Hi All,

I will soon be sending my stock OEM wheels out for the Panther treatment and getting new rubber while I'm at it. I have been doing a lot of research on tires, but still have some lingering questions I was hoping some of you might be able to help with.

I know when it comes to tires it's all about compromise, as there is no one tire that does it all perefectly. My Z06 is basically my toy. I have another daily driver as I have a long commute. So my Z mostly see's weekend duty. I have not tracked the car yet, but would like to someday. When I take the car out, I like back road spirited driving. I know that I do not see the cars full potential as I am not on a track, but want the car to perform very well on the street when it's called for.

The stock F1SC's are obviously a very good dry weather tire. I don't drive the car in the rain so I do not worry about wet traction ability. But as a sticky tire they have a short tread life and are very expensive.

PS2's seem like a good choice as well, better wet handling, but more expensive than the F1SC's. Not sure if they have a much longer tread life?

Kumhos appear to be a popular choice, but I have read they do not perform as well compared to the above. Price is right, but you usually get what you pay for. If I am not tracking the car, will I notice the performance loss? As I said I sometimes drive aggressively on the back roads and do not want to compromise the performance here. Is the diff in performance only something I would feel on the track. I like the idea of spending less, but do not want the car to suffer dramtically. Some people claim the Kumho's preform better than the above but is that because they are comparing to a worn out super car tire? No tire performs well when worn out. Thougts?

I have ruled out Firestone WO's as I heard they appear narrower and taller. I do not think I would like that look. Too bad, price was very nice! Any other opinions.

The Nitto 555R II's seem like an interesting choice, but it sounds like your might give up some ride comfort and the treadwear may not be any better than the F1SC's or PS2's. Odd sizing makes it difficult as well. They also sound more like a track tire then a street tire. Price seems a little better, but I do not know too much about these. Thoughts?

Please lend more your experiences and thoughts on these choices above given my usage criteria. When I do track the car someday I plan on using seperate wheels (I have an extra set of slightly curbed OEMs) and tires for that purpose. But I don't want to feel a big performance loss on the street. If staying with the stock tires is the best overall choice I will do that, but would rather save some money or get more tread life for my buck. Hah - wouldn't we all!



P.S. Sorry about the length - and thanks for any input

 

Kumho MX tires are very popular. You make a good point about comparing tires when they're of equal ages. That said, best I've gleaned is that the two tires are pretty equal.

BFG KDs are great tires as well.

Nitto 555R2s are kind of a hybrid street/track tire. Much grippier than the MX (for example), but tire wear will be much greater as well. Probably overkill for your kind of driving.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

 

I only drive my Z on the weekends in good weather, much like yourself. I ordered the Nitto 555RII's and will bet getting them installed later this week. I have headers and an intake on my Z and was hoping the extra traction might help out. I wasn't too concerned about wear as I'll only put about 5k miles a year on it. I also have another set of wheels with Hoosiers that I'll use on the track; unless I get lazy and don't want to swap wheels, I can just run on the Nitto's.

 

Nitto R2's

 

I just realized that I used the word "track" - What I am really refering to is "road coarse". I usually call the the track the "strip". Sorry about the confusion.

By the way thanks for the input so far - keep it coming

 

I met a corvetteforum member at a roadcourse a couple weeks ago. He had just bought the car and it came with Kumho MX's. I was on Eagle F1 GS's on the front and worn SC's on rear. He pretty much blew me away. He was stunned by the performance of the tire as was I. It was enouph for me to give them a try. I'm getting a set of them in a couple weeks. By the way, Eagle F1 GS's are JUNK on the track! Never try to race with this tire. I learned the hard way.

 

I have PS2's (just bought them this winter) and are very happy with them, particularly in rain & foul weather. Note: I don't track the car or do other high performance driving, so that's my benchmark for comparison. Every review I've seen, however, says they're right up there at the top in dry and other high performance applications. Pricey, no doubt.

Good luck with your choice.

