I've got a chance to buy a set of Goodyear Wrangler tires for my Escape to replace the Continentals, just wondering if they are any better of a tire ?. I know some Escapes come with them, just not sure how they compare to the Continental junk tires. Looking at the reviews on Tirerack and a high percentage of owners really love these tires, they seem to have a good rating from what I've read, from being quiet to long wear and great traction in all conditions.

Any opinion from owners who run them would be appreciated, thanks

Joey

 

I guess I'll answer my own question , since I got some wranglers on the escape today. I picked up a used set, so they are comparable to the age of the continentals. I have to say that the Goodyear Wranglers work really well, particularly for a used version. They are very quiet and smooth running, complaint ride with 38 psi in them, and they seem to handle a bit better than the continentals. Overall I'm really happy with them. When these ones eventually wear out I think I'll go for a brand new set.

 

Depending on the type of Wranglers this may or may not be a good idea. The escapes are so light, they tend to chop up the tires, especially if they have an aggressive "All Terrain" tread. However if these Wranglers have more of a highway tread you'll be fine, as long as you rotate regularly.

The Junkinentals they used at the factory tend to chop up really bad as well, but they have a very soft rubber compound which is much more susceptable to this type of wear.

 

Just a side note about Continental tires. My wife's 2006 Nissan Altima came with Conti's, even after rotating them at 5K and 10K, now at 15K they need to be replaced. Worn out just about completely. So much for Continental tires...

 

38 PSI?
Isn't that awfully high for such a light vehicle?

 

thanks for the replies, I believe the wranglers I have are more of a highway all season tread, less blocky than the continentals. The continentals were cupped which caused a terrible level of road noise at higher speeds. Lots of tread left on the contis after 25k miles but noisy, didn't really care for the ride or handling either.

Running 38 psi on the wranglers feel good, decent ride and good handling, lots of guys recommend running higher pressures in these trucks, apparently it reduces the chance of the tires cupping, and it can help with fuel economy. I'm not going with maximum recommended pressures though, I think I'll hold at 38. I started inching upwards from 30 psi, and 38 is about as high as I will go.

 

You really have to wonder who the knuckleheads are that decide to put such awful tires on new cars. I know that all of the manufacturers are under cost pressures but bad tires just **** people off.

 

unfortunately the bean counters usually win the arguments with the engineers, so low quote crap ends up being installed. You would think Continental would want to supply a better tire to avoid ruining their name, but I guess not.

The other thing that surprises me is how Ford recommends tire pressures of 30 psi. Given the Ford Exploder/Firestone situation you would think that they would know better. Given the fact that many people ignore checking their tire pressures it isn't unreasonable to think that many Escape owners are running around with pressures below 25 psi (if they only start out at 30), which is a recipe for disaster IMO. My sister bought a slightly used Escape recently from a local Ford dealer, the tire pressures on her truck were 21 psi on all four corners the day she brought it home . My 38 psi pressures sound high, but only because Ford recommends such a low setting.

 

I don't have a problem with recommending 30 psi, that's higher than the old bias-ply tires we used to run. 26 psi on the Explorer is another matter as that is cutting it close. Cars are so trouble free its easy to forget tire pressure. I recently checked the air in my spare tire prior to a long trip - it was basically flat. Probably because I hadn't checked it for 3 or 4 years.

 

Hey I thought I would throw in my .02

My biggest complaint with Wranglers is wet traction.
I have had them on my 95 F150, My 97 F150 and my current Sport Trac you have to be really careful on take-off and cornering in a lightly loaded vehicle. Maybe with the Escape being primarly FWD it will not be an issue. When the Conti's wear out on the wife's Escape they won't be replaced by Wranglers.

Regards

 

Figured I'd just add to this instead of starting a new thread since it's on tires. We need tires on our 05 too. The "crappy"nentals are chopped and making some horrible road noise. Done some research and found that the Bridgstone Duelers H/L Alenza are very well liked on light trucks. Do any of ya'll have these tires? If so what do you think of them?

 

I had a bought a new set of Goodyear Wrangler SRA's, and did they suck! I put about 4000 miles, on them before I had to replace them, too bad they didn't come with a warrranty at the time. I went to get new tires, the sales rep was saying that they didn't last long because my suspension was worn out. I told him that when I first bought the tires, I had my Escape taken to get a front end alignment. The Mechanic told me that before he could do that I needed new struts, and lower control arms. I put replace all that, so my suspension was just. I guess rather than argue with me, he sold a pair of Cooper Ht's at half price. I've had my Cooper tires for about 15,000 miles, no complaints at all.

 

Some of the best info on tires I have found is at www.tirerack.com. Drill down through the search for your vehicle and select "all tires" and you can click on a tire to see ratings from road noise to ice traction. That is where I started to select new tires for my 02 Michelin Cross Terrain's! I like them very well!

Rod

 

Well, we went with the Dueler H/L's. Only driven a 40 miles so far but what a difference. And that was in the rain. Didnt' realize how many issues can be cured with new tires. Road noise, highway wobble, slow down shimmy. Man, what a difference. I'll update a couple thousand miles later.

 

Make sure you 38PSI isn't higher than the tires' highest rated PSI (stamed on the sidewall)... most tires are 35PSI max, but some are 44. This is for "P" series tires.

If you installed "LT" tires you should increase the pressure to about 45 (Spec + 15PSI).