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Federal Tires, what is so special about them?

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The Sewers
#1
I am not going to lie, I have never heard of the brand until I started browsing these boards. I would like to think I know enough about tires since I have worked at a few reputable tire shops and I test tires for a living. Besides, obviously, being cheap...what's the big deal about them? I tried searching and didn't come up with anything as far as an answer to my question.

TIA
 


Dpro

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#2
Federal Tires are a Tawanese brand, I first heard about them in the drift scene as they became very popular for drift cars for a minute except they get greasey and chunk, undeer intense spin. They positioned themselves as a motorsports tire company and also marketed to the Autocross and Time Attack scene.


They heavily spomsored people throwing tons of free tires at drivers in Drift ,Autocross and Time Attack. They got into D1 and Forumula Drift. This established them as a tire company as they pretty much came out of nowhere in 2004-5. Though seeing as he scene was heavily centered in the San Gabriel valley ifs not surprising as here are a lot of Tawanese immigrant guys who were getting into the aftermarket car parts scene and drifting.

Seibon,VIS,Mishimoto,Federal,NRG, are some of the more prominently known companies that came out of this and I actually dealt with some of the back in the day. This was all pre 2008-2009 as the great recession all but a lot of these guys out of business. i beleive VIS is no longer in fact.
 


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Portland
#3
Cheap and hold up pretty well
I've had a set of 595EVOs for around 35k and still holding up
My only gripe with them was they were a bit squirmy when freshly installed (softer sidewall than the factory Potenzas)

Other than that, no complaints.
Once these wear out, I'll probably get another set
 


SST

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#4
any reputable online retailer that sells Federal?
can't find anyone locally that sells them
 


Dpro

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#6
Same. I checked with discount tire (near me) and tirerack. Tirerack didn't even list them as a vendor.
Ask and ye shall receive

https://www.onlinetires.com/vehicle/tires/federal/

Located in Orange county ships all over the country some of the cheapest prices. Got my 225/40 18’s there for $350 for all 4

https://www.americantiredepot.com/brand/FEDERAL/

https://simpletire.com/federal-tires

https://www.performanceplustire.com/tires-for-sale/federal-tires/

https://www.walmart.com/browse/auto-tires/tires/federal/91083_1077064/YnJhbmQ6RmVkZXJhbAieie


https://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Federal_Tires.cfm
 


jeff

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Evans
#7
I got my Federals on eBay.

I went to my local Discount Tire and they were not willing to install them since they didn't have an official treadwear rating and were "track tires".

That was a year ago, they have 10,000 miles on them and are totally solid. In fact I left a review thread here yesterday check it out.
 


KKaWing

Active member
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#10
They (Tire Rack) also refuse to carry Nokian (winter tires), or Nitto as well. :(
At least Nokian didn't sign an exclusive distribution deal with a local tire chain, and limited the online sales from a dealer next province over. Gislavids for me then.

Edit: Back on topic, Federal is a really small outfit. Small as in not many production lines so sometimes they go out of stock. If you rely on them for a race season, might want to stock up an extra set if you know you'll need a second set mid season.
 


OP
Turtle
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Thread Starter #11
So essentially, it's mostly used as a track tire. I would like to see real world everyday data on the all-season tire/s to compare to mainstream tires such as Michelin, Goodyear and other higher brands.
 


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201
Location
Portland
#12
Turtle, these 595EVOs are my daily tire. They hold up great. You won't be disappointed if you end up getting a set

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 


TDavis

1000 Post Club
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#13
Seems they use the picture of the RS-R on the RS-RR tire. They appear to have the same tread when in fact they're completely different when you find an actual picture of the RS-RR
 


OP
Turtle
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Thread Starter #14
I only have 500 miles on the Potenzas currently and will be swapped for the Blizzaks shortly but once the RE050As wear out, I will need to find a good replacement...looking to go with 215 instead of 205 to get more of a "square" look. I can't stand the stretched look, 205 on a 7 inch wheel is creeping towards the stretched range in my opinion. No offense to those who have stretched tires. [8D] Not interested in contact patch and things of that nature, the FiST is a daily driver that will prob never see a track of any sorts. "form over function"

