Miata Mailing List: December 1994, Message #19
sponsored by



     


   From: RHULL@PALVX.NMSU.EDU
Subject: TIRES
   Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 11:46:52 -0500


Couldn't resist throwing my story into the fray about tires...

Thought it sounded like Bridgestone was getting ragged on pretty bad
for their version of the OEM tire. My first Miata ('91 A) had them
on it and I thought they were fine - having nothing to compare to. I
thought I was a somewhat aggressive Miata driver (my girlfriend is
always looking over and saying "You're having fun, aren't you."), but
it sounds like the rest of you spend most of your time sideways through
the corners!

Anyway, I took the car to the dealer for routine service and had the
tires rotated - the car was ALL BAD afterwards. I was pissed at the 
dealer, and so took it to a tire seller to get re-aligned. The local
Bridgestone dealer diagnosed the problem as a defective belt on one
of the tires that wasn't noticeable until put on a steering axle. They
got me a new OEM tire and solved the problem. So the Mazda service shop
was not at fault - I guess the tire was bad from day one.

My present Miata ('92 A - yellow) has Dunlop OEM tires on it, and I can't
really tell any difference. I had both cars for about a month and don't
remember a striking delta in feel.

Conclusion - I thought the Bridgestones were OK, but then I had a
deffective one, too. Everyone keeps harping about changing the tires from
the OEM - can't imagine Mazda would have let this part of the design
be done poorly. Nonetheless, I too am anxious to get the miles on my car
(to justify new rubber) and find out if hi-performance tires make a big
difference.

Robert Hull
"Giallo"