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Been looking around trying to find some tires for my grand sport wheels and it looks like there are only a few companies that still make tires in that size, especially in the rears. I know it's the 17 inch wheel that's killing my options because they're so old school now. What is everyone using as replacements?
I bought some factory repro wheels that were 18x9.5 +40mm offset for 900 bucks. These are for my "cold weather" set up. I live in North Alabama so cold weather is highs in the 40's. I mounted 4 of these 285/35ZR-18 MICHELIN PILOT SPORT A/S 3+. The tirerack has 22 different tires in this size.
Been looking around trying to find some tires for my grand sport wheels and it looks like there are only a few companies that still make tires in that size, especially in the rears. I know it's the 17 inch wheel that's killing my options because they're so old school now. What is everyone using as replacements?
Honestly it's more the tire width in the rear (315/35/17) that limits choices. The 18" equivalent (315/30/18) is at least as rare. I'm assuming you mean replacement tires, not replacement wheels? I think most people probably go with the Nitto 555, which is a "meh" tire in terms of quality and performance. There's an expensive Goodyear Eagle F1 available. In cheaper (in line with Nitto pricing) I'd consider the Mickey Thompson Street Comp or Toyo Extensa.
Just my opinion please no flames!
First the Mickey Thompson Street Comps are narrower than the Goodyear GSCs and the GSD3s.
I had the Sport Comps mounted on my GrandSport front and rear, after only 1000 miles I got rid of them!
I got on my car with a good hard shift into 3rd gear and completely spun my car around in the dry.
My Goodyear GSCs (OEM) and GSD3s never did that. I ended up purchasing the GSD3s again even though they were a lot of money.
I suppose if you drive your car fairly normally you will be fine with the Sport Comps.
But if you drive it like you stole it look for a better tire.
Just my opinion please no flames!
First the Mickey Thompson Street Comps are narrower than the Goodyear GSCs and the GSD3s.
I had the Sport Comps mounted on my GrandSport front and rear, after only 1000 miles I got rid of them!
I got on my car with a good hard shift into 3rd gear and completely spun my car around in the dry.
My Goodyear GSCs (OEM) and GSD3s never did that. I ended up purchasing the GSD3s again even though they were a lot of money.
I suppose if you drive your car fairly normally you will be fine with the Sport Comps.
But if you drive it like you stole it look for a better tire.
I can't offer a strong counterpoint because I don't normally drive my car that hard. But, I won't argue anyway because I have had a couple breaks in traction with these tires that were unexpected. So you might have a point for someone who drives their car aggressively.
Honestly it's more the tire width in the rear (315/35/17) that limits choices. The 18" equivalent (315/30/18) is at least as rare. I'm assuming you mean replacement tires, not replacement wheels? I think most people probably go with the Nitto 555, which is a "meh" tire in terms of quality and performance. There's an expensive Goodyear Eagle F1 available. In cheaper (in line with Nitto pricing) I'd consider the Mickey Thompson Street Comp or Toyo Extensa.
I saw the Nittos and almost bought them, but figured I'd keep looking. Never really thought about the M/T's figured they were strictly on the drag radial side of things. I honestly didn't know they even made regular street tires lol.
Just my opinion please no flames!
First the Mickey Thompson Street Comps are narrower than the Goodyear GSCs and the GSD3s.
I had the Sport Comps mounted on my GrandSport front and rear, after only 1000 miles I got rid of them!
I got on my car with a good hard shift into 3rd gear and completely spun my car around in the dry.
My Goodyear GSCs (OEM) and GSD3s never did that. I ended up purchasing the GSD3s again even though they were a lot of money.
I suppose if you drive your car fairly normally you will be fine with the Sport Comps.
But if you drive it like you stole it look for a better tire.
That's what is on there now are the original Goodyears. I haven't looked at them hard enough to see if they are "the" original tires. I can't imagine tires from 96 holding up this long. I don't mind them they're just starting to get really worn. I bought the wheels two years ago needing tires lol. It's a fair weather cruiser that doesn't get driven real hard so the semi drag slick baldness hasn't really mattered. I don't think I can squeeze another summer out of them. Anymore wear on them and they'll be borderline dangerous. Don't want to let that happen.
When I bought my GS, she only had 8600 miles on her. The guy I bought her from had Nittos on her he bought when he got the car in 2009.....he only put about 3000 miles on them, but they were 10 years old, so I didn't feel very good about keeping them.
I looked at the Nittos and Sumitomos--I don't drive the car very hard, she's not an everyday driver, but I wanted something that I'd feel confident with if I got caught in some weather. I went with the Sumitomos. Very pleased so far.
As an aside, she came to me with the original Goodyears as well--they still look good, guessing about 5,000 miles on them give or take, no obvious signs of dry rot, etc., but I wouldn't ride on them.
