The Chevy Cruze comes with S speed rated tires

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS

Wait for the Cruze SS or the Focus ST. Both will be top of the line and both will have manual transaxles available.


I was going to say, but didn't, even if it was called the "SS" or something - offer it.

Now, on the other hand, what other bloat is going to come on these models. They don't have to be "top of the line" to have 6MT and disc brakes, nor should they have to be. I wouldn't necessary want to be forced to get leather/pleather, touch screen control center, voice command and who knows what else just to get 6MT. I suspect for "top of the line" Chevy Cruze money, I'd just look at an import anyways. I see lower prices as one of the few advantages of buying American cars.

Anyways, my apologies, this isn't about tires

I couldnt agree more. I dont need 100hp and the sacrificed MPGs, nor pleather, or even power windows. A clicker for locks is handy, AC and a cd player are nice... but that's it.

Give me a nice engine, MT and discs in a stripper econobox... please... my BMW is rusting underneath.

Why couldnt they put discs on the yaris sedan...

 

[sciphi]

Shame the base tires are pathetic.

Can somebody please explain how it matters if a 3000 lb car has rear discs or drums? Both the cars in my signature have rear drums, and both stop just fine with them, even after spirited driving. They don't look as cool as rear discs, but they work great and are low-maintenance since the wheel cylinder is protected from the salt. Maintenance isn't easy, but it doesn't need it as often.

FWIW, the Cruze Eco is available with 2/3 of most poster's requirements. Turbo engine, 6MT, rear drums. It's even lowered compared to the regular Cruze. It's on my short list of cars to look at in a few years.

 

[JustinH]

A cruze is an economy commuter car, why would you need higher speed rated tires on it?

S speed rating is rated to 112MPH. I'd bet that that cruze is electronically limited to 108MPH or maybe a little lower.

You don't need stiff sidewalls in this car, it isn't performance oriented, especially at the base level.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Shame the base tires are pathetic.

Can somebody please explain how it matters if a 3000 lb car has rear discs or drums? Both the cars in my signature have rear drums, and both stop just fine with them, even after spirited driving. They don't look as cool as rear discs, but they work great and are low-maintenance since the wheel cylinder is protected from the salt. Maintenance isn't easy, but it doesn't need it as often.

FWIW, the Cruze Eco is available with 2/3 of most poster's requirements. Turbo engine, 6MT, rear drums. It's even lowered compared to the regular Cruze. It's on my short list of cars to look at in a few years.

+1 Rear discs on economy cars are also a bit tricky to manage in terms of parking brakes too. We had a Escort GT that ended up with no rear brakes at all(makes surprisingly little difference except in snow) due a seized parking cable.
I'm sure the SS version will have rear discs as more HP and weight and probably track time will make them necessary.

 

[Finklejag]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
A cruze is an economy commuter car, why would you need higher speed rated tires on it?

S speed rating is rated to 112MPH. I'd bet that that cruze is electronically limited to 108MPH or maybe a little lower.

You don't need stiff sidewalls in this car, it isn't performance oriented, especially at the base level.


I wish I had your money, if you think a $20K+ car is an economy commuter car.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: Finklejag
Originally Posted By: JustinH
A cruze is an economy commuter car, why would you need higher speed rated tires on it?

S speed rating is rated to 112MPH. I'd bet that that cruze is electronically limited to 108MPH or maybe a little lower.

You don't need stiff sidewalls in this car, it isn't performance oriented, especially at the base level.


I wish I had your money, if you think a $20K+ car is an economy commuter car.


I keep my money in the bank, and buy $5k cash cars, driving them until the wheels fall off. The cruze is not worth 20k at all, they will be worth half in a year, then a few years up the road I might pick one up for 5k..

 

[fdcg27]

The OEM tires on our Forester, our Aerostar and our '99 Accord were good enough that I would replace them with the same if I could.
Not every manufacturer cheaps out on every OEM tire on every car.
In the case of the Aero, I wondered why Ford put Michelins on this low-line end-of-life vehicle, while putting other tires on its higher profit vehicles.
Not every OEM tire in every application is junk.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
A cruze is an economy commuter car, why would you need higher speed rated tires on it?

S speed rating is rated to 112MPH. I'd bet that that cruze is electronically limited to 108MPH or maybe a little lower.

You don't need stiff sidewalls in this car, it isn't performance oriented, especially at the base level.


My main issue is the poor wet traction. I could put up with mushy handling if the tires had some grip.

 

[teddyboy]

My wife's Camry 4 came with Vs as well. It's the most ridiculous thing I've seen. I dropped down to Hs when it came time to replace, but frankly even that is overkill. I've driven T,S and even R rated tires for decades without anything remotely ressembling an issue. A friend who used to work for a major national tire retailer alwasy swore that tire and auto manufacturers are in cahoots. He believed that tire manufactuers sold tires to the auto makers super cheap in order to get auto makers to spec much higher performance tires than necessary. The tire manufacturers then get to cash in when the owner is forced to visit the replacement market.

 

[Finklejag]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
I keep my money in the bank, and buy $5k cash cars, driving them until the wheels fall off. The cruze is not worth 20k at all, they will be worth half in a year, then a few years up the road I might pick one up for 5k..


