Cadillac CTS-V - About to buy tires... Gotta decide on which ones and which size...

My car needs tires bad! Im ordering them this week so i wanted to get y'alls opinions before i order a set and regret it.

First question...

Im looking for something that will looks good (tread wise), handle good in wet and dry weather (since its my daily) and that has good tread life with as little road noise as possible. I dont want run-flats or any other extreme performance tire with super soft tread that cost $300+ each and only lasts 10k miles if that. Ive been there/done that in my drag radial days. I drive a lot now so im looking for something that will last. Ive been looking at all different makes and models of tires online but cant seem to decide on one just off pics alone. At the moment, the Yokohama S-Drives are looking pretty tempting as good bang for the buck. Price is decent, reviews are great from what i've seen and they have a nice looking tread pattern. Are there any specific tires you guys would suggest that would fit my description??

Second question...

My car is lowered like i said. Ive cut one coil in the front and 1-1/8 in the rear as of right now. Front is about perfect (fender sits right at the top of the tire) but the rear still has a slight rake so ill be cutting another 1/8 coil off the rear saturday to make it a total of 1-1/4 which im hoping that will set the rear quarter panels right at the tires like the front is right at the fender. Im currently running 275/40/18's in the rear and 245/45/18's up front. Width wise, i plan to keep the same staggered sizes (275 and 245) but sidewall wise, im debating going a size shorter front and rear...

275/35/18's and 245/40/18

Has anyone done this? What are the pros and cons to running the slightly shorter tires? Any issues with the sensors or whatever because of the different tire size?


I was thinking the shorter tires might look better with the drop (to get rid of some of that fat sidewall look) but i dont want to sacrifice much more of the ride since it is still a cadillac. The car already rides much stiffer now after cutting the springs but the benefit to that is the handling. Seems much tighter now in the corners than it did before i dropped it.

LMK what y'all think... :nod:

Shorter tires would look worse with a drop because your fender gap would increase. Stick with the stock sizes...

Shorter tires would look worse with a drop because your fender gap would increase. Stick with the stock sizes...

I thought about that as well but also thought the fact that it might make the wheels look a little bigger might be worth it.

I see what you're saying but, personally, I don't agree...

The pics I just posted yesterday are all stock size tires all the way around and Eagle F1 GSD3s......have been great both wet and dry(almost better in the wet IMO) plenty of tread life and I have the NOn EMT ones. I think they are like 235 a pc from tirerack.com...I wouldnt shorten the sidewall thats not gonan help with cornering or take offs. Mine is lowered with H&R's as youc an tell and i think the stock size sidewall is perfect.

The pics I just posted yesterday are all stock size tires all the way around and Eagle F1 GSD3s......have been great both wet and dry(almost better in the wet IMO) plenty of tread life and I have the NOn EMT ones. I think they are like 235 a pc from tirerack.com...I wouldnt shorten the sidewall thats not gonan help with cornering or take offs. Mine is lowered with H&R's as youc an tell and i think the stock size sidewall is perfect.

Thanks for the info man. Ill look into those GSD3's. I remember them being popular on the vettes when i had mine but havent heard much about them since. Maybe my buddy can get me a little better deal on them. Trying to stay away from spending $1000 on tires if i can.

Maybe not glamorous, but I replaced mine with stock sized Hankooks (whatever the current summer max grip tires are). Dry and wet grip are great, quiet, and inexpensive.

I would recommend looking into the falken RT-615s, great performance tire for the price.

I am lowered with Eibach and run 245/40 18 in front and 275/35 18 in rear. I love the way it looks. There is a gap in the rear, but it doesn't look bad in my opinion. I think the stock tire size on a lowered V looks bad.

I've ran this size for the last two year and love it.

I am lowered with Eibach and run 245/40 18 in front and 275/35 18 in rear. I love the way it looks. There is a gap in the rear, but it doesn't look bad in my opinion. I think the stock tire size on a lowered V looks bad.

I've ran this size for the last two year and love it.

Hankook's and falkens I was told are good for the price. I def gotta get some asap cause my pass rear has a leak now and was flat this morning. It's bald anyway but when we lowered it, we noticed a nail in the tire so I'm sure that's where it's leaking from.

And whistler, can you post some pics?? I'd really like to see how it looks because I need to make the order asap. If it looks good, I'll go that route. No issues with sensors? Ride rough?

I don't know if it's just me but my car rides much rougher now that it's dropped. I like the look so it's worth it but I was hoping it would maintain a little more of the stock ride considering it's still on stock springs and shocks...

And whistler, can you post some pics?? I'd really like to see how it looks because I need to make the order asap. If it looks good, I'll go that route. No issues with sensors? Ride rough?
See the video at the 10 second mark. Its a good side shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpKFWvowfnU

Side view
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n6/whisler151/2007%20CTS-V/CarsandCoffee.jpg?t=1268072480

Rear while driving
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n6/whisler151/2007%20CTS-V/IMG_0004.jpg?t=1268072317

Another side view
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n6/whisler151/2007%20CTS-V/IMG_0011.jpg?t=1268072364

Next to stock V
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n6/whisler151/2007%20CTS-V/DSC_0215.jpg?t=1268072380

I'm in the same boat you are. I was researching for about an hour yesterday, up a friend recommending some dunlop direzza z1 star specs. I found this car and driver article. Right now the star specs are on sale, but the hankook vetus v12 evo are about $75 bucks cheaper per tire, via tirerack, online tires etc. Im really considering getting the hankooks.

