Tire choices

[RKS]

Got it narrowed down to 8 tires. Wet traction, tread life, and dry handling are important to me. I was geared on the Hankooks but the General and Contis look like better bets. What do you guys think?

Link to TireRack

Update:

I went with 245/40/19 and 275/35/19 in the Michelin Pilot Super Sports but that's where the fun ended. I went to a local Tires Plus who said they could match Tire Rack and have the tires within a day. I asked the tires to be installed on my new wheels and to use the TPMS from the OEM wheels. The first set arrived Tuesday and it took them the whole day to get them mounted and balanced. Eventually they informed me that one rear tire would not balance so they ordered a new one. I still don't have a new tire and they still don't know when they will get it. I offered to buy one from Tire Rack and they could refund me the $350 or so. They also lost a hubcentric ring, Rays valve-stem cap, 2 OEM caps, and broke a TPMS. This will make for an interesting Monday.

 

[MotF Bane]

Tried your link, it says 27 results. Looks like the results are not filtered at all.

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[RKS]

Tried your link, it says 27 results. Looks like the results are not filtered at all.

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sorry, doesn't look like I am able to save the filtering but basically I capped the price at $260 and took out the lone winter tire to get eight.

Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Set of 4: $888.00

Continental ExtremeContact DWS (Ultra High Performance All-Season)
Set of 4: $912.00

General G-MAX AS-03 (Ultra High Performance All-Season)
Set of 4: $816.00

Kumho Ecsta LE Sport (Max Performance Summer)
Set of 4: $752.00

Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 (Max Performance Summer)
Set of 4: $964.00

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Set of 4: $1012.00

Kumho Ecsta SPT (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Set of 4: $808.00

Yokohama S.drive (Ultra High Performance Summer)
Set of 4: $904.00

 

[manimal]

I have the Ventus V12s on my G and love them, they are almost too much tire for the car. The S drives I really liked as well and seemed more comfortable then what I have now.


The Kuhmos may be good enough from what I have read about them. They would save you some cheddar.

 

[JCH13]

Tirerack's test put the RE760 and S.Drive at the top of the list for those sizes. S.Drive getting 1st place in TR's test, though they say they want more wet grip from them, they were damn good in the wet testing, typically 1st or 2nd. I've got S.Drive's on my Miata for street tires, they're great.

DWS sacrifices summer performance for winter performance.

The G-Max AS03 seems like it meets your requirements quite well based on test descriptions, but it's an all-season. Do you ever drive it in winter?

 

[RKS]

I have the Ventus V12s on my G and love them, they are almost too much tire for the car. The S drives I really liked as well and seemed more comfortable then what I have now.


The Kuhmos may be good enough from what I have read about them. They would save you some cheddar.

The Ventus have jumped a little in price but they were the 1st choice. I have 'heard' that the sidewall is a little soft.

Tirerack's test put the RE760 and S.Drive at the top of the list for those sizes. S.Drive getting 1st place in TR's test, though they say they want more wet grip from them, they were damn good in the wet testing, typically 1st or 2nd. I've got S.Drive's on my Miata for street tires, they're great.

DWS sacrifices summer performance for winter performance.

The G-Max AS03 seems like it meets your requirements quite well based on test descriptions, but it's an all-season. Do you ever drive it in winter?

I have dedicated winter wheels/tires so I don't need an all-season but if I can get good tread life and wet grip and decent performance I'll be happy. I'm not looking to use the car for road racing so I don't need the pinnacle of dry performance.

 

[JCH13]

I have dedicated winter wheels/tires so I don't need an all-season but if I can get good tread life and wet grip and decent performance I'll be happy. I'm not looking to use the car for road racing so I don't need the pinnacle of dry performance.

S.Drive, end of story IMHO. I had the exact same requirements when looking for road tires for my Miata and I have not regretted it for a moment.

As a side benefit, they're also the most fuel efficient tire of the lot, in addition to being the grippiest, most comfortable, most responsive, and quietest. They'll handle anything you'd ever want to do on the street.

They do overheat in track conditions, so don't expect to road race or autox with them and be competitive. But you said you don't want to race on them, so no big deal.

 

[Imported]

I have the Ventus V12s on my G and love them, they are almost too much tire for the car.

Not sure about too much tire for the car, but I have the same on my G and like them quite well. Also have them in 245/35/19 and 275/35/19.. My fronts wore in about two years (and flipped halfway in between) due to the camber and toe I have up front, but the rears are still going strong.

 

[jlee]

S.Drive, end of story IMHO. I had the exact same requirements when looking for road tires for my Miata and I have not regretted it for a moment.

As a side benefit, they're also the most fuel efficient tire of the lot, in addition to being the grippiest, most comfortable, most responsive, and quietest. They'll handle anything you'd ever want to do on the street.

They do overheat in track conditions, so don't expect to road race or autox with them and be competitive. But you said you don't want to race on them, so no big deal.

S-Drives are on my Forester XT and the back of the CTS-V as well. No complaints, though I haven't driven in much rain.

