Brangeta

I have to start shopping for tires soon for the GXP, and a search on here didn't result in very valuable data for me to decide which tires to buy, so I decided to make this. Please only post if you have a Grand Prix GXP with stock size wheels OR you are running wheels on your Impala SS or Buick Lacrosse Super that are the same size as what the GP GXPs have (18x8 on the front and 18x7 on the back).

Let's make this the definitive, undying thread with tire reviews specific to Grand Prix GXPs on stock size wheels. We all know (or should all know) that reviews of tires on vehicles other than ours are not very helpful--a review written by somebody who has the same front tires on their Mustang isn't all that useful for us.

It's not easy to find matching sets of tires for these cars anymore--the OEM tires are discontinued and the type I was planning to buy when I did research 2 years ago are discontinued now too.

Copy and Paste these questions below when writing your review. Some of these questions are multiple choice.


Brand and Name of the Tire:


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?



4) Are these tires good in the rain?



5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?



6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each):
Rears (each):

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?

Brangeta

Brand and Name of the Tire:
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (the OEM tires for our cars)

1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?
Seems like they only last about 20,000 miles. I have been noticing I have less grip in the curves lately, and I have put on just under 20,000 miles on this set. The left front one was replaced due to a nail, so it has around 2 to 4k fewer miles on it than the others.


4) Are these tires good in the rain?
Yes, fantastic. You can completely ignore puddles and drive the speed limit without fear.


5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
I only drove on ice one time and they didn't seem good at all.


6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): $325 each
Rears (each): around $250 each

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?

These tires are nice and all, but they don't last long, which makes them super expensive. I don't have anything to compare them to since I haven't driven the car with anything but OEM tires on the car, but the super stiff sidewalls make the ride pretty rough. Almost like a car with runflat tires. Since I don't race the car, I wish I had softer tires to absorb the little bumps and such in the road more. These tires are incredibly expensive too, but I don't think that matters anymore since they've been discontinued as far as I know. I don't *think* I really like them since they seem to make the ride unpleasant more than the Bilsteins do.

rm08gxp

Brand and Name of the Tire: Nexxen N3000


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes front only
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last? 12000



4) Are these tires good in the rain? no, hydroplane like crazy



5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow? too scared to try



6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): came on car when bought
Rears (each):

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no never

8) What's your overall review of them? do not recommend

DuronClocker

iTrader: (25)

Brand and Name of the Tire: Continental ExtremeContact DWS


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes, fronts only
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?
20,000


4) Are these tires good in the rain?
They are okay. Definitely not all that great.


5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
Not nearly as good as I had expected for having the "S" on them, but they aren't snow tires, and they are fairly wide and low-profile.


6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): $225ea
Rears (each):

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?
For as good of reviews as these get elsewhere online, I haven't been overly impressed with any single quality. Decent overall tire, but definitely doesn't really exceed at anything. I wasn't going to swap tires for summer/winter on this car and wanted a "spory" tire that could still handle Chicago winters. It met those requirements.

Now that I don't do any snow driving (moved to Florida), I'll be replacing them with some Pole Position S04's in the next few thousand miles. I'm very happy with those on the back so far.

blkchevyz

Brand and Name of the Tire: Firestone wide ovals


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?

c) year-round driving


2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes


3) About how many miles do these tires last?
not sure yet


4) Are these tires good in the rain?

yes

5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?

not sure yet

6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each):180 each
Rears (each):

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes


8) What's your overall review of them?
so far best tires i've had on the car. seem alot stickier than the kumos i replaced.

Brangeta

Updated 1/2/19 with the mileage I got out of these.

Brand and Name of the Tire:
Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum (these are the only Grand Touring tires available for our cars in matched sets--all of the other options are performance tires)

1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?
They supposedly last a whopping 60k miles, and they are warrantied until that point!

Update 1/2/19:
I had these put on when my GXP was at 46,712 miles on 1/10/13.
I had the front ones replaced at 63,639 miles on 9/1/16. So I got 16,927 miles out of the front ones before they were worn out.
The rear ones are still on the car at 73,443 miles as of 1/2/19 and don't have enough wear to merit replacing them yet. So, I have gotten 26,731 miles out of them so far.

4) Are these tires good in the rain?
I drove in the rain yesterday and they were fantastic. I even went nearly full throttle in 1st gear from a 10 to 15 mph roll and it was as if the water wasn't even there.
Update: these are great in the rain


5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
I have no clue yet. Their rating online is 6/10 which is pretty decent.
Update: I had to drive in very bad icy conditions one time in 2015 and they did ok, I didn't feel like I was going to die and I was doing slightly better than many other cars which were unable to drive on this miserable drive home. But I didn't do great.


