxx to give my Enasaves a break for part of the year. I'll probably go with the Vredestein Quatrac 5 when I'm ready to give up on the Enasaves...we'll see.

[Mark]

Depending on the year of your car (front brake size) you can go to 13" tires and find narrower ones.
Nokian had (has?) some 155/70-14 and 155/65-14. I was excited about the 155/70 but they discontinued them...possibly still available if you can run tires with studs. I, too, like the idea of narrower for wind resistance, less hydroplaning, cutting through snow and slush, but I do a lot of highway miles, so I don't want a shorter tire.

I got a set of Dunlop Winter Maxx to give my Enasaves a break for part of the year. I'll probably go with the Vredestein Quatrac 5 when I'm ready to give up on the Enasaves...we'll see.

Warning: 13" rims will not fit on a 2017+ Mirage with larger front brakes. 14" rims barely clear them.

[Wallythacker]

I put 185-55-15 Bridgestone Ecopia tires on my car when it was brand new. I will be replacing them as soon as Costco has their next Bridgestone promotion. Costco is the least expensive way to purchase these tires.

I'm going to replace them with 185-60-15 instead of 185-55-15.

55 Series @ Costco = $130
60 Series @ Costco = $115

Quite a difference per tire for such a small nominal change

What I'm going to write is my rambling, put on paper so I can more easily see the various costs.

If I go with Konig Heliums @$175 or so in Canada + 60 series Ecopia @115 (+$20 install) it's going to be ~$1450 OTD for all 4 wheels. Ouch. Double ouch. To dress up both my Mirages is $2900. Nope. That's not going to happen. Ever. I have to keep in mind whatever I decide is necessary on 1 Mirage will likely get done to both. To be fair nothing is necessary, everything is wants. I could drive them both for ages with no improvements.

I can argue that my '14 was so cheap I can afford to drop a fair chunk of tires. However, tires aren't the only thing I want to improve. There's springs, sway bars, drilled rotors, tinting, cruise, lights, audio, etc. I could easily run up the costs into the $3k range.

To install Hankook Kinergys 185/60R14 on the Mirage alloys is $400 CDN shipped + $100 installation it's about a $500 hit. Both Mirages will set me back $1000. Not horrible but not my first choice for appearance.

Maybe I can sell my Mirage alloys with their 1,000 mile Enasaves. (they came off the week my '14 came home from Ottawa for winter tires. My '14 was destroyed in Feb/17. That set of tires has been stored inside since.) They do fit a lot of cars, maybe I can get $500 for them? I'd then go for the Konig/Ecopia combo for a $900 hit. I can deal with that especially as I'm getting the awesome wheels. Then I'll go with the Kinergys on Mits alloys for $500 for a total of $1200 both cars. That looks even more appealing to me.

Here I thought getting upgraded tires and wheels was going to be a breeze and not that expensive.

[Top_Fuel]

55 Series @ Costco = $130
60 Series @ Costco = $115

Whew...hard to get my head around Canadian prices.

Here's a Costco quote from a month ago when they were running their free installation promotion and Bridgestone rebate...

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus 185-60-15

TIRES......4 @ $99 = $396
INSTALL...Free
REBATE....-$70 (Instant Bridgestone Rebate)

Total cost of 4 tires installed: $326 (...or $81.50 per tire installed)

...Konig Heliums @$175 or so in Canada...

Were back to those Canadian prices again. That's double what they cost in the US.
I like these wheels as a low-cost, light weight option for anyone considering 15" wheels.

...Maybe I can sell my Mirage alloys with their 1,000 mile Enasaves...maybe I can get $500 for them?

I had perfect OEM alloys (off of my '15) and 700 mile Enasaves that I couldn't sell on this forum. Everyone here is...well...too cheap (no offense intended) I ultimately sold them on eBay for $450. I had to sell the wheels separately from the tires for the best return. Lots of people looking for wheels or tires...but it's rare that someone is looking for both for a Mirage.

...I thought getting upgraded tires and wheels was going to be a breeze and not that expensive.

It cost me about $300 after I sold my original wheels/tires. Unfortunately, everything is more expensive up there.

[Fummins]

Whew...hard to get my head around Canadian prices.

It cost me about $300 after I sold my original wheels/tires. Unfortunately, everything is more expensive up there.

It gets hard to compare apples to ice cubes. Min wage in Alberta is $15/hr(11.47usd), Ohio is $8.55/hr(11.18cad). I miss when our dollar was equal