Anyone have the skinny on this tire? It supposed to be the replacement for the tried and true SZ50's. I can't tell anything from the specs except that the treadwear rating is 320 vice 340 on the SZ50 EP.

Are they just as good? Is this all marketing hype? Or did Firestone skimp at all on these.

 

I've heard they were pretty good, I got the SZ50EPs on mine though...the wide ovals are W rated I think though?

 

They are W rated. I just ordered my set of 4 to replace my Potato-Skin Potenzas. I'm hoping to see quite an imrovement over the Poetenzas

 

I just got all 4 tires mounted and balanced up, and i like them so far

They're very smooth, soak up bumps WAY better than my potenzas, and are surprisingly quiet on the highway. I took them up to 80mph and all i could hear from them was a little obligatory road noise, but mostly the expansion joints on the highway. I did a few lane changes each at increasing intensity, and they were very poised and responded well to my moderate inputs. I didn't go nuts as i was on the highway and wasn't about to wreck, but they're pretty sticky and no sign of rollover.

As i was at a lower speed (20-25mph) i took a pretty sharp corner on my way home, put a pretty quick input into the wheel, and they responded well. No excessive noise, and tracked quite well.

All in all, on my quick 15 minute ride, i like them We'll see if they hold up when they wear, and in the upcoming rain here in the NE.

245/50/16 with a 96w rating

 

Well, when I learned that there is currently an $88 rebate on these I finally decided to buy in. I got them on my car a couple days ago. I can't say too much since I haven't put much time on them right now. I'll have to write more later. But my first impression is that they are a slightly more comfortable tire. It may be because I'm going from worn SZ50EP's, but they seem quieter and absorb the bumps a little better.

More driving and I'll check back in....

 

I've got around 800 miles on mine so far, and they're doing just as good as my original post still