I know tis gets discussed a lot. I'm looking for tires for stock zo6 sized wheels for my o1 z. I keep going to Tirerack and checking reviews, tread designs etc...and lastly price. I want to spend $800 or so. Every time I'm about to click on buy a set, I read someone who trashes that tire and I am hesitant to buy. I've been looking at Kumhos which I know are popular but have gotten some terrible reviews as well. BFG KDW2's Yokohama AVSports and of course the F1's again. I like the f1 but are pricey and tread design is boring looking! CVan anyone shed some light on this for me. This will be the biggest investment into my z06 to date.

 

I have only tried Kumho mx tires. Have had great luck with them. Autocross, DE events plus lots of spirited driving. I only get 3500 miles out of a set. All hard driving and alignment that is not to friendly for tire wear. You can go crazy trying to pick a tire.
This would be my choices.
1. For a real racey street and track set-up would be.
Toyo RA-1
Nitto R2
Tire wear would be poor.

2. For a good street and track with better tire wear would be.
BF Goodrich KD
Goodyear Supercar F1
Kumho mx.

I'm running Front 285/40/17 Back 295/35/18 Kumho mx.

 

I was really considering the KD until I read THIS review on Tirerack

Vehicle: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Location: Isa Town, BH
Driving Style: Spirited
Miles driven on tires: 6,000 Driving Condition: Combined Highway/City
Reviewer's Overall Ratings: 7.8 out of 10
Review Submitted: 2005-02-17


My ZO6 has a cam, headers, I think maybe my car is making about 450-460 HP at the engine. These tires would not grip this car at all!!! Wheel spin from 1st to 3rd!!! they are just not worth the money for a fast car!

 

The the review on the Kumho look pretty good until you read this



1985 BMW M6
Miles driven on tires: 20,000
Reviewer's Overall Rating:

4.750
Location: Pismo Beach, CA

Driving Condition:
Combined Highway/City
Driving Style: Spirited



I put these on my M635 Euro after finally running out of YOKO AVS tires. I thought, based on the Tire Rack test results and the written reviews, they would be a good low cost option to replace the YOKOs. It was, in retrospect, a decision I was sorry I made. The cornering response of these tires is vague and twitchy. The turn in is delayed after the initial steering input, so you are always overcorrecting. Dry stick on these tires is poor. I cannot see how they got such a good test result in the Tire Rack testing. Things were so bad with these tires I thought I had a serious suspension problem, so I put my track tires (a set of BFG Comp TA/R1s) on and everything was right again. Folks have mentioned the soft sidewalls, and now I can confirm that they indeed may be too soft. I think this is a ride compromise Kumho makes for folks running light Rice Burners with 20" wheels and 30 series profiles. The tire is very comfortable and bumps in the road are softened considerably in comparison to the YOKOs and the BFG Comp TAs. Ride comfort aside, I would not consider these tires as performance grade, simply because the dry adhesion is poor and so is the turn in and transient response. Replaced these with a set of BFG KDW-IIs and what a difference! Huge improvement. Worth every penny of the higher cost in comparison to the Kumhos. -- Review Submitted 2005-01-08

 

How about Goodyear F1 GSD3? Anyone?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....Eagle+F1+GS-D3
Tire rack only shows a 285 35 18. I'd actually like to go up to a 305 not DOWN...

 

No Neck,
Consider Toyo Proxes T1-s; Identical sizes available as the GY OEMs. I've heard almost unanimous praise for this tire - good mileage, good performance, and they'll fit your budget.

 

Anyplace online other than Tirerack? They don't list them or the Nitto's either.

 

I've had excellent service from www.Treadepot.com for the Toyos; I think some other folks have used www.onlinetires.com for them.
Look for Nittos at www.Discounttiredirect.com
Good luck.

 

Wow! The Toyos price out around $750 with shipping from online tires .com!

