I discovered this past Sunday that I had a flat tire. It was the right front one. I managed to switch some tires around on my car, so that the spare ended up on the rear.
The spare tire, that comes with my car, is an undersized “doughnut” (as I’ve heard it referred to), so I didn’t want it mounted on the front, where all the action (drive wheels and steering) takes place. Better to stick in the rear, where all it has to do is spin round and round.
I’d never changed a tire on this car before, but having done so several times on my previous car, I remembered most of the procedure.
Despite my familiarity, my hands became bruised from trying to loosen some nuts on one of the rear wheels. Guess I shoulda worn gloves.
It was also quite windy and cool (almost cold), so that made the task somewhat unpleasant. (But I’ve experienced worse environmental conditions in dealing with car problems… I recall incidents of breakdown, years ago, when the temperature had been much colder and had led me to brink of hypothermia.)
I decided to replace all four tires, even though I probably could’ve just had the bad one patched. I had this $10 off (per tire) coupon from BJs (I’m a member), so I went there the next morning. I knew what they had in stock for my size wheels (185/65 R14), and quickly requested the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring (T rated).
I knew what I wanted, because I’d checked out the tire section of the store a few days before. I had anticipated getting new tires, as the old ones were getting worn. The old were Uniroyal AWPs, a mediocre model with a decent lifespan (70,000 miles). As it was, I was replacing them with 68K+ miles of wear, but I was worried about poorer handling in the rain as the tread diminished. I’d never felt confident with these tires in the snow and on wet roads -- I’d momentarily lost traction around curves in inclement weather on 2 or 3 occasions.
I suppose that if I knew how to drift around curves (as enthusiasts with rear-wheel drive cars do at tracks in Japan and California) I might be less scared about skidding or hydroplaning, but my car is an underpowered front-wheel drive Mazda Protégé.
The new tires are made in a touring style, which means that the sidewalls are more vertical (less bowed than the older ones) and seem to meet the tread more at a 90 degree angle. That suggests that the tread is wider. I want to think that there’s more rubber on the road. The ride seems slightly bumpier, but I sense more grip going around a hairpin turn.
I suspect that my gas mileage will suffer slightly. More rubber on the road would suggest greater rolling resistance. About 1.5 years ago, I figured I was getting 38 mpg on the open highway. (Driving close to the speed limit.)
So, like many things in life, there are tradeoffs. With my new tires I’m expecting slightly less mpg, but better performance. Hey, I can live with that.
In my cursory search on the internet, I discovered that Michelin owns Uniroyal, as well as BF Goodrich. (When did that happen?) Is consolidation in the tire industry a bad thing?
Speaking of Michelin, I’d considered getting the Michelin model in stock. But they were about $20 more per tire, and I didn’t think my car deserved them. My engine only puts out, a less than normal, 103 hp. (It’s a 1.6L that meets California emission standards.) It accelerates slowly, and, often at lights, cars behind me will switch lanes to accelerate past me. (Hey, what I can do? Unless I wanna modify my engine, like add a turbocharger.)
I figure I’m getting better mileage than a lotta vehicles, so I’m burning up less gas and saving at the pump. Like I said, life consists of tradeoffs.