I didn't know ITT Tech taught used car depreciation values.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: teddyboy
......A friend who used to work for a major national tire retailer alwasy swore that tire and auto manufacturers are in cahoots........


I always laugh and shake my head when I hear that. If your friend were sitting where I am sitting, he'd have quite a different opinion.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: sciphi


Can somebody please explain how it matters if a 3000 lb car has rear discs or drums? Both the cars in my signature have rear drums, and both stop just fine with them, even after spirited driving. They don't look as cool as rear discs, but they work great and are low-maintenance since the wheel cylinder is protected from the salt. Maintenance isn't easy, but it doesn't need it as often.


+1. Also drums are lower rolling resistance. If you look at the lousy non ventilated rear discs they put on saturn s-series, you'd see it could be done, but at what (performance) cost?

True, cavaliers used to have joke rear drum brakes, 7" diameter or so, that looked goofy inside 16 inch open alloy wheels. You can make good, large drums that don't fade... or eventually find a wrecked car with discs in the junkyard if you're really gung ho.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Can somebody please explain how it matters if a 3000 lb car has rear discs or drums? Both the cars in my signature have rear drums, and both stop just fine with them, even after spirited driving. They don't look as cool as rear discs, but they work great and are low-maintenance since the wheel cylinder is protected from the salt. Maintenance isn't easy, but it doesn't need it as often.

Discs are lower maintenance than Drums, all things being equal. Generally disc brakes will not need routine servicing until the pads need replacement. On the other hand, drum brakes still need to be cleaned and adjusted periodically (about every 15k) to ensure that the system works properly and stays silent.

 

[Nick R]

Those tires are rated for what, 112MPH? Annnd you need anything rated higher than that because....? It's an everyday sedan, it doesns't need anything better than that. It's limiter is probably the GM usual of like 105-109.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Those tires are rated for what, 112MPH? Annnd you need anything rated higher than that because....?

Because there is more to a tire than just what the speed rating letter indicates. Apart from being able to handle higher speeds, H- and higher rated tires have a much better construction which improves safety, regardless of speed.

Here's some reading for ya, by our own tire engineer on duty...

http://www.barrystiretech.com/speedratings.html

 

[Craig in Canada]

Discs are easier to modulate, control and cool than drums. There's another thread about 'rears locking first' here which talks about the "self-energizing" nature of drum brakes which leads to somewhat of an on or off character. Drums may stop, but discs are nicer to drive and end up better balanced (as a sweeping generalization).

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Can somebody please explain how it matters if a 3000 lb car has rear discs or drums? Both the cars in my signature have rear drums, and both stop just fine with them, even after spirited driving. They don't look as cool as rear discs, but they work great and are low-maintenance since the wheel cylinder is protected from the salt. Maintenance isn't easy, but it doesn't need it as often.

Discs are lower maintenance than Drums, all things being equal. Generally disc brakes will not need routine servicing until the pads need replacement. On the other hand, drum brakes still need to be cleaned and adjusted periodically (about every 15k) to ensure that the system works properly and stays silent.

I don't think many drum brakes get serviced at 15K intervals, IME they only get serviced when my front pads need replacement, and many people wouldn't bother then if there's no noise or dragging from them.
I'm on the orignal rear brakes on the Tracker with one service so far... But I need to put the second set of rotors and pads up front in soon.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
On the other hand, drum brakes still need to be cleaned and adjusted periodically (about every 15k) to ensure that the system works properly and stays silent.


All the vehicles I've driven with rear drums required zero adjustment & cleaning to keep them adjusted & working properly. Use the parking brake & reverse gear occasionally to keep the automatic adjusters working and there's no need.

I'm sure it's a function of disc brakes being nearly all of the market now, but you hear a lot of talk about warped rotors, stuck calipers, sliders needing cleaning & regreasing, etc...

Drums also have a greater tendency to collect water in wet weather, reducing braking efficiency for the first few pedal applications. But they also keep the dust mostly on the inside.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Can somebody please explain how it matters if a 3000 lb car has rear discs or drums? Both the cars in my signature have rear drums, and both stop just fine with them, even after spirited driving. They don't look as cool as rear discs, but they work great and are low-maintenance since the wheel cylinder is protected from the salt. Maintenance isn't easy, but it doesn't need it as often.

Discs are lower maintenance than Drums, all things being equal. Generally disc brakes will not need routine servicing until the pads need replacement. On the other hand, drum brakes still need to be cleaned and adjusted periodically (about every 15k) to ensure that the system works properly and stays silent.


Critic, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one!

I've found my drum brakes to be very low maintenance, including periodic adjustments. Meanwhile, the disc brakes on the Buick have seen 2 sets of rotors, 3 sets of pads, and 2 new calipers in the time I've owned it.

On a car the size of the Cruze, I'm sure stopping power isn't notably improved for daily driver use. Besides, we wouldn't want to over-power those S-rated tires!

 

[Dominic]

The GM spec they need to match is
1. Are they round?
2. Are they black?

Most buyers of the Cruze won't have a clue about tires and this won't be a turnoff for them.

I do agree though, minimum federal standard for tires in the US should be H-rated.