I'm about to order some 17x9.5 ZR1s and I'm trying to decide what tire to go with, Size and Brand/Style.

I want something that will be sticky but not wear out super fast, and something that looks nice as well. I want to run the same size all around cause I like to be able to rotate my tires.

What size looks best?
Performs best?
Wears best?

I just want some input before I buy tires...

 

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD - if rain is not an issue, bout the best street tire around

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 - if you have to deal with rain, bout the best wet weather street tire around

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW - decent wet weather street tire, affordable


some i've heard a little about...but not much:

Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval

 

BFG G-Force T/A KD for the win!!!!!

 

BFG KDW's 275/40/17s

Good wear, looks good and offers the added wet-weather traction ability.

I have these exact tires (except in 18s) and love 'em.

 

Have you guys heard of Cooper ZPis I think they're called? I have the cooper ZPT right now and I've been happy with them, 40,000 miles and still have tread and never leak with awesome wet weather traction, but they are H rated...

 

I would like to try the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD, but i dont want to be repacing them every year and a half. seems like most people get around 20,000-25,000 miles out of them.

 

I seem to be good on tires, I've had UltraZs and got about 35,000 out of them and 40,000 out a set of cheap Cooper tires. I had some really shitty off brand tire and they lasted about 2,000 miles.... And does anyone know the mark-up on tires??? I can buy them at wholesale cost but I need to know what brand/style to call in for prices, I can't just call in and ask for a price range....

 

haha...almost 4 years owning my car and i haven't put 20k miles on it yet...so the KDs would work just fine for me.

 

KDW's

 

BF KDW's here- awesome tire, great wear and good grip.

 

Gotta throw in some love for the Good Year Eagle GS D3's. I love mine, and I vowed a few years ago I would never go Good Year again, well I talked to someone else that loved these and now I love them too. They stick very well, they dont wear at all, and they look so sweet from behind, I always get people telling me that they love my tread design. Ive done a few burnouts and a 1 doughnuts with them have had them on for 5k and no wear at all. I keep the cold pressure at 33. Here is a pic of my tires, hope this helps.

 

I'm really leaning toward the GYGSD3s, I just gotta put back a little more cash to get them, If I go with those though I'll buy 11" rims for the back and put some 315s back there. I'm not real sure the warehouse I'm going through to buy my tires carry GoodYear so I'll find out tomorrow.My coopers looked as though they had full tread until about these last 3,000 miles then the tread seemed to just dissappear at a rapid rate. SMOKIN what size are those in the pic???

 

Belive it or not they are my stock WS6 rims. So the rim is 9.5 in wide so they would be 275's. Trust me I didnt want to spend the extra money on rubber, but I have to say I am very pleased with them. If I get my new wheels, I am going to love what 11" wide are going to look like with the GYGSD3's

 

I kinda have a stupid question... But do they squeel nicely?? I love getting 2nd and 3rd gear scratches and I would hate to loose it... but traction is needed ):

 

i'm gonna have to throw in my vote for the Cooper Zeon 2XS's...i've daily driven these on my car now for about 7500 - 8000 abused miles (a few 30ft - 40ft burnouts, a donut or two, and TONS of swinging the car around curves & corners at higher-than-recommended speeds) with pretty decent treadwear considering what they've been through. and they've got quite a bit of life in them still....i'm estimating that i'll get somewhere between 16k - 18k total (possibly more) of similar "abused" driving.....even more if you drive "normally"....some have reported 22k - 25k.

some people on the Discount Tire site have put up their reviews and stated that they got "cupping" with them, but i haven't even rotated mine yet, and have absolutely no sign of any cupping. my brother has the same tires on his '95 Z28 and had cupping in the front....but then again, his alignment & tie rods were all screwed up....he just replaced the tie rods and got an alignment, and is now on his second set of these with no cupping yet.

they stick like glue around curves/corners, and for a skinny 245-width street tire, you get decent hook-tion from a dig with minimal feathering.....upgrade to a 275 or wider, and it will only get better.

