1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Last year I ran 195 15" Arctic Alpins that were worn about 1.5 winters from my previous car which was a Passat V6 5 speed. Anyhow the car was pretty much unstopable. The thing about the Alpins that I do not like, is that they seem to grip pretty good but they break away in an abrupt and sudden manner, and then they regain grip again in the same fashion. This seems a bit dangerous and it puts a lot of shock into the car's suspension and drive line. My wifes new 9-3 has a brand new set of these tires and it is worse than it was on my 9-5 last winter. Also, on my Passat I had traction control. These tires really screwed with that system, again becuase of the abruptness of the traction loss and the jolt when they would hook-up again. ABS was a littlle funky too.
This year I put a set of 205, 15 65 Vredestein Wintertrac tires on the car. The aboslute grip is not as good as the Arctic Alpins, but the car drives much better. The abrubt transistion to Understeer is gone. The ABS seems to work better and the car handles quiet nice. Also, I am amazed at how great they are on dry pavement. They are much quieter than the stock 16" all season tires or the Pirelli p6000 that I had on the car. I am embarrassed to say this, but they also handle better. I think that the 9-5 should come stock with the 15" tire size and not the 16". The car is lighter on it's feet and seem to understeer less at low speeds around sharp corners. The tracking down the road is dead nut straight now and the car is a joy to drive.
I think that the 16" wheels we have here in the USA are for show. It is amazing what a little rubber and air can do to a car. In Europe, most of the cars come stock with steel wheels, and regular sized 65 or 60 series tires; even BMW's and Audis. The reason is simple; low profile tires mess up the ride and subject the car to bumps and then the rattles that will follow. So, they then soften up the suspension to accomdate the low profile tires. And what you are left with is a mess. A car that rides rough, has lots of body roll and still does not handle. Not to mention the added weight of the rims.
So for my next car, I will defineatly DOWNSIZE my wheels to 15" and use 65 series tires. I may get another 9-5, a Passat or an A4/A6; but it will have 15" wheels. If I need to buy Hub Caps, I will get then when I travel to Europe for work. 16" All season tires are a joke. They do not work in the summer, and they do not work in the winter. And the big fancy alloy wheels are a pain to keep clean. Function and comfort are more important.
Sorry about the long rant.
-Doug
, Fri, 22 Dec 2000 09:27:59
, Fri, 22 Dec 2000 00:25:37, Mon, 25 Dec 2000 20:46:11, Fri, 22 Dec 2000 00:15:51
, Wed, 20 Dec 2000 19:07:03, Thu, 21 Dec 2000 07:05:53, Thu, 21 Dec 2000 12:03:06, Fri, 22 Dec 2000 12:50:24, Fri, 22 Dec 2000 20:36:52
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