I plan to stick with the stock setup when I get new tires since we don't have a spare, or anything to mitigate a puncture other than the "self sealing" nature of the stock tires.
Keith
Keith
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Tire Options
Hey there CBF brain trust,
My soon to be Bolt needs new front tires, the original ones have worn quickly and I was wondering if anybody else has experience with other tires that grip better and wear less? I know that is sometimes mutually exclusive though and I’m price sensitive right at the moment.
Thanks for your comments.
My soon to be Bolt needs new front tires, the original ones have worn quickly and I was wondering if anybody else has experience with other tires that grip better and wear less? I know that is sometimes mutually exclusive though and I’m price sensitive right at the moment.
Thanks for your comments.
1 - 20 of 24 Posts
I've reviewed the tire options extensively for the Bolt, and can't find anything that would do as well as the OEM's . Some of the stats look good for others, but comments about frequent failure of the sidewalls, etc. lead me back to the OEM's. We have two Bolts, as so far, the tires are fine.
A good friend with a Bolt with many more miles than me recently replaced the tires and went through the same dilemma.
He settled on CONTINENTAL PureContact LS 215/50R17 95V XL, which look fantastic on paper and are low-rolling-resistance tires, but he saw his efficiency drop from 4.0 to 3.7 miles/Kw.
He now wishes he had picked up the stock tires.
One thing I have seen folks post that I would consider is the stock tires without the self seal, and then purchase a can of Fix-A-Flat and an air pump to carry in the storage well.
I think this is the setup that is sold on the Canadian Bolts.
Be aware though that if you ever do get a flat tire and have to use that, it will likely destroy your tire pressure monitor sensor in that wheel.
He settled on CONTINENTAL PureContact LS 215/50R17 95V XL, which look fantastic on paper and are low-rolling-resistance tires, but he saw his efficiency drop from 4.0 to 3.7 miles/Kw.
He now wishes he had picked up the stock tires.
One thing I have seen folks post that I would consider is the stock tires without the self seal, and then purchase a can of Fix-A-Flat and an air pump to carry in the storage well.
I think this is the setup that is sold on the Canadian Bolts.
Be aware though that if you ever do get a flat tire and have to use that, it will likely destroy your tire pressure monitor sensor in that wheel.
Keep in mind that new tires have a break in period, and his efficiency may improve back to where it was before the tire swap over the next 1000 miles of driving.A good friend with a Bolt with many more miles than me recently replaced the tires and went through the same dilemma.
He settled on CONTINENTAL PureContact LS 215/50R17 95V XL, which look fantastic on paper and are low-rolling-resistance tires, but he saw his efficiency drop from 4.0 to 3.7 miles/Kw.
He now wishes he had picked up the stock tires.
One thing I have seen folks post that I would consider is the stock tires without the self seal, and then purchase a can of Fix-A-Flat and an air pump to carry in the storage well.
I think this is the setup that is sold on the Canadian Bolts.
Be aware though that if you ever do get a flat tire and have to use that, it will likely destroy your tire pressure monitor sensor in that wheel.
Keith
My Bolt only has 7500 miles so no new tires for the Bolt yet but I replaced my other EVs tires at 50,000 miles and I prioritized traction and quietness over rolling resistance and purchased Yokohamas that (as with your friend) are marketed as LRR. I am very happy with both the handling and the quietness (my car is basically a library on wheels) but I sacrificed 7% of my range.A good friend with a Bolt with many more miles than me recently replaced the tires and went through the same dilemma.
He settled on CONTINENTAL PureContact LS 215/50R17 95V XL, which look fantastic on paper and are low-rolling-resistance tires, but he saw his efficiency drop from 4.0 to 3.7 miles/Kw.
He now wishes he had picked up the stock tires.
One thing I have seen folks post that I would consider is the stock tires without the self seal, and then purchase a can of Fix-A-Flat and an air pump to carry in the storage well.
I think this is the setup that is sold on the Canadian Bolts.
Be aware though that if you ever do get a flat tire and have to use that, it will likely destroy your tire pressure monitor sensor in that wheel.
All in all, it isn't a bad trade off because I took the car on a canyon road with hairpin turns and was able to do it comfortably at 55 mph whereas before I would get tire squealing at 45 mph on the same sections even when the stock tires were new.
While true, He actually has two twin 2017 Bolts, he drives for Uber and Lyft, and already has 6 thousand miles on the fresh tires, with very consistent results and the ability to make good A 2 B comparisons, the only thing we have not done is swap tires and wheels from one vehicle to the other to confirm, but they were tracking nearly identical efficiency before the tire swap.Keep in mind that new tires have a break in period, and his efficiency may improve back to where it was before the tire swap over the next 1000 miles of driving.