[cheers]
 


kevinatfms

Senior Member
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Germantown
#15
I only have 500 miles on the Potenzas currently and will be swapped for the Blizzaks shortly but once the RE050As wear out, I will need to find a good replacement...looking to go with 215 instead of 205 to get more of a "square" look. I can't stand the stretched look, 205 on a 7 inch wheel is creeping towards the stretched range in my opinion. No offense to those who have stretched tires. [8D] Not interested in contact patch and things of that nature, the FiST is a daily driver that will prob never see a track of any sorts. "form over function"

[cheers]
The stock Potenza tire runs very thin compared to other manufacturer's. I currently have 205/40R17 Azenis 615k's on 17" FRPP rally wheels and they are quite a bit wider than the 205 stock Bridgestones.

On the other hand, i just picked up a set of 205/50R15 Federal RS-RR on 15" Sparco Terras for an autocross setup and they are significantly wider than almost any other 205/50R15. They are quite sticky and look fantastic. Once i scrub them in and get some seat time i should know more about how they stick versus the Azenis and stock Bridgestone.
 


OP
Turtle
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Thread Starter #16
The stock Potenza tire runs very thin compared to other manufacturer's. I currently have 205/40R17 Azenis 615k's on 17" FRPP rally wheels and they are quite a bit wider than the 205 stock Bridgestones.

On the other hand, i just picked up a set of 205/50R15 Federal RS-RR on 15" Sparco Terras for an autocross setup and they are significantly wider than almost any other 205/50R15. They are quite sticky and look fantastic. Once i scrub them in and get some seat time i should know more about how they stick versus the Azenis and stock Bridgestone.
Thanks for the info. 205 will def yield more options than 215, I guess I will need to do more research once it is time to replace the Potenza tires. [thumb]
 


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Location
Austin
#17
The RSRR tire is the best tire money can buy at that price point.
x2. So cheap compared to the other 200tw candidates. And unless you're competing you won't miss the extra few tenths.

Also, as for a reputable dealer, they have their own eBay shop that will get you tires with free shipping in about 2 days. Can't beat that. Why pay sales tax, etc.
 


Messages
35
Likes
9
Location
Austin
#18
The stock Potenza tire runs very thin compared to other manufacturer's. I currently have 205/40R17 Azenis 615k's on 17" FRPP rally wheels and they are quite a bit wider than the 205 stock Bridgestones.

On the other hand, i just picked up a set of 205/50R15 Federal RS-RR on 15" Sparco Terras for an autocross setup and they are significantly wider than almost any other 205/50R15. They are quite sticky and look fantastic. Once i scrub them in and get some seat time i should know more about how they stick versus the Azenis and stock Bridgestone.
I ran 205/50r15 RS-RR's on 15x9s on my track miata without issue. About the same "stretch" as the usual 225 15x9 setup. aka they run wide.

BUT they did just release some 225/45r15s so that's awesome.
 


Jerickson88

Active member
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Rock Creek
#19
So essentially, it's mostly used as a track tire. I would like to see real world everyday data on the all-season tire/s to compare to mainstream tires such as Michelin, Goodyear and other higher brands.
Federal Formoza FD2’s in 215/40-17. Zero complaints. Looks like I’ll get to test the all season capabilities this weekend as we are going to NC. I’ve put over 6k miles on them. Should lay at least 30k, which is longer than the Bridgestones that came on the car for 1/3 of the price. Are they the best? Nah. I couldn’t justify $800 on Michelin’s. I’m happy.
 


Jerickson88

Active member
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#20
So far, there’s snow and ice here on the mountain in Banner Elk. Nothing serious, but they seem to perform better than my BStones did. So far I have been confident in them.
 




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