Snow Tires

[larryh]

Has anyone had any experience driving in snow with the Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires that come with the car.  They are supposed to be all-season tires, but I have my doubts about how they perform in snow.  It has not snowed here yet. 

 

Any recommendations on which snow tires to get for this car?  Is it safe to unmount the current tires and remount snow tires each year?  I did that on a previous car, eventually one of the tires failed to remain inflated after a few years.  I wonder if a set of four tires will fit in the car (in the back seat) if I have the current ones removed. 

Edited November 29, 2013 at 02:29 PM by larryh

[Russael]

We had a light dusting of snow here in MI that made things a tad on the slick side.  So far, I don't think they're all that bad (but the winter is young).  I had cheap-o, 50 dollar special tires on my Focus and those things were awful... loud, no grip in bad weather.  I have Michelins M/S 2 tires on the truck (had Good Year before that, and Firestone before that) and those tires are beyond awesome.  I'll never go with another brand aside from Michelin.  It was a tossup for me between the M/S 2 or the GreenX tires... settled on the M/S 2 based on reviews at Tire Rack.  My mom currently has Michelin GreenX on her 2008 Fusion and she seems to be satisfied with them... she had continentals before and they wore out in 25000 miles.  She's only got around 33k on her car as it currently stands.

 

We'll both be able to answer that question early next year when winter comes in with full force. :)

 

To answer your other question... I would buy another set of rims for your snow tires, rather than dismount/remount over and over.  Tires aren't designed to be removed and re-applied like that.  Most everybody else I know has a set of rims for their snow tires.  But as far as being able to transport 4 tires at once... I suppose you could try dismounting one of your wheels and seeing if it'll fit in the trunk.  You may be able to put 3 in the back seat and 1 in the trunk... or maybe all 4 in the back seat.  I don't think they're all that tall while laying on their sides.  A tape measure should be able to answer that question. :)

Edited November 29, 2013 at 02:41 PM by Russael

[larryh]

Thank you for your reply.  I think the choices for the Energi include:

 

Firestone Winterforce

Goodyear Ultragrip

Bridgestone Blizzak

Michelin X-Ice Xi3

[Nherring]

Have been using xi3s for several years and have mounted them on my Energi a couple of weeks ago.

 

Fabulous tires! Quiet, and stick like glue in the worst conditions.

[larryh]

Have been using xi3s for several years and have mounted them on my Energi a couple of weeks ago.

 

Fabulous tires! Quiet, and stick like glue in the worst conditions.

I am seriously considering them.  Did you mount them on the existing wheels, or did you purchase additional wheels for them?

I see in you other post that you used the OEM wheels.

Edited December 8, 2013 at 01:34 PM by larryh

[larryh]

We've had some snow lately.  I haven't noticed anything significantly different driving in snow with this car vs. my previous 2006 Ford Fusion which also had all season tires.  I notice the orange stability control light flashing once in a while.  But I haven't driven all that far in the snow.  At least it slows traffic down so my driving scores are now in the upper 90's, and I am moving up in rank on the scoreboards at MyFord Mobile.

Edited December 9, 2013 at 10:44 PM by larryh

[Jake]

Just wondering, as the new winter approaches, if you folks had any further experience to share with snow tires, from last winter? Where I live, there WILL be snow! And I'll need to put snows on within a month, I reckon.

 

Thanks, Jake

[Russael]

With deeper snow on unplowed streets, my car did get stuck once at a stop sign.  I moved a couple feet after stopping to turn a corner, and then spun the wheels even with traction control.  Wound up having to move back and forth a couple times to get rolling again.

 

This TireRack video shows how snow tires perform vs all season vs summer tires on an ice rink.  It was a real eye opener for me: 

 

Edited October 14, 2014 at 12:04 PM by Russael

[SteveEnergi]

What rim/wheel did you purchase for the

225/50R17 XL Michelin X-Ice Xi3 Blackwall

?

 

I was looking at just the basic steel wheel at tire rack.  No one can come close to the price that Tirerack offers, even with the tires mounted and TPS sensors installed.

 

Thanks,

Steve

[Jake]

What rim/wheel did you purchase for the

225/50R17 XL Michelin X-Ice Xi3 Blackwall

?

 

I was looking at just the basic steel wheel at tire rack.  No one can come close to the price that Tirerack offers, even with the tires mounted and TPS sensors installed.

 

Thanks,

Steve

I was checking tires sizes and it appears that the 225/55R16 on a 16" rim is almost the identical circumference to the one you are looking at, and of course a bit less money. Has anyone tried this approach for the FFET?

