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Ford Freestyle Tires

160 messages,  Last post on Aug 04, 2009 at 1:14 PM

You are in the Ford Freestyle Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Freestyle, Tires, Wheels, SUV

Messages Page 9 of 17

#72 of 160 need some all-season tires that are good in snow by davexpert

Dec 23, 2007 (11:04 am)

I have a 2006 FWD SEL and about 30K miles on my original Conts. Live in St. Louis, MO - so snow comes about 5 times a year and we had a major storm last weekend... in the snow storm, I renamed our Freestyle the Ford Futile because of it's inability to get up a relatively minor hill in the snow. I'm hoping the tires are to blame and now am searching for some decent ones that I can put on their for year-round use, but will definitely be much more effective in snow/ice weather conditions.
 
Given this, are there any particular ones that seem to add a much better snow-readieness to a FWD Futile, I mean, er, Freestyle? Thanks!

#73 of 160 Re: need some all-season tires that are good in snow [davexpert] by jimcat11

Dec 23, 2007 (2:27 pm)

Replying to: davexpert (Dec 23, 2007 11:04 am)
Well we had 10 inches of snow.. preceeded by a little Ice here in Indiana.. I did not have any difficulty at all with those new Yokohamas I purchased in November.
 
I went up a little hill or two, that were not really plowed and got up just fne.
 
Jim

#74 of 160 Continentals. by mschmal

Dec 23, 2007 (10:36 pm)

The tires aren't bad for the money. Some people just might want a little more performance.
 
Mark

#75 of 160 fitted 255/55-18; pictures by glenncof

Feb 15, 2008 (1:01 pm)

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcOGzhu4aNXPQ
 
See picture at above site.
 
These are General Grabber UHP. They fit with no modification to factory 18" rims.

#76 of 160 Re: fitted 255/55-18; pictures [glenncof] by jwgasner

Feb 28, 2008 (11:22 pm)

Replying to: glenncof (Feb 15, 2008 1:01 pm)
Glenn - let me know how you like the Grabber UHPs. I'm here in MN and I like the looks of those better then the OEM's on my Freestyle. Will most likely need to replace mine next fall before winter sets in.

#77 of 160 Update on Yokohama YK-520s by saabturboid

Feb 29, 2008 (9:18 am)

I wanted to post an update on the Yokohama YK-520s I've had on my AWD '05 Freestyle for about 15 months now. One of the primary reasons I bought these tires is we only got 30k miles out of the stock Continentals and the YK-520s were rated as 60,000 mile tires. I'm sorry to report I doubt there is any way I will get that many miles out of these tires unless I run them the last 20,000 completely bald.
 
Since purchasing the tires we have put 22,000 miles on them and have rotated them three times. I was shocked to see as I looked more closely at the tires last weekend that the tread had already worn to within a few mm of the wear bars. This rate of wear indicates I may only have 10,000 miles left on these tires. This means they will likely only last a few thousand miles longer than the Continentals. Based on the 60,000 mile warranty I would have expected much better.
 
I'm am now curious if the AWD system of the Freestyle somehow causes more wear on the tires than perhaps a FWD vehicle might, or if these tire tread-wear estimates are simply marketing driven and wildly optimistic.
 
In any case, I believe my next set of tires will be required about 2 years sooner than planned and will be needed before next winter. At this point I'm leaning towards Goodyear TripleTreads. I have these on another vehicle and are happy with them and they do come in the Freestyles size. I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever be possible to get even 40,000 miles out of a set of tires on the Freestyle.
 
- Chad

#78 of 160 Re: Update on Yokohama YK-520s [saabturboid] by richfig23

Mar 03, 2008 (9:05 am)

Replying to: saabturboid (Feb 29, 2008 9:18 am)
I believe its a combination of the fact that the freestyle is so heavy and the AWD system. I too have experienced premature tire wear on my 06 limited, but I have accepted that this will always be the case, Fortunately, I typically don't dirve more than 10-15K miles per year

#79 of 160 Re: Update on Yokohama YK-520s [saabturboid] by coldcranker

Mar 09, 2008 (8:13 pm)

Replying to: saabturboid (Feb 29, 2008 9:18 am)
saabturboid (Chad): Certainly the fact that we run 215 mm width (215/65-17) tires in a 4000 lb vehicle does wear them out a bit faster. Instead of the Goodyear TripleTreds, try the Bridgestone Serenity, since it has a very thick tread (700 vs. your Yoko's 520), and you get an assymetrical tread design like your Yoko's. Assymetrical treads are really better, since the inside of your tread has different requirements than the outside edge (cornering). The ultimate thick-tread tire seems to be Michelin's HydroEdge, a 90,000 mile warranty tire!

#80 of 160 Re: Update on Yokohama YK-520s [coldcranker] by freealfas

Mar 09, 2008 (9:29 pm)

Replying to: coldcranker (Mar 09, 2008 8:13 pm)
90k tire, you might as well have tires carved out of solid rubber mounted... that's just a silly, silly idea. UV, road conditions, weather conditions, heat cycles, 7+years 12k a year, that makes no sense whatsoever to expect out of a tire. tires harder over time to begin with, start with a hard compound and keep it for that long, you are just asking to drive into a ditch...

#81 of 160 Re: Update on Yokohama YK-520s [coldcranker] by saabturboid

Mar 10, 2008 (8:24 am)

Replying to: coldcranker (Mar 09, 2008 8:13 pm)
I think you are onto something with the width of the tires only being 215s. It seems this vehicle would be better suited to have 225s, so for my next set I may try going with a 225/60/17 tire. This would make the tire slightly wider than stock allowing the wear to be distributed over a wider contact patch while keeping the sidewall relatively the same height.
 
I am not in agreement that the Freestyle is that heavy of a vehicle. The Freestyle is one of the lightest crossovers on the market and many family cars these days are approaching 4,000lbs. I suspect the biggest issue is the tire is simply undersized and wonder how much of an impact the AWD system has.
 
- Chad

Messages Page 9 of 17

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