Ok guys I know this thread wont be anything original or anything.
The time has come I have lil over 50k on the original good-year EMTs (run-flats). When I purchased the car the tires were already very well worn so not sure if I would of liked them anymore with some tread-life on them. Guess what Im getting at like we all know is the run-flats drive hard & really not a fan. Im looking to spend about $700-800 on new tires (Non-run flats) which I will need this season. Called around already a few places & Discount-tire being one had a deal on Falkens 251's for $668.00 out the door.
Everything I been reading on here people had luck w/those tires it seems. Just wondering if theres something better out there for around that $ and will I be truely happy w/those tires. Not trying to be too cheap when it comes to tires but really not sure which direction to go here.
Which brings me to leaving this thread & hoping it opens the "opinion flood-gates"

 

You're gonna get a boatload of different answers. I just ordered and received some Nitto 555 extreme ZR's. They were $592 shipped to my door from Discount Tire online. I've heard a lot of good things about them , so I'll give them a shot. Good luck with the search!

 

My advice to NOT skimp on tires. As with many things in life, you get what you pay for. I learned that lesson with tires many moons ago and will not ever again buy tires that are suspiciously 40% cheaper than any other.
That being said, I'll show you what Car & Driver thinks about tires after a very extensive test not too long ago.

(Best to worst):

NUMBER 1: Goodyear GSD3: "As an all-around performance tire, you can't beat this Goodyear. It was the best performer in all three wet-track tests and was very competent in the dry. It generated .94g on the dry skidpad, only .01g off the first place (dry) BFGoodrich and tied with the Yokohama and Hankook.
The Goodyear gripped so well, that you might not have been certain that the road was wet. It held onto the wet track with .82g of stick, an impressive figure considering the worst tire in that test made only .67g.
...And like the Continental, the Goodyear had a high 280 trad-wear grade. At $145, ieach, it's $34 cheaper than the most expensive (guess which tires have THAT distinction!).

2nd place: Continental ContiSportContact 2: "It simply didn't feel as sporty as the others.....on dry surfaces, the Conti never rose above third from last among 11 tires. It felt soft and imprecise. But in the wet, the spread from best to worse was 15 percent, which made for a larger point spread (giving the Contis a boost). Plus the Continental had a 280tread-wear grade that was the highest (tied) for this test.

3rd place: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07: Excellent dry performance, but a bit on the slippery end in the wet stuff - expensive at $175 apiece.

4th place: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2: "At $179, the PS2 is the most expensive tire in the test." Competent, but expensive sums up this tire.

5th place: Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212: At $99 each, these are the least expensive tires - very good on dry pavement, but "greasy and slow to recover" on the wet stuff.

6th place: Dunlop SP Sport Max: "In the dry, the tire seemed to lose its confidence..."

7th place: Pirelli P Zero Rosso Asimmetrico:"In the dry-lateral-grip test, the Pirelli tied for second to last, and it finished seventh in the dry-braking test.

8th place: Toyo Proxes T1R: "...the Proxes never placed higher than eighth in any test"...nuff said!

9th place: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A: "it felt dull and disconnected and was somewhat soft and imprecise when driven hard."

10th place: BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD: Outstanding performance on dry surfaces, but very scary on wet surfaces - don't get caught in a rainstorm wearing these shoes...

11th place: Kumho Ecsta MX: "They didn't offer much grip and the time of 30.28 seconds in the dry autocross was .62 second slower than the fastest tire. That may not seem like much, but our course was only 0.3 mille long, and on a longer track, that gap would be commensurately greater." "And although the MX - at $136 per - was the third-least-expensive tire in our test, the high score in the price category wasn't enough to regain ground lost in the performance tests."

On a congratulatory note, the first place tire is made right here in the USA by an American tire company

 

I bought the GSD3's two seasons ago and I'm glad I did....

 

 

I have the Toyo Proxes and I love 'em. The Firestone Wide Ovals are also a great bargan. Either set can be had for around $600 or less.

There are about 2 dozen manufactuers of performance tires, however keep in mind you will probably never push the limits of your car or the tires. No need to dish out tons of money on stuff you will never use. Good luck

 

The Goodyear GS-D3s get good reviews. Another good one that I have been hearing about is the Firestone Wide Ovals. Good price and decent performance.

 

I just ordered Kumho Ecsta ASX from Discount for $512 shipped to my door for all 4. They had the highest tread wear rating of 420 of anything anywhere near the price. I don't know how they compare to the Ecsta MX mentioned above in #11 or how they wear. I just couldn't pass up the deal. Good luck.

 

Thx all for the info & opinions....I also wound up opting with the Nitto's 555 Extreme as well. They seem to be the best bang for the buck actually. My car is not a daily driver so didnt need to go over-board IMO with tires.
Hopefully these will give decent performance with less noise compared to the run-flats.

 

I looked at the specs on Goodyear's web site and it appears that they don't make them in a 17" size. Only 18" and 19". Does that mean you went to an 18/18 stance instead of the 17/18? I'd be curious to know.

 

I'm changing to the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S ZPs (about $1200/set).

This is my third Corvette ('74, "88, '00) and my first non-OEM tire.

I'll post how I like the Michelins.

 

Vetten02 thanks for posting the tire question. Dave68...thanks for your thorough research!

Keep the 'WAVE' ALIVE!