Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires Tire recommendations

Tread life is as much a tire issue as it is a driver issue. These cars corner very nice but the more of that you do and the more aggressively you do it the faster the tire wear. My OEM Firehawk GTA's were gone in 22,000 miles. I upgraded to 16" wheels and Firestone SZ 50 EP's, a dedicated summer performance tire which I use year round, no snow here. They are awesome cornering and rain tires. I wore my first set out in 19,000 miles with the help of some aggresive driving on some fun twisty road trips, they run about $150 each. With these tires, money doesn't mean tread life but fun driving in the dry and the wet. I got what I paid for! Most high and ultra high tires do not have any tread life warranty. You can get a relative idea of tread life by looking at the tread wear rating. If you want tread life, the higher the better, but you will be sacrificing some handling (cornering) characteristics.

For the record, the OEM Firestone GTA tires on SE's are a different tire than even the same tire you would get from Tirerack or your local tire shop. OEM's work deals with tire manufacturers and often produce a lower quality tire with the same name for OEM. This benefits both companies in that the OEM gets a better price and the tire supplier gets the repalcement business sooner. I have heard of people buying the exact same Firestone tire as replacements and the difference is amazing. Not hard, handles the same, and lasts twice as long. This doesn't mean I recommend the Firestone GTA, but if you buy them aftermarket are not nearly as bad as the OEM ones.

For the money and all-season purpose, the Dunlop SP Sport A2 is the best buy.

Oh, crap...that's what I meant. Eagle HPs...not GA's! What the hell was I thinking...Ga's are like touring tires. :rolleyes:

Anyway...Re: the Toyo Avids...you get what you pay for. I had them on the car I have now (were on it when I bought the car)...not a good tire.

I highly reccomend the Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Asymetrical. I have them on my car now and they rock. Dry, wet, and snow...these tires kick a$$. @ $98 each, they're worth the money. You can pay more $$$ for tires, but I doubt you'll find a tire that is AA traction rated, W speed rated, and handles well on wet & snow conditions too.

Just my $.02

The 205/60R15 SP 5000 is the not as highly rated symetrical design.

All Firehawks are not created equal. I switched to Firehawk SH30's when my GTA's wore out on my SE and it is an excellent tire for dry and wet traction; it works OK in snow too. Significantly better than the GTA's in wet (they were scary!) and snow. Not too bad price wise either.

Sears has Dunlop SP Sport A2 ($95) and also the GY Eagle HP ($83). Is the SP Sport A2 the same as the SP Sport 5000 or what's the differance?
Thx

Just to mention what initiated my reply. I currently have 4 TBC Grand Am Touring LSS on my Contour, initialy purchased from VIP Auto in Lawrence, MA (50k miles & 3 yrs ago). Purchase price included alignment, rotation, balance for the life of the tires. I've had a slow leak for a month and finally had the time to bring it back to VIP. They said the tire is irrepairable and needs to be replaced, but they don't carry the (what'z it's name) brand anymore, but said they will replace the tire and it's opposite with 2 new Perelli Formula GT's for $11 each (mounting & balance cost). I don't know how good the Perillis are, but thought it a pretty good outcome, and at the very least gives me more time to find another set of tires I may rather have. I have to say, I'll head for VIP to see what they have before I go elsewhere with service like that. Anyoine have comments on the Perillis?

Both my probe and tour are wrapped in Toyo® Proxes FZ4. I love them!