CS5 Ultras vs Grand Touring & Changing Tire sizes

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So, with the current deal going on at DiscountTire and DTD, I'm considering just dumping the inherited Chinese made tires on my 2007 Honda Fit Sport. Hey, together I'm talking $195 in rebates here why not? It has the stock 15" alloys and they come with stock / currently have installed 195/55r15.

However, Cooper only offers their Ultra Touring (60k warranty) in this size. For $10 less / tire on DiscountTireDirect's website I can get the Grand Touring (80k warranty) in a size close at 185/60r15.

Am I crazy for considering this just to get the Grand Touring? It's not that much taller of a tire and the footprint is slightly smaller.

Thoughts, opinions, and advice please!

Links to the tire options:

195/55r15

vs.

185/60r15

Might I run into mounting issues? Pros vs cons?
 
Depending on the state - you may not be able to get it mounted up. Here in NY, tire shops won't touch anything that is the wrong size.

If I have 185-65-15 mounted on my car that calls for 196-60-15 and I get drunk and kill someone, guess what? The tire shop can be held 100% liable for it.

I don't see a problem other than that.
 
Ultra touring is geared towards higher performance cars with more dry grip, the Grand touring has a lower speed rating too. You will not need the Ultra touring unless you autocross.


I am very pleased with my CS5 grand touring I can't imaging anything sticker needed on a family sedan or economy box. The Grand touring is rated at 80,000 miles, while the Ultra is a softer 60,000 mile compound. It makes much more sense to get the GT.

I actually have to go with the Buick Regal size tires to get the Grand touring since they didn't have anything I wanted in the smaller oem Buick Century size, thankfully they would mount anything I wanted in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky!
 
This may be just a case of me overthinking matters. The Ultra isn't necessarily the worse / lesser tire. For some reason, my perception was that the Grand was better than the Ultra, but it's simply a differently made tire. The Ultras are focusing slightly more on dry traction / performance than tread wear life compared to the Grand.
 
Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
The Ultras are focusing slightly more on dry traction / performance than tread wear life compared to the Grand.
That's because the higher the speed rating, the "gripper" the tire, at least this is what I understand from the tire reviews I have read, I could be wrong.
 
^I suppose the only real trade-off is lower warranty mileage because of a slightly more aggressive tire.
 
Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
^I suppose the only real trade-off is lower warranty mileage because of a slightly more aggressive tire.
that's what I think

And I think if your alignment is in spec (unless there is a manufacturing defect in the suspension setup, a reference would be the 06-09 Civics with their rear tires having excessive wear caused by a poor setup), your suspension is in good condition, and your rotating your tires in time, you could make it last more then 60,000 miles, at least that's the case with my Chinese made PrimeWells from FireStone, 25k miles into 40k mile warranty and 80% thread is remaining.

I personally think people over maintain their oil changes with the 3000 OCI and neglect the rest of the car, especially tires.

A good routine tire maintenance can make them last beyond their warranty (for some tire brands I guess)
 
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^Oh, wow. Thanks for the links. Good points. I think the rebates / overall deal got me so hyped I stopped thinking clearly for a moment. Nice to have some objective and constructive help.
smile.gif
 
I've never had an issue with different tire sizes at Discount Tire, they didn't even think twice when I asked for it. My dad did it on his truck, brother did on his Jeep, I did it on my grandfathers Jeep and the 1970 Beetle. Although all of these tires went bigger, not smaller.
 
After $195 rebates plus mounting the total should be around $250 for 4 Ultra Touring 195/55-15. Assume that it will lasted 60k miles your cost per 1,000 miles is $4.20. Your gas cost is about 30 gallons at $2.50/gal is $75, so the tire costs about 6% of gasoline.

You should stay with Ultra Touring 195/55-15.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Depending on the state - you may not be able to get it mounted up. Here in NY, tire shops won't touch anything that is the wrong size.

If I have 185-65-15 mounted on my car that calls for 196-60-15 and I get drunk and kill someone, guess what? The tire shop can be held 100% liable for it.

I don't see a problem other than that.
Is THAT ever a gross oversimplification of negligence law!
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I've never had an issue with different tire sizes at Discount Tire, they didn't even think twice when I asked for it. My dad did it on his truck, brother did on his Jeep, I did it on my grandfathers Jeep and the 1970 Beetle. Although all of these tires went bigger, not smaller.

