Tire Recommendations...

[Mr.Rauq]

Time for new tires. 2004 Pontiac GTO. Budget is ~$700 hopefully including mounting, balancing, aligning. FWIW I can get 10% off everything at a Firestone shop, including all Bridgestone/Firestone tires, and all services (which I'm told are super cheap to begin with).

Worth noting: adjustable height coilovers. Alignments just got a little trickier, I think. I don't know how shops deal with non-OEM suspension. Front is dropped about 1/2", which added some negative camber in the front, most of which I believe can be dialed out with the camber adjust. If it requires maxing out the camber adjust, I can raise the front, but if it doesn't need it it'll stay where it is. The rear has adjustable height shocks, but I haven't put the adjustable height springs in yet. The rear has always worn the inside of the tires, but since the shocks went in, the right rear went down to cord. I guess since there's no rear camber adjust that outside of a camber adjust kit, with PITA bushings, the only solution to get rid of some of that negative camber is to raise the rear.

The ones that have stood out to me so far are the Bridestone Potenza RE760 Sport, Hankook Ventus V4 or V12, or Conti ExtremeContact DW. Input appreciated.

[HKYStormFront]

couple of my friends have the new DW's and love them. they are getting rave reviews. they look aggressive but ride good and are quiet (i've driven both cars, one an audi S4, the other a nismo 350z), i was quite impressed especially compared to the OEM bridgestones (RE050's) on the 350z

[dave99rt]

what size? 245/45/17?
plan to autocross or drag race on them?
how long do they have to last?
wet weather abilities?

regardless, your best choice is probably the Kumho SPT from Tire Rack, $114 each if you are running the size mentioned above.
it'll do everything you could possibly want, not wear fast, and easily come in under your budget cap.

the Hankook Ventus V4's suck.
most Continentals have inflated treadwear ratings and don't last as long as other brands with similar ratings.

[Mr.Rauq]

245/45/17, I was thinking about running staggered, 265 or 275 in the rear maybe, but I think I'd want a non-directional tire in that case because I've had trouble in the past with keeping a good alignment. Not sure the extra inch or so of rubber will make that much of a difference, or if there's a non-directional tire worth running for what I'm looking for.

I'll probably autox on them, maybe a drag trip once or twice a semester, but I really want to get 2 extra wheels with something stickier later, so pure grip isn't the top goal. Wet weather... I have a healthy respect for rain, and don't expect my car to ever move in any snow, so I'm fine without something wet-weather oriented. I'd like them to last as long as you can expect a well-performing tire to last... I went a year on these Nankangs with not a lot of grip and at times a whack alignment. I'd like to think I can do at least as well or better on something nicer and paying more attention to the alignment.

BTW, 540 treadwear for the Conti DWS?

[Theodore]

You are doing the right thing... ask opinions and decide yourself. My 2cents...

1. Dunlop Direzza... ever heard of that one? Me either. But results don't lie. $137 each and take a look at Car & Driver comparison....FIRST place against stiff competition.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comp...ec_page_11

2. Staggering - I've talked to a lot of suspension techs in racing...one thing they mentioned (which...it's common sense... but I try not to use that too often.) IF a car is designed by manufacturer for staggered tires, then making a race car out of it... KEEP THE STAGGER. (BMW Z3 M Roadster... great example). If your car was not originally set up for stagger, adding stagger only creates another variable in suspension dynamics taking it further away from where the suspension was originally designed. IF you use stagger to correct over steer or understeer, you can create new problems in other areas (tire wear, bump steer,responsiveness, etc.). It looks cool but has a greater chance of making it drive and steer worse...which you will have to tune out if you can.

One guy said the same concept about a generic racing seat in a street car...unless you are really creative in mounting and bracing, all you are doing is changing the driver to seat to pedals to steering wheel geometry and dynamics from original which was "within a range of ideal for that car". I love seeing a guy in a "fast and furious car" with high dollar seats at a light craning his neck around up against the front windshield so he can see if light turned green yet. We all spend a lot of money to make cars look cool but it's easy to spend big money for something that looks cool but hurts performance.

3. When Elvira was a street driven car (still legal but don't drive it much... have to visit the dentist next day and ...police love seeing race car on the road, pulling it over and asking questions) I went through several sets of tires trying to find the right compromise. It doesn't exist. Happiness came when we gave up, got another set of wheels and slapped some Kumhos on them and changed for competitive driving purposes. Much better situation than wearing one set of shoes for all purposes. ; ) If you black bag them between events and keep them cool, they'll last a lot longer too.

[kbrew8991]

unless the camber is really excessive you may want it, esp with autocross and *ahem* spirited street driving on occasion

+1 on Dave's comments otherwise

[dave99rt]

can you squeeze that much more tire in the rear?

i know the goats have limited room in the rear for wider wheels/tires.

the star spec would be perfect if you don't expect them to last long.
they are quite the sticky street tire and aren't overpriced.

i personally would never want a tire rated 540 unless it was Michelin.

[300zmankellan]

The Star Specs are the closest to a compromise I've seen. They don't last nearly as long as an all season, but a noticeable bit more than their competitors and are only marginally less grippy. I adore mine, the only reason I don't drive on them more is I have perfectly good all seasons on the stockers that I want to get my money's worth out of.

[101101]

(08-16-2011 05:24 AM)Theodore Wrote:  1. Dunlop Direzza... ever heard of that one? Me either. But results don't lie. $137 each and take a look at Car & Driver comparison....FIRST place against stiff competition.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comp...ec_page_11

I had Z1 Star Specs on my Miata as my HPDE tire until I found the need for a beter heat holding (race) tire. I also ran them on my MINI as a street tire auto-x tire (with occasional road use). I loved them on both cars, and unless you're REALLY pushing the car hard for 15+ minutes (like in a track setting) they'll probably work great. When it comes time for another set of tires for my STi I'll highly consider them.

[Mr_Bill]

As a tire nerd by day I couldn't help but chime in on this discussion. It all depends in what is more important to you...

If dry/wet traction is the ultimate priority, you can't really go wrong with the Star Specs for the price.

If you are willing to give up a little dry/wet traction in return for better wear, noise, & comfort than the Continental ExtremeContact DW's would probably be the best bet for your budget. Yes, Continental's wear ratings are probably on the generous side (keep in mind that each tire manufacturer actually determines it's own tread wear ratings) but they will last longer than the Star Specs.

[Mr.Rauq]

275 is about as wide as you can expect to go in the rear before you're guaranteed some rubbing, at least on stock stuff, but I've got the rear raised up 1/2" as it is and I think it's going to go a little higher, and even if it does rub I'll roll the fenders. I don't think I'm going to go staggered though, I'll just worry about that if/when I get some extra wheels. I would like to get a pretty good life out of these tires, and the Star Specs are a little out of my price range, so I think I'm going to go with the Ecstas, with the Direzzas as a close 2nd choice. Both seem to be the best compromise for what I'm looking for- the best performing tire without huge sacrifices in treadwear, in my price range, that I can live with on the daily.

Side note (it's not a threadjacking if it's my thread, right?): C1, which is where we autox'd last, I'm pretty sure, hasn't been paved at all except the entrance and exit...

[93redfox]

^^ yup. they've made one loop of that lot with the paver. absolutely useless. The other lot that we used was also empty and unpaved all summer. Thanks parking services! :|

[dave99rt]

you'll like the SPT's.
it's probably best to maintain the ability to rotate the tires.