6) How much did you pay for these tires?
I got them through Discount Tire, and they were about $7 more per tire than tirerack as I recall, and these were tirerack's prices:
Fronts (each): $182 each
Rears (each): around $159 each
Tire rack charges $60 shipping, so Discount Tire was a bargain.

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) hell yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?

I've only had these tires a few days so far, and I thought I should write a review while the comparison to my old OEM tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE050A) are still fresh on my mind. That said... these tires improve my driving experience at least 300%! It's unbelieveable to me how nice these tires make the ride.

They are virtually silent on the road at lower speeds. The Potenzas weren't bad, but these are about two times quieter. I do notice a difference at highway speeds. I don't know what sound the Potenzas made, but there is a noticeable low pitch sound at highway speeds. It isn't bothersome, but it's different. I think the Potenzas used to sound kind of like a quiet ice crusher. Well, these sound like a consistent low hum.

The way they make the car handle in every day driving conditions is amazing. I describe them as jelly donuts, or butter. With the Potenzas, turns would feel like square corners. (I recall GM having Bridgestone make these tires so they would give the GXP more oversteer to counter the FWD car's nature to have understeer. And that is extremely evident now--the Potenzas would pull you into making a sharper corner, almost crashing through a corner.) The way the Kuhmos go around a corner is a thing of beauty. They go so smooth that I didn't know my GXP could even handle like that. A woman could probably put on lipstick during a turn now.

The way they handle manhole covers and road irregularities is night and day. They absorb the impact so much more than the Potenzas did. They make the car comfortable.

As far as acceleration is concerned, I have done some near full throttle launches with the traction control turned on, and these tires do not lose grip like the Potenzas did. They don't light up the traction icon like a strobe light. It's kind of a strange comparison to be honest. I would not say that these are gripping the road aggressively. In fact, I would say that if I was to do a race against my car with the Potenzas on it, I would expect my car with the Potenzas to win a drag race. But these tires have taken some of the drama out. It's as if they are a softer tire, the whole jelly donut/butter feeling. The Potenzas felt more like wooden tires that wouldn't grip quickly, but once they did, it was like a rocket.

One other thing I appreciate is that these tires don't make noises on my garage floor. I have to steer a bit to get out of my garage to avoid hitting the neighbor's fence and the Potenzas always made a sticky shriek sound on the painted garage floor. These are nearly silent. So they are not gripping like a suction cup and making loud noises.

Overall, I absolutely love these tires and don't miss my old ones at all. If these tires have a flaw at all, it is that they are not as attractive as the Potenza's tire tread and sidewall design, but they are by no means ugly.

They are fantastic. I am in love with driving my car again. These tires got rid of all of the uncomfortable things women would whine about when riding in my car, and make driving it more pleasant for me.

Update: I want to buy these for the front of my GXP again. They were truly great tires. I hope that Discount Tire will special order them for me, as their website (and Kumho's website) don't show them as available, but Tirerack does.

baltsk8er69

iTrader: (1)

Damn brangeta, I couldn't tell if I was reading a review it a romance novel lol. I'll have to check those tires out.

Brangeta

I'm tellin' ya, if you don't drag race or road race your GXP those are some amazing tires. I asked around and CAMyers720 and MY06GRANDPRIXGXP both told me they liked the tires a lot, so I got them.

In retrospect, I really hated the way my car rode with the Potenza RE050A tires. Maybe some other variation of the Bridgestone Potenzas are good, but man... I don't like the OEM ones... it's a good thing they discontinued them. The price was awful and they made the car ride like a roller coaster cart over roads/bridges with those seams or whatever you want to call them.

I've owned the car since January 2009 and nobody has ever tried to stoplight race me so why would I torture myself with performance tires? I like the Kuhmos a lot so far. If you aren't racing, they are great.

DavidGXP

iTrader: (14)

Brand and Name of the Tire:
Hankook V12

1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?
275/40/18

3) About how many miles do these tires last?
35,000 miles

4) Are these tires good in the rain?
Yes

5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
Horrible

6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): $335.00 US for the Pair back in 2010
Rears (each):

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?
https://ls1tech.com/forums/ls4-perfo...on-follow.html

08GXPGXP

Honestly I've had almost opposite experience with these same tires.. Good in raid and snow kinda but as for traction and launching? No luck. My 60ft best with these was 2.2-2.4 and believe me I did very good launches with these times.. Now here's my issue I believe.. The dealer put these on before me buying the car and some dummy got 225s front too.. Almost 80% sure this is why I hate them!

