HansGT Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 ^ ContiExtremes have served me extremely well in snow and slush, excellently in rain and very well in dry conditions. They are also quite cheap compared to the 960s and Nokians. I got them for $104 ea. mounted and balanced at Discount Tire. So far, they seem to be the perfect tire for a Chicagoland winter. Conti's are good tires too. I hate the look of the sidewall though. RE960's Firestone...$116.75 ea. out the door. (discount, 10% rebate and sale of old RE92's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 ^ Good price. I think that the 960s would be a better 4 season A/S than the Contis which have a very aggressive tread. They seem to be more biased to winter conditions, IMHO, than the 960s and because of it will not perform as well as the 960s in summer. Come spring I'll be going back to the Spec.B summer rubber and 18"s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Just got her back. Only a very short ride so no “real” review yet. Anyway I can immediately tell a difference in ride. They soak up the little bumps MUCH better than the RE92’s and the ride is quieter. Due to this you’d think the sidewalls would be softer, but I really don’t think so..turn is improved...of course I only was able to take a few turns and they need to break in, plus I’m not 100% confident they filled the tires with my specified 37PSI front/35PSI rear. Oh and they fill the wheel well better.....more sidewall FTW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWD_Rules3830 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 well i will see what i can find RE960 for next week. I think I'm going to get them over WR's i think. With people saying they have a better experience for most of the year and their tread life is just as long really. I love my car ... basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawGT Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 ^^^ Trust me, you will not regret it. They are great tires. How often a year do you see snow in Omaha? 5 times a year? 10 a year? For me in Chicago it's always less that 10 times a year, thus justifying the purchase of the 960's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 pffft snow in Baltimore this year was ridiculous. Three storms...two less than 2 inches....one 4 inches. Really mild this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWD_Rules3830 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 we just got dumped pretty bad ... first snow day for my university (creighton) of the year. im going to see what kind of prices i can get on RE960's I love my car ... basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 ^ The Contis are an excellent tire. The thing that has impressed me the most is how well they do in snow. Outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deimos Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 New driving update: We had a blizzard here last week, shut down the city. Right in the middle of it I drove home, the tires handled the slippery snow extremely well. I was able to travel at 80km/h and it felt very safe and stable. Turning, straight line, were great. I also drove through deep snow (like 2 feet), no problem. These tires really do inspire confidence even in bad weather. Later that night, it switched to rain/freezing rain, and the streets turned to a messy, dirty ice-slush mix with wet roads, pretty sketchy weather. The tires also handled that very well although it felt alot scarier, probably because I could feel the tires and the awd doing there thing and wasnt used to having that feedback. We have a great awd system... I went through a couple big puddles and hydroplaned, yet the tires regained traction well. I still do notice some weird sensations when its windy such as tramlining and stuff but overall very good tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjundi Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 On flat spotting (in OEM 16" WRX size aka 205/55/16), it was non-existant at 0F temperatures this nippy morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 On flat spotting (in OEM 16" WRX size aka 205/55/16), it was non-existant at 0F temperatures this nippy morning. +1 225/45/17 on stock rims....20 degrees...no flat spotting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deimos Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 +1 225/45/17 on stock rims....20 degrees...no flat spotting. I noticed flatspotting when I first got the tires, but havent since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbcracken Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Does any wagon owners running these tires even out the PSI when the rear is loaded really heavily? I typically run 37/35. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Having issues with the balancing on my new tires. Third time balancing, 2nd shop. Get this...they tell me..."someone had these WAY over inflated". 37 front 35 rear. They are supposed to be 35 and 33. NO SH*T idiot. 2 crappy PSI is going to do nothing! Then they said...ah...we think one of your wheels is slightly bent, we moved it to the rear so you'll feel the vibration less. Ok....lets see, I didn't hit any big potholes since the new tires went on and the ol 92's were fine. Picking it up now. If not ok, I found a Firestone shop in the area that has a GSP9700 balancer. If that doesn't do it, it may be the wheel. peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjundi Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Continuing the RE960 Blog....... I had a chance to really test the tires out in a Nor'Easter we are having in Seacoast NH. The road conditions were either icy plowed snow pack or up to 5" of powder snow. No issues getting my WRX moving, stopped or turning. With moderate braking no ABS chatter. Just with harder braking some ABS chatter(purposeful). It is slippery out as other cars are kicking out when turning or starting off. That being all said I concur with the statement that tires are excellent in the winter (at least in first season). They are not dedicated winter tires but not far from them either. I really think you can have it all in this tire. Its superior in wet and good in dry too in 40F temps. Update today: At 45MPH on snowy/sleet covered highway the tires are decent and very controllable. The lateral control is very predicatable but not quite as sure footed as Nokian NRW's(pre WR's) on before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsquish Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Han'sGT, in my opinion the stock wheels bend easily. I went in for a vibration and I had a bent wheel. Like you I haven't hit any big potholes, but it was definitely bent. Luckily a friend knew of someone that could fix it. ________ PORNSTARS JEWISH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Update: Feels a bit better. They moved the possibly "bent" rim to the back and have moved the pressure back down to 35 fr./ 33r. I find it odd that I had zero vibration issues the morning i droped my car off to get the new tires. New tires on....vibration....bent wheel? Sounds a bit fishy. Maybe they bent the wheel during mounting? Oh.....had a chance to test them a bit during some freezing rain/snow/sleet yesterday. Funny....74 degrees on Weds. then Friday...30 and wintery mix. Anyway...in a somewhat empty parking lot I jammed on brakes a bit. Car stopped about 5 times better with the RE960s than with the RE92's. ABS only came on once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordJim Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Car stopped about 5 times better with the RE960s than with the RE92's. ABS only came on once.I've noticed that, too. It's weird - I hit the brakes fully expecting the ABS to kick in . . . and then it doesn't. I'm more than OK with that. - Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesuby Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 I was thinking about "summer" tires to replace the RE 92s (I have snows on a second set of wheels), but the reviews of the 960 are so good, that just might be the choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordJim Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Certainly a dedicated summer tire would be better, but when you consider that we have to live with 4 seasons, well, I think that the 960 is a pretty damn good tire for this part of the country. Now you can take that money you would have spent on summer rubber and spend it on something else - like maybe suspension bits or new brake pads. - Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Kumho SPT's are pretty grippy summers and only about $85 ea. (225/45/17) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawGT Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 Update: Feels a bit better. They moved the possibly "bent" rim to the back and have moved the pressure back down to 35 fr./ 33r. I find it odd that I had zero vibration issues the morning i droped my car off to get the new tires. New tires on....vibration....bent wheel? Sounds a bit fishy. Maybe they bent the wheel during mounting? Oh.....had a chance to test them a bit during some freezing rain/snow/sleet yesterday. Funny....74 degrees on Weds. then Friday...30 and wintery mix. Anyway...in a somewhat empty parking lot I jammed on brakes a bit. Car stopped about 5 times better with the RE960s than with the RE92's. ABS only came on once. I had a similar issue re balancing. When they were first put on, the car felt a bit shaky at speed. I rode them for 50 miles or so and took them to get balanced again. Sice then no issues, ride is perfect up to triple digit speeds. Also (you probably did this, but anyway), drive the car at hwy speeds (over 60 mph) for 20-30 mins before going to the balancing shop. That will ensure that the tires are heated up and any signs of cold-flatspotting are gone (which the tire does occasionally have). That is what I did with mine. Just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I had a similar issue re balancing. When they were first put on, the car felt a bit shaky at speed. I rode them for 50 miles or so and took them to get balanced again. Sice then no issues, ride is perfect up to triple digit speeds. Also (you probably did this, but anyway), drive the car at hwy speeds (over 60 mph) for 20-30 mins before going to the balancing shop. That will ensure that the tires are heated up and any signs of cold-flatspotting are gone (which the tire does occasionally have). That is what I did with mine. Just my .02 I'm going to a firestone shop about 20 minutes from my house this weekend so that would heat them up, but by the time they get to it.....tire would be cool again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigT Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hey guys Talked to the firestone shop by my house today and they offered me insurance, which includes one free flat fix and prorated returns on the tires up to 3/32nds or 3 years. Insurance on all four is about $100 is it worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hey guys Talked to the firestone shop by my house today and they offered me insurance, which includes one free flat fix and prorated returns on the tires up to 3/32nds or 3 years. Insurance on all four is about $100 is it worth it? you get the prorate for premature wear anyway...that's part of the tire warranty. i'd only even consider it if they will give you a tire free if it can't be fixed due to a nail or something. $100 for one free flat tire repair and the treadwear that already comes with the tires...no way. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Warranty.jsp?make=Bridgestone&model=Potenza+RE960AS+Pole+Position&tirePageLocQty= Bridgestone warranty: 5 Years - Free replacement up to 3 yrs. Pro rated 4th and 5th year or to 2/32" remaining tread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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