WS Fiesta Zetec - new tyres on stock 16-inch wheels?

[ach]

Hi guys - I know there are a few tyre-related threads on this forum, but I couldn't find anything specifically relevant to my question, so I'm starting a new thread in the hope of getting some real-world feedback.

My WS Fiesta Zetec is in need of 4 new tyres, after having done 55,000 kms on the original Continental ContiPremiumContact 2s it came with. And as we all know, the WS Zetec's tyre size is rather unusual in Australia, so my tyre choices are limited. (The OEM size being 195/45 R16.)

I think I have the option of going to a more common tyre size without having to recalibrate anything (eg. 205/45R16?) - but I like the current look and ride of the car, so am a bit reluctant to mess with it. (I haven't done much research on this front though to be honest.)

So the top 3 options I'm looking at, for 195/45 R16:
1. Keep the same, ie Continental ContiPremiumContact 2 -> $220 each
2. Hankook K107 Ventus S1 evo -> $170 each
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE050A -> $210 each

(I know there are a few other ones available, eg. Toyo Proxes T1-R and Kumho KU31, but they seem a bit obscure so not in my top 3.)

My question is - does anyone here have any experience on any of these tyres for the WS Fiesta?

I'd be especially interested in hearing any comments on the Hankooks, as they're quite a bit cheaper than the other 2 tyres.

Alternatively, if you've 'upsized' your tyres with good results (while keeping the 16-inch wheels), then I'm keen to hear about it too.

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

[a pirate]

as a cheaper option ive worn out quite a few sets of Kumho KU31's they are pretty good in grip (wet and dry) and last quite well...i would put those into the mix. If in Sydney get a price for them from Tempe tires as they parallel import and cheaper than most tire shops.

[Fiesta God]

I had the Hankook's on for about 35,000kms (came with the car).

Have also had the Conti's (for about 40,000kms) now have Maxxi's (on my aftermarket rims).

The Conti's rode better than the Hankook's (i.e. a bit more comfortable) but not by much. The Hankook's grip better in the wet, although they wore out quicker than the Conti's (by about 5000kms). No noticeable difference in braking performance or handling between the two.

My opinion is that I would go for the Hankook's over the Conti's, as the $50 price difference isn't worth justifying. If you could get the Conti's for about $200 each then it's probably worth it, but the Hankook's are a damn good tyre.

Maxxi's VA-1's are what I have now ... they don't make them in 195-size but for $150 each they are certainly a bit easier on the hip pocket. Not as grippy in the wet as the Hankook's or the Conti's though, but more comfortable ride (bigger sidewall helps).

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by ach

(The OEM size being 195/45 R16.)

I think I have the option of going to a more common tyre size without having to recalibrate anything (eg. 205/45R16?) - but I like the current look and ride of the car, so am a bit reluctant to mess with it. (I haven't done much research on this front though to be honest.)

So the top 3 options I'm looking at, for 195/45 R16:

Alternatively, if you've 'upsized' your tyres with good results (while keeping the 16-inch wheels), then I'm keen to hear about it too.

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

I have up sized my Focus tyres from well worn 195/55/16s to new 205/55/16s.

If you are used to performance driving and handling you will not like the initial change, and the difference will feel very obvious at first. The taller tyre will make the car feel very bargy / lofty and you can reduce this a little by pumping the tyres 10% above factory specs.

The reason for this is that a well worn tyre will be 10-12mm shorter than a new one, then you are adding the height of the new tyre, which will also be oversized (by 1.7%).

On the other hand, my speedo became 100% accurate with the change.

Do they make a 205/50/16 (1.5% smaller than your 195) or is that also an uncommon size?

I did the same with my Festiva, and experienced the same handling characteristics. After a week or 2, you soon forget and the car just starts to feel normal to drive.

I think Bridgestone has a 'buy 3, get the 4th free' promotion as well. May be able to buy some better boots for the same price as 4 cheaper tyres???

[kiwijohn42]

I went for the Toyo Proxes T1R in a 205/45/16 & cheaper than the 195. Go figure.
Miles better than the Continentals & excellent in the wet. Superb tyres.

[GoesLikeAZetec]

Changed to Yokohama S Drives. Conti's lasted about 40k as well. Yokies have way way more grip, but they have more noise than the conti's.

[Ms_Jam]

You might also check out the Pirelli pZero Nero.

After some research, I put these on my 2009 WS Zetec, and I am very happy with them. I had no complaints about the original Continentals, but the Pirellis are better. I was not keen on going to 17 inch wheels, on account of comfort and economy. Bigger wheels + fatter tyres = more petrol.

The ESP warning light has not come on - not once - since I had them. I had one scary moment when I had to do a hard swerve to avoid a collisiion, but the Pirellis stuck firmly to the road while I could feel the strain feed through the Fiesta's tough little body.

I am still on the original wheels, but despite a few big pot-holes on the Pirellis, the rims are still in good shape (I had them checked at the last alignment).

My interest in the Pirellis arose from noticing that a review model supplied by Ford to introduce the new Fiesta to the US had been shod with the pZero Nero.

If you go to the Tire sub-forum here, you will find that Bearman did an amazing progressive review of his experience with pZero Neros. Worth a look.

