EDIT NOTE: Topic moved to General Discussion. Rob
I just replaced the tires on the Red, little engine Insight with Toyo 195/55-14" T1-R high performance summer tires. I am so impressed with how the road manners of the car are transformed that I will no longer be putting the stock Bridgestones tires back on unless I need to because of unforseen events (damage, theft etc). Many characteristics of the stock tires are gone. Now there is no grooving, there is enhanced traction on braking, accelerating and cornering and the tires are quieter. The only negatives are the decreased mileage, to the tune of 5-8 MPG or so on my CVT, and the danger of using these in cold, and winter periods. Of course spirited driving could widen this gap. The mileage gap may be more on a 4 speed due to being unable to get to "lean burn" mode as easily.
The place that mounted the tires said I should have the tires siped. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siping
My question is what can I expect from siping these tires? Namely what will happen to performance characteristics, adhesion, gasoline mileage, tire life etc? Some tires, especially winter tires come with the appearance of already being molded with siped features already on the tire. e.g. the Bridgestone Blizzak MZ-03. I am being told that siping should increase longevity because of better heat dissipation. It would seem that increase performance would translate into shorter tire life.
I just replaced the tires on the Red, little engine Insight with Toyo 195/55-14" T1-R high performance summer tires. I am so impressed with how the road manners of the car are transformed that I will no longer be putting the stock Bridgestones tires back on unless I need to because of unforseen events (damage, theft etc). Many characteristics of the stock tires are gone. Now there is no grooving, there is enhanced traction on braking, accelerating and cornering and the tires are quieter. The only negatives are the decreased mileage, to the tune of 5-8 MPG or so on my CVT, and the danger of using these in cold, and winter periods. Of course spirited driving could widen this gap. The mileage gap may be more on a 4 speed due to being unable to get to "lean burn" mode as easily.
The place that mounted the tires said I should have the tires siped. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siping
My question is what can I expect from siping these tires? Namely what will happen to performance characteristics, adhesion, gasoline mileage, tire life etc? Some tires, especially winter tires come with the appearance of already being molded with siped features already on the tire. e.g. the Bridgestone Blizzak MZ-03. I am being told that siping should increase longevity because of better heat dissipation. It would seem that increase performance would translate into shorter tire life.