Looks great whistler. Surprisingly, there is really just a slight difference between the 2 sizes from what i can tell in the pics.

I guess it will just come down to which i can get the better price on.

I went to discount today to talk to my buddy and to do some price checking and to research some tires as to what would be a good choice for the money. BFG makes a g-force (i believe) super sport (doesnt look the greatest compared to the flame tread you have) but they are reasonably priced at $130 a tire and have a 440 tread rating meaning they are 50k miles tires. They scored in the higher end of their grading system too performance wise.

Along with those, i looking into nittos (both the invos and the 555's), other BFG's (KDW2's), hankooks, falkens (fk452's and another model), toyos(t1r's), yokohama (s-drives) and a few kumhos but have yet to decide on a particular one. Ill be doing a bunch of research online again tonight while im here at work and looking up prices. Im also watching craigs and the forums to see if anyone throws some up for cheap. I have a few other things i need to get for the car so if i can get some good tires slightly used for much cheaper, that would leave me with a lot more to spend on the other things i need/want. Ill buy some new if i dont find any asap but figured id try my luck first.

For some reason i couldnt post the link. I guess my post count is too low. Just google direzza z1 star spec and car and driver. THe hankooks too second overall. I just purchased them today. Should have them installed by the end of the week.

For some reason i couldnt post the link. I guess my post count is too low. Just google direzza z1 star spec and car and driver. THe hankooks too second overall. I just purchased them today. Should have them installed by the end of the week.

Hmm... Ill have to look those up. I havent looked at too many of the reviews other than the ones from individual people on the discounttire website. Ill look those up right now. Thanks for the info!!

I just looked them up. Looks like the Dunlop direzza z1 star spec tires scored very well beating all of the higher priced tires in the competition. They have a bad ass tread pattern and price is very affordable. My only issue is the tread life. Reviews on their performance were great but most people said they can squeeze about 15k miles out of them tops before they are due for replacement. With how much i drive, ill be replacing them again fairly soon so im not sure if that would be a good option for me.

Im looking at the hankook site but they have several different models and tread patterns. Which ones in particular did you order?

Anyone have experience with cooper zeon 2xs's?

Found some almost brand new 275/35/18 coopers for $150 local.

I did some quick research and found out there are made by toyo. Tread looks pretty nice and the performance is said to be good both dry and wet. Only negative fact is they wont last 50k miles but hell... im just looking for a hold me over. People say they get 30+ out of them though and online they sell for a little over $200 each. I can get the tires i really want anytime later down the road when the $$$ permits... lol Just seems like a good deal for 2 almost brand new tires...

I ran Dunlop Direzza Z1, they were crazy sticky and without my Gforce axles I hopped all over the place. Due to a recent flat, I now run Dunlop Sport 01 DSST. They grip well, look good and have run flat security. Not to mention they are stock on R type Jags and 5, 6, and 7 series BMWs. They are easy to find 80% tread life for half price. Check out ebay.

I ran Dunlop Direzza Z1, they were crazy sticky and without my Gforce axles I hopped all over the place. Due to a recent flat, I now run Dunlop Sport 01 DSST. They grip well, look good and have run flat security. Not to mention they are stock on R type Jags and 5, 6, and 7 series BMWs. They are easy to find 80% tread life for half price. Check out ebay.

Yeah see... i dont want anything too sticky with this stock rear diff and stock axels. Something moderate would be just fine as long as it does good in dry and wet weather and lasts a little while.

And yeah, ive been looking on ebay. Might buy some used ones off these soon if i dont find anything local in the next couple days...

Well guys, after poking around online for the past few hours... I think i have decided on the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110's if i buy new. Tires are pretty cheap ($150 a tire), look great and have AWESOME reviews over on corvette forum.

Just gotta decide if i want to run a 275/40, 245/45 combo or 275/35, 245/40 combo. The shorter tires are a little more expensive so i might stick to stock diameter and save about $25 a tire...

Well guys, after poking around online for the past few hours... I think i have decided on the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110's if i buy new. Tires are pretty cheap ($150 a tire), look great and have AWESOME reviews over on corvette forum.

Just gotta decide if i want to run a 275/40, 245/45 combo or 275/35, 245/40 combo. The shorter tires are a little more expensive so i might stick to stock diameter and save about $25 a tire...

I ordered the 275/40 ventus v12 evo k110's. It was the great reviews and bang for buck, being the main reasons i went with these tires. i almost pulled the trigger on the star specs but, it was the longer life and much better price with close enough performance that gave the nod to the hankooks.

Yeah man, i noticed the same thing. I see a lot of people use the star specs as track tires. They dont last nearly as long though.