[aah78]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Nokia Hakkapalieta R2 with the size 225/55/r17 for both the front and rear.

Yes, you will be fine with Nokian.
I've used the studded Hakka 4 & 5's on my cars - all RWD. Never stranded anywhere.

Currently I have the Michelin X-Ice series as my winter set - they're good but not as effective as the Nokian tires in snow.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by maddy42

My stock tires are 225/45/R18 front and 245/45/r18 rear. I ended up ordering Nokia Hakkapalieta R2 with the size 225/55/r17 for both the front and rear.

Where did you order Nokians from? I'm looking for a reliable source for Nokians.

The tires are only 3% different in outer dia. I guess they should be fine. Speedo will read 3% higher.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by aah78

Yes, you will be fine with Nokian.
I've used the studded Hakka 4 & 5's on my cars - all RWD. Never stranded anywhere.

Currently I have the Michelin X-Ice series as my winter set - they're good but not as effective as the Nokian tires in snow.

Thanks for that review on Michelins. I preferred studless as i thought studded would be a overkill.

Originally Posted by Jomz

Where did you order Nokians from? I'm looking for a reliable source for Nokians.

The tires are only 3% different in outer dia. I guess they should be fine. Speedo will read 3% higher.

I got them at http://www.discounttiredirect.com as these were the only people having steel rims in stock though i didnt get it. I skipped TPMS too. Currently they are running a deal of $100 rebate upto Sep 6th.

Maddy

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Isnt your car an AWD

Hehe you are right. But I have also had a Ford Focus and currently have Odyssey. Both are FWD.

Originally Posted by maddy42

My stock tires are 225/45/R18 front and 245/45/r18 rear. I ended up ordering Nokia Hakkapalieta R2 with the size 225/55/r17 for both the front and rear.

I am also interested to know where you got Nokian from. I am not too happy with the Toyo tires i have currently. Thinking of Pirellis but not sure yet.

Originally Posted by maddy42

You make me question my decision but i have a rwd and live in rural country so may need it.

Ah in that case, don't pay any attention to my ramblings.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Yes did that! Did a tonne of reading and thats what made sense. I get the wheels delivered with balancing, so i can install them myself over a bunch of six packs. You folks are welcome as the beer is on me

Nice. When are your wheels coming in?

[Fraz33r]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

I guess RWD is where the fun happens

Haha! This is where the fun begins and has no end.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Got the tires for 750 and steel wheels were 72. I felt it not worth while having a nice car with cra wheels the entire winter so went all out for alloys at $115 each.
Total cost $1350 with $200 rebate.


You make me question my decision but i have a rwd and live in rural country so may need it.

Genesis coupe its a rwd.

Went for lower radius as recommended by a lot of folks here and other sites.

My Setup ran something similar from TireRack and tyres from Sears as they were running a rebate. In hindsight I should have gotten the wheels and tyres from the same vendor. It is lot less fuss.

Trust me you definitely need it. And there is no predictability on the amount of snow. When i was in NH, the adjoining town received a foot of snow, and our town meager 2 inches..

This is the Image of My Car..during once such storm

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Nice. When are your wheels coming in?

In a weeks time. Will install them probably once the cold sets in. Discounttiredirect had them.

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

Haha! This is where the fun begins and has no end.

Trust me you definitely need it. And there is no predictability on the amount of snow. When i was in NH, the adjoining town received a foot of snow, and our town meager 2 inches..

Your image scared me i have never cleaned snow and am not looking forward to it! Gotto do it though!

Maddy

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Your image scared me i have never cleaned snow and am not looking forward to it! Gotto do it though!

Maddy

haha
Imagine cleaning this:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...ml#post3632690

[vasoo]

Some photos of my new Ford Escape Titanium 2017 with 2.0L turbo.

[Jeroen]

I never had winter tires in Europe. But when we lived in Kansas City I put our Jeep Cherokee on proper winter tires, cant remember which ones. But I was amazed at the difference it made on snow!

Jeroen

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Some photos of my new Ford Escape Titanium 2017 with 2.0L turbo.