[murphy]

The 16" mini-spare tire that fits a standard Fusion and the FFH will NOT fit an FFE.  I would not expect a 16" rim of any type to fit the FFE.  It appears the FFE has larger diameter rotors.  I was unsuccessful in getting anyone to measure an FFH rotor so I could compare it to an FFE rotor.

[Jake]

Murphy,

 

Your info appears to be quite valid. In fact, I got this note from my dealer's parts department today:

[Jake]

Sorry - fat (cold) fingers apparently.

 

"So far I have found out that the brakes on the Hybrid version of the fusion are bigger so the typical steel wheel does not fit.

 

We actually have one in the shop now and have tried a few steel wheels on it and they do not work.

 

The word from Ford is to use the Ford aluminum wheel, but they do not give us any specific reason."

 

The aluminum wheel is the only one, apparently, they show for my FFET and it costs twice what a steel 17 inch one would.

 

Anyone else run into this?

 

Thanks, Jake

[murphy]

Since there is no place to store a spare in an FFE (the blower for the HVB is in the wheel well) it would end up in the back seat.  I gave up and bought a can of "fix-a-flat" that states on the label that it won't damage the TPMS sensor in the tire.  I also have a jack  and a breaker bar to remove the lug nuts.  I have a tire plug kit to fix a puncture in the tread.  Using the plug kit would be very difficult with the wheel on the car.  I have no intention of ever using the junk that came with the car which does not state that it is TPMS safe.  A sidewall tear is going to require a tow truck to go buy a new tire.

 

I don't think a full size wheel will fit in the trunk but I haven't tried one to verify.

 

I drove my 2010 hybrid for 4 years and never had the spare on the car.

 

I drove my 2002 Crown Victoria for 7.5 years and never had the spare on the car.

 

I've driven my 2013 Energi for 1.5 years and have not had a flat tire.

 

The car comes with 5 year / 60,000 mile roadside assistance.

[Jake]

Since there is no place to store a spare in an FFE (the blower for the HVB is in the wheel well) it would end up in the back seat.  I gave up and bought a can of "fix-a-flat" that states on the label that it won't damage the TPMS sensor in the tire.  I also have a jack  and a breaker bar to remove the lug nuts.  I have a tire plug kit to fix a puncture in the tread.  Using the plug kit would be very difficult with the wheel on the car.  I have no intention of ever using the junk that came with the car which does not state that it is TPMS safe.  A sidewall tear is going to require a tow truck to go buy a new tire.

 

I don't think a full size wheel will fit in the trunk but I haven't tried one to verify.

 

I drove my 2010 hybrid for 4 years and never had the spare on the car.

 

I drove my 2002 Crown Victoria for 7.5 years and never had the spare on the car.

 

I've driven my 2013 Energi for 1.5 years and have not had a flat tire.

 

The car comes with 5 year / 60,000 mile roadside assistance.

Seems reasonable regarding a spare, but in terms of snow tires - which we now need in my area (it's minus 22 C here today with icy roads from 20 cm of snow that fell earlier this week) - I am hearing from my dealer above that just ordering 17" steel rims will NOT fit my car due to the size of the rotors and that I must order a special aluminum rim made especially for this car and it's larger rotors.

 

Which comes back to this thread, and wondering more about others' experience in selecting snow tires and rims for the FEET?

 

Thanks, Jake

[murphy]

I haven't used "snow" tires since the (M+S) tires were invented.  Snow tires have (had) an extremely deep (up to 1") tread, with provisions for installing studs, for clawing through deep snow.  What I see being sold as snow tires today are designed for traction on ice with lots of horizontal sipes to provide many gripping edges. The tread depth is the same as the (M+S) tires.  If there is a layer of ice on the road I stay home.  If a deep snow arrives I can't go anywhere until I clear my driveway.  That can't be done until the snowplow clears the street since the snowplow will fill in the end of my driveway with deep hard packed snow.  Once the street has been plowed and salted and the driveway cleared there is no need for anything other that all season tires (M+S).  I do have the advantage that I am retired and don't have to go anywhere if I don't want to leave the house.

YMMV

;)

[Rexracer]

Seems reasonable regarding a spare, but in terms of snow tires - which we now need in my area (it's minus 22 C here today with icy roads from 20 cm of snow that fell earlier this week) - I am hearing from my dealer above that just ordering 17" steel rims will NOT fit my car due to the size of the rotors and that I must order a special aluminum rim made especially for this car and it's larger rotors.

 

Which comes back to this thread, and wondering more about others' experience in selecting snow tires and rims for the FEET?

 

Thanks, Jake

 

I think the best plan would be to buy someones take off wheels, either from the forum here (a few sets of stock 17s have been offered). Not only do you get original wheels to mount snow's on, you get an extra set of tires to be used in a few years.

