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Review 2 of 5
Price Paid:
$469.00
from Costco, Eden Prairie Year / Model Reviewed:
2007 BFG Traction T/A HV, 205/50R16 87V Strengths:
Traction T/A's are 70% of the price of better quality Michelin's.
BF Goodrich is a Michelin brand now. Weaknesses:
Loud.
Poor to no traction on ice and snow. Summary:
I drive a 2001 Ford Focus ZTS. The original tires were Firestone. They were just fine. At 60,000 miles they had to be replaced. When I went to Costco, there were two choices: BF Goodrich Traction T/A's or more expensive Michelin tires. I chose the Traction T/A's.
I bought them in Jan 2007. We made it through that first winter, but their performance on ice and snow were so bad that my teenage daughter felt unsafe. In Dec 2007 I bought Michelin snow tires at Costco's recommendation. The tire shop guy said that the Traction T/A's were notorious for their lack of traction on snow and ice. The Michelin X-Ice studless snow tires were night and day difference.
Now in April 2009 when I changed back out of snow tires there was a real howl coming from the front of the Focus. At first I thought it was bad tires. I took it to Costco for them to take it for a test drive. They said that the Traction T/A's are just loud tires.
I took my car to the nearby Ford dealer asking them to look at the bearings. They said the bearings were fine, but that the front left tire had a flat spot. Took the car back to Costco. When they examined it again they showed me that one tire had "diagonal wear". Even though I had only 20,000 miles on the car (with two winters on the Michelin snow tires), they said it was wear caused by alignment or locked brakes. Given my previous investment, I bought a replacement BFG Traction T/A.
In hindsight, I wish I had bought Michelin's. Traction T/A's are $142.10 balanced and installed. Michelin's were quoted at $202. The car has 80,000 miles on it now. We'll see how long the rest of them last. Similar Products Used:
Firestone.
Michelin replacement tires on my other 2 cars (93 Chrysler New Yorker, 2002 Honda Accord)
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