Achilles Tire report
I just had the chance to test the Achilles tires on my '86.
I bought a set of CD-91 wheels to replace my Trons. The Trons have relatively new Federal 595's from tires-easy which arrived clearly out of round. I've probably got 4,000 miles on them and they seem to have quieted down a bit but not until today did I realize how bad they were!
I took my CD-91's and a new set of Achilles 185/60-13's to get mounted and balanced. The first attempt they balanced fine but they placed the wheel weights on the inside rim where they rubbed the calipers. Second time they repositioned the weights and rebalanced. They were a bit skeptical as they claimed a couple of the CD-91's were not hub-centric.
I just mounted them on the X and took them for a test drive. Here is what I found:
No wobble, no vibration, dead smooth and rock steady at 80 mph!
Less road noise than the Fed's
Slightly better "turn-in" than the Fed's
Handling seemed as good if not better. Remember, these are brand new and probably still a bit "greasy". I expect they will easily match or exceed the "stiction" of the Feds once broken in.
I never got to a place where I could break traction and slide so I can't report on their recoverability but they did seem quite linear up to the limit of traction.
Ride comfort was as good if not better. Everything seemed smooth and quiet and trauma free.
My only negative is that the tread patter looks rather pedestrian compared to the more aggressive look of the Federals. Not bad, just not sexy.
Maybe I got lucky and got a set that was round but since my sample size is one, I have to conclude that the Achilles tires are a much better alternative than are the Federal 595's. And for the price, you can't beat the deal!
If anyone wants pictures of the difference in tread patterns, PM me and I will be happy to post.
All-in-all, I am pretty happy with the swap!!!
Ed