Woohoo! "Reserved" myself a set of used Insight tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE92)

[MetroMPG]

Finally scored a set of RE92's!

And this set does not come attached to another Honda Insight.

They're legal, but not in the best shape:

- Two have "minor" flat spots (the seller says from driving the car to try to unseize the parking brake).
- And they've seen some track use (yes, on an Insight), so the shoulders are more worn than the centers, even though he kept them at 60 psi on the street.

Considering all that, the price was fair. Plus they were practically local, so shipping wasn't a problem (or heinous expense).

So I'll gather the best 4 tires on the U.F.O. The remainders will go on the lightweight Suzuki rims on the ForkenSwift (for now ... thought they may move around the Suzukiclone fleet as need be).

[MetroMPG]

LRR porn!



So, I probably overpaid for these tires. Oh well, I got a borderline set of 4 for the price of one new one up here in Canuckistan.

The tread wear is weird. Lots of shoulder wear. They look like they were underinflated for most of their life:



They're mounted on alloys & installed on the ForkenSwift, for now. The flat spots are definitely there (on the rear)... thumpthumpthumpthump.



I can say these tires absolutely roll easier than the tires that were on it (snows). I'm confident I'll see an improvement in efficiency. It's a big enough improvement that I don't doubt the butt-o-meter this time (I'm usually even skeptical of my own).



I intend to do a coasting comparo of the various tires in the Suzukiclone fleet, just for giggles.

[Nacademus]

Check out those boat hulls. Yikes. Don't drive in the wet-PLEASE!

[MetroMPG]

Of course not!!!

I'll wait for it to freeze first.

[MN Driver]

Be very careful with RE92's when they are giving you the thump thump thump. I had two RE92's had their tread separate on me. One was when I was going to Detroit and could see the metal through the centerline of the tread when I was doing my pre-trip check the morning I was leaving and the tire was normal a week before but it had a slight thud thud thud going down the road. So I pulled the tire off and swapped it for one on my other Insight. While the tire was sitting in the garage over the 5 days or so I was gone the tire had split open but still held its pressure.

The second time the tire looked fine and I was driving about 50mph and the thud thud thud got louder over the period of about 30 seconds and I was looking to get into a nearby gas station that was within eye's sight range and just crossed a bridge and was still slowing down and THUD, good bye tire and front end met the ground hard. I was surprised that the car felt just as in control riding on the rim for the short period that it took to go from 30mph to zero to a good spot to put the spare on. After two of these I can now get the spare on in 7 minutes, those little scissor jacks are a pain but you can fit a hydraulic jack under the car when your ground clearance is just a few inches(5 cm) from sitting on the rim.

I'm just saying be careful and inspect the crap out of that tire if you see any areas that look a little bulged or any areas where the tread is unevenly deep across the tire(from inside to outside) likely from a bulge, expect that tire to fail. Also look for cracking that is in line with the circumference of the tire. After having two tires fail through tread separation and two that had leaky valve stems, I replaced all four. One of the separated tires was on the rear and as old as the car. The other one was a newer replacement. Having the car parked outside in the sun for 3 years without being driven by the previous owner is the reason for these troubles but it brings out warning signs to watch for.

[MetroMPG]

In this case, the thumping is literally from a flat spot across the tread - the contact patch was dragged with the wheel locked (parking brake on), says the previous owner. You can clearly see the scrubbed down tread in one spot.

Either that or he spun out on the race track. I haven't decided which is more likely (I know he took the car to the track).

But good points nonetheless.

I guess I'm lucky - I don't think I've ever had a tire failure on all my (old, used) cars. The only time I've had to change a tire in the wild was when I slid into a curb in the winter (driving too fast for conditions) and popped the bead.

[MPGranger]

What's the science behind LRR tires? Seems to me less rolling resistance also means less traction; which would mean longer braking distances and the tires would lose control easier.

[MetroMPG]

Success!

First (decidedly non-scientific) comparison of the RE92's to the previous tires on the ForkenSwift: 17% increase in efficiency (or range).

(Keep in mind: the ForkenSwift is an electric runabout, driven at lower speeds where rolling resistance dominates in the energy use equation.)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post262623

I was definitely coming in hotter using memorized "glide" points when approaching turns & stops on familiar roads.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by MPGranger

What's the science behind LRR tires? Seems to me less rolling resistance also means less traction; which would mean longer braking distances and the tires would lose control easier.

Some light reading:

Low-rolling resistance tires - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Traction & treadwear depends on the particular tire design. But LRR doesn't necessarily equal reduced grip compared to non-LRR tires.

[dcb]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

LRR porn!

Had to come back here when I saw this HRR