Keith
That is a fantastic use case to track differences! He should do the Eibach pro kit springs and see if the 1" lower suspension leads to a gain in rangeWhile true, He actually has two twin 2017 Bolts, he drives for Uber and Lyft, and already has 6 thousand miles on the fresh tires, with very consistent results and the ability to make good A 2 B comparisons, the only thing we have not done is swap tires and wheels from one vehicle to the other to confirm, but they were tracking nearly identical efficiency before the tire swap.
My use case it will take a long time to show any improvement from them.Keith
Are we to assume the original owner did not take advantage of the free dealer service tire rotations? If so, it points out the absolute necessity to rotate them every 5,000 miles. The instant torque of the Bolt is so much fun to use, the front tires will wear much more quickly than the rears.My soon to be Bolt needs new front tires, the original ones have worn quickly
Learn something new here every day. I've been in and around the tire business for fifty years and this is the first I've ever heard of this.Keep in mind that new tires have a break in period, and his efficiency may improve back to where it was before the tire swap over the next 1000 miles of driving. Keith
Tire Rack does say:
But I take this to mean the improvement is not the result of a "1000 mile break in", but a gradual and linear increase over the life of the tire tread wear.New, full-tread tires generate more rolling resistance than worn tires.
Tire rolling resistance gradually drops by about 20% during the life of a tire as the tread wears from its original molded depth to worn out. This can be attributed to the reduction in tread mass and rubber squirm, as well as subtle hardening of the tread compound during years of service and exposure to the elements.
While this gradual reduction in tire rolling resistance and minor increase in fuel economy may be too subtle to register during the tire's life on a tank-by-tank basis, the virtually instantaneous switch from worn tires to new tires (even if they are the same brand, type and size) will typically result in an increase in rolling resistance of about 20%. Since the automotive industry estimates a 10% increase in tire rolling resistance will result in a 1% to 2% decrease in vehicle fuel economy, drivers should expect to experience a potential 2% to 4% decrease in mpg.
jack vines
Are we to assume the original owner did not take advantage of the free dealer service tire rotations? If so, it points out the absolute necessity to rotate them every 5,000 miles. The instant torque of the Bolt is so much fun to use, the front tires will wear much more quickly than the rears.
Learn something new here every day. I've been in and around the tire business for fifty years and this is the first I've ever heard of this.
Tire Rack does say:
But I take this to mean the improvement is not the result of a "1000 mile break in", but a gradual and linear increase over the life of the tire tread wear.
jack vines
It can also take a couple hundred miles to scrub off any mold release. The mold release is notorious for reducing traction on new tires. I've found it to be similar to the difference between driving on cold tires vs warm ones on my S2000.
https://www.continentaltire.com/news/pair-shoes-tires-need-be-broken-too
I put PureContact LS on my Volt and love the smooth and quiet ride. They handle well, too - an excellent all around tire. I'm getting about 37-38 miles from 10k kWh where the old Goodyear FuelMax (probably about as close in efficiency to the Michelins on the Bolt as anything I've seen) would get 39-40. In my mind, that's a reasonable drop due to the losses one can expect in a fresh tire. Alas, I have only about 1,000 miles on the new Conti's, so I don't have enough time to tell if they measure up.
I actually LIKE the OEM tires, and feel they give a nice confident ride for normal safe street driving.
However I'm pretty mild mannered and don't drive my Bolt like the GTI I once had.
Since I have a full size matching spare rim and tire currently, when my current set of five tires need replacement I am strongly considering getting the same tires without the self sealing technology.
However I'm pretty mild mannered and don't drive my Bolt like the GTI I once had.
Since I have a full size matching spare rim and tire currently, when my current set of five tires need replacement I am strongly considering getting the same tires without the self sealing technology.
Not sure myself.
I also think the ride on the OEM tires is decent and I'm nearing 50k miles on them.
The last rotation didn't say to replace them, but did note they are showing some wear, so they will probably be replaced before too long.
But I'm not sure about the self sealing.
It's been quite a while since I had a flat. The last leak I had was a slow leak that gave me plenty of time to get it fixed.
I know it can happen any time, but I have AAA.
Do I need it just so I don't have to wait for AAA???
Probably depends on how much extra the self sealing will cost.
I also think the ride on the OEM tires is decent and I'm nearing 50k miles on them.
The last rotation didn't say to replace them, but did note they are showing some wear, so they will probably be replaced before too long.
But I'm not sure about the self sealing.
It's been quite a while since I had a flat. The last leak I had was a slow leak that gave me plenty of time to get it fixed.
I know it can happen any time, but I have AAA.
Do I need it just so I don't have to wait for AAA???
Probably depends on how much extra the self sealing will cost.