I have the 555 Nitto's on the GS, ZR-1 and Lightning. I think I drive pretty aggressive and haven't had any issues with them. The ones on the GS are getting old but still look new. I might replace them due to age. I'll probably just replace with the same, I think they are a good tire for the price.
I have 555s on my truck and am unimpressed with them. They're loud, suck in cold, and not a lot of grip in rain. In warm dry conditions they're acceptable .I wont be replacing them with the same tire.
I feel for you guys, the 275s are super common and there are tons of options in that size. Does the tire selection improve if you go slightly wider or taller or both?
I have 555s on my truck and am unimpressed with them. They're loud, suck in cold, and not a lot of grip in rain. In warm dry conditions they're acceptable .I wont be replacing them with the same tire.
I feel for you guys, the 275s are super common and there are tons of options in that size. Does the tire selection improve if you go slightly wider or taller or both?
Not really from what I've seen. I think it's mostly like we've been talking about it's hard finding a 17 that is that wide. I'm pretty sure my wife's CX5 has 18's on it and that is a cross over mom mobile. The price I pay for going with those wheels I guess. I got such a good deal on them and they're real ones. I think that's the coolest thing about them. Just one of those things that makes my plain jane base model every so slightly special. I wish I knew what GS they came from. The guy I bought them from got them off a friend of his back in like 2008 because his friend wrecked his GS on the track totaling it, but the wheels were fine. I'm sure if I dug around here or even got on the registry I could find out which one that was. Pretty much all the info on the GS is documented here or there I think.
When I bought my GS, she only had 8600 miles on her. The guy I bought her from had Nittos on her he bought when he got the car in 2009.....he only put about 3000 miles on them, but they were 10 years old, so I didn't feel very good about keeping them.
I looked at the Nittos and Sumitomos--I don't drive the car very hard, she's not an everyday driver, but I wanted something that I'd feel confident with if I got caught in some weather. I went with the Sumitomos. Very pleased so far.
As an aside, she came to me with the original Goodyears as well--they still look good, guessing about 5,000 miles on them give or take, no obvious signs of dry rot, etc., but I wouldn't ride on them.
I saw the Sumitomos on tire rack and they weren't too hateful. I think a full set was under 750 last I checked. They had decent reviews from what I was reading. I did see a guy on there who said he had a GS and he thought they were a lot more narrow than the goodyears. I know they can't be that different or they couldn't say they were a true 315. Do yours seem narrower? I know that's kind of a dumb thing to be worried about, but that's part of the charm of those wheels is the super meaty rear tire.
I did see a guy on there who said he had a GS and he thought they were a lot more narrow than the goodyears. I know they can't be that different or they couldn't say they were a true 315. Do yours seem narrower? I know that's kind of a dumb thing to be worried about, but that's part of the charm of those wheels is the super meaty rear tire.
The section width spec of a tire (e.g. "315") is the max width along the sidewall, not the tread width. Two different 315s may have similar section widths but different tread widths.
The section width spec of a tire (e.g. "315") is the max width along the sidewall, not the tread width. Two different 315s may have similar section widths but different tread widths.
Ooooo I see. Look at all this tire science you're teaching me lol.
The section width spec of a tire (e.g. "315") is the max width along the sidewall, not the tread width. Two different 315s may have similar section widths but different tread widths.
Originally Posted by PoloGreen92
Ooooo I see. Look at all this tire science you're teaching me lol.
Oh yea, I had some Toyo R1R's in 225/45/15 on a hot rod NB Miata. They measured super wide at the tread compared to similar tires...functionally similar to 235 width.
I saw the Sumitomos on tire rack and they weren't too hateful. I think a full set was under 750 last I checked. They had decent reviews from what I was reading. I did see a guy on there who said he had a GS and he thought they were a lot more narrow than the goodyears. I know they can't be that different or they couldn't say they were a true 315. Do yours seem narrower? I know that's kind of a dumb thing to be worried about, but that's part of the charm of those wheels is the super meaty rear tire.
Not to my untrained eye, PG. They don't push the limit of the flares, but look good within them. Got the car being worked on at the moment or I'd take a pic for you. Hope to get her back next week, will do so then.
I'd get some 18's or 19's. You'll have a lot more options and they're better looking IMO. Plus, if you stay with Corvette wheels, you generally won't have to worry about offsets. I have replica C7 wheels on mine with 18's in the front, 19's in the back. A set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's was like $750 and they're gripy and comfortable.
I wouldn't do 19's on a C4 but Stan is right. The easy button is to do what I did on my post farther up the thread. 285/35/18's fit fine on the 18x9 wheels. There are loads of tires in that size.
Last edited by Jaye Bass; Jan 17, 2020 at 07:47 PM.
GS tires
