OzCorvetteDan

This is my first post to this invaluable forum! I'm based on Perth, Western Australia, so any Aussies, please chime in.

(I'll spell tire the American way once to help the search facility )

The range of performance tyres here is pretty poor in comparison to the USA and Japan. Anything above 245 width gets very expensive or is simply not imported by most tyre retailers. To make matters worse, I'm after 275/40R17's - rare as hens teeth.

Then I stumbled upon the SS-595 from Federal Tyres. See their site:

http://www.federaltyres.com.au/
http://www.federaltire.com/

Looks like a nice tyre with all the features I need. The independant test on the site to indicate that it performs well.

I'm negotiated the 275's down to AU$310 each fitted and balanced (retail price is AU$349), making them considerably cheaper than the competition; I struggled to find anything decent under AU$500 in the size I needed.

The question is, before I commit to the purchase, does anyone have experience (good or bad) with these tyres or Federal Tyres in general? The limitted information I got off the web was all positive, but it begs the question... why have I not heard of them before?

I really have to get tyres fitted in the next few days, so I hoping for fast feedback. Worst case - suck it and see I guess!

Cheers,

Dan

corvetteronw

I had helped Lars87 by helping him ship some used seats to Europe. When it came time for new tyres we tried to do the same thing. In other words. I would buy them here in the US, ship to him and he would reimburse me. With some research we found that www.tirerack.com is well experienced in shipping outside of the United States. They shipped directly to him at a reasonable price and handled all the import/export paperwork. You might want to give them a try. I'm not sure how fast they could get them to you though.
Good on ya mate there in the land of OZ!

OzCorvetteDan

Agreed that importing would be the best option, especially since the I was set on the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, but guess what, Goodyear dont supply the size I need here! It's the time factor that really sucks; I've got to do something very soon as my tyres are bald!

Lesson learned - start looking around for tyres many weeks in advance of them become a real safety concern. I think I'll go with the Federals. If they suck big time, then I'll import the GD-D3's in my size and cut my losses. If they turn out to be great, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Casethecorvetteman

Gday Dan, im in QLD mate, i have a 94 Coupe. (see pic below) I have those Federals on the front of my 94, so far i really cant say anything bad about them, for the dollars they seem like a bargain, they were on the rear when i bought the car 12 months ago, and it wandered abit, but i dont think it was the tyres, they are on the front now and show very little sign of aging in the past 12 months, great in the wet, and they are a nice looking tyre, when i had them on the rear they were bloody hard to break loose even off the line. Im up for 2 new ones soon to replace the Sumitomos on the rear, and these Federals are definatly an option. Ill send you a PM in a sec mate and give you my email address if you want to ask anything about them

OzCorvetteDan

This is why forums like this rule the world. I'm looking for some one else who has put little-known tyres on an obscure and exotic car (for Australia anyway)... a few hours later and there you are!

It's comforting to know that you've had a positive experience with the Federal boots. Federal it is then, though I still have my finger crossed just a little

Casethecorvetteman

No worries mate I thought that pic would be a good one to show you where you can see the tyres on the car. Got your email, ill reply to that when i get home from work abit later on today.

OzCorvetteDan

Got the Federal SS-595's fitted today. 255/40R17's up front and 275/40R17's on the rear. They didn't make me go, "WOW!", but they sure are a good tyre. The comfort level is quite high; little bumps are barely felt. Nice and quite too. I can really feel the road and steering response if quite positive.

I haven't tested them for traction, but they didn't slip under "heavy" acceleration from the line and corner very well. More than adequate for my daily driver!

All up, if you're looking for a tyre in Australia that wont break the bank and you're after a comfortable ride, then consider the Federal SS-595

Kudos to Chez at Cometti Tyres for the great service and advice!

Casethecorvetteman

Sounds like the go mate eh? I might grab a couple for the rear of the 94 soon, the Sumitomos on it are getting abit thin.... Do you know if the SS 595s come in 285s? i have 275s all round at the moment, but im changing to a DANA 44 with a 3.33:1 ratio as soon as my parts arive, so traction will be safe to have with the power now without worrying about breaking the DANA 36.

OzCorvetteDan

Sizing info can be found on the manufacturers website, but is not on the Austalian web site:

http://www.federaltire.com/en/images...205725_595.pdf

Looks like 275 is the widest they do. However, this info may be out of date, so check with your local distributor:

http://www.federaltyres.com.au/federal/buy.htm
http://www.federaltyres.com.au/federal/neta.htm (QLD)

The global site also shows other models in the high performance range. I don't know if they're available here yet or it the wholesaler is able to import them. Perhaps that have a 285 in those models.