My local America's Tire is the same. When I had 245/45-17 installed on the rear of my S2000 few months ago, the clerk only mentioned that this was not OE size.
 
I mean I'm driving a Honda Fit. How much longer will I actually get on the Grand Touring in a slightly different tire size vs the Ultras (80k vs 60k warranties)?
confused2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
I mean I'm driving a Honda Fit. How much longer will I actually get on the Grand Touring in a slightly different tire size vs the Ultras (80k vs 60k warranties)?
confused2.gif



Impossible for anyone to give you an accurate estimate since they don't drive your car....I got the Ultras for better wet and dry performance...worth the appx 1 year less I get out of them....I've never gotten more than 60% of treadwear "warranty" here in Florida where we drive on summer hot pavement 12 months a year.
 
The purpose isn't to get an estimate, but since I decided to stick with OE tire size I was able to get DT locally to price match the DTD site.

I just paid tax, but I didn't mind so much.

I was being extremely subjective towards the CS5s and did not recognize the Ultras could be the better tire for what they are. Instead, I had a misconception of them being the lesser tire when compared to the Grand Touring. They are similar tires, but they have differing properties overall and that's reflected in their design / category.

I think I'll be happy with the Ultras more overall. I don't drive that much to begin with and my BIL that has YK580s on his Fit and drives 20k a year just hit 40k or so in 2 years on his set (which have a similar tread wear warranty but are H speed rated compared to these V rated). Yet, I'll never rack up the miles that fast. He did have an older set of Kumho Ecsta ASX I believe, but they weren't really suited for a daily driver in terms of mileage and wore out quickly. His YK580s are more along the lines of what the Cooper CS5 Ultras are like and so I anticipate at least the years out of them before they start cracking from age.
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
The purpose isn't to get an estimate, but since I decided to stick with OE tire size I was able to get DT locally to price match the DTD site.

I just paid tax, but I didn't mind so much.


Last time I bought tire for my friend I print the total price from DTD(with free shipping and no tax), took it to local AT and they price matched their total before installation/balance. This means their price was 8%(sale tax) lower than DTD, so that after tax their price was the same.

You should ask them to match DTD plus installation/balance only.
 
UPDATE: I had the new tires installed finally this weekend; since local DT didn't carry Cooper.

After rebates a set of 4 CS5 Ultra Touring for $310. The ride is butter smooth now compared to those Black Lion I had from the PO. Those were running at a higher pressure to be fair. I'll have more to report back on after break-in and by upping the pressure again.

smile.gif
 
UPDATE:

2 years later and I've been very pleased with DiscountTire and the CS5 Ultra's in 195/55R15 size. (One was replaced due to side wall damage; I took a turn too sharp coming out of a neighborhood but it was replaced no questions)

So, the original 3 remaining tires when I purchased the set are at 5/32nd 36k miles in (note replaced warranty tire is at 7/32nd)

There is probably one more rotation out of these so since I just had them rotated I'd est. 12k more miles or so remaining before hitting 2/32nds marks. That puts them at 48k of the stated 60k warranty. Seems decent.

All that being said...I started driving more frequently. So, even though I got great performance out of these tires (never a slip in rain, very sporty etc and reasonable mileage for frequent driving/higher tire temps), I am leaning towards getting the Grand Touring for less out of pocket due to potential eco gains and perhaps longer tread life (60k rated tire vs 80k). The difference is a taller tire/diameter increase of .3" while going smaller on the road in footprint.

The CS5 Ultra remain more out of pocket per tire and in my app could be slightly less fuel efficient. I opted to wait past the 4th deals this time as I hope to make it to the end of the year on these.

Any opinions on swapping to the Grand Touring but requiring the tire size change from OE size? I'm trying to weigh the value in potential MPG gains and overall treadwear life increase; therefore reducing the need of a new sets of tires at current rate of driving (30-40k per year at current rate) on a nearly annual basis with the Ultras vs the Grand.

That becomes either $300 with rebates or $500 without per year vs roughly for the Grand Touring out of pocket every 2 years if it comes close to the 80k rating. :thinking:

The prices currently $69.76 vs $83.88; so roughly $56 more for a set of Ultras and I get less service life.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?v=010447%7C2007&pc=19826&ar=60&rd=15&cs=185

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct...0447&cs=195
 
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