I just put on Nokian I3s on my OEM 15" rims. I sticked with 185/65/R15. I noticed many differences when swapping back to it from my 17" Kyowa and Nexen tires. MPG increase is the obviously one.. I also noticed the steering wheel feeling much softer while driving and at stop too! It takes a lot less energy to turn wheel now. I know the weight of the rim and tire comes to play. My guess is that the rolling resistence also affect this. We can use this as a way to "feel" the LRR of the tires. Question to those changed the tires to different brand or upsized: Did you notice the energy required to turn the steering wheel? For those interested in I3s, I got very good price ($62 shipped with "badboyfriend" coupon code) from Bad Boy Tires. The set I got are made in PRC with green stripes. Nokian I3s - $55 Since they are 88T rated, they have 80k miles warranty. I3s also have Silica compond that the latest generation tires utilize for LRR and traction without compromise. I3s are lighter than Integrity too (16.3 vs 17 lbs). They seems to have lower RR than the Integrity from 100 miles of my experience but it is too early to tell. I am loving them already.
Of course you can feel the difference. With my 17's and Kumho tires my gliding ability is cut WAY down and taking off from a stop requires more energy. This is with the Kumhos aired up to 68psi (55psi max).
Firstly, thanks for posting your experiences with these tires. All information is valuable for those who will have to choose tires later. Secondly, I'd advise you to avoid using phrases such as "seems to have lower RR than". Rolling resistance is a measurable attribute of tires. Integrities are not LRR tires and never have been. They are only slightly below the mean of all the tires tested in the last report I read (cite available on request). I haven't the time to lookup the Nokians at the moment. But, I'd encourage you to do so.
Good advice. I wish there is a standard to measure the rolling resistence and tire manufacturers report them.
Thank you for posting up your information regarding where you purchased them. As you know I've been looking at these tires for some time now and I'm going to purchase the i3's on Monday since I missed them (BadBoyTires) today.
I am thinking about buying Nexen tires but P185/65/r15 Are these nexen tires good and shouldn't see any decrease in mileage ? Anybody ever use this brand before?
Which Nexen model are you considering? I checked the size you stated and there are four models in that size. All of them are heavier than OEM tires. The lightest Nexen tire is 18 lbs (OEM is 17 lbs), which are SB650 and N2000. CP641 is 19 lbs and N5000 is 20 lbs... ouch. The heavier the tire, the more energy you are going to need to accelerate. Nexen tires does not seem to use silica to reduce rolling resistance without sacrificing traction. I have N3000 with my Kyowa rims and I am not happy with them. I am stuck (pun intended) with them and have to drive it until it worn out.
I was thinking of maybe the Nexen 5000 series. Sounds like i will stay away from nexen then. Then which tires should i buy then? It does rain alot here and snow lasts maybe for a week. It's Seattle Washington weather.
is there a good website that shows the rolling resistance and actual spec's of the nexen tires???? Even getting the nokian detailed info from a website but would be nice.... I am thinking about using the good year assurance comfotreads. Seem similar to the Integrities but last longer. where did you get the nokians for $62 including the badboy coupon??? That is a good deal and I would rather get those.
There are currently no agreed standards for testing rolling resistance, and manufacturers are not required to report it at all. Thats a big part of why its so hard to find data. One place with some relative data is consumer reports, they do their own test internally when evaluating tires. If you do some searches on this site you'll find a lot of threads on tires, with lots of info to consider. I like the looks of the i3's and will probably order a set, but they are more like $100 shipped now. Rob
I provided the link in my original post. It looks like they raised the price. Bad bad boyz.I think the coupon also expired.
Well, I realise this is resurrecting an old thread, but I put my winter wheels (15x6 steelies shod with 185/65R15 Blizzak WS-80; set to 40psi (front) and 38psi (R)) on the car today, replacing the summer wheels (OEM 16" alloy, shod with Michelin 195/55R16 Energy Savers; set to 46(F) 44(R)) and I've noticed that the steering feels much lighter, especially when low-speed maneuvering. I expected it to be a little different, but I'm suprised that it's actually quite noticable! Just curious, that's all - anyone else notice something similar???
Within Europe there is a fixed standard for testing the rolling resistance of tyres. It is also a legal requirement for this information to be available at the point of purchase of tyres. This is usually in the form of a lable stuck on the tyre with the manufacturers name, type, size, and tested specification. Unfortunately the tyres sold in the US generally although having similar names are not the same tyres as sold in Europe. So this information does not help much in the US. Some tyres such as Hankook's are the same. When this information was first made available it quickly became clear that some of the top manufactures claims for having the lowest RR were completely unfounded, and further some budget tyres were better than some of the top names in respect of RR. Other information now required is the wet grip, and the noise level in "db". John
