[s-cars] Confession: Cheap tires on my S4

[Wayne Dohnal]

After reading the reams of posts from S-car owners searching out the very 
best tires, I'm almost scared to admit that I put on a pair of the cheapest 
225-50/R-16s  I could find.  They are Federal SS-535s, sold as the nameless 
economy performance tire from Les Schwab.  The out-the-door price was $93.45 
each.  I put them on the front (wrong according to the Tire Rack website), 
and now have 2 different tire types on the car (wrong again, I'm sure). 
They replaced a pair of  Dunlop SP Sport 8000s.

I could not find any user reports on the SS-535s.  I suppose that everybody 
was either too ashamed to buy them, or to admit that they bought them.  So 
here's a quick report after a little over 1000 miles.  When I first put the 
new tires on they were way noisy.  I thought I had made a big mistake, but 
after a few trips the added noise diminished and now I think they generate 
about the same noise as the Dunlops did.  I notice no negative handling 
traits in my normally tame street driving.  What I do notice (and was not 
expecting) is that the tramlining is gone. Every year I dreaded switching 
from the winter to the summer tires because the tramlining was zero with the 
winter tires and horrible with the Dunlops.  Now I can drive in the summer 
without fighting to keep the car going straight.

So I'm pleased with my cheapies so far, but I'm also putting on the flame 
suit as soon as I hit the send key!

Wayne Dohnal
1994 S4