Just plugged in my new Scangauge ? Now I need tires

[johnnymac]

If you are unsure about purchasing a Scangauge, I say go for it. I was unsure, but thought I would try it. I bought a Scangauge through this website and it is great. I plugged it into my 01 Echo and I am having a great time with it. It looks like I am already improving by a few miles per gallon.

Sorry, I am not a good A-B-A tester. I drive about a hundred miles a day to work and back. I don't have much time or money for driving extra miles, but I am still trying to improve my mileage slowly. I bought the 2001 Echo in December 09 with 41K. It got 43 when I first bought it. Since then I pumped up the tires to 40 PSI, installed racing disc wheel covers, and went to Mobil 1 0W20. I got 47.5 mpg on one tank, driving mostly 60 -65 mph. Then the temperature warmed up here in OK and my wife likes the A/C so I got a couple of tanks with 41-43 mpg with the air on and also driving 70-75 mph. I am on the freway a lot and sometimes I have to go with the flow, or I leave late for work, or a couple of times I had to get home to meet a real estate person.

I have gone about 150 miles now on the current tank of gas, and I have used about 1/4 tank. The Scangauge is showing an average of 48.5.

Now that I have a temp gauge I am going to block the grill and see what it does, maybe I will make an air dam if it goes well.This is great.

One other thing. I like to use Phillips 66, even the WalMart gas here is OK. I bought a tank at Loves and my car got 38 MPG. I don't buy the cheap gas anymore or use gas with ethanol. Like I say, the WalMart/ Murphy USA does great.(no ethanol at the Shawnee OK location).

The good mileage can only go up. I am considering a deep cycle battery and alternator delete, I will have to figure out a different pulley or shorter belt. It would be ideal to have a swing away alt I could engage for longer trips.

Now I have to purchase tires. The man at the Firestone dealer recommends the Bridgestone Insignia. Any comments?
I now have Continentals but I think they are cheapies. Should I hold out for the Potenza?

[NeilBlanchard]

I would take a look at the LRR tire threads before deciding -- at your current tires pumped up to the sidewall max?

[bikin' Ed]

IMHO Firestone has never made a world class radial passenger car tire.

Many of the major manufacturers (ie Goodyear) have subsidiaries that produce the same tire under a different name (ie Kelly Springfield, Hallmark, Dunlop). If you want the most for your money, you'll have to find the sub with the tire you want.

[brucepick]

Definitely get a low rolling resistance tire.
Michelin seems to keep popping up in those reviews and threads.

I bought regular tires about 43K miles ago, which kept the cost down.
At about 50 psi they seem to be lasting forever, so I'm stuck with them.
I wish I'd gotten LRR tires, but at the time there was precious little good info out there to tell you which ones truly were LRR. Now even Tire Rack has some info on the topic.

[autoteach]

The way I choose tires, i would look at:
Pirelli P4 Four Seasons

Or

Kumho eco Solus HM KR22

I looked at where you live (potential weather), price and UTQG for the tire. Both of these will likely net you very decent fuel mileage; and I have had success with the P4 as a tire on passenger vehicles and Kumho's have never disappointed me (maybe others can give their input?).

A side word on OEM tires, which I assume the continentals were. OEM tires are spec'd by the manufacturer of the vehicle (this has been talked about by others) due to the price point the set and the cost of chemicals that go into the tire. Very few OEM tires will leave you satisfied (with mileage or performance) due to this reason. I wouldn't jump to blaming the tire manufacturer, or that design of tire. I would always stay away from the OEM tire. If you look through tirerack, you will find oem tires that don't have UTQG ratings, this is because they simply dont last due to the chemical makeup. Maybe others have input on this fitment size, but these should two tires will give you decent results, in my opinion.

[johnnymac]

Thanks guys, Actually the Continentals were bought as replacements. I think it had Bridgestones as OEM. The Continentals have been OK, just getting worn out. The man that owned it before me said he noticed they were noisier than the originals. I just thought maybe I could do better with something else. Still looking.

Thanks