They are not inexpensive. But the question is not how much they cost, but how much more they cost than an acceptable alternative. Are the savings on a cheaper tire really worth it? I did a lot of ringing around, and the best price at the time came from Tyrepower in Reservoir. But I am aware that astoundingly attractive prices on Pirellis are sometimes available if you are shopping at the right time.

If you decide on the pZero Neros, just bear in mind that to get the best out of them, you need a decent alignment.

[Cuyper]

The Hankook S1 evos have given the best driving experience for me , good traction but more importantly they feel "right"

[ach]

Thanks for all the replies, some good information here.

So I've done some further research on the options people have mentioned here, and the only thing that's clear is, the more I looked into the various options, the further away from a decision I got!

For now I've decided to keep it to the same top 3, for various reasons. The Kumhos are the same price as the Hankooks (and I wasn't convinced they were any better), the Pirellis were even more expensive than the Continentals ($240 each), and the Toyo T1-R seems to get very contradictory feedback (some say they're awesome, some say they're awful).

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I think Bridgestone has a 'buy 3, get the 4th free' promotion as well.

I did see that, and that would have made up my mind for me. However, after lots of ringing around, it seems no one in the state (NSW) has any stock of this tyre in the size I need. Bridgestone says the next shipment is due first week of June - unfortunately the 'buy 3 get 1 free' promo finishes end of May, and annoyingly I can't lock in the promo pricing if the stock is not here, even if I want to pre-pay for the tyres! Doesn't make sense to me.

So at the moment I'm kinda back to where I started.

Oh - I did find an outfit selling parallel imports of the Bridgestone RE050A, at a significantly cheaper price, but I'm hesitant on buying them at the moment. My main concern is with the warranty and specs of the tyres (assuming Australian-spec RE050As may be different to other countries' versions).

Would people here have any advice for or against buying parallel import tyres?

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by ach

Hi guys - I know there are a few tyre-related threads on this forum, but I couldn't find anything specifically relevant to my question, so I'm starting a new thread in the hope of getting some real-world feedback.

My WS Fiesta Zetec is in need of 4 new tyres, after having done 55,000 kms on the original Continental ContiPremiumContact 2s it came with. And as we all know, the WS Zetec's tyre size is rather unusual in Australia, so my tyre choices are limited. (The OEM size being 195/45 R16.)

I think I have the option of going to a more common tyre size without having to recalibrate anything (eg. 205/45R16?) - but I like the current look and ride of the car, so am a bit reluctant to mess with it. (I haven't done much research on this front though to be honest.)

So the top 3 options I'm looking at, for 195/45 R16:
1. Keep the same, ie Continental ContiPremiumContact 2 -> $220 each
2. Hankook K107 Ventus S1 evo -> $170 each
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE050A -> $210 each

(I know there are a few other ones available, eg. Toyo Proxes T1-R and Kumho KU31, but they seem a bit obscure so not in my top 3.)

My question is - does anyone here have any experience on any of these tyres for the WS Fiesta?

I'd be especially interested in hearing any comments on the Hankooks, as they're quite a bit cheaper than the other 2 tyres.

Alternatively, if you've 'upsized' your tyres with good results (while keeping the 16-inch wheels), then I'm keen to hear about it too.

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

My Fiesta Zetec came with Hankook K107 Ventus S1 Evo as standard, I replaced them with another set of the same (paid $170 each as well) and I'm very happy with them. They're just as good as the Continentals that were on my missus WQ Zetec.

Kumho KU 31s are slightly cheaper than the Hankooks (about $10-15 per tyre) but by no means a lesser tyre. I have them on my XR8 and love them. I wouldn't hesitate to throw them on a Fiesta (or anything for that matter)

[Cuyper]

I've had two sets of hankooks, one set Maxxis, one set of Toyo proxies and one set of some random Chinese brand I forget at the moment.

The hankooks were by far the best, the maxxis second best. I didn't like the Tokyo proxies, they were very quiet but paid for it by having soft unsure feeling sidewalls. I had one of the Toyo's delaminate a few weeks ago so replaced it with a pair of Chinese tyres, which are slightly less grippy than the toyos in the wet which weren't very good to begin with but the Chinese tyres are OK. All of the last about 40,000kms the set, hankooks have given significantly better fuel economy and grip than the rest but above all they have a much better feel through the wheel, the car has always felt a bit nasty and cheap on every other set other than the maxxis. Toyo proxies felt horrible compared to the hankooks I drove into the shop on, plus delaminated within 20,000kms. For me the feedback I get in the wheel either make me happy or sad, the hankooks pay for themself in fuel economy let alone happy ness.

[vhcbm]

I have the KU39's on my 17" wheels at the moment and they seem pretty good. Jax quick fit had them for 159 each installed.

[ach]

Thanks everyone for your input.

In case anyone is interested, I decided against buying the parallel import Bridgestone RE050As, and was set on going with the Hankook K107s. From feedback here and elsewhere online, they seemed a pretty decent choice, and good value-for-money.

However - I then managed to find a Bridgestone dealer that could source some stock of the RE050As, and hence sell them to me at the promotional pricing. Ended up at $160 per tyre (taking into account the Buy 3 Get 1 Free promo), so I was happy with that. Haven't got them on the car yet though.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Did you go the larger tyre or same size as what you replaced?

[ach]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Did you go the larger tyre or same size as what you replaced?

I'm keeping the same size.