Mustang got new shoes

"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
06/24/2019 at 20:39 • Filed to: None

In dispose.

After 3 years and just shy of 50k, the Mustang in the household got the first money spent on it outside of Svending supplies, oil and oil/air/cabin filters. I gave it a wash this morning and then loaded the wheels up for a trip to discount.

Good riddance to these H-rated Hankooks Ford put on the car from the factory. They only positive attribute was they wore like rocks, which they should’ve with a 700 treadwear rating. 50k is the longest any car in the family has gotten out any set of tires, ever. They felt like a poor choice for the car. That 700 TW rubber was as lacking in the ultimate grip department as one would expect, and the sidewalls were way too soft for our liking (235/55/17). They were pretty bad on a wet road from the day they were new. These still had a few 32nds before the wear bars, but today was a convenient day to replace them and I’m fine with this car having some fresh, full-tread depth rubber for our monsoon season that is just around the corner.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the new shoes are Ohtsu FP0612 in 235/55/17 in W-speed rated flavor and 360 TW. I had planned to tell Tirerack to send me a set of Sumitomo HTR AS P/02 for an ultra-high performance all-season tire, but decided to check what Discount Tire was offering locally first.

These are the former Falken ZE 612. Ohtsu, Sumitomo and Falken are all the company under Sumitomo group, with the general arrangement these days on passenger car tires as Sumitomo and Falken being the “flagship” brands and the previous generation of designs being sold under the Ohstu brand through folks like Discount Tire for a song. For $68/tire, they’ll do fine for this car.

I’m expecting we’ll get 20-30K out of that 360 TW rated tire, which will be perfectly fine for the price and performance category on a 300hp, RWD sportscar. My parents ran the V-rated version of this tire for time on their 2014 Accord Coupe, and they were fine. Not amazing, nor especially long lasting, but just fine.

Initial results are positive. The sidewalls are definitely a bit stiffer, which trades a bit more transmission of small road imperfections like cracks for noticeably sharper turn in. Peak grip is improved, and they fell progressive approaching and exceeding the limit of adhesion. These aren’t dedicated summer only tires, nor will they ever do a lap around a track, but they fee l like good match to the use of this car. This base model mustang will always be a 9/10ths car on a twisty road , but at least it no longer feels like it has fuzzy-slippers for shoes. The overall difference is what I expected going from an H-rated 700 TW tire to a W-rated 360 TW tire.

DISCUSSION (20)

dogisbadob > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 20:53

I have the Falken Ziex ZE950 on my car, which is the same as the HTR AS P02. They are awesome

How is your Mustang used? Is it driven in snow or anything? Do you use a separate set of tires for winter?

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 20:57

>not Ventus RS4s

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > dogisbadob
06/24/2019 at 21:06

I had planned to order a set, but for $68/tire instead of $100/tire for the HTR AS/P02 I couldn’t pass these up.

This is a year round daily driver in Southern NM, with only this set of tires. It has seen an inch or two of snow a couple of times (it actually does snow in the high desert occasionally), but in parts of the winter it does routinely drop to the freezing mark or a tad below. Dedicated winter tires aren’t a thing here, and I’ve happily driven true summer tires year round on my former E39 and vette, although they certainly had a lot less grip on a 30 degree morning(which I quite enjoyed). All-season UHP tires are the right class for this car and driver. Were it my daily driver, I’d have probably put a true summer, 200TW tire like a Sumitomo HTR III on it and had fun exploring the traction limits at lower than usual speeds on cold mornings.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
06/24/2019 at 21:09

Sadly, no. Were this car my daily driver, those might have been a possibility .

RacinBob > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 21:12

What engine does your mustang have?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > RacinBob
06/24/2019 at 21:15

The 3.7 V-6, with a 6-speed manual. Good for 300hp and 27-28mpg on the highway at 80mph.

RacinBob > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 21:22

good choice. Ford dropped it because with the V6, why turbo? ri ght?

There was an Audi V6 at a lemons race and uncorked, it sounded really cool.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > RacinBob
06/24/2019 at 21:29

Something like that, or maybe the other way around. For the use case of this car, we looked at the turbo but it just wasn’t as good an answer, and they were certainly more expensive. This car is a completely base V-6 mustang without a single option, yet it still has the standard equipment one expects, a decent sounding audio system and pairs with phones and whatnot. It was $21,900 (before state tax) off the dealer lot for a brand-new, good handling, 300hp RWD sportscar with a manual in 2016. The V6 with a manual felt like way too much car for the money to consider spending a few grand more for the turbo. Had the performance package been available on a V6, I might have bought one for myself.

David Baker > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 22:12

I want the Raptor 3.5TT IN A Mustang. I love the 5.0, but a new Mach 1/Boss with this V6 would be a great performer in a different way.

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 22:59

Holy spacoli! $ 22k? That's a steal for that chassis, engine be damned

RacinBob > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/24/2019 at 23:08

I love use cases, sounds of engineering/ product management think....

arl > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/25/2019 at 11:24

Good deal on those tires.

Mustang looks good!

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > David Baker
06/25/2019 at 12:22

I haven’t driven the 3.5TT in Raptor flavor, but in general I’m a little leary of the V6 ecoboost engines for sportscar use. I’ve experienced the 2.7 TT in both my F-150 and a family members Fusion Sport. Make no mistake, the 2.7TT is a very, very good engine, and I can’t sing its praises enough in my F-150. I’m sure it is excellent is excellent in the various SUV/CUV applications also, but it was disappointing when applied to something that was supposed to be a sports sedan in the Fusion Sport.

It’s not that it isn’t properly quick in the Fusion, because it is, but the engine just lacks any kind of interesting or exciting character. The 2.7TT is heavily tuned for low end torque and rapid spool up of the (very small) turbos. It also runs out of breath past 6k. This is great in my truck, but in a Fusion sport nothing about that power de li very actually makes you want to wind up the motor and go fast, or delivers any special feelings for doing so. This is to say that the 2.7TT in a Fusion Sport feels exactly the same as it does in my pickup truck.

Maybe that could be tuned out of the engine with more aggressive cams, or cam timing strategy, or maybe through some bigger turbos at the expensive of lag. Or maybe not, as I’m not a Ford engineer, but I think trading off some of the near-instant spool up and low end for something peakier and more engaging up top would be needed in a sporting application to give folks tingly feelings behind the wheel. The peakier 2.3T seems to do better in this regard.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/25/2019 at 14:10

TIL, 700 treadwear ratings exist

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/25/2019 at 14:11

$22k for 305 hp manual . Peak automobile.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
06/25/2019 at 14:36

We live in glorious times.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
06/25/2019 at 14:37

They do, but they’re certainly not good. I can only guess that this tire was selected with the rental car market in mind that made up a significant number of V6 mustang sales.

RacinBob > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/25/2019 at 18:39

Holy Zero Depreciation, Batman! The typical V6, 6 Speed is about $18k.

Kinja'd!!!

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > RacinBob
06/25/2019 at 19:18

I’m actually surprised they’re still selling for that much. I’m guessing that means the rental fleets haven’t starting selling them off yet. Either that or the vast majority of them being 6-speed auto cars has sustained prices for the far fewer 6-speed manuals.

RacinBob > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/25/2019 at 23:48

I just searched manuals. My bet is they a are unicorns and are priced as such....