J S Machine

FWIW, I did some searching but I couldn't find anything that really answered my question.

I have sumitomo tires on my car currently, and they are just about worn out. I waited until income tax time of this year to buy new. I want to get a set of (all 4) tires for my car, but I have no idea where to start. I drive about 30 miles a day mostly highway. My car is driven in the rain and shine (it's a DD), and I guess that would mean I need an all season tire. I want something with a long wear rating. I don't need to have to replace tires once a year. I have gotten 30K out of my sumitomos and there is still about 1/8" tread left on them. The car was used when I bought it, so I figure that's pretty good. I will either go back with those or make another choice.

The tires that you all reccomend don't have to be anything name brand, just something to put on the car. If I didn't drive the car all the time I might go with a better Goodyear or Michelin tire, but I am not putting out that kind of money for something that will be gone in 15-20K miles because my car is a DD.

I would aslo like some good ideas for where I can get them.

Thanks.

JohnTheStigGalt

I got 35K miles out of my last set of General UHPs -- and that wasn't driving gingerly, that's for dang sure! Not bad for a sub-$600 set of tires. Can't say enough great things about these tires!! Fantastic traction dry and wet!!

Dave68

Unfortunately, longer-lasting tires are almost always harder-compound tires, so ultimate grip is sacrificed. Most high-end ultra-high performance Summer tires have sticky tread and low wear ratings (which, by the way, cannot be compared with anything except for within the same manufacturer's tires since there is no real standard)

So if you find a cheap tire that gets 30,000 miles+ from rear sizes, it is almost assuredly in a lower class of "stickyness".

Of the higher-costing, super-sticky tires, one stands out as having better-than-average wear, according to an independent tire-testing lab. That tire is the Goodyear GSD3. It sticks as well as the best street tires and lasts longer than all. now it may not last as long as the inexpensive tires, but I can guarantee you that it will handle better.
in the end, though, it is up to you to decide whether you can take advantage of that extra grip.

I try to......

Vetteman Jack

Do you want runflats or not? For runflats, I was very pleased with the Firestone Firehawks I had on mine. For non-runflats, the Goodyear GS-D3 is a very good tire.

lil vette

.
Tire Rack, had mine shipped to the tire store, changing the tires. Best bang for the buck
.

71vetteinva

Check out BFGoodrich g-Force super sport all season tires. That's what I have on my car. 400 tread wear rating and not at all expensive! I selected these tires because they are closer to a summer tire than the other all season tires tested by tire rack.

These two reports from Tire Rack were both done last year and cover many popular performance all season tires including:

BFGoodrich g-Force super sport A/S
Bridgestone Ponteza RE960AS Pole Positions
Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S
Yokohama ADVAN S.4
Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=115
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=106

I have much more grip with these all season tires than my stock runflats, that's for sure and those are a summer tire.


Tire rack tested the g-force A/S tires at .96 g of lateral grip. That's the highest of both groups. Note the lap times, the g-force tires on the same car (2008 BMW E90 328i Coupe) on the same tire rack test track had the lowest lap times! (Click on "Test Results Chart")

That said, the g-force A/S tires transmitted more road noise and weren't as comfortable and therefore finished number 2 in their test.

The Bridgestone was tested in both posts above. They got a slightly different data with their instrumentation, however, the lap times are EXTREMELY consistent. Therefore, I have no problem comparing both tests side-by-side.

What's really surprising is that the best all season tires compare pretty well to some summer tires...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=98

Z0Sick6

General Exclaim UHPs


tirerack.com


You get a set of 4 shipped in stock c5 sizes for under $650. They are good in rain, stickyness, and wear.

Best tire for the buck.

71vetteinva

True to a point. Remember, you live in San Diego. In Virginia, where I live, it's not uncommon to wake up to temperatures of 20 degrees outside with highs in the 40's and 50's during the winter.

In that sort of scenerio, even on a dry road, summer tires do not grip very well. Summer tires are really only designed for temperatures above 45 degrees or so. When it's 15 degrees outside summer tires get extremely hard.

Now, obviously, in the summer time when it's 80 - 100 degrees here I'm at a disadvantage and have less grip.

J S Machine

sorry I forgot to specify folks - non runflat only in a standard c5 rim size front and rear.

I'll Check out some of the tires you all suggested.

Thanks

dobewillie

kumhos are a decent tire for the price

Dave68

The original poster lives in Alabama. Somehow I can't believe that he is concerned with super-cold weather! And actually, I often see 37 degrees on a Winter morning. My D3s have no problems whatsoever taking sweeping highway corners at 80 MPH, even at that temperature.

I do agree that all-season tires are especially valuable if there may be a chance of snow, but for those of us who don't live in snow country, buying all-season tires can mean degraded handling.

c5blkvetteguy

I run the kuhmos etsca asx. They are all season, have a better traction or temp (dont remember) than the stock goodyear run flats, wear great, great traction (wet or dry), are priced great!

DeeGee

Sorry to disagree with c5blkvetteguy but my input would have been to avoid Kumho Ecsta. I've had them on two other cars and they perform great but have worn very quickly. Mind you, they are cheap so you could probably get two sets for the price of a more hard wearing tire.

My Michelin Pilot Sport AS ZPs are wearing well after 17k miles with plenty of life left. Unfortunately they are runflats so dont fit your needs.

Bugaboo

Kumhos are cheap and the wear gives you exactly what you pay for. GSD3 is my choice.

Ron C!

I am on my second set of Nitto 555's. I would have never bought them, but there was a brand new set on my car when I bought it 4 years ago. I thought I would run them for a few months and replace them with a better tire. They are quiet, grip good in the wet and dry, and have an excellent ride. They impressed me so much, I kept them. I got around 35K out of the first set, but they were killed by an alignment/tie rod end issue. They would have easily gone 40K plus before getting to the wear strips. I bought a new set a couple months ago, around $750 with all the add-ons and road hazard.

bucwheat

I run Toyo's Proxy's they have a harder rubber compound and therefore last longer.

jrose7004

For a non runflat, I always was happy with Good Year GSD3's.

widewheel

FWIW: just my two cents worth. I have a set of Goodyear F-1 A/S on the car at the moment. Also FWIW they have a tread wear rating of 420 which is double what some of the other tires I've had on the car have had. I got tired of replacing tires every year. I drive the car a couple of times a week and so far they are holding up very well. Yes, there is some sacrifice in the handleing but then again I don't race the car either. As a side note. I have gotten very good longevity with Michelin products on my other vehicles. When these GY's are gone I will try a set of them.

Hammer99

travelingypsye

When looking at tires for distance, Look at the UTQG(Uniform tire quality grade). Tread wear is based on the number of times a tire will travel 70 miles safely. Why 70 miles? I am not sure but that is what they use. For instance if a tire wear is 220, it will travel 15400 (220x 70) miles safely. The next set of letters (AA,A,B,C) refer to the traction componant of the tire. If a tire is AA rated, it should be able to hold traction against a .54 g force on asphalt or .41g on concrete (less porous & harder surface).
AA- .54 & above
A-.47 to .54
B-.38 to .47
C- Below .38
Last is the Temp grading.
At high speeds, tires create heat. Temp ratings determine if a tire is able to disapate heat safely.
A Over 115
B Between 100 to 115
C Between 85 to 100.

DeeGee said he had a set of Kumho Ecsta's that didn't last long. He probably had Ecsta MX or Mx-XRP which have a tead wear of 220.
I have a set of Kumho's ASX which have a tread wear of 420. Double of the MX so.....considered to be 2x the mileage.

Food for Thought when buying tires...........