The cruddy run flats on my 96 have finally worn out (after only 12k miles!), and I realized it was time to replace them when I started hydroplaning all over I-10 this morning. Looking to keep the cost under $250 each, so what do you guys recommend? This is my first tire purchase for a Vette, so I plan on relying on what other CF members use on their cars. Much appreciated!

 

I just bought Kumho ECSTA MX. They are a great tire and the price is right. They compare to the new BFGs and there was a recent test in Grass roots motor sports

 

Thanks, Rob. Anyone else?

 

depends on the driving you do, my vote also goes to the kuhmo mx for dry and light rain use. the only slight downfall of this tire is in deep standing water, there's just a lot of rubber on the road. besides that it's the best tire for the dollar, it's only rival is a BFG KD and that's twice the price. the MX is available in a 275 40 17 and 245 45 17 which should fit your coupe. for the love of god please don't ask if there's a 285 :lol: more '96 owners do this & i always point out the 275 mx has more rubber on the ground than the 285 gsc and it fits the rim a little better.

if standing water is a concern and you want a few more miles out of the tires yokohamas es100 can't be beat for general performance. it's a 280 compound silica rubber that offers a little bit of everything performance wise. it's not as aggressive as the MX in dry performance but it will do better in hard rain conditions and milage.

 

I bought michelins this summer (pilots) real pleased so far, they are hibernating now until spring! :sad:

 

are you looking to get another set of run flats?

 

fullboogie gtsyellow has some good points. I was going to have a little more info in my post but got called out in the middle of it but he covered all I was going to talk about. I have had mine for a short time so I can not tel ya how well they are going the wear and have not had them in the heavy rain yet. here is a link with some reviews.

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/Surve...ommentStatus=P

 

Kumho 712. $108 each.
If they suck, who cares. but they don't. I drove them 30 miles in 3" of snow last week.

Larry
who got tired of spending mega money on tires which suck.

 

why buy a 712 when the es100 is available for a couple dollars more..literally. it puts the 712 down for a rain tire and wears as good or better. the mx kicks both there butts in high speed handling, traction and the important stuff we live for :p:

 

If your running 17", I'd suggest Bridgestone Potenza RE-730's. Excellent all around tire, I have these on my '96's stock rims.
If your running 18", I'd suggest the new Bridgestone S-03's, I have the S-02's on my Y2K's. Can you tell I like Bridgestone? :D
Seriously, both of these tires have great handling characteristics. They are also good in the rain. And, they are one of the quietest performance tires around. :cheers:

 

Bridgestone Potenza RE730's @ $175 each
Yokohama AVS-ES 100 @ $125 each
Top two tires under $200 a pop. :cheers:

 

Firestone Firehawk sz50 EP's!:thumbs:
By far the best "gripping" tire I've used in ANY sports car, WET or DRY!!!:yesnod: .
I used the GS-C's and think they're crap after about the first 500 miles. :U
I have read some good things about Kumho's ECSTA (not sure if 712's or es100's)

 

In a 315 Pirelli P7000 were the best I could find, dry traction is not too bad, and they are great in the rain.

 

:iagree:

 

Bridgestone RE730s.

Tire Rack wrote them up as a great tire last year, and they were way less expensive than Michelens or Goodyears. Plus, my local Costco could get them, so installation was included in the price. I didn't have to have them drop shipped. I saved an additional $40 in mounting and balancing.

 

I'm kinda surprised not to see anyone using BFG's or Goodyears. Thanks for all the input, guys.

 

I have Michelins also, but my next tire will be Kumos. For the price, they are the ticket.

If you are a diehard racer kina guy, or if you like to impress others by how much money you send, and like $300+ per tire, I would go with some of the other suggestions.

just my $.02 :D

 

:iagree:

Falken's ZE502s are similar and very good too (also about $50 cheaper/tire)

 

I put the Goodyear Eagle F1 SC (Super Car) tires on my 35Th Anniversary Edition. These are the tires that come on the Z06's. They are great tires. Of course, I don't hot rod the car but have definitely been in situations to test them out and they are fantastic in dry conditions. I don't drive it in the rain so I don't know about wet.

:cheers:

 

from what i've read about & also drove on, the super car is really good in the dry when it's new, sucks in the wet and starts to suck in the dry after a 18 months or so & heatcycling. goodyear just released another new tire that's affordable this time, i have no idea how it works though.

the bfg kd has really taken a nose dive since kuhmo released the MX, it's so similar people don't see why they should spend twice as much for a KD and rightly so. my .02 reflects the fact there is no perfect tire, that's why i have 2 sets of wheels, soon to grow to 3 sets if i run the full track this year.

set 1 stock 97-99 C5 wheels with yokohama es100 rubber, 275 35 18 and 245 40 17, this would be my rain & winter set, narrow front for better tracking and less chance of hydroplaning.

set 2 stock z06 wheels with kuhmo mx's 275 40 17 front and a 295 35 18 whenever they get around to making it full production. this is the hot ticket for affordable all out dry traction. killer handling and they don't break the bank the the KD.

set 3 {future} black GS wheels with kuhmo victoracers 315 rear 275 front. perfect combo for running portland international raceway.

the best point of this is #1 you don't tear up the softer summer tires driving in rain and slush. you also don't chip up your nicer wheels with winter road grime. you truely have the best of both worlds with a zip of the impact gun. well there's my final thoughts to this thread :cheers: