Trying out new Tires: Federal 595's
 

Alright, so like I said in the other thread about alternative tires, I got my new tires one today: Federal 595's, in 225/40/18. Ended up getting them for $73 a tire from DriftSpeed in Los Alamitos, CA. They just worked on my 240SX and I asked for any feedback they've recieved from their customers on these tires. So far, everyone seems to be happy with the tires, especially the price.
I drove them home (just over 50 miles) and I honestly expected a lot more noise from them than the stockers, but to my surprise, they are actually low in road noise. Ride quality seems to be the same as stockers to (soo far).
I'll let you guys know my impression of them at the track, once I get new brake pads.

Here's some pics (sorry for poor quality cell pics):
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/m...0/Newtires.jpg

http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/m...g240/tires.jpg

& here's the MS3 waiting for the new tires:
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/m...0/MS3inair.jpg

did you notice better grip or stopping power on your way home??

Took it pretty easy on my way home. I was just happy to replace my trashed stock tires.

The tread pattern looks pretty cool and I'm glad you went with the 40's. Lets us no how they perform when you get around to it.

Any impressions yet? Any aggressive street driving to compare to the stock bridgestones?

I got just over 600 miles on this tires so far & I love them. With some sharp & high speed turns, they hugged the road more than the stock Bridgestones.
This is the info listed on the tire: treadwear=240, traction "AA", temp "A"
So in theory, they shoud last longer than the OE Bridgestones. In my case, that was 25K miles.

Wow, thanks man!

I'll probably stop by this weekend and pick up a set, the stock tires are probably going to last me another 3-5K miles, but I'd like to take advantage of that $80 a tire price tag ya dig :chinese:

Wow, $80 per tire seems too good to be true. Esp. if these tires could last over 20k miles with regular use.

Once I move into my new house & I use my MS3 to commute, I'll hit 20K miles in about 6 months. I should be a good real word test for these tires & their longevity.

updates updates updates :)

I have put just over 2K miles on them so far & have nothing but good to say. Acceleration is improved over the stockers. Tires grip well, so there is little to no chirp going from 1st-2nd gear & no tire chirp whatsoever from 2nd-3rd gear.
I'll keep you guys posted as to the long term use of these tires.

ok can i get some contact info on these guys i will be needed tires in like 2 weeks and i like the price. what was the out the door if ou dont mind?

Let me know when you plan to head out...Maybe if we both come in at the same time they'll knock off a few buck-o-roos :) They're in Santa Ana I believe.

Updates updates

Here's their contact info, the guy you wanna talk to is Quoc Ly:
DRIFTSPEED
11082 Winners Cir., #B
Los Alamitos CA 90720

Tel 562-342-9000
Fax 562-342-9002
Email info@driftspeed.com
Business Hours Monday - Friday
10:00 am - 7:00 pm PST

I paid around $350, balance & installed.

I have over 3,2xx miles on these tires and still have nothing but good to say about them. I've taken the MS3 on some long curvy roads, and they grip very well.
I've finally replaced my brake pads so as soon as I get the time, I will take it to the track and see how they affect my lap times.

Nice mrbig!! What track are you going to?

I do the "time attack" events at Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside.
With the OE tires, I was able to get fastest FWD and usually be neck to neck (time-wise) with the few fast AWD guys. Hopefully I'll be able to drop some time and close the gap on the Pirate City Tatto Evo (fastest street car there).
We'll see.

i went there a little bit ago today to check out if they had any tires.... no tires :( but i can get an alignment pretty cheap, just need to install my balljoints

Yeah, I had to order mine. But they came in the very next day.

hopefully this helps out a lil, but i had a set of these and freakin loved them, they grip amazing, don't scream tooo badly at you, and the perform really well in the wet too, i remember going through a mud pudlle in these and was still able to make the turn with very little slip... i loved these tires, i couldn't say how long they last though cause i screwed up and didn't get an alignment after installing my coilovers and i ate the tires up in 3 months... but i do plan to get another set of these tires for my track wheels

Epic!

MrBig, tire updates please :)

Did you get a chance to drive them through the rain??

Thanks!!!!

I just called Quoc and placed my order.

4x Federal 595 225/40/18
4x Mount & Balanced
Wheel Alignment
Total: $470

i was also planning on getting these tires with my new set of wheels, never heard of the brand so i decided to do a little googling and everyone else that reviewed them had nothing but good things to say about them. Apparently they are VERY popular in the drifting community. Great performance and low price.

Yeah, I got a chance to drive them in the rain this last week. They performed great. Had the car up to 80+ with no hint of hyndroplaning at all. Really surprised in a great way by that.
The tires perform way better than I ever expected. On par with more expensive performance tires I've used in the past.

Let me know when your coming down to get them installed, I work less than 2 miles away from Driftspeed.

Quoc said he will be giving me a call today to see if the tires were delivered, I ordered everything through Quoc over the phone, the tires were in stock 225/40/18 but needed to be delivered.

Quoc is a cool guy to deal with. Aside from sales, he's also one of the Driftspeeds' "pro" drifters.

He seems cool, I asked if my alignment could still be done considering I'm dropped on BC Coilovers, he said no problem :)

Do you happen to know how long it takes for them to get the tires? I ordered them yesterday at 12PM, hopefully I get a call today, would like to have the tires before rain starts!!!! :fing02:

They have a nice set-up for alignments. You should be fine.
I placed an order for my tires during lunchtime and they had them in the shop the next day around 3pm.
I ordered a set (225/40/18) for my friend and got them in the next day as well.

Okay cool, I might still be able to make it if they call me around that time!!

Hey mr, got the tires installed and aligned :) I had to run some errands beforehand but got there around 12PM and it took them around 1 1/2hr to finish, the tires are really nice, they handle very well and indeed hug the road moreso than the stock bridgestones. Overall: VERY SATISFIED

I'll take pictars soon.

Nice, glad you like them. I'm be looking at these for my 240 once the Falkens need replacing.
You should hit me up before you come out. I wanted to check out your car.

I wasn't quite sure what time I was going to get to the shop, sorry buddy, but here are the pictures I promised
http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...up-fed5953.jpg

not sure if you guys said, but what was the total cost with instal?? i wanna get some of these again and tryin to find the best price

How many miles do you have on them now?

damn, man i love that tread pattern. looks wicked.

I LOVED my Federal SS tires when I had them on my other car (2002 Eclipse GT). They stuck to the pavement like no other and at a great price. My only gripe was that once they wore down a bit, the road noise was horrible.

i have Federal Himalaya snow tires... not bad

only $66/tire

look just like those... only have sipping .. heh

i have Federal Himalaya snow tires... not bad

only $66/tire

look just like those... only have sipping .. heh

I got mine for a little over $350 installed. I had another friend buy a set a few months after me and he got them pruchased & installed for around $370 IIRC.

I have over 11K miles on them right now. Haven't measured tread depth, but they still have a lot to go.
As far as road noise goes, either I don't have a lot of it, or I just don't pay attention enough to care. Besides, what's a little road noise when you get great performance at a great price?