Hello all,

I just got a flat tire yesterday and dropped it off to see if they could patch it. Hopefully they can but if not, what would the recommended replacement situation be? I have 30,000 miles on the original tires so would it be best to replace two of them? four of them? and if I do replace them, any suggestions? I don't mind a small hit on FE if I get a little quieter ride.

BTW, I heard the puncture and almost immediately the "low tire pressure" warning came on. I liked that

Thanks,
Steve

I have no first hand knowledge of either of these, but have heard good things about the Bridgestone Alenza and the Goodyear Silent Armor Triple Tread. I'll probably need new tires next fall. You might want to search this forum as I think I've seen it discussed before.

2005 Ford Escape Hybrid - Titanium Green, 4WD, Appearance Pkg, Leather, Nav System

I believe you live in the Bay area of California and that means no snow. I bought the Goodyear Fortera w/Tripletred tires for winter usage. I am happy with my choice and they work better than the Conti EcoPlus tires in snow and ice. Since you live where snow does not normally occur, these tires may not make sense unless you spend the weekends skiing.

John Morton has the Bridgeston Alenza tires and speaks positive of them.

2005 AWD Escape Hybrid
Best Interstate tank trip MPG 39.02 (scangauge II) for 402 miles on I-70, 10.3 gallons used over mostly flat terrain.

Best Interstate tank trip E30 MPG 34.6 for 271 miles along I-80 in Indiana and Ohio.

Best multiple road tank trip E30 MPG 36.2 for 202 miles in Southwestern Pa.

So what makes a tire loud or quiet?
I always figured it was the tread.
Big 4x4's with knobby mud tires comes to mind.

But the EcoPlus Conti's have very smooth, even tread.
And now that I have 59,000 miles, they are even smoother.
I never thought they were loud, but I don't have anything to compare them to other than knobby off-road tires.

In a lab, could they be a couple decibels more than some? I'm sure.
But can people in the car really tell? And how do you tell without a dB meter in the car? The quality of the road makes most of the noise, and this changes mile by mile.

I'm weary to think people assume more expensive tires are quieter.
Maybe they are. How can we tell for sure? Does everyone just go by ( go buy ) what the manufacturer says is quieter?

Confused... But I will need 4 tires in 1 year.

I do mostly highway... so quietness is something that interests me.
-John

Can't comment on the FEH, but I put Continental CrossContact LX's on the Expedition this summer. Love them so far. I hear that's also what comes on the Edge's. Good traction so far, and quiet.
I went over tirerack reviews for days before I decided. I was going to go with Michelian LTX's (I thint that was it) but the Conti had equal or better reviews in most categories (at the time didn't know they were on Edge's).
When my time comes, hopefully from remarks here that will be years, I would consider them for the FEH. Or might just trade the whole car for a current FEH (as the battery will be aging by then as well???)

2008 Escape Hybrid FWD
Ice Blue w/Chrome Pkg
Moonroof
Leather Premiem pkg
http://www.starlinkdss.com/Escape.htm
Mods: Tint front to match, Cargo Cover, Keyless Pad, Flaps, Side Moldings.
Want to add Chrome Bug Shield


2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer

I have Alenza's on mine & they are awesome.

The difference in road noise betweeen the Bridgestone's & the ECO PLUS is night & day.

My truck is so much quieter it feels like a totally different vehicle.

~John

Pictures of a few of the modifications I have made to the truck:

http://www.pbase.com/jmorton10/inbox&page=all

Presumably, the Eco Plus tires are a much harder rubber thus there is less rolling resistance (LRR tires). I am guessing that softer rubber means quieter tires, but means more rolling resistance. I think that most people who have changed tires report better traction and a quieter ride at the sacrifice of 1-2 mpg.

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 26,152
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


532 Gallons of gas saved
That's 10,642 lbs less CO2 emitted

In the Goodyear tires, is it Fortera Tripletread or the Fortera comfortread or does it matter overall? I had the Tripletread on my Crown Victoria and was not pleased as they were very loud. We have had the comfortread on my expedition and my wife was sold on them 500 yards from the tire dealer. I am not impressed with the Continetal tires though and want to move to Goodyear.

I just ordered Dunlop Radial Rover XT RV's from Discount Tire. We'll see how they compare to the mismatched Continentals that are on there now. The back tires are the original EcoPluses with 43K+ miles on them, the front tires are standard ContiTracs that I suspect the original owner put on before they turned it in at the end of their lease. In any case, the reviews on the tires say they're quieter and have better traction than the Continentals. Discount Tire had them rated 4 or 4.5 stars compared to 2.5 for the Continentals.

Note that tire weight is also a big factor in fuel mileage.

The continentals are light weight as well as lrr. They weigh 27 lbs vs for instance 32 for the Goodyear Fortreras.



MM