I just started looking for new tires for my Vette, Current size 255/50/R16.
I want the tire to be as wide as posible and to look good. What size is the largest that will fit. I alway see these Vettes and say to myself " I want those tires", but I always seem to pick the wrong ones.

God Speed

 

I like the kumhos. I have them on my 96 vette and 94 formula.


Chuck D

 

i have a set of bf goodorich comp t/a's on my '85 now. put about 40K miles on them, and they probably have about 5k miles before the treadwear indicator. very good tire for the money. i did however buy a set of 275-45r17 kuhmos with zr1 rims as a replacement. haven't installed them yet, but i've heard nothing but good things about them. check the tirerack - they have all the tires with a customer rating section -

 

thanks for the lead to the website - It has all the information I needed! :cheers:

God Speed

 

Goodyear Eagle F1's here. :)

 

If you want to change rims, you can go much bigger. Check my sig for the stock GS sizes. Great setup on the car. The pilots were a little steep but well worth the money. The rims were blems from AFS on Ebay. You can get a set there at half price if you work at it. The blems were two 1/8" nicks. Hell, my whole car is a nick.(daily driver with 75k on it) I could also have them rechromed and still be ahead $400. I'll probably do this when I get it repainted. (After I get the C6 and it gets retired to shows and track days).
You may need adapters but going up to a 17x9.5 rim and a 17x11 is awesome. If you want to rotate, get 17x9.5 front and rear and 275-40-17 tires. This was the stock size for '92. Here's some tire ideas:
Gforce KD: one of the best dry weather tires. Little louder, not so good in the wet and harsher ride. Similar to the stock except you get dry handling.
Firestone SZEP:The best I've heard in the wet. A guy in VA swears he goes 140 in the rain on these.
Kumhos and Dunlop 8000 and 9000s are good bang for the buck tires.
Haven't tried the Goodyear F1s but all the C5 guys are ripping their Goodyears off out here and putting on pilots and marveling about how much better they are.
Pirelli's were good but they aren't the best anymore. They need a new generation tire to be released.
The pilots aren't the best in any category, but come in second in most and seem to be the best all around tire. Problem is they cost the most.
Hope this gives you some ideas.

 

Mich. Pilot Sports A/S......Kinda high, but man these tire's are great! :yesnod: :yesnod:

 

:yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod:

 

I just came from the tire garage today. I put a set of BFG Gforce KDW on my car. I paid $760 including mounting, balancing, tossing the old rubber et al.

I am breaking them in and will give you my thoughts in a few days. As far as noise, I didn't notice any difference from the Goodyears maybe a bit quieter Im not sure.

DC :cheers:

 

Michelin Pilots or Firestone SZ50s are the best

 

You could be right vader. I don't drive my Vette in the snow and avoid rain when I can so I was mostly interested in Dry traction and handling. I checked the numbers on the Tire rack and the kdw's were rated pretty high. The Pilots would have cost me another $250+ and the Firestone's were more $$ too.

I do like to go as fast as I can and the KDW's are Y rated so they should take the high speeds. Well see if I made the right move, I know I didn't want any part of that Goodyear left rear only right front only crap. Plus the weren't a great tire for me.

 

Sounds like you wanted the KD and not the KDW. The KDW is the KD moded for w or wet. It is not nearly as good as the KD in the dry or the Firestone in the wet.

 

Well no the ones I looked at were the KDW's It not that I never drive in the rain hell I live in New England.

Here what I got and you have to understand money is a factor. :)


Pilots KDW Firestones

HANDLING RATING 8.80 8.90 9.00
DRY TRACTION 9.1 9 9.3
WET TRACTION 8.5 8 9.1
RIDE COMFORT 7.9 6.9 8.4
NOISE COMFORT 7.7 6.3 8.6
WEAR 7.3 7.1 8.1

 

Save you about $100 a tire vs the KD. I see your point. For the price, they look good. I want a review of the new KDW2 though.

 

What about tire sizes? I've been told I can't go any larger than a 255/50/r16.

I want to as fat as I can without buying new rims -- No money for that! :cry

I was looking at Cooper Cobras - full set for $752. ZR rated

 

The last tires that I bought were Dunlop SP5000 275/40/17 These freakin things are golden. They grab like there is no tomorrow and in rain they out perform anything I have ever had.
The other night I made a change and wanted to see how it performed. It had just stopped raining and I thought what the hell, the car needed washed anyways. Took it out and got on it in first gear pretty good...very minimal wheel spin, and straight ahead. They also do not *squeel*. Even if I powerbrake and get them smoking, they are dead quite! Its nice if there are alot of cops around, you don't attract any more attention than you already get. ;)
Also they have been getting a workout lately and they are wearing like steel. I have to say I am very impressed with them for there cost. Through the dealership I got them all for ~600! Hope they are still available the next time I need a set. They have a very cool looking tread design too.



[Modified by ski_dwn_it, 11:02 AM 4/12/2002]

 

I wanted to match the stock size for my car. 255/45/17 front 285/40/17 rear. This is my first Vette and I don't have enough experience to judge the what and why of a fatter front tire. As you can see the 94's use an 17 inch wheel and the C5 use 18 I believe. As for available sizes BFG's have a wide offering. The original goodyears I got with the car had the wrong size on the rear. It was a 275/40 instead of the 285 that is listed. I don't know why. I don't know what the affects on cornering a fatter front would give me. If its a good idea to do this i will change the next time around.