and you really can't get much better performance than this for the same price....Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3: while it may be a better tire, for the same 245/50-16 size, you'd end up spending an extra $60+ per tire. once you get into the 275/40-17's, you're spending close to an extra $100 per tire for the GS-D3's.

as for looks, i think they look pretty damn good....if you wanna take a look-see, check them out here. granted, i don't think they look quite as good as the GS-D3's, but they're most definitely no all-season tire.....

oh, and wet traction is leaps & bounds above any other tire that i've personally ever driven on.....i only get "water-walk" when i drive on roads where the ruts are deeper than normal and the water pools up more than about an inch or so.....if the water is just "sheeting" across a nice, flat surface, i have no problems whatsoever.

and let's put it this way:

in the 275-40/17 size, going with these vs. the GS-D3's will save you in the neighborhood of $375 - $400, which is about 4/5 the price of a 4-set of the Coopers....so even if they only get 2/3 to 3/4 the tread life of the GS-D3's, you can almost buy an entire second set of them for the same price as a single set of the GS-D3's....

if i end up changing my rims to 17's before it's time to get a new set of tires, i will likely get a set of the GS-D3's myself, just so i will have some personal experience with them and know what they're like.....but if i have to buy more tires before then, i will most likely get another set of the Coopers

 

So would you say that the coopers traction can be compared to the goodyears????

 

I wouldnt' say that. But cooper do make good tires.

My vote is for the last 2 sets I have had good experience with.

Kumho MX AA A 220 very nice tires and pretty cheap like 125 a tire. Got 25K before I sold the wheels.

Firestone Wide Oval AA A 340 Seem very good wet and dry! I really like these tires. And looks like the treadwear will be quite good. And there about 200 cheaper than the good years. AFter about 1000 miles after I had these I went though a monsoon on a 55 HWY doing 60 the whole time and no issues at all. These things are really good in the wet. ON the dry with about 400HP my car really hooks really good! I'm very happy with these tires. I did about 8+ hours of research and reading before I got these. I'mvery happy.

 

Ive never had a problem, but then again my car isnt the most powerful in the world. Squeel nicely? Like when you catch tire, I think its the same noise that any tire makes.

 

i would probably go with the GS/D3s

 

i honestly can't say one way or the other about that, because like i mentioned, i have not personally run the GS-D3's before (although i do want to give them a try). just going by the reputation, the Coopers are probably not quite as good, given equal sizes....however, what i can (and did) comment on is the price difference that you pay for the performance.

you can liken it to just about anything else that has multiple grades of performance....for instance, computer processors.

let's say there are 5 different processors available:

1) 2.0Ghz - $100
2) 2.2Ghz - $125
3) 2.6Ghz - $150
4) 3.4Ghz - $200
5) 3.8Ghz - $375

so you ask yourself, "why is #5 so much more than #4, when it is only marginally faster?"

the answer is because (for the purposes of this example) the 3.8Ghz processor is the fastest, best-performing processor available. just like with any other product, the top-of-the-line almost always fetches a nice premium in price over the "next-best" product.

so now what you have to ask yourself is, "do i really need the absolute best, when it's only marginally better than the 'next-best', or can the 'next-best' (which just so happens to be almost as good as the 'best') serve my current needs, at almost half the price?

the answer to that last question is up to you. there are obviously going to be some dissimilarities between processors and tires, but hopefully you get the point i'm trying to make.

if you want the absolute highest performance you can get, without price weighing into the picture, then by all means, get the absolute best. on the other hand, if you don't really need the absolute best that's out there yet, then why not save some money now and get the "next-best", and use them until the time comes that you really do need the absolute best?

the "next-best" in this case may or may not be the Coopers that i mentioned....there may be some others that are better than the Coopers but not quite as good as the GS-D3's.....but i can personally attest to the fact that they are some awesome tires in the 245/50-16 size (and should naturally be even better in 275/40-17's), and the price savings makes the deal all the sweeter.