Jim98TA

Well, for the time being I am stuck with the 16 inch wheels on my car and I need new tires. So I wanted to get the KDW tire, but it appears there is a national shortage of them or something. My second choice was the Goodyear (but they are more $$$), but there appears to be a shortage on these too.

So, are these tires worth the wait? Does anybody have any experience with either of them? Let me know what you think.

Also, anybody got some nice 17" wheels and new tires they want to get rid of for like $1000....

WhiteSSP

Man you can get some good deals on OEM style GM wheels (z06's, ZR1's, C5's, etc) on ebay ALL the time. I'm talking ~600 for polished 17x9.5 z06 wheels (usually z06 wheels are the most expensive)

Jim98TA

Yeah, I was looking at them yesterday. With the offsets they come with (56 MM), will they push the rear wheels out a little further then stock? The main reason I want new wheels is to get them to fill out the back a little more rather then being so tucked in.

SSZSLP

GS D3's are definitely worth the wait.The KDW's don't come close to the performance especially wet weather conditions,just do yourself a favor and pay extra to have them "roadforce balanced" as this will add greatly to the ride quality and life of the tire.
Had the KDW's originally myself and got 32k out of them with the "RF" balancing,havn't had the D3's long enought to get the true milage out of them,but you will not regret getting the D3's over the KDW's

ZaneO

I LOVE my GS-D3s. You can pick up 17" Y2Ks for $530 shipped on Ebay.

matts22

iTrader: (2)

What is "Roadforce balancing"? Is this different from regular balancing? I just put on GS-D3's and I like them a lot. I'm just making sure that they can get a lot of life out of them. Can someone explain this?

8banger

iTrader: (16)

If you really want to go with BF Goodrich, look for the KDW 2's. They look pretty good. Personally, I'd go with the GS-D3's, but the BFG's are another option.

ActionJack

The GS D3s look better with their tread design. I have not used these but I can vouch for the KDW. The BFG KDW has awesome wet traction and dry traction. They warm up nicely and are quite sticky and hook like a motha for a street tire. I loved those tires and if I did not use them in the cooler temps I would have gottten them again. Also, the KDW were only good for 15,000 for me.

SSZSLP

It's a new way to balance tires as it simulates the forces exerted on to the tire from vehicle and the road while it is balancing the tire.The only one I know of is by the company Hunter(9700 series)some of the upper repair facilities have this and usually you pay by the hour.Simply put when it is done "checking" your wheel and tire combo it will tell the operator where to rotate the tire on the rim for optimum balance and ride quality,many times this has to be done 3-4 times on the average to achieve best results.In short pay extra to have this done as the increased ride quality and tire life will greatly overcome the extra initial cost.

SSZSLP

Hmmm,maybe I ended up getting the "bad apples" of the bunch as far as the KDW's go,cause after three sets from the 245(16) up to the 275(17) sizes, the dry traction wasn't there and the wet was non existent.Ironically though I ended up getting the 30k plus miles still w/o touching the indicators,even after all the playing on the street and the track.Gotta love that "RFB" for tire life!

onyx

i have always enjoyed BFG's, which will happen to me once i burn up the rest of these goodyears. i used to work at big-o tires and NTB and in every BFG tire i grabbed i could feel the actual quality in the rubber. the tread lasted a great amount on my impala SS. no complaints... great wet weather traction too.

Ryan02SS

iTrader: (3)

I love my GSD3's!

ActionJack

The tread life really depends on our driving style. I always have wear on the sides as well from hard cornering. That is one reason I chose the Pirelli becasue they squeal when I am pressing them hard in a corner. The KDW were quiet. However, I never lost control in the KDW but I did once in the Pirreli at 45 and did some fish tailing. Glad I kept it under control.

30k is great. I also tore them up pretty much evrytime out. I practiced my launches at lights too. The tires would get nice and tacky and I did not break them as easy as the Pirellis.

I also tore them up in cooler temps. I noticed with the rubber on the KDWs that in colder temps around 50 degrees they were harder and may have warn quicker. They definitely had less traction until they warmed up in cooler temps and would not recommend for winter driving. I had no traction in the winter with those. But the wet was noticably better than my Pirellis and the Pirelli Pzero Nero are no slouch in wet.

I would like experience with the GSD3's but I think I will go with the newer KDW when my Pirellis are worn down.

wickdws6bird

iTrader: (16)

GS-D3's love em great wet and dry traction...tread life (at least mine) is alil suspect though

Jim98TA

Well, nobody seems to have the Good Years or the BF-Goodrich tires. Well, I should re-phrase that, if they have the Good Years, they want over $200 a piece for them mounted and balanced. So now I need to figure out something else I guess...

SSZSLP

Question would ultimately be why skimp on tires when they are the most important part?

Jim98TA

I am not skimping on them.. I just don't feel like paying somebody $50 more a tire then what Tirerack or Discounttiredirect sells them for. Plus when they have been quoting me high prices I haven't even bothered to see if their warehouse actually has them. Everybody says they can get them in a day, then when they check they can't. I think I may have found a place that has them for a good price.... See what they come back with. Well, they can't get them either. Seems to be a national back order.

So my next choice seems to be a Yokohama AVS ES100 or a Bridgestone Potenza RE750...

SSZSLP

Oh,ok thought you were saying that you were going to get a "cheaper" grade of tire to put on,understand now

2MuchRiceMakesMeSick

F1s hands down if you can afford them

JUSTINASS

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to highjack your thread.
I am wanting to get the GSD3's- 2000 SS
Anyone here get 285 40 17 for front and back??
I have Michlen 285 back and 275 front right now.
I like the little bit of extra width and the extra diameter size of the 285.
I was just wondering if you have any rubbing issues w/ the front.