2008 STA Tire Replacement Advise

[kevinbakon]

Hey all, a little advise if you don't mind . . .

I FINALLY wore out my factory installed 255/50R-20 Pirelli Scorpion STR tires . . . Those tires were a nightmare from the beginning (road noise, bad vibrations, etc.).

Last April, I replaced them with a little wider and better rated tire,

265/50R-20 XL 111V B Yokohama Prada Spec X tires

The salesman recommended the wider tire for better wear, as my Pirelli tires were wearing on the inside a little unevenly, on all four.

Less than a year later (over the last couple of months) I've noticed dramatic wear on the outside shoulder of all four of the Yokohamas . . . My immediate thought was that it was either due to the alignment, faulty tires, aggressive turning, or all of the above . . . Admittedly I drive a little aggressive, but I can't imagine that being the primary culprit . . . Regarding the alignment, I've actually had 4 in the last year and a half, with no major adjustments, major part failures, etc. . . .

The salesman denied that it was the tires, but worked with me on a price for replacement . . . We agreed on a price & he encouraged me to go even bigger on the tires to prevent this from reoccurring. He explained that the tires would have more rubber around the rim's edges, etc . . . the problem is though that he went too big and they now rub. They are

275/55R-20 XL 117V B Yokohama Prada Spec X tires

Considering I have little to know tire buying experience (mainly because I've never needed any) I have to rely on the "experts" weather they are knowledgeable or not. The salesmen have ill-advised me twice now, so my thought is that since the manufacturer has a specific recommendation for tire size, although Pirelli was a bad choice, I have to thing maybe they got the size right???

The salesman has agreed to replace them & I have decided that since the originaly wore the best, but rode horribly.

I plan to go with the original size 255/50R-20 tires (V-rated), but cant quite decide which to go with, for the best even-wearing, traction, control, smoothness, etc.



Here are the two I'm considering:

The same Yokohamas (but OEM size this time)

http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/parada_specx.aspx

or

Goodyear Eagle RS-A (OEM size)

http://www.goodyeartires.com/tire/eagle-rs-a/

I more than welcome any other input or advise I may not have considered.

Thanks for your time & input!

Kevin

 

[Gavin Allan]

Eagle RS-A tires suck. They have awful traction in rain and snow.



Go to tirerack.com and put in your vehicle and then start reading the survey results and reviews.



i have had very good experience with BF Goodrich and Michelin tires. (except the total crap Michelin Cross-Terrains that Ford uses OEM on the Tracs).

 

[Robert Caffyn]

Take a look at Toyo tires. I really like mine (Proxes STII). Not too expensive either, wear very well, plenty of grip and very good in the rain. Bob

 

[Carey Frennier]

Wear on both outside treads = low psi. On one side usually means alignment.



If your alignment is good its probably the dynamics of the vehicle. I believe ford adressed this issue with the 09+ STA with better sway control. Thus less odd wear on the tires.



I sold tires when I was in college and 9 times out of 10, if I sold a guy extra wide tires (one or two sizes wider). He would be back with wear on the sides. It was because of the rim not being wide enough for the tire and it actually caused more body roll and faster wear than a tire that better fits the rim.



Gotta have the right feet for those shoes kind of thing.

 

[kevinbakon]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!



I've been doing a little more reading on the Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires & I've decided to take them out of the equation, but came across these instead:

Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+H/L+Alenza&partnum=55VR0HLALNZXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes



I looked into the Toyo tires, but found very little locally, nothing in the right size and didn't find much in the way of reviews . . .



I suspect you're spot on with the dynamics of the vehicle comment . . . (combinations of the wheel width, stance & height, my driving habits, etc.)



The original salesman sold me on a little wider because the had it in stock, better traction, handling, it will give me "better gas mileage" , etc.

The second salesman's remedy was to not only go wider, but to go taller. His reasoning was that I would have more rubber, hence more cushion for the rim's outer lip, to prevent wear on the tire's shoulder.



Once again, although very analytical & technical, I have little to know understanding of the physics of tire wear. Point being that I honestly have no idea if this guy is blowing smoke up my you-know-what or if he's got some valid points . . .



Bottom line, I'd rather have evenly worn tires than more esthetically pleasing or "better gas mileage", so I plan to go by today after lunch and have him put an OEM size set of tires on . . .

Despite my last experience with the Yokohama tires, I'm still leaning towards them and holding my breath that the uneven wear was due to the size, not the manufacturer.



Does anyone have any personal experience with Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tires?

 

[Supercharged SVT]

how did it look with the little wider... 265. any pix

 

[Dingo]

The ones on it now are 2 inches too tall. Wider is one thing, but did you want taller?

 

[kevinbakon]

Well I ended up swapping the

275/55R-20 XL 117V B Yokohama Prada Spec X tires

for the OEM sized

255/50R-20 XL 111V B Yokohama Prada Spec X tires

so far, so good!



No, I really didn't want taller . . . on one hand, it did fill in the wheel well nicely (despite the rubbing), but on the other hand it took away from the low-profile look. Not knowing anything about the physics of tire wear, etc. all I had to go with was the salesman's advise.



I suspected some of you might be curious what the larger tires looked like on my truck, so I snapped a couple shots (front & rear, close and far).

Pardon the filth . . .

 

[Jeff Jolley]

I put the 265-55-20 Yokos on my truck also, definitely a better tire than the Pirellis so far. It has a nicer ride, no vibrations, and no overnight flat spotting. Of course I've only had them on for about 400 miles so I can't really see any wear patterns. I'll snap some shots after I wash it and post up on here. They definitely fill the wheel well a bit and the front and rear view looks alot more aggressive with the wider stance.