 

[manimal]

Not sure about too much tire for the car, but I have the same on my G and like them quite well. Also have them in 245/35/19 and 275/35/19.. My fronts wore in about two years (and flipped halfway in between) due to the camber and toe I have up front, but the rears are still going strong.

What I mean about being too much tire is that I could have gotten away with something much cheaper based on how I drive my DD.

 

[RKS]

What I mean about being too much tire is that I could have gotten away with something much cheaper based on how I drive my DD.

I don't have the self-control of a normal adult. :whiste:

 

[CraigRT]

If you want the Generals get them.
I think General as a brand is about as good as it gets for value/performance.
Have owned 2 sets of their tires and have both exceeded expectations. They are one of my top go to brands for tires now.

 

[vshah]

i have the conti DWS and they have been excellent this past winter. like others have said they sacrifice ultimate dry grip, but i have the direzzas for that. DWS is a good choice if you also have dedicated summer tires.

 

[Imported]

What I mean about being too much tire is that I could have gotten away with something much cheaper based on how I drive my DD.

Ah. I see what you mean now. Unfortunately, I also I don't have the same self-control..

 

[manimal]

I don't have the self-control of a normal adult. :whiste:

Ah. I see what you mean now. Unfortunately, I also I don't have the same self-control..

Ya I am becoming docile in my middle age. I still hoon around alot in my boxster and 300zx though!


I take the barge home from work alot and usually just use cruise at a respectable speed with good tunes since I am either half awake or crap tired.

 

[CRXican]

If you have dedicated winter tires then you should get the Conti DW, minus the S.

I have them an really like them. Had the S-Drives on a different car and they were admittedly narrower but I wasn't that impressed.

 

[RKS]

I know I didn't list them but ended up with Michelin Super Sports in 245/40/19 & 275/35/19. I'll post pics once they are on my RE30 within a week or so.

 

[Howard]

I don't mind hijacking P) so I'm going to ask my question here. I'm not looking for great treadlife, but I do want moderate pricing and low road noise. What's good? Size is going to be in the range of a 235/45-R18

 

[jlee]

I don't mind hijacking P) so I'm going to ask my question here. I'm not looking for great treadlife, but I do want moderate pricing and low road noise. What's good? Size is going to be in the range of a 235/45-R18

I'm happy with my CTS-V's S-Drives (245/45/18), but don't have much to compare them to for road noise.

 

[RKS]

I don't mind hijacking P) so I'm going to ask my question here. I'm not looking for great treadlife, but I do want moderate pricing and low road noise. What's good? Size is going to be in the range of a 235/45-R18

honestly Tire Racks site is awesome at narrowing down choices. I would start with the size, price, then you can look at the treadwear ratings. There are also ratings for tire noise as well.

 

[JCH13]

I don't mind hijacking P) so I'm going to ask my question here. I'm not looking for great treadlife, but I do want moderate pricing and low road noise. What's good? Size is going to be in the range of a 235/45-R18

S.Drives aren't available in that exact size, but there is 225/50-18, 235/40-18, and 235/50-18. They fit the bill perfectly for moderate price and low road noise. They're a great street tire.

 

[m0r1san]

Just bought General G-max AS-03's for 2 cars last week and so far so good. I have dedicated summer (for track) and snows (for winter) and wanted a good performance and long lasting tire for the bulk of my driving. The General's were only $109/ea, mounted+balanced, at my local discount tire (205/55/16). It was $139/ea for the other car (235/55/17). For the value, I really narrowed it down to these General's and the Conti DWS's.

Ended up going with the Generals because of the slightly better handling and cool tread pattern Only real concern now is the real-world longevity of the tire. At 480, the UTQG is high, but these tires seem so grippy and soft to me that I'm a little skeptical. They also do very well in the rain. Driving with the top-down in the convertible, I haven't noticed the road noise, but they are new.

 

[SkullWalker]

I would try those more expensive Kumho tires.

Their quality is getting better every day and if you do not drive like a race car driver they should last a few seasons.

 

[JackBurton]

I know I didn't list them but ended up with Michelin Super Sports in 245/40/19 & 275/35/19. I'll post pics once they are on my RE30 within a week or so.

I'm not sure you mentioned it yet, but what type of car is this going on? And how wide are the RE30 wheels? 8.5" or 9.5"?

I have a Mustang GT with 19"-9" rims with stock Pirelli P Zero tires (255/40/19) and I'm looking to get Michelin Super Sports tires (great tires by the way). The only thing I'm not sure of is if I should go with 275's in the rear. If I had 10" wheels I'd go with 285, no question. But unfortunately I only have 9" wide rims.

 

[RKS]

I'm not sure you mentioned it yet, but what type of car is this going on? And how wide are the RE30 wheels? 8.5" or 9.5"?

I have a Mustang GT with 19"-9" rims with stock Pirelli P Zero tires (255/40/19) and I'm looking to get Michelin Super Sports tires (great tires by the way). The only thing I'm not sure of is if I should go with 275's in the rear. If I had 10" wheels I'd go with 285, no question. But unfortunately I only have 9" wide rims.

G37 sedan. the Volks are staggered at 19x9 and 19x10.