Wednesday, Mar 10, 2004 at 20:25
Decided to go with Bridgestone D694's 265/70R16
@ $228 each inc fit & bal
the guy is swapping an old Olympic that's never been used
for a 265/70R16 with 80% tread.
Then getting the alignment done at
suspension shop plus
tweak the torsion bars for $50.
I'm sure I wont know myself with any new rubber,
but the reports that are coming in for the new 694's
are very promising.
www.tirerack.com
plus a review...
"The Chevy Blazers were outfitted with Bridgestone’s new Dueler A/T REVO. This is a light truck and SUV tire with Uni-T AQII. The tire uses a dual-layer tread compound for improved grip and traction, and superior braking power even when worn. Both the Bridgestone and competitive tires used in this
test were purposely shaved down to 50 % tread depth and then "aged" or heat treated in ovens for several weeks to simulate substantial use and tread wear. This process is called "heat cycling" and it duplicates the process of vulcanizing - which hardens -the rubber compound that happens with daily driving of all tires.
The road
test was designed to demonstrate the improved wet traction and gripping action of the dual layer tread compound used in the Bridgestone Uni-T AQII tires versus a major competitive product after substantial use and tread wear. What happens is a novel idea - as the tire wears, it exposes a softer compound of rubber, which offers the improved grip over the life of the tire.
Although none of the
test drivers wanted to push these SUV’s to the limit as we did in the BMW’s, we did all drove them aggressively and pushed them through the turns and slaloms. The SUV’s outfitted with the Dueler A/T REVO provided superior performance over the competitive brand.
I noticed a better sense of control in the road handling and the ride was noticeably quieter, but the real difference was in the steering response. When I turned the steering wheel, the Blazer immediately responded in proportion to the turn. In comparison, the competitive tire offered slower steering response, which translated into less confidence in the tire.
After testing all tires on both vehicles as both driver and passenger, we evaluated the tires collectively. The results were consistently in favor of the Potenza RE750 and the Bridgestone Dueler A/T REVO - billed as the "Civilized Premium All-terrain Tire."
At the end of the day however, none of us needed the results of the questionnaire to prove that point. If standing cones can tell a tale, there were definitely more cones knocked down with the competitive tires -- and a few more fishtails and spins as
well.
After returning
home from the
test, I got my penny out to
test the treads of my tires. It’s an exercise - along with checking tire pressure - which I advise every driver to perform with regularity.
An afternoon of racing vehicles on wet pavement, I really wanted to be certain that I was prepared for the rainy storm that was to keep our streets wet for the next week or so. Altogether, I was impressed with the wet and dry performance of the Bridgestone tires."
will give a report when we get back from
Kalbarri.
WOOOHOOO!
wolf
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49833