 

Craigslist always has some cheap aluminum wheels floating out there if you don't want to spend much. I have bought 3 different sets, all a bit scratched up, but $100-$125. Not show pieces, but great for race cars.

[openair]

Can anyone else comment on 215 60R16's and specifically 16" rims on a 2014 fusion energi?  Jake above say his dealer says they will not work.  Murphy expects they will not work based on a mini spare. 

 

My dealer is ready to order me 215 60R16's FIrestone winterforces and some 16" steel rims.  They say only the focus electric and some sport model (I forget) actually have bigger break rotors.   Having previously read this thread, I asked twice that these would fit the fusion energi plug in hybrid.  He mentioned the possible of bigger rotors, like mentioned here, but doubled checked and said the 16" rims are fine.

Edited December 13, 2014 at 04:41 PM by openair

[murphy]

Make him give you a signed written statement that he will not charge you for the rims if they don't fit.  The 16" spare tire rim for the standard gas Fusion has zero clearance with the brake caliper.  In other words the rim is against the caliper so tightly that the wheel can't turn.  If he has found some other 16" steel wheel that does fit I would like to know all about it.

[garymkrieg]

You can refer to this tread about the Focus wheels fitting:

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/9112-finally-i-have-a-space-saver-spare-tire-for-my-energi/

 

Gary

Edited December 13, 2014 at 07:08 PM by garymkrieg

[openair]

I've now spoken to 5 people at parts in 3 different ford dealers.

 

1 gave me the story in this thread, 225 50r17 and "have to be ford rims."  2 others were so sure 215 60r16 would fit they would return them at no cost to me if they didn't and wouldn't check any further in to if they would fit or not.  I managed to convince one they wouldn't fit but even after convincing him 16" wouldn't fit for reasons in this thread he wanted to stick after market 17" steel wheels on without consulting ford first.  "I am ford" was his response to shouldn't you check with ford if you didn't even know 16" wouldn't work?

 

1 of 5 has spoken to the parts manager and is now actually going to check with ford what wheels should be used.  Really brings out my faith in getting future service done at 2 of these 3 ford dealers.  The 1 who agrees with this thread is a further drive but may be worth it in the long run if these two can't even be sure about wheels.

Edited December 15, 2014 at 11:34 PM by openair

[murphy]

Ford dealers are not Ford.  They are independent contractors that have an agreement or contract with Ford.  My previous Ford dealer also sells new Chrysler products from the same lot.  His Chrysler advertising is much more prominent on his web site than his Ford advertising.  My current Ford dealer only sells Fords on his lot.  However the owner has many dealerships in the area and they cover many of the brands of cars.  Their loyalty is to wherever they can make the most money.

[openair]

I am aware.  When he said that I said thanks, I'll call you back and hung up the phone.

[SteveEnergi]

Maybe it's worth a shot contacting Tirerack.com.  I purchased my x-ice i3 tires through Tirerack and they were extremely helpful.  I was going to order just through the website but I had a few questions, so I decided to call them.  Their reps are very knowledgeable and they let me know what kind of rim and size to purchase.  I stuck with the factory size rims, but a different brand.  I didn't need anything elaborate since these are only snow tires, although the rims I purchased look nice on the car.

 

It was more affordable then having the dealer order.  I ordered the TPS with them and TireRack mounted/balanced the tires.  I picked them up at the warehouse to save shipping and then had my dealer install them for $20 since I didn't want the hassle nor did I want to purchase the tool for resetting the TPS.  For me, it worked out great.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to mention that it might be worth a call to them to see what will fit the car.

 

Steve

[openair]

Yea, tirerack, Canadian Tire, the firestone website all only list 225 50r17. I could very easily go get them there instead. The issue is these three ford dealers are the only hybrid electric certified ford dealers within an hours drive. The tires was meant as a test. If they can't even pick correct tires and I have to push them and have to speak with multiple people to get them to even check with ford or consider the possibility they're wrong, how can the trust them to service anything complex with my car?

The one certified dealer twenty minutes from my future home will have been caught in a lie over this when they confirm the info this thread with ford. They specifically told me they had put 215 60r16 on an energi.

 

EDIT:  Now they want to put 235 55r17s on.  Saying that's what ford recommends.  225 50r17 or 235 55r17 anyone?  The 235s have a 5% larger diameter, which will make the vehicle taller.

 

EDIT2:  I guess I will be making the hour long drive to the further hybrid electric certified dealer in the future.  Fordcatires.com, linked from ford.ca, the Canadian version of the ford.com tire selector, also says 225 50r17.  Suggesting they're just as mistaken about their choice of 235 55 as they were about 16".

Edited December 17, 2014 at 12:11 AM by openair