 

The stock SC's lasted 16,000 miles for me. I bought the car used with 12k on them and they still looked pretty good. After one trackday and some hard street miles they were toast. I switched to the R2's and can confirm that they grip way better than the SC's. I don't know how long they last, because now I have 3 sets of wheels that I swap depending on weather, and taking the car to the track. I use a new set of SC's for winter(rain) tires, R2's for summer and track, and I just bought some 710's for the track so I will use the R2's only for the street when it's not cold or raining. Anyone else notice that wheels are cheaper than the tires?

From the tire rack and other comparisons I've read, the PS2's are basically a better tire than the SC's, but more expensive. Slightly better dry, much better wet, quieter, and should last just a little longer. Not the ultimate in grip compared to a DOT R, but a great street tire if you're willing to spend the money.

I can't comment on the street Kumhos.

My buddy has the BFG KD's and he loves them. The grip is close to the R2's, with better wear, and the price is right.

I'd recommend the R2's or the KD's(or the street Kumhos since you've read good reviews) depending on how much you value tire life. The short life of the R2's make them cost more, but they grip more. I don't think the difference between any of these is going to be that noticeable on the street. But they're all noticeably better than the SC's on the street. It's all a trade off, decide where you want to be on the sliding scale of tire compromises and costs.

Dog

 

In hindsight, for what it's worth, I should've bought the Kumho's, but I couldn't find anyone that had 'em in stock when I was tire shopping at the time. I had Ecsta MX runflats on my last Vette (a '99) and they were great, although the Z06 has more power plus a manual tranny (last was an A4), so very different dynamic in that regards.

I truly wish someone would make a runflat for the C5Z06. I'd buy 'em in a heartbeat.

 

I have never had a problem withe the f1sc tires on my z. I have 19500 miles on my car now and im sure ill get another season out of them. I usually drive it like I rented it, if not like I stole it.

 

Thanks for the input thus far

The BFG KD's and the R2's sound intersting.

The KD's are a little cheaper than the SC's and it sounds like the performance is there. But I wonder how the tread life is compared to the SC's. Thoughts?

The R2's also sound very tempting. It sounds like they will perform better in the dry than the SC's but I wonder if I would notice the increase on the street. Thoughts?

I keep going back and forth between longevity and performance .

Will either of these get me really close? The Kumhos are still a thought but I'm just not sure how grippy they are.

 

i hope your right! i just got my Z and it came with Khumos Khumos are definitely quieter than those noisy F1's !

 

its your weekend car...think about it! get performance..easy decision!

 

lotta companies make runflats for z06. go to tirerack.com

 

The BFG KD's are really peaking my interest, anyone else have this setup that can give feedback.

I read some feedback on the Z06vette forums that I would only see about 5K mile treadlife on the Nitto's with street usage.
Someone else claimed 12K. Seems like a big discrepency. Anyone else have milage testimony for this setup?

Thanks for the great input so far - keep it comin

 

I know you weren't considering them..... but when I still had my Firebird with Wide Ovals (245/50-16) my buddy was amazed at how much more traction I had compared to his 97 coupe with stock run-craps...

 

From what I gather as well, the FWO's are definitetly better than the runcraps, but I'm lookng to at least get the same performance as the F1SC's on dry pavement. I'm not sure the FWO's have the same peformance based on tires of equivilant age. Plus the narrower footprint really bothers me.

 

Extreme RII's are for racing, grip, autocross, and are great tires but they wear quickly and only come with half the tread of other tires...with that said, I love them but don't get stuck in cold weather or too much rain. These are basically a drag radial compound with stiff side walls and are best when all four wheels have them. Plus they come in 305's, 285's, 275's

KDW2's: Great all round tire for the money. Pretty quiet, good grip, pretty good in the rain, and the tread design is killer

MX's: One of the more common tires anymore and perform good, but IMO not as good as the KDW2's. Good all round tire that has seems to weather time pretty good.

 

Not for C5Z06 in OEM sizes they don't.

If you know of a mfgr. making these, please let us know! Thanks.

 

Would most agree if wet traction ability were not important the F1SC are a very good tire choice for all-around street performance and road racing ability.

I know there might be better track options, and obviously better wet grip options, but again this is for all-around use in good weather.

The F1SC are about $500 more than the cheapest alternatives. Are they $500 dollars better performance wise. Just trying to gauge performance to buck gain/diff ratio.