Tires OEM Mazda or Vredestein
I use Vredstein Hitrac All-season on my 2023 Camry Hybrid. Barely hit my fuel efficiency, maybe .5%. But waaayyyyy better performance is rain and snow compared to my OEM firestones.
I use them on my Camry hybrid. Great stuff, get them
Vredestein Quatrac checks all the right boxes. Replaced my now discontinued Michelin Premiers with them and I like the Vredesteins better. Consumer Reports and Tire Rack also rate Vredesteins very highly.
I have those exact tires, 195/60-15, on my GK. I very much like them.... They could do with a little better grip in dry, very spirited cornering. They eat rain like a champ.
I recently got vredestein quatrac tires on my 2012 fit and have been loving them. They are all weather tires so they are actually rated to handle snow compared to traditional all seasons. In Jersey so have only tested in light snow/ice and they were great.
I just put the Vrederstein Quatrac Pro+ on my 24 Mini Countryman S All4, replacing the Pirelli runflats that were good tires, but kinda loud and you could feel every imperfection in the road. I don't have a lot of miles on em yet, but they are definitely quieter and more comfortable.
My Vredestein Quatrac’s have been great, and are pretty reasonably priced.
Moved on from the run flats to Vredestein Quatrac Pro+. No run flats, no bubbles, and a SIGNIFICANT improvement in ride and noise. Seriously, switch away from these tires and you will only regret not doing it sooner
I had the Vredestein Sportrac 5 previously.
Positives:
+ Quiet and smooth ride
+ Very reliable on flooded highways
Negatives:
- Soft sides, tires looked deflated at the recommended pressure (2.2/1.9 bar - if the car is not loaded, which is most of the time). If I inflate more the drive gets extreme hard and uncomfortable.
I have not driven a lot of tires but wonder if that soft side somehow dampens accuracy?
- Surprisingly bad at braking on the dry, even at low speed in the city, they slide.
My initial impression of the Vredesteins was, "Holy cow, the rear end is going to swap places with the front." The car wagged and bobbed all over the road. It was scary. After a short 5-mile drive home, I adjusted the tire pressure to 41 psi in the rear (they were at 40 and 45 left/right) and drove around a bit more to break in the tires. Once broken in, they drove much better.
Going straight they're fine and don't notice too much difference between the old EP500s and the new Vredesteins. Maybe the ride is slightly better due to the Vredesteins’ softer sidewall. Noise is about the same—they’re quiet tires.
We get a lot of rain here, and the Vredesteins are great in the wet. They’re better than the stock EP500s, likely due to their less aggressive tread pattern and greater tread depth.
However, corners are where it all falls apart. The initial turn-in is great because the front EP500s, despite their poor tire life, handle well. But there’s a slight delay as the rear wobbles into the corner. You can feel the car load up, and you have to counter-steer slightly to keep the car in line as the rear flops over. While the Vredesteins have good grip, the side/slip angle is so large during aggressive driving that the traction control freaks out in fast corners. When you straighten out, the rear flops back and wobbles a bit.
My wife texted me on her way to work this morning, saying, "The car is wiggling so much I think I might throw up."
Any type of turning has the rear bobbling and wagging around. Bumps in the road will also cause it to bounce around. It's just not a pleasant experience whatsoever.
After driving on them for a while, I’m considering whether running Vredesteins on the front as well might correct some of the handling issues.
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