When one of my tires was destroyed with just ~500 miles on the odometer I decided the factory tires were junk and replaced all of them.Hey there CBF brain trust,
My soon to be Bolt needs new front tires, the original ones have worn quickly and I was wondering if anybody else has experience with other tires that grip better and wear less? I know that is sometimes mutually exclusive though and I’m price sensitive right at the moment.
Thanks for your comments.
I ended up with Kumho Ecsta PS31 in the stock size.
These are not LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tires and they are not "self sealing" but from my POV the self sealing tires were useless.
The tires are summer tires, which means they don't even pretend to have any snow or ice traction but they have quite a bit more wet and dry traction than "all season" tires. I don't live where it snows so "all season" tires would have no benefit whatsoever for me but even if I did live where there was snow & ice in the winter I'd still run these and have dedicated winter tires for the winter months.
I estimate I take about a 10% economy hit for having non-LRR tires. My plan is when these wear out to look around an see if there are any LRR summer tires available in the stock size (there weren't when I got my tires).
I actually wonder if the factory tires are MORE likely to fail you due to the extremely weak sidewalls. There have been many people here (myself included) who have been stranded on the side of the road due to sidewall damage. Obviously I have a spare but even if I didn't I'd feel more secure rolling around on non-self-sealing tires than the ones that came from the factory.I plan to stick with the stock setup when I get new tires since we don't have a spare, or anything to mitigate a puncture other than the "self sealing" nature of the stock tires.
The other thing not mentioned is that tires must spin faster for a given speed when they are worn out compared to new tires. That means worn tires will report having traveled further than new tires for any given trip because the odometer counts revolutions of the wheel, not actual traveled distance. Then there's differences in tire circumference between brands and models despite being labeled the same size. Tirerack gives "revs per mile" for each tire.
I hated the OE tires at first, but I like them now. I don't know if it was mold release compound, or just the tires breaking in, they seem a lot better now. Or maybe traction control is clamping down on my driving harder? Or my battery is in self preservation mode and not giving me the juice as quickly. Or a little bit of all four.
If the Bolt had 60 or 65% weight on the front, the tires would have an easier time with accel events.. but it dont.
If the Bolt had 60 or 65% weight on the front, the tires would have an easier time with accel events.. but it dont.
I hated the OEM tires.
The sidewalls are so weak. I hit a pothole going less than 2 mph and the sidewall gave out for a 2nd time. The 1st tire I lost was because of a nail in the sidewall.
After that I gave up and replaced all 4 tires with the Riken Raptor ZR and have had them for the past 8k miles. I highly recommend them. I'm averaging 4.2 miles per kw.
The sidewalls are so weak. I hit a pothole going less than 2 mph and the sidewall gave out for a 2nd time. The 1st tire I lost was because of a nail in the sidewall.
After that I gave up and replaced all 4 tires with the Riken Raptor ZR and have had them for the past 8k miles. I highly recommend them. I'm averaging 4.2 miles per kw.
Consumer Reports did a news article on the rolling resistance of various tires (unfortunately not including the Michelin Energy Saver A/S Selfseal). The best in the group they compared and are available in 215/50/17 were the Vredestein Quatrac 5 followed by the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus, General Altimax RT43, and Goodyear Eagle Sport All Season.
Anyone try any of these tires and compare the performance and economy/range to the OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S Selfseal?
https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/low-rolling-resistance-tires-can-save-you-money-at-pump/
Anyone try any of these tires and compare the performance and economy/range to the OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S Selfseal?
https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/low-rolling-resistance-tires-can-save-you-money-at-pump/
The original tires work pretty well, but, they sure don't last. I have 36K
on mine and they're gone. I do drive it hard. Most of my driving is done
on mountain roads with lots of twisty fun.
They were offering to prorate them. The prorate is a rip-off. They marked
them up to $200 each and offered a 49% prorate. The total bill with installation
and taxes came out to $760 with an alignment, that I don't need.
We removed all the up sell crap and managed to get it down to $566.
I purchased the replacements without the self sealing goop from Amazon
for $123 ea. sent to my door. I'll install them myself and save the pain of
having someone hack the job at the local tire shop.
on mine and they're gone. I do drive it hard. Most of my driving is done
on mountain roads with lots of twisty fun.
They were offering to prorate them. The prorate is a rip-off. They marked
them up to $200 each and offered a 49% prorate. The total bill with installation
and taxes came out to $760 with an alignment, that I don't need.
We removed all the up sell crap and managed to get it down to $566.
I purchased the replacements without the self sealing goop from Amazon
for $123 ea. sent to my door. I'll install them myself and save the pain of
having someone hack the job at the local tire shop.
I'd bet it does not result in an reliably measurable change in range.That is a fantastic use case to track differences! He should do the Eibach pro kit springs and see if the 1" lower suspension leads to a gain in range
Keith
1 - 20 of 24 Posts
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