 

I just put some Firehawk Wide ovals on mine. Seem to be a very good tire. they hook-up very well and do great in the heavy rains we have in Mississippi. cost at a Firestone dealer with road hazard added was 868.00 in and out the door. they do appear to be slightly narrower than the stock tires, i think this is due to the sidewall curviture is more gradual than f1's. they also don't appear to wander as much as the f1 do in hiway ruts. So far i'm very pleased.

 

wamara do you have any personal experience with the Toyos? The Firestone wide ovals on tire rack were only w speed rating? Do they come in z rated?

 

I bought the Toyo Proxies T1-S about 2-3 months ago and am extremely pleased with them. The tread pattern is very aggressive, they hook up nicely, are great in rain, and give good feedback on dry pavement. One thing about these tires is that they have rounded sidewalls and this makes them look a little smaller than the OEMs, but they aren't. I LOVE the tread pattern the most, though!

I went to the Toyo website, typed in my zip code and found a local distributor who ordered my tires. They arrived 5 days later for a grand total of $725.28, shipped, mounted, balanced, and installed. And believe me, I did about a month of research for the best OEM size replacements and price. Good luck with your choice.

 

Is there anything out there a little wider for the rear like a 305 35 18? or 305 30 18? That kind of bumms me out that the Toyos look smaller. I want bigger!

 

If you want bigger your budget might have to get bigger . I live in the same part of the world as you so if you plan on driving in the non summer months , you may want to look at Pirelli P Zero Nero , Kuhmo ,
But personally I've had great luck with Bridgestones (love them on my pickup) and I am going to buy their S-03 Pole Positions for my car .

 

I was just looking at the s-o2 bridgestone actually. Different websites show completely different tread patterns though? Unless the s-02 a is different from the s-02. My car really only comes out on clear days so I think a dry performace tire will be fine. I find that even with temps like today, the f1 supercars don't grab for crap until they are warmed up and I'm used to that and can live with it. I don't mind spending a little more money than I had planned, but to get the right tire. I'd really hate to look back and think "If I had just spent another $300..."

 

I almost doubled my budget for my truck tires , I figured one slip on inferior tires and wham I'm into the toll booth or whatever and then it was going to cost a lot more . Tires are the most important addition on a vehicle to me . Traction for acceleration and more importantly traction for braking .

 

That is not a good reason to buy or not buy a tire.

A good all around tire, with great tread life, awesome in the rain, and very good on the track after a couple of thousand miles is the Toyos.

 

Captain, I understand what you are saying. Looks are really the last consideration for me but if all things were equal, I'd buy the cooler looking tire. My biggest concern is that I don't want to shortchange the car, now that I know what it's capable of. I think the F1's are a pretty darn good tire and set the bar pretty high. I don't want to downgrade in performance from those. Ride quality isn't really a big concern for me as the car is a toy not daily driver. Do the Toyos really compare to the F1's performance wise? BTW, thanks to everyone for their input. I really appreciate all the replies and help!

 

For the money the GSD3's are pretty damn good. They do a good job on the track dry or wet, have good wear and look good for those that care about that.

I have had KD's (great tire oin the dry but whoa, look out in the rain), Supercars (a bit disapointed) Non Run flat F1's (decent tire but not great) MX's (when they were $215 for the rears this was absolutely the best tire deal going) Pilot Sports (actually loved them but I was on 335 rears) AVS sports (good rain tire a bit loose when dry however). Of all those Dry only on stock Z06 sizes I would go KD. all weather tire I like the MX the best of the tires listed above.


I have driven my Brothers FRC with similar HP to where my car was pre H/C but he's got the GSD3's I was impressed. Have heard good thinsg about the Toyo's but with my Tire Rack discount I always stick to what they have available.

 

I wore out my F1s on the Nurburgring, but on the street I could tell no difference with the Toyos. The Toyos have a high (or normal) tread depth, so they do need some miles and heat cycles before you go to a HPDE or auto-x. Shaved Toyos are used in SCCA World Challenge. When I get my next Z06 I will stick with Toyos for the street.