It's time to replace the tires on my '97 and I'm at the Tire Rack website looking at the options. I doubt EVERYONE simply buys the OEM tires as replacements. Has any reputable source done reviews of all the options or at least some of the options? Has everyone replaced with run flats or have you gone with regular tires? Will the tire pressure sensors work with regular tires?

I want to stick with the stock rims and size.

Thanks in advance for helping a relatively new (less than six months) owner.

 

I just replaced my original tires about 4 months ago. I went with the GY GS-D3's. They are NOT a run flat tire so you need to keep the necessary equipment with you in case of a flat. One of the car mags did a tire test and they gave top awards to the D3. I believe 2 tires outgripped them in the dry, but by a mall margin. In the wet, they were numero uno! Anyway I like them and they seem to feel good. I went with the stock sizes.

Rob

 

The tire pressure sensors work with any tire runflat or not.

Concensus on this forum are:

The GY runflats are the worse riding of all the runflats. All others seem to ride better (Michelin, Firestine, Kumho etc.).

Non-runflats ride and in most cases handle much better than runflats.

For peace of mind when changing to non-runflats make up a repair kit: small plug into cigarette lighter air compressor, plug kit, pliers, gloves, tarp, scissors type jack (or Mercedes jack - see posts on this subject)and for extreme emergencies cans of fix-a-flat tire sealer which will almost always ruin your tire pressure sensor - like I said: for extreme emergencies like "I gotta get outa Dodge" this second.

As far as what runflat or non-runflat to buy: good luck. You'll read as many opinions as there are forum members I went with the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 non-runflat. Ride well, handle well, look

 

The cheapest option out there with good ratings are the AVON Tech 550 A/S. If you're looking for a year round tire that will work "ok" in snow, rain, etc and still grip good in the summer...these look pretty good. Lots of the comments from the buyers were Beemer, Mercedes, and other sporty car owners so they aren't exactly a Crown Vic tire....

I just bought a set of rears...ended up being about $360 shipped and installed at a local place that was recommended thru Tirerack. They grip VERY well so far....hard to spin even in first when its above 70 deg out. However, they feel a little strange in the corners...but I think its because the tread depth went from 1-2/32nds to 10/32nds!

Take a look..the tread pattern and sidewall look pretty good.

 

I just replaced my original GY's last week. I bought the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S EMTs from Tire Rack ($1100 for the set shipped). I went with these for the following reasons:

- I wanted to stick with a Run Flat tire (just preference).
- I wanted a good performance tire. These tires rate much better than the GYs for dry and wet performance.
- I wanted a repairable Run Flat tire. The GY's can be driven up to 250 miles with no pressure and repaired. The Michelins can be driven up to 50 miles with no pressure and repaired. The Firestones can be driven with no pressure but cannot be repaired. The Michelins were the best choice for me and at a good price.

As mentioned, you can put non-EMT tires and use the pressure sensors, but if you ever need to use any fix-a-flat product, the sensor will be toast and they're about $80 each to replace.

 

I went from fun-flats to non RF and I am very happy (c5 coupe).
My two tire picks were Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 non-runflat and BF goodrich KDW. The KDW is one of the tires that beat the D3 in dry grip.
My KDW were installed one size larger than stock C5 run flats (255 and 285). I just finished a 3500 mile trip with them. they are quieter and grip better than run flats. They are much cheaper also.

 

I replaced my second set of OEM's with PS A/S ZP a couple of months ago. I got mine at Discount Tire, $1305 out the door.

What I thought was a splotch of mud on one my old rears was, in fact, the belt showing!! 22K out of both sets, interestingly enough.

Observations:

As many others have said, MUCH quieter than the GY.

Much smoother riding, also. When you hit a bump, like where one section of pavement is higher than the preceding, they go 'thump' instead of 'BAM'.

The tire sort of envelops the wheel which gives it a different look. The big advantage is curb protection.

They are a litle more "rounded" than the GY's when looking at them from the rear. They don't look quite as wide.

I really can't offer much commentary on their rain performance since we have had little since I bought the tires. The one storm I did drive in, they tracked straight and true and did not aquaplane.

