I have a 2001 ford focus and cant understand why its so hard to find tires for it. I took the number off of the tires (the original) and called around. Everyone tells me this is an unusual tire and have to special order them. The ones who say they have the tire even the dealership says this isnt a good tire for the winter. The fact that they go for about a $100 a piece isnt great either. Anyone else have any problems?
Yup, I was looking for a new set for my 2000 ZTS and the place only had 2 of them and they were $92 each.
--Mike
I had to replace one of my tires due to an early failure. I went to Belle Tire in the Detroit area and they had it.
The Firehawks that came on the car were poor for traction and mileage. I replaced them with Michelins. No problem getting them either.
If you are talking about the 205/50-16 size, it is too wide for good winter traction. What is recommended is to buy a set of 15 inch steel rims and mount 195/60 winter tires. They are easier to find, cheaper and give better grip. Also you save on labour and tire damage because the tires do not have to be taken off the rims every year.
The rims are available at dealers and many tire replacement shops, including Tirerack.
Steel rims won't fit on a ZTS or ZTW Focus. If you want winter tires, either buy the alloy rims (very expensive!) or mount the winter tires on the original rims.
Not what my dealer told me. It's also not what Tirerack says when they sell them.
15" steelies should fit no problem. I have 16" alloys on my Focus and the 4-wheel discs are absolutely lost inside the wheel... lots of clearance. I'm not sure about 14" steelies.
The ST170 is a different animal, as it uses larger rotors and a different caliper; it needs 17" alloys for brake clearance.
Stephen
"Stephen F." wrote
Last winter we had a guy on the NG who said he mounted 14 inch wheels left over from his Escort onto his ZX5. They were 185/70s as I recall. That would give them the right diameter but I wonder about the handling, although he said it was OK.
Actually, 16X7.5 wheels fit SVT/ST170 Foci. It's in the manual and recommended for winter use.
Depends a bit on the type of winter you have. If you get a lot of snow, then a narrow tire is great. It cuts down through the snow to reach the road. Most rally cars run ridiculously narrow tires, and they seem to handle well enough :-) When I was driving mostly in the snowy regions of norther ontario, I ran 175/75-14s on my old Corolla GTS, and they were fabulous, but they were a bit squirmy on dry roads. Friends had wider, lower profile winter tires on their cars and floated everywhere. If you see bare road 90% of the time, then a wider winter tire is better. However, it's still important to get a good *winter* tire so the compound is soft enough to grip in the cold.
Stephen
I own a 2002 ZX5 and last winter I mounted a set Goodyear Ultra Grips
185/70R14 on steel rims and had no problems at all. This combo should fit the ZTS & ZTW no problems.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.