Congratulations, that's a nice color please do share the ownership experience

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Congratulations, that's a nice color please do share the ownership experience

Thanks. I will post my experience over a period of time. First thing which I like is the 7.1 sec time for 0 to 60 mph. That's probably the quickest car I ever owned or leased. I had rental cars doing better, but they are a different case. This is also said to be the best compact SUV for towing, with 3500 lb capacity, though I am yet to have anything that need to be towed. Interior features are quite high tech in comparison to competition. The suspension is great and NVH control is excellent, its pin-drop silence inside even when driving on rough roads. Resembles a luxury car when it comes those parameters.

[maddy42]

My monster has major starting issues. Its not the battery as it shows an amp of 12.5. It starts fine based on its moods which is annoying when you are late to work, all suited up and then your bike doesnt start! Many dealers will directly point at the battery, but mine is lesser than 1 year old and i always have it on trickle charger.

I am bugged by the statement "Oh its a ducati thing". Did some digging around the forums and here is what was the most logical thing i found. Its a upgrade to the existing wiring from the battery to the starter and is a full kit with a bunch of wires which needs to be installed. I hope this one helps my bike. And i am sure once i reach home my bike will start in one attempt again(fickle aint she).

http://motolectric.com/makes/ducati.html

Happy weekend folks, going mudding today!

Maddy

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Some photos of my new Ford Escape Titanium 2017 with 2.0L turbo.

Congratulations on the new acquisition! What is the total $ damage? How did you choose the Escape? What else did you compare against?

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Congratulations on the new acquisition! What is the total $ damage? How did you choose the Escape? What else did you compare against?

It is a 3 yr lease. Final price was 29k on which lease was calculated. Comes to 340 per month after 1500 down. MSRP for this spec is 32085.

My criteria was relatively simple. I don't want a Honda or Toyota. Both had terrible looks and omnipresent. So what else? Looking at magazines and ratings, I tried most of the options in compact SUV category.

Nissan Rogue is another terrible looking low performance car, rejected after first TD, even though there was a major markdown by dealers to liquidate their 2016 stock. In some case discounts were close to 25℅ off MSRP. ! Interestingly Altima was a pretty decent car.

Hyundai Tucson was good with the usual Hyundai features, but the model with the specs I wanted was priced too high for a 1.6 turbo and the dealer was not showing any interest in negotiation or even in selling.

We also tried Kia Sportage and Subaru Forester. My family did not like them either. Kia was funny looking and Forester looked too basic inside. Forester did have a powerful turbo option, by the pricing was coming too high for my liking and the dealer was in "take it or leave it" mode.

Next in line was Mazda CX5. This is the car which my family liked the most. Good looking car, with decent level of equipments, perky engine, excellent dynamics etc. However dealer was very stiff with pricing and never even agreed to reduce even a dollar from his quote even when this is a 2016 model which was probably going to be replaced in a couple of months. Another issues was the availability of colors we like. Lack of some basic features like power lift gate, remote start (only if I pay extra 600) etc was other factors against it.

Then we tried Ford Escape. This was probably the only 2017 model that was in market, except Kia. And with the pace of changes happening in automobile technology, Ford seems to have made best use of this advantage in Escape, filling it up with whatever they can. It also looked good for my family, of course after CX5. In addition to these factors, the big winner for me was the option of 2L turbo, which was a big difference from competition, and still keep the price below 30k. Ride, handling and NVH were another key factors. Mazda was good in the first two, but NVH control was not it's strength. Build quality (reported and perceived) was excellent. Doors are quite heavy and makes you feel secure.
On top of it, the dealer was extremely helpful, courteous and willing to negotiate over emails and SMS as it was not possible for me to talk over phone or meet them due to my work schedule. Lease conditions were good with 1℅ APR and other incentives. All of this tilted us towards this car.

The overall process took a little above 3 months.

[vasoo]

One small irritant so far is the auto engine shut off option, which is enabled by default. We can disable it every time we start the car, but switching off engine in every stop sign doesn't look like a great idea to save gas. Of course, accessories and AC will keep working for sometime. Engine will auto start the moment I take my foot off brake pedal.