Front Tire Wear - Question & General Tire Questions [850][1995] ... posted by Nathan  on Sunday, 18 February 2001, at 8:26 a.m.

                       The front tires of my 1995 turbo 850 are in need of replacement.
                       The rear tires are in better shape and by my guestimates good for another 10,000 miles.
                       I'll confess- I don't rotate my tires as often as I should.
                       Realizing that on a high powered FWD car that most of the wear probably occurs up front this is
                       probably a "normal" situation.
                       Incidently - I have about 30,000 miles on the set of four tires.
                       The tires are : Michelin Energy MXV4 195/60R-15
                       I am contemplating switching to Dunlop D60 A2's next go around - the Michelin's did not really meet
                       my threadwear expectations and thus do not justify the premium price they carry (IMHO).
                       I am also thinking bout going from the 195/60-15's to 205/60-15's for a wider footprint. Any thought?
                       Any thoughts or experiences to share on this subject ?

                       I have those dunlops on two of my cars and to me, they're OK although admitedly not as ride worthly at
                       higher speeds as better tires would be but I hate spending alot of money of expensive tires. I've heard
                       from some that those dunlops don't last as long and can go 'out of round' prematurely causing vibration
                       problems on some cars but I've seen that happen with Michelin MXV4s too so I'm not convinced that
                       spending that much more on tires guarantees troublefree tires.
                       As for wider than stock tires, I'd advise not doing that because there's not much tire clearance in the
                       wheelwell and when people install wider tires, the tires rub on the plastic inner fenderwell during turns
                       and it chews the plastic up and sounds bad too.

                       Dunlops seem to be priced at about 1/2 the price of equivalent Michelins. We've had pretty good luck
                       over the years with them.

                       I've had a set of SP8000s and WOW did they wear FAST!!! I'm not sure if it's the compound or the
                       faster cornering, but they did wear out incredibly fast.

                       '98 V70T5M 61k (Dunlop SP5000s)/'88 Colony Park 177k (Dunlop SP60s)/'86 944 56k (Dunlop
                       D40M2s)

                       BTW, they say to always put the best tires on the rear of the car, RWD or FWD.

                       -Uncle Olaf

                       Nathan,
                       Just changed mine from Michelins MXV4 to Bridgestone Potenza RE730. I got them at the Tirerack for
                       about $89 each. Tread wear is rated at 300, Traction AA, Temp A. So far they stick great and are
                       fairly quiet. Althoug h not a all season tire works great for me in Northern CA. ( Bay Area).

                       Michael

                       95 855 NA 5 speed, ipd sway bars, TME cat back 2.5" exhaust, bilstiens, strut tower brace, SS brake
                       lines, KN Air filter and Amsoil 5W30.

                       Does anyone rotate tires anymore? Just wondering.

                       Charles,

                       Wish I had as my front tires have definately worn more than my rears and in need of replacement.

                       Now that I am back in a DYI mode and have a torque wrench I think I will rotate.

                       Part of my problem has always been a basic lack of trust/confidence in the "apathetic" types employed by
                       the local discount tire chain.

                       Though they'll look you in the eye and tell you they're equipment "cannot" over-torque the wheel nuts I am
                       skeptical.

                       I like my brake disk rotors true and quiet thank you.