"Best" tires for an Explorer Interceptor?

[JeffMacDougall]

I just switched off of those. I travel 120 miles round trip daily. The RS-A not good for that unless you don't mind replacing every 30k. My dealership recommended the Eagle Sports and they are really sweet. Quiet as well and grippy AF. Mine are 20". They are 50k tires, realistically get like 45k out of them.

 

[Eric Z]

Anybody running the new Goodyear Eagle Enforcer tires and if so what are your thoughts?? Availability seems limited but priced at about $220 per tire, so...

 

[KayGee]

That's a pretty new tire that was just announced earlier this year and there doesn't even appear to be much of anything online except for press releases. If it is only going to be offered in a very limited range of sizes for LE only, you may not find much about it until MSP or another agency does some testing and publishes it. If street pricing is in the low $200s/tire though, there are better choices.

 

[VCFP153]

Anybody running the new Goodyear Eagle Enforcer tires and if so what are your thoughts?? Availability seems limited but priced at about $220 per tire, so...

That's not all that much cheaper than RS-A...

 

[Eric Z]

That's not all that much cheaper than RS-A...

Yes and I know, newer isn't always better Of course if the Fleet people like them and start buying them, maybe the price drops

 

[VCFP153]

Yes and I know, newer isn't always better Of course if the Fleet people like them and start buying them, maybe the price drops

You'd think so, but it hasn't dropped on the RS-A, and it's been around since 1993.

 

[DubsR13]

Anybody running the new Goodyear Eagle Enforcer tires and if so what are your thoughts?? Availability seems limited but priced at about $220 per tire, so...

Not yet but from my inside info think of it as a Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady on steroids. It will be a winter focused all season. It should crush the RS-A in pretty much every metric. It should hopefully be the go to tire for departments that need better snow traction and don't use snow tires. Even then depending on wet traction it may get a lot or most of the warm climates too. However recently Continental came out with their Extreme Contact DWS06 in the correct PIU size. I've since put a set on and would put it up against any tire in the size if you don't need a "pursuit rated" tire.

 

[KayGee]

You'd think so, but it hasn't dropped on the RS-A, and it's been around since 1993.

Just remember that you guys are looking at retail/street pricing. Contract pricing is quite a bit less. For state of Michigan, I believe the base price on 245/55R18 RS-A is about $275 - contract/agency pricing for police pursuit tires would be about half that at $135-140 per tire. This is what it has been for the last few years.

All of this info (.gov pricing) is fair game, sometimes it's online and sometimes you just need to ask for it (FOIA).

 

[VCFP153]

Just remember that you guys are looking at retail/street pricing. Contract pricing is quite a bit less. For state of Michigan, I believe the base price on 245/55R18 RS-A is about $275 - contract/agency pricing for police pursuit tires would be about half that at $135-140 per tire. This is what it has been for the last few years.

All of this info (.gov pricing) is fair game, sometimes it's online and sometimes you just need to ask for it (FOIA).

Good to know, but doesn't really help Average Joe who is just trying to buy one set, does it?

 

[KayGee]

Good to know, but doesn't really help Average Joe who is just trying to buy one set, does it?

Well, it all depends on who you know. Anyway, I was merely responding to your comment about fleets buying them and the price dropping. That's not really how it works as fleet pricing is different from retail. Retail prices are typically 10-30% less than book where fleet is 50% in this case. So, fleets buy them because of their pricing structure, not based on what they happen to sell for at retail.

If one doesn't need "pursuit" rated tires, there are plenty of all-season alternatives for less than $200, many for less than $150. You can even delve into the private label and chinese/thai/etc... tires for under $100 if you wish.

 

[Stephen Cannon]

I can't speak specifically for the Interceptor but the common thread traffic and reviews DO NOT FAVOR the Hankook's yes I know they are Standard. Everything from weak tread, low mileage wear, rough ride, weak traction etc.... I expect limited wear. My two leading finalists are the Michelin Defender LTX and Bridgestone Duelers

 

[peterk9]

I can't speak specifically for the Interceptor but the common thread traffic and reviews DO NOT FAVOR the Hankook's yes I know they are Standard. Everything from weak tread, low mileage wear, rough ride, weak traction etc.... I expect limited wear. My two leading finalists are the Michelin Defender LTX and Bridgestone Duelers

Have you considered these? Time for tires
From pictures I've seen, it looks like the new Aviator will have Continentals.