08GXPGXP

Same tires here.. But I hate them.. Although whoever put them on the car put 225s up front.... Stuuuuupid move.. Most likely my problem.. Oh and I ate them I about 20k miles.. I hate mayyyybe another 10k before I'm down to the little wear bar whatever thing between the treads

Brangeta

I still love them after several weeks. They aren't performance tires, so you won't launch as aggressively, but that's the tradeoff you have to make to have a nice, comfy ride. My old performance tires made the ride feel like they were made of wood in comparison.

The 225s up front is probably the biggest problem for you guys though. That's gotta be awkward, because 225s are barely wide enough for the front wheels.

08GXPGXP

I don't know what Dumb *** ordered those but I'd have to agree.. And there we have another opposite.. When I hit bumbs it's sooo rough. Hard. Loud.. Definitely is annoying seeing as I traded my Cadillac in to get the car hahaha.. I just need new tires.. The right size PLUS.. Think I wanna do 265 or 275s

08GXPGXP

V12s Dave??? Haha mayyyybe

Brangeta

I'd just get 255s so they don't come in contact with the fenders. God knows we end up turning our steering wheel all the way around til it stops in order to make some turns while parking lol.

08GXPGXP

everyday

dubious28

Brand and Name of the Tire:
Potenza RE960AS Pole Position

1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?

c) year-round driving


2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes




3) About how many miles do these tires last?
Dunno yet, only about 2k miles in.



4) Are these tires good in the rain?
Yes, they dominated Coeur de'Alene pass. Went about 70mph the whole way through, the GXP was on rails.


5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
Average on ice and snow. Snoqualmie pass was a bit icy and there was some light snow but I felt just as safe as in the rain.


6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): 428/pair
Rears (each): 350/pair

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes


8) What's your overall review of them?
I bought my GXP last week from a buddy in MN who had some cheap shitty kumhos that were worn down to slicks. I put about 900 miles on those shitty tires in MN and I was scared the whole time. Read up that Portenza 960s were good, and I went on a hunch and bought em, knowing that a drive from MN to Seattle at this time of year is a good test. Went through heavy rain, freezing rain, and snow, and I never felt scared or doubted the car's ability to manage. These tires are definitely another purchase for me when they wear down.

Bonus points for telling the Firestone clerk my fronts are 255/45/18 and didn't believe it.

Brangeta

Looks like it's been over a year since I made this topic. Just as an update, I am still loving my Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum tires.

They are still really quiet on the highway. The "jelly donut" feeling is gone, which is both good and bad. I was entertained by the feeling of floating during lane changes, but now I feel more connected to the road, which is a much better feeling overall. The car handles better for normal to slightly aggressive normal driving than the car handled on the OEM style Potenza RE050As. Those OEM tires were only good when driving like my *** was on fire. The Kuhmos handle really well in the rain, but so did the Potenzas. I haven't had an opportunity to drive on ice yet, so I don't know how they are on that. Since they are so much softer than the OEM tires, the ride quality has gone up a TON. I haven't had to get my hubs replaced, or tie rods, and my steering rack bolts haven't come loose like what I was having happen when I was on the OEM stiff-as-hell tires. I also haven't had to have an alignment done since the switch either. Pot holes and manhole covers aren't as big of issues anymore.

Considering I had so many complaints about the Potenza RE050As, I am definitely loving these Kuhmo tires. My only complaint about them is extremely minor, and it's that I can't give as much throttle around a long sweeping curve as I could with the Potenza RE050As. It is definitely because of the sidewalls flexing. The car will understeer in this situation and I'll detect an upcoming loss of traction or control and ease off the accelerator. With the Potenza RE050As feeling about as solid as wood, I wouldn't get that feeling, in fact, I'd just plant my foot a little harder so I'd skid.

All in all, the Kuhmos are great daily driving tires. If you use your car for autocross or drag racing, they aren't the tires for you, but if you use your car for transportation... they are baaaaad asssssss.

MarineBri68

Brand and Name of the Tire:Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?
Rated for 45,000


4) Are these tires good in the rain?
The reviews I read before buying them said they brake better on wet roads than many other UHP tires did on dry roads


5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
So far I haven't had any issues this winter


6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each):About $180
Rears (each):About 220
It was about $975 for the set installed

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?
I only got my GXP a few months ago now and the tires that were on it were Eagle GT UHP tires. What I mainly noticed with those was the torque steer taking off at low speeds. With these however there's almost zero torque steer even from a dead stop. They handle great and I'm sure just like any other UHP tire needs to warm up a little bit to get better traction when you first start driving in cold under 30 degrees or so.

superglide9375

ditto on michelin pilot sports ,best set i have had and i got 193,000 on the car,so i have been through most of them could never afford michelins until these,but as stated not a matched set ratings are different but tread the same