engineboy

I posted this in the lounge, but I'll post here too..

I'm in the market for a new set of tires...255 50 16s, looking for great traction wet or dry, travel alot with the car and need good all around perf.
What do you all have and what do you like??

I don't care about getting any miles out of them, I just want it to stick to the road.

Tell me your tire stories......

Thanks.

MAXIMVS

if you are so concerend about wet traction get BF Goodrich G-Force T/A-KDW's. they are excellent dry and wet traction! <img src="images/icons/grin.gif" border="0">

WILWAXU

iTrader: (6)

Daily driver tires with traction.. Nitto Extreme's for the front and Nitto Extreme Drags (DR) for the back.

I run that combo in 275/40/17 and 315/35/17 as my street setup. They look awesome and perform great!

Go mine at http://www.discounttiredirect.com/

WeatherGuy

[quote]Originally posted by WILWAXU:
<strong>Daily driver tires with traction.. Nitto Extreme's for the front and Nitto Extreme Drags (DR) for the back.

I run that combo in 275/40/17 and 315/35/17 as my street setup. They look awesome and perform great!

Go mine at http://www.discounttiredirect.com/</strong><hr></blockquote>

That is exactly what I have, what I would recommend, and where I got them. The traction/hookup is awesome. They seems to handle wet roads pretty well also.

Here is what you need to do - get ZR1 rims, 17x9s fronts and 17x11s back. Then get the tires as above. There are 3 drawbacks to this. First, if you are low on cash, this will run you about $1800 to get both new rims/tires all the way around - if you are low, see if you can find some used ZR1 rims. Second drawback is that the 315s in the back will require you to jack up the rearend of your car by the differential housing (rear end) to get the tires/wheels off and on. Finally, Nitto DRs (the back tires) will wear out every 10-12 thousand miles, the price you pay for an awesome hookup. You could use other 315/35/17s if you want to avoid this, but you will not get nearly the hookup. Hope this helps.

engineboy

I'm not concerned about hooking up for street race duty, so i think a DR would be a waste of a good tire.

I need a tire that will hold while flying through a wet corner outside Mt shasta...

Must be good in the rain....

[ November 24, 2001: Message edited by: engineboy ]</p>

WeatherGuy

Actually, the Nitto drag radial is good in the rain, but if you don't care about dry launches . . .

I would suggest that you only go with 17x9s front and back, with about 275/40/17s. If all you care about is cornering, than going to an even bigger 18 inch rim might be your ticket, along with upgraded sway bars, SFCs, STBs, etc. I can't give you a good recommendation on what is best in the rain without considering the dry launch side as that is not my area.

engineboy

[quote]Originally posted by WeatherGuy:
<strong>Actually, the Nitto drag radial is good in the rain, but if you don't care about dry launches . . .

I would suggest that you only go with 17x9s front and back, with about 275/40/17s. If all you care about is cornering, than going to an even bigger 18 inch rim might be your ticket, along with upgraded sway bars, SFCs, STBs, etc. I can't give you a good recommendation on what is best in the rain without considering the dry launch side as that is not my area.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Sorry if I wasn't specific before,

I want to buy tires, no rims. I'm happy with the car and its perf. , got springs, APHB, and STB, just need new hoops.

Keep them coming though, I'm taking it all in.. <img src="images/icons/grin.gif" border="0">

Ragtop 99

iTrader: (7)

Firestone SZ50's work pretty well. I use them upfront with drag radials out back.

35thss

You cant beat Michelins IMO for traction wet/dry....but horrible in snow ... these are awesome tires : http://www.michelin-us.com/us/eng/ti...htm#pilotxgtz4

engineboy

The Pilots suck in the snow?? Thats another piece of the puzzle, I get the occational snow factor also...hmmm

SSLoneStar

NItto 555 285/40/17 Are the Sh*t !!

SS/LS


[quote]Originally posted by engineboy:
<strong>I posted this in the lounge, but I'll post here too..

I'm in the market for a new set of tires...255 50 16s, looking for great traction wet or dry, travel alot with the car and need good all around perf.
What do you all have and what do you like??

I don't care about getting any miles out of them, I just want it to stick to the road.

Tell me your tire stories......

Thanks.</strong><hr></blockquote>

bigSS

Well, I primarily bought my BFG KDWS's because we get some light snow... but I wouldn't trade them for any other all season tire. I've beat the crap outa these things on the strip and street for 6K, and i'd say they've got about another 6K in 'em. Unless I get a winter beater, i'm sure as hell buying another set.

prockbp

http://www.tirerack.com

i believe this guy is looking for a replacement tire guys..

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.js p?startIndex=0&width=245%2F&ratio=50&diameter=16&s earch=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1

it sounds like the kuhmo ecsta supra 712's are the tires for you

[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: prockbp ]</p>

engineboy

[quote]Originally posted by prockbp:
<strong>http://www.tirerack.com

i believe this guy is looking for a replacement tire guys..

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...m=1&pagemark=1

it sounds like the kuhmo ecsta supra 712's are the tires for you

[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: prockbp ]</strong><hr></blockquote>


Yes, thank you. It seems every time I talk tires, people want to sell me ZR1 wheels with them.

I'm going to 255s and retaining my 16x8s, I've been doing alot of checkin on tire rack and reading what people have had and would buy again, plus the info you all have given me from this site and others.

Its looking like the Kumhos 712s, SZ50s, or BF Comp TA ZRs.

I'll post and let everyone know what I purchased tomorrow <img src="images/icons/grin.gif" border="0">

Thanks for all the good tips.

engineboy

Actually went with the Dunlop SP5000.

Love the handling in dry, guess I'll find out about the wet conitions next month.

Thanks for all the great advise.

sammysockethead

Sorry I'm too late. My choice would have been the
Michelin Pilot XGT-Z4. This is available in the 255/16 even though many sites don't advertise it.
Always ask to look at the manufacturer"s catalog,
the dealer may not make a profit on certain sizes so he is not going to let you know about them.

gwj

As I have been unemployed for some time now, I went with the Kuhmo Ecsta 245/50 16s all around.
Dry traction is fairly good after you get a few miles on them, wet traction I dunno, although they have an open area down the middle which should help prevent hydroplaning. The tires have a fairly wide footprint (look at specs on tirerack.com )
The bad side, and I've never heard this from anyone else: these tires are noisy as hell on my car. I've actually had the rear 2 replaced and still get some noise, and yes they were all wheel matched/balanced with the newest type of balancer.
FWIW