Recently I went on a quest for tires (like comic strip character BC in a Commodore 64 game).

When I bought the car with 10,050 miles on it, the original owner put some generic “all-weather” tires on it. I hated those things and when I hit 25,000, I bought myself some really nice BF Goodrich Comp T/A all-seasons.

I loved the look of the new tires, and they sure felt great. I was very unhappy when I had to replace them after 30,000 miles. Then I found I was “lucky” to get more than 20,000 on a set of tires!

Well, having no desire to replace $500+ sets tires that often, I did some shopping. I chose a set of Kumho Ecsta for my ride.

What surprised me most in my shopping is the MX-5 recommends W rated tires, which are a softer compound, even though the treadwear rating I had was over 400. The tires I bought are only V rated with a treadwear rating of over 500.

So now I have a harder compound, but I get a smoother ride…go figure.

The first few days with the tires were a little scary. There is a decreased level of grip, and with the gloss on new tires before you scrub them in, it felt a little like driving on ice! Things feel fine now, but I do still notice less grip, but I think it will be well worth it in the end when I can go maybe 50,000 miles on my magic donuts.

If you decide to go this route, there is one other thing I learned. On your door tag regarding tires, your car may “require” the W rated tires (my NC does not), and you could fail inspection with anything less.