frugality
Top Post Dawg
The car came with 17" silver Goal wheels wrapped in Continental ContiProContacts. Awful tires. Grip was O.K. in dry and wet, but they were the noisiest, harshest tires I've ever had. I was looking forward to the day I could ditch them.
In the winter, I run a set of 16" aluminum rims from TireRack with Continental ExtremeWinterContacts. GREAT winter tire. I got them because they were well-rated both by TireRack's staff reviews, as well as Consumer Report's reviews. Winter performance was great, and they handled much better than my 15" Dunlops that I ran on my Mk4 Golf.
I mention my winter setup because those winter tires rode SO smoothly and SO quietly. When I put my winter wheels on, I went "aaahhh" at the quietness and smoothness. And putting the summer ContiProContacts back on was depressing, because it meant I had 8 months of harsh, loud tires ahead of me.
So I wasn't sure what to do when it came time to (somewhat prematurely) ditch the ContiProContacts. I was torn between trying a different set of 17's, or whether I should ditch the Goal wheels and get a set of VW 16" wheels. Was it the tire, or was it simply the wheel size?
Well, I went with a new set of 17" Michelin Primacy MXM4's. And I'm glad I did. They are a great tire. HUGE improvement over the ContiProContacts. Smooth and quiet, although not quite as quiet as a 16". We've got a section of highway that's extremely rough (lots of aggregate poking through the concrete), and these new tires are very tolerable on it. At highway speed they're quiet, too.
One downside is that I lost 2mpg when I went back to the 17's.
I had 4 sets of Michelins on my Mk4 Golf, and they were all excellent tires, so I've been a fan of Michelins. They're more expensive tires, but worth it, in my opinion. I hope we don't get into a tiff with France where we have to boycott French things again. (think 'freedom fries')
In the winter, I run a set of 16" aluminum rims from TireRack with Continental ExtremeWinterContacts. GREAT winter tire. I got them because they were well-rated both by TireRack's staff reviews, as well as Consumer Report's reviews. Winter performance was great, and they handled much better than my 15" Dunlops that I ran on my Mk4 Golf.
I mention my winter setup because those winter tires rode SO smoothly and SO quietly. When I put my winter wheels on, I went "aaahhh" at the quietness and smoothness. And putting the summer ContiProContacts back on was depressing, because it meant I had 8 months of harsh, loud tires ahead of me.
So I wasn't sure what to do when it came time to (somewhat prematurely) ditch the ContiProContacts. I was torn between trying a different set of 17's, or whether I should ditch the Goal wheels and get a set of VW 16" wheels. Was it the tire, or was it simply the wheel size?
Well, I went with a new set of 17" Michelin Primacy MXM4's. And I'm glad I did. They are a great tire. HUGE improvement over the ContiProContacts. Smooth and quiet, although not quite as quiet as a 16". We've got a section of highway that's extremely rough (lots of aggregate poking through the concrete), and these new tires are very tolerable on it. At highway speed they're quiet, too.
One downside is that I lost 2mpg when I went back to the 17's.
I had 4 sets of Michelins on my Mk4 Golf, and they were all excellent tires, so I've been a fan of Michelins. They're more expensive tires, but worth it, in my opinion. I hope we don't get into a tiff with France where we have to boycott French things again. (think 'freedom fries')