[Sulphur Man]

I've worn down the factory-fitted front boots on my Insight and am looking at replacements. The car came with Bridgestone B291s all round. Bridgestone have a new tyre out, the B330 EVO. They're not exactly cheap but I'm not going to skimp when it comes to this fantastic car.

Anyone have any experience of these, especially UK owners. Our roads are crappy enough and wet roads can last for weeks at a time - does this tyre come up to scratch? What boots are on yours and have they been ok?

SM

 

[Resist]

Is that how you guys spell tires as tyres?

 

[Guillermo]

North American Insights come with Bridgestone RE92 tires.
Those look like european names for the tires you listed.
They don't sell those tires in North America or they go by a different name.

 

[The Citrus Smoothie]

Hi Sulphur Man, welcome to the InsightCentral community.

I would personally avoid the B330 EVO - they are designed as a long life tyre, not a low rolling resistance tyre. You would lose MPG. Low rolling resistance tyres have a high silica content. I recommend sticking with the OEM Bridgestones or perhaps something like the Continental Eco Contact. If you are after better performance, I quite like the Dunlop Sport 01 which claims lots of attributes and low rolling resistance.

If you look around, there are quite a few useful tyre websites that can tell you more.

 

[Delta Flyer]

For people in North America: Firestone did not have the Bridgestones in 2000, but do in some shops now. May have to order them.

 

[Dgate]

OK I will bite,...Resist
Yes thats how Tyres/tires is spelled in the UK and there are a lot of other differences as well but won't go there as it's off thread.
Funny about the tyres I recently noticed mine have dry cracking on the sidewalls of the front ones.Car is four yrs old now with 24.000 miles and loads of tread left but will have to keep an eye on them.I have applied some tyre black that helps combat this cracking,hope it works!
Dgate

 

[Resist]

All 4 tires of my 2001 wtih almost 14k miles, has sidewall cracking as well. I'm conerned how safe they are now, I wasn't planning new tires so early. The tread on them is almost like new. Another car I have, a 1996, doesn't have any cracking, how strange.

And wouldn't you know it the tire warranty that comes with new cars sucks. Basically they aren't covered anymore.

 

[Dgate]

It would be interesting to know if this sidewall cracking is due to the hardness of the tyre or the compound make-up,or both.
The sidewalls are subjected to a lot of stress in cornering as well as from bumps since they are more resistant to flex compared to normal tyres, maybe they fail in this manner.This characteristic cracking certainly isn't normal except in older tyres showing signs of dry rot.
I have a Citroen 2CV (which I have owned for over ten years) and its tyres do not show any signs of this!

Dgate

 

[Ed]

I've just replaced my front tyres Sulphur Man. In my case I fitted a pair of Pirelli P3000 Energy, which claim low rolling resistance amongst the attributes. Cost was about £40 each from Kiwi Fit.

MPG suffered a bit at first but with a few miles under them there doesn’t seem to be much difference than the stock set. The car now handles a lot better and tramlines significantly less on crummy surfaces, although they're just as noisy as the stock set which is disappointing.

 

[Sulphur Man]

Thanks, Ed. The reduction in tramlining and handling benefits are just what I'm looking for in a new and improved tyre. Not too bothered about road noise, the cars weight concious construction means no tyre could really keep things quiet.

I think I'll go with those Pirellis. Ta. 8)

 

[Guillermo]

All tire compounds harden as they age. This is accelerated by UV light from the sun. Every year the tires harden causing the wear rate to slow down and grip level to drop. I would recommend replacing tires that are 4 or 5 years old regardless of tread depth if you value the safety of having decent braking and turning grip.
Avoid tires with ultra long treadlife warranties if you value your safety specially in wet conditions.

 

[Resist]

In my case, I understand the sun damages tires. I am just surprised it happened so fast, 3 years and only 13k miles. I've never had tires get sidewall cracks this fast before.