Which tires for a newbie?
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Launching!
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From: 3 miles south of Tel Aviv
Which tires for a newbie? I am the second owner of a 2002 Trans Am WS6 and the previous owner installed Korean tires named "Aurora." These tires are the right size but they have poor traction on wet roads. 
I'd like to replace the tires with new tires that other people with the same car recommend for street performance driving. I do not plan to drive this car in the snow. Mostly I drive it on dry roads but sometimes in the rain too. Maybe at some point I'll do a few passes at the strip.
To get started I checked out some of the threads here and checked out Tire Rack. Here is what I've narrowed my list to (alpahbetical order):
I'd like to replace the tires with new tires that other people with the same car recommend for street performance driving. I do not plan to drive this car in the snow. Mostly I drive it on dry roads but sometimes in the rain too. Maybe at some point I'll do a few passes at the strip.
To get started I checked out some of the threads here and checked out Tire Rack. Here is what I've narrowed my list to (alpahbetical order):
- BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW
- BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDWS
- Continental ContiExtremeContact
- Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Asymmetrical
- Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP
- Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
KDWS = killer Dry Wet Snow ... i don't reccomened these to anybody, unless you need a snow tire.
Ryan <--- need to decide on new tires myself, but don't know what kind other than no KDWS again.
Ryan <--- need to decide on new tires myself, but don't know what kind other than no KDWS again.
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Launching!
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From: 3 miles south of Tel Aviv
Originally Posted by slow
KDWS = killer Dry Wet Snow ... i don't reccomened these to anybody, unless you need a snow tire.
Ryan <--- need to decide on new tires myself, but don't know what kind other than no KDWS again.
Ryan <--- need to decide on new tires myself, but don't know what kind other than no KDWS again.
I am leaning toward the Goodyear F1s. I had Goodyear Eagle HPs, Goodyear GTs, and Goodyear GT+4s in the past on non F-Body cars of mine and each of them were better than I had expected. Tirerack has the F1s in my size for $187 each with a $50 rebate when we buy all four at once.
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Launching!
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Thanks for the replies so far! I've narrowed my choices down to two. It seems that everybody thinks highly of the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires. Those and the Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP tires are $700 for 4 at TireRack (after the $50 rebate thing) and the two tires have almost the same ratings except for treadwear. All things being equal the Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EPs should last 21 percent longer than the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s based on the treadwear ratings of 340 versus 280.
Staging Lane
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From: NORRIDGE, IL
My car came with the F1s and took them off due to wheel spin they just don't hook. Ireplaced the back with 315 nittos on stock rims and love them. I mostly drive in the city and they are great in the rain. I took the tires off at 3000 miles by the way.
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Launching!
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Originally Posted by QUIK WS6
My car came with the F1s and took them off due to wheel spin they just don't hook.
I think there were several Goodyear tires named F1. I found at least F1 GS-D3, F1 Supercar, and F1 GS. People seem to be happy with the F1 GS-D3s. Maybe the F1s that you had were one of the types other than GS-D3?
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Launching!
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From: 3 miles south of Tel Aviv
Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EPs Thanks for the replies.
I decided on the Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP tires - and new Camaro SS takeoffs - from SLP. I was not happy with the Aurora tires that came on my F-body and the aftermarket rims were okay put they are polished and I don't see myself polishing them on a regular basis.
SLP has a Winter Wheel Blowout Sale in progress.
I put these wheels and tires on my car the other day. So far I've logged 85 miles on them. They are noticeably better than those Aurora tires that came on my car so I'm happy with the outcome. I'm going to remove the red Chevy bowtie from the center caps and either leave them plain or maybe put decals or emblems on them - you know, either the "bird" or "WS6" or the Pontiac arrow-thing. Right now the center caps are inside the house. If I get a chance then I'll use McGard #64015 black chrome bulge cone lug nuts from Summit Racing, part number MCG-64015. One of my other cars had OEM lug nuts with those black plastic caps and I switched to these from McGard. The black plastic caps faded from black to grey, sometimes got lost along the side of the highways, and made tire rotations a bit more time consuming.
Now I have to come up with $1,030 before my wife sees the credit card bill...!
I decided on the Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP tires - and new Camaro SS takeoffs - from SLP. I was not happy with the Aurora tires that came on my F-body and the aftermarket rims were okay put they are polished and I don't see myself polishing them on a regular basis.
SLP has a Winter Wheel Blowout Sale in progress.
- Wheels, Painted 17 x 9, 10-Spoke Camaro SS Takeoffs (Set of 4) are $400.
- Wheel & Tire, Painted 17 x 9 10-Spoke Camaro SS T/O w/Goodyear Eagle F1 are $800. But these are not the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, they are plain F1s.
- Wheel & Tire, Painted 17 x 9 10-Spoke Camaro SS T/O w/Firestone Firehawk SZ are $900.
I put these wheels and tires on my car the other day. So far I've logged 85 miles on them. They are noticeably better than those Aurora tires that came on my car so I'm happy with the outcome. I'm going to remove the red Chevy bowtie from the center caps and either leave them plain or maybe put decals or emblems on them - you know, either the "bird" or "WS6" or the Pontiac arrow-thing. Right now the center caps are inside the house. If I get a chance then I'll use McGard #64015 black chrome bulge cone lug nuts from Summit Racing, part number MCG-64015. One of my other cars had OEM lug nuts with those black plastic caps and I switched to these from McGard. The black plastic caps faded from black to grey, sometimes got lost along the side of the highways, and made tire rotations a bit more time consuming.
Now I have to come up with $1,030 before my wife sees the credit card bill...!
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Launching!
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Mission accomplished. My Trans Am now has new Camaro SS takeoffs without the red Chevy bowtie emblems, with Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP tires, and with McGard #64015 black chrome bulge cone lug nuts. Thanks for the tire advice!
Last edited by David 2002 WS6; Mar 13, 2004 at 09:01 AM.