Peter

 

[VCFP153]

Well, it all depends on who you know. Anyway, I was merely responding to your comment about fleets buying them and the price dropping. That's not really how it works as fleet pricing is different from retail. Retail prices are typically 10-30% less than book where fleet is 50% in this case. So, fleets buy them because of their pricing structure, not based on what they happen to sell for at retail.

If one doesn't need "pursuit" rated tires, there are plenty of all-season alternatives for less than $200, many for less than $150. You can even delve into the private label and chinese/thai/etc... tires for under $100 if you wish.

I wonder if part of why RS-As have remained pricey on the retail market is that there's no longer much of a retail OEM market for them. Seems like they ONLY come on police vehicles anymore. Back in the day they came on other stuff, too, like Camaros, Avengers, even the Escort ZX2, of all things. Not so much anymore, so I suppose nobody really wants them, except us interceptor owners...

 

[Eric Z]

So I bought a set of the Goodyear Eagle Enforcer All Weather 245/55R18 (103 Load, & V Speed rated). Took a chance on these at $200 a tire, but... First impression; they are very much quieter than the Eagle Ultra Grips that came off and seem to have a smother ride, but give up some of the turn-in crispness of the Ultras. Wet traction good and we will find out about snow traction before too long

 

[peterk9]

The name says All-Weather but it seems to be a High Performance All-Season good when looking at the description. If indeed it is an All-Weather tire it should have the little mountain and snowflake logo on it. Does it?

Peter

 

[KayGee]

The name says All-Weather but it seems to be a High Performance All-Season good when looking at the description. If indeed it is an All-Weather tire it should have the little mountain and snowflake logo on it. Does it?

Peter

Can't say how everyone is marketing/advertising them, but according to Goodyear, it is an all-weather (4 seasons) tire with mountain and snowflake logo.

 

[Eric Z]

The name says All-Weather but it seems to be a High Performance All-Season good when looking at the description. If indeed it is an All-Weather tire it should have the little mountain and snowflake logo on it. Does it?

Peter

Yes shown as M & S with the snowflake inside the mountain. Not much online info yet, so will have to see how they do.

 

[KayGee]

For those looking for a decent alternative to the RSA, the COOPER ZEON RS3-G1 is available from walmart for $118.11/ea (as of this post - walmart prices can, and do, change frequently). Mounting is free and I think I paid ~$10-12/ea for lifetime balance last time I had that done at walmart. ETA: Cooper $100 rebate through 10/31/18 on set of 4. Discount tire has adjusted to same price and has an additional up to $50 gift card offer.

This is an UHP all-season 50K mile treadwear. I've run these on other vehicles and they have performed well for the price. These are usually ~$150/ea.

 

[Reverend Mark]

New here on the forum, new PIU owner. Winters here in the Reno, NV area tend to be all over the place weather wise (so I am told, new living here too). I live out in a rural area and want a dependable snow rated tire that won't be mad at 70 deg F days. I also will be using this vehicle to travel all around Northern Nevada when my company car won't handle the weather. I have two full sets of wheels with RS-A tires, going to sub one set with these new tires for winter. From what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm considering the Eagle Ultra Grip GW3 245/55R18. Found a set @ $834 installed, out the door (after $60 Goodyear rebate). I wanted to try the new Eagle Enforcer tires, but there is literally no other feedback on them online except this thread. Think I should go Ultra Grip? (RS-A's are going back on in spring/summer until all 9 are worn out).

Thanks, Mark

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
I have no experience with Goodyear tires. I use the Bridgestone Blizzak DMV-1 in Winter. It sounds like what you may eventually need is an All Weather tire. Those are a true all season tire. They have the Mountain/Snowflake symbol and are also designed for Summer driving. More and more manufacturers are now producing them as it does away with the seasonal changeover of OEM and Winter tires.

Peter