Yes, I searched.

OK, this is the first time I've had to put tires on my car and I am totally lost. It is an '01 WS6. I daily drive the car, year round, and the only time I don't drive it is when there is snow or ice on the roads. I also autocross 3-4 times a year (so that doesn't really matter that much). My budget is on the low end because of being in college so please keep that in mind. I just don't have any experience with tires. I am also looking for at least a 300 treadwear rating, and decent wet traction is a must have.


Right now I am looking at a few different ones though. Please let me know if you have any experience or thoughts on these tires, OR even give me other suggestions.


Sumitomo HTR Z III

Kumho Ecsta SPT

BFGoodrich g-Force Sport


Like I said, please give me suggestions but don't say "Just spend the extra money and buy these $280 tires. They are worth it."

Well, I'm sure they are worth it but I don't have the money lol. Please make other suggests if they fit what I am looking for. I am totally lost here. Thanks.

 

another good tire for a decent price is the goodyear eagle gt. they are a all season tire with a nice looking tread. they run around $120 a tire.

 

Go with the Sumitomo HTR Z 3. We tested them against 3 other big name tires and these came out on top. Great tire for Summer performance rubber.

See Test here .

 

what size?

 

Bridgestone Potenza RE-760's are very good all season tires. They are also asymmetrical so as long as they are the same size you can put them on any corner of the car when you rotate them. I drive year round on Nitto NT-555's and love them, but to each his own.

 

i love my 555 also. they took a beating into a curb and not much damage was dont to them. ive had them for about 10k miles and im still decent on tread (50% maybe)

 

i run the kumho ecsta spt's. work great for a daily driver tire

 

I have the Eagle GT's on my G8 and I really like them. They have great traction in all conditions and handle nicely in the corners.

 

WS6 car, looks like Speedlines in the sig pic so I would assume 275/40-17

The Potenza RE760 sports are summer tires, not all season.

One thing to keep in mind is that treadwear is set by manufacturers and it isn't directly comparable between the different brands. The other thing is that none will be great at freezing or with snow, so if you keep your car off the road like you said you will be fine. Otherwise you would need to look at an all-season.

I have had G-Force Sports on my car in that size. They weren't bad, bit of road noise that got a little louder as they wore. Currently have Potenza RE760 Sports which are pretty similar, but better. Both had good wet weather traction, can't recall ever getting too squirly in the rain and no issues with hydroplaning. But then again I don't drive like a maniac when it is damp, but never had any issues at highway speed (unlike with, say, the Goodyear Eagle GAs that came stock on my 2000 V6). The Potenzas seem a little quieter on the road. Neither will be mistaken for a drag radial compound tire or something super soft. All in all the Potenzas are slightly better at everything compared with the G-Force Sports, although the G-Forces looked slightly wider. The Potenzas are just about 1 yr old and almost have 6000mi on them and are wearing quite evenly... except that I had to get one replaced Monday since I ran over something and it killed my tire.

The other neat thing about the Potenzas is that they are asymmetrical but not directional so if you can rotate them around all 4 corners, if you care about that sort of thing. For a poor college kid that might help extend their life a bit.

I never autocrossed either tire. Both seem to have good lateral grip on the street. But obviously you can overwhelm the grip if you get too throttle happy in a corner. Then again, these are meant for street duty not track duty.

I don't know what budget you are looking at exactly, but the G-Forces are the most expensive out of those three. Looking it over, they seem to have come down in price since I bought them, but that was something like 3 years ago. Even last year I don't remember the Potenzas being much more than them, but I could be remembering wrong. Seems like the Potenzas are nearly $30 a tire more than them now.

The Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500's are similar in cost to the G-Forces... they seem to have been revised from the last Wide Ovals I saw (which were in fact a rebranded Potenza if I remember correctly). I don't know how well they would work.

At any rate, the Sumitomos are supposed to be one wrung above these other choices anyway, at least where grip is concerned. They will probably wear faster. But they are a little cheaper than the other options...

 

i use nitto drag radials on mine. tires actually last longer because they dont spin like regular street tires do. other than that falken 502s are cheap all season tires. onlinetires.com is where i get all mine

 

I have Yokohama S-drives on my 01 WS6 and I am very happy with them. Plenty of dry traction and they are fine in the rain. I would definitely recommend them for a daily driver.

 

I know a guy that used to run riken raptors they look pretty cool too he paid like 80 a tire brand new lol

 

they are 300 treadwear traction AA and temp A

 

Awesome feedback guys, keep it coming. I bought the car with Riken Raptors on it, and they are alright but I definitely do not like wet roads at highway speeds (hydroplaning). I know they say summer tires aren't optimal in cold temps, the name kind of gives that away lol, but I know a lot of people who run them year around. Is there really any real reason not to as long as I am not in snow/ice??

I have looked into a few of the tires you guys mentioned but I am glad to get some real feedback from people with similar cars. I don't know how much of a stretch it is, but I would like to get 20,000+ miles out of whatever I buy. Are any of the tires you guys mentioned cable of that?

Thanks again, I really appreciate the great feedback. Keep it coming!

 

Riken Raptors are 80-$100. Wear great, hook decently in summer and rain I actually would recommend these tires if your on a budget for a cheap daily driver tire.

 

It depends on how cold it gets and how hard you push them. The compound in summer tires just doesn't grip as well as an all season when it is really cold out. It gets somewhat cold in Houston every once and a while (really hardly ever below freezing) and I think summer tires are fine here. Up in Virginia I imagine it gets a bit colder and you get more snow than here.

As far as mileage, I bet you could get 20,000mi out of softer tires but this is 95% dependent on driving technique. Stock these cars make plenty of torque to roast these sort of tires if you have poor throttle control. I squeak the tires every now and again, but don't try to do burnouts. And while I do go around some corners aggressively every now and again I don't try to hang the tail out (well, not usually ). With those G-Force Sports, I think I had something like 30,000mi on them when I sold them with the wheels they were on, I think they were at around 30% tread depth. Took those tires to the drag strip every now and again, but only cleaned them off, never tried to smoke them. Point is 20k on them should be easy.

I have a feeling the Potenzas will last at least as well, except that I have a stall in the car now so it is a little easier to break them loose than it was before

 

Nitto Nt-555 here would be my choice

 

had good luck with fusion zri also continental Extreme Contact DWS has a 540 tread wear and AA trac and temp

 

I still think the Summitomo HTR Z3 better overall tire then most listed. It would help if you list your priorities. Such as handling, grip, wet traction and tread life. This would help me me dial in which tire is best for sure.

 

I have the previous generation Wide Oval, and they have been very good.