Due to my friend Striper's encouragement and research, I put Vredestiens on my Z as well. Trouble is with Z's are the front tire size. Tirerack only lists 2 tires as matched sets, Goodyear and Bridgestone. I put 275 on my front and they were fine and I was within the stagger.
Conti makes the rear tire, but again, the front is not made by them in a 265. I have the Contis on my Challenger and I like them enough to put them on my '02 the day I get it.

 

Having this in mind, Michelin PS2 can be a waste of money. If you don't need the levels of performance they distinguish themselves from the rest, then they make no sense. They are the most expensive choice and they will last the least amount of miles.
Something I am noticing and I really don't understand is the total lack of discussion about Nitto Invos. They are extremely good tires, they come in every size all the way up to 345 and they are very reasonably priced.
In my personal opinion, after having tried stock Goodyear runflats, non runflat Goodyears, Yokohamas, Sumitomos, Michelins and Pirellis in few different wheel sizes, there is no better tire than the Invos if you consider achieving some sort of balance between cost, performance and longevity. And they are available in whatever size you want.

 

I have had great experience with Michelin's (truck mostly) and you are right everyone has a opinion and mine is Michelin's are worth every penny !!!!!! (they do everything better than average)

 

Michelin---once you've owned them, nothing else seems adequate.

 

Only people pushing the limits of their car will see feel, the difference of a particular tire...
for most who drive the speed limit but do so aggressively, wont know either.. any performance tire will " Perform" for the average spirted drive who never sees a track... Most city and highway driving is done on roads not designed for performance driving.. Michelin is no better or worse than any other tire designed for street use. Most of the new people coming here are buying a 15/20 K car. as we have seen some making as little as 20 K a year. Best bang for the buck requires what the bang requirement is.. why would anyone want to put a 2400 dollar Bugatti Veyron tire on their car.

Some tires are made for longevity, some are made for the rain, some for mud and snow, and some for performance.. best bang for the buck when the bang is highway /street driving with 95% of the driving within the speed limit.. So why would anyone Need a tire rated at 160 mph, if they never left the street. Everyone makes a great tire for a specific requirement... Michelin is no better or worse than Good Year, or BF Goodrich. there isn't a non professional driver on this forum who could tell one manufacture from another by driving a car. For the membership here, its budget, application, and mileage. And for some its also the look . Yokohama makes some excellent tires but I would not put Japanese tires on my car. Its an American Icon... every manufacture makes and entry level tire, every tire manufacturer makes a touring tire , every manufacturer makes a performance tire... Some wont make a specific tire in all sizes... The science and engineering is not a secret. Tire design of any tire is the interpretation and result of much testing.. Everyone has research and development.. Some manufacturers spend a lot of money in sponsorship, and branding advertising... Who do you think pays for that advertising.. ? we do, Good Year and Michelin have the most extensive marketing and advertising and sponsorship budget.. And an FYI... all those Goodyear tires you see in Nascar, and Daytona, and Laguna Seca?? no they are not free... every set of tires cost the car owner, 800 dollars a set... much cheaper than we could buy them but they are not free.

I've owned many sets of Michelins, many Goodyear, and I haven't been on a track in many years. I Have Nitto on my C5 now, and they are as good as any other tire I've owned. I've paid 500 a tire, and I've paid 250 a tire, and for a street driven car with some spirited push... My sensory feedback is better than most.. and without pushing its upper limits, most tires perform very well when the proper compound is selected for your driving style...

 

Well when it comes to trucks I beg to differ, I have changed from whatever to Michelin's and it is night and day !!!!! smoother,quieter, better handling,longer life by far, I have highway tread and don't even need 4 wheel drive most of the time in winter !!!! I may not spend a lot on wheels but will not hesitate on tires or brakes !!!!!!!! On my Corvette I have been in monsoons and it drives like dry pavement !!!!!

 

I wasn't quoting you, or addressing you... I was making a general statement about tires. IM not about to get into a pissing match over tires.. Those days are over... I came in, offered my experience and opinion.. people who know me, will either take my input or leave it, I don't care what they chose to do.. I offered the OP how someone zeros in on an application. and its not by someone else's application. I was the only one who asked the questions necessary to answer his question, everyone else here is looking for the validation of their own choice... without any regard for what the OP actually need... No one asked how much money he had in his tire budget. If he has 600 dollars the advice would be different than if he had 2000 dollars. I asked legitimate questions .. took my own time to ask him the right questions so I could give him the right answer. Since he was not interested in responding and just maybe looking to up his post count, I am out of this thread..

 

My father worked with tires almost his whole life. Just retired last year after over 40 years in the business and after being the main importer for an entire country (in Europe) for Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear and bunch of others.
My brother has been working for/with my dad for the last 10 years.
I work for a big company that imports and sells all of the brands mentioned on here and we manufacture some tires ourselves or have them made for us by big brands.
Neither me, nor my dad or brother will disagree with anything that ET said. The guy is spot on on everything. All I can add is that I can get Michelins at cost and pay nothing for mounting/balancing etc., and I still have Nittos on my car. Simply because I don't drive my car in a way the Michelins can make any difference at all.

 

everyone has their own ideas about what tires offer a consumer. Some buy into hype, but you could never convince them of that. Some have no clue about lateral stability, or tire pressure under driving conditions. The ones who subscribe to a single tire pressure then tire pressure can vary as much as 8 psi on a given very hot day. WE have had people say their car is all over the road... I asked what the tire pressure is in their car and they say the sidewall says 65 psi Max.. so that what they used, thinking more is better ). Some may read this, and laugh as an impossibility, no one is that stupid, and yet there will be some members here going out right now and taking out 30 or 40 psi from their tires. Some have no TPS , some disable it.
Bill aka ET

 

I think that the tire industry, especially with 'tire detail crazy' people like us is unable to provide a detailed, exacting rating system, so that is why we go by other's experience. All of this is anecdotal, which means that we glean info and make a choice we hope is best for ourselves. Just because Bigfoot runs a particular tire doesn't mean that the same brand on one's CRV is going to get them over the Rubicon trail. Tire care, like Bill mentions above is a lot more important than "set it and forget it".

 

As E.T. And others have said, many factors going into deciding upon which tire. There is no one tire fits all applications, or one is the best and forget the rest.
To the OP, good luck with your research and purchase.

 

Same boat. I have a 99 w/ Z06 wheels (found out the size difference a little late but no harm done) Anyway, got Conti EC DW's in bound for install this week in the Z06 295/275 variety...

 

I think you will love them

 

You are absolutely right. So far it's a GREAT choice. I have not got enough real miles on them yet but hope to hit a canyon or two soon. The Colorado weather is amazing right now. What I noticed IMMEDIATELY was a dramatic reduction in road noise! This is a much welcome surprise. Whole different car then with the Khumo's...

And on a side note- Thanks E.T. Your post above should be a dang sticky!

 

It crazy to me that no one talks about Falkien Azenis Here. Awesome tire that no one ever speaks about.

 

let me guess, you have Falkien Azenis .

 

Nope try again

 

I bought the same tires, a tremendous improvement over the run flats. Extremely pleased!

 

I would gladly talk about Falkens. Put a set on my daughter's Forester and they are great.
Now, has anyone had a set of Dayton Blue Ribbon Radials?

 

Nope my ***
I think your nose is growing... honesty and integrity is not your strong suit...
the joke is on you my friend.. Like I say to everyone.. be careful who you listen too here.. I 'm not as dumb as you look.

A cut and paste from your control panel.