They handle differently. They don't seem as "stiff" as the GY's (they aren't - different sidewall stiffness) - not as directly tied to steering input. "Loose" is too extreme a term, though.

I run these at 28 psi cold vs. 31 psi cold for the GY's - this could account for a lot of the differences I'm experiencing.

Would I but them again - yes. I just hope I get more than 22k out of them!

 

The GS-D3s are an outstanding all-round choice and are very reasonably priced. Another excellent choice is the BFG KDW2s.
HTH,
Robert

 

Was going to buy Goodyears but the guy at tire rack recommended the avons. Pretty good tire for the money.

I don't race or drive car in bad weather so I can't comment under those conditions.

 

I have had nothing but good luck with Michelin tires. Unfortunately, I currently have Perrili's and have found that the tire is just too soft and wares rather quickly.

 

...then check a recent edition of Car & Driver. Although they used "only" a 325 BMW as a test mule, you are very likely to experience similar results with your C5. To minimize variables such as driving techniques, track surface temps, etc, C&D enlisted the help of the Tire Rack and their test mule vehicle. Although the track used was small, it's lined with sprinklers that can soak the asphalt. "It took three days to perform all the tests. We accerated to 50 mph and then braked to a standstill. There was a benefit to that lower speed: It ensured that we were measuring the braking performance of the tires and not just brake fade."

"In addition to factoring the wet and dry scores, we gave points based on a tires's price and tread-wear grade, which is a rough estimate of how long a tire will have usable tread." "Our test focused on measuring performance, so we decided that results in the dry-lateral grip, for example - would carry the most weight."

So, without further adeau, here're the results:

(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

 

Good post!! Whats the best traction tire! Short of a drag radial or ET streets, what is good for the street to keep 500 hp attached to the pavement??

BC

 

TireRack sells a brand of fix-a-flat that supposedly won't mess up the TPS, but if you do, and you have the 2nd gen TPS, they're only about $35-40 to replace. The original TPS is, unfortunately, quite expensive.

 

Bill, the 10th place BF Goodrich tires were best on dry pavement, but were horrible on the wet stuff. If you are interested in strictly dry-pavement traction and never get caught in the rain, the BFGs may be your best choice.
However, the #1 GSD3s are very close (.94g vs .95g) AND generated something like .82g on wet surfaces. The BFGs could muster only .67gs on the wet stuff.

 

Funny that I dont' see a test/rating for the Avon's which are exclusively sold by Tire Rack! User reviews are high for that tire..it would have been great to see how it stacked up compared to the "name brands".

I went from spinning in 2nd accellerating with my Pilot Sport RF tires to no spinning in 1st with the Avons....darn impressive but I have yet to see what mine do in the rain.

 

I have seen this data and agree that it has some very helpful information.
One thing that should be noted though, is that the BFG tire tested by them was NOT the KDW2 which has it's tread pattern specifically designed to handle both dry AND wet (hence the "W" in the type designation).
I am currently running them and I like their wet weather characteristics very much.
HTH,
Robert

 

Man,,you guys have made my day! GREAT info!

Thanks

Bill

 

Update on the Avon tires....the new tires had way more tread on them so I needed to upgrade my swaybar and endlinks to firm up the handling. With a z06 setup, this thing STICKS to the road with the avons. They seem to go great in rain (don't spin like my Pilot Sport EMT's) but also corner and accelerate great. It's actually difficult to break them loose now. For $360 for both rears installed with TPM's...you can't beat it.

I've had Sumitomo's, kumho's, Pilots, Potenza's and now Avon...and these are some of the best yet

 

I read that article last year when I went tire shopping, and it did not make a lot of sense to me. Either the Kumho Ecsta MX was re-done by Kumho or they made a mistake. As a novice autocrosser I had times about middle of the pack (of experienced drivers) at a corvette autocross. And I've done 7 road race track days and the only guys doing better in the corners are the ones with R-compound tires. so IMO that calls into question their testing. There were other things I didn't like in their testing, but enough of that...

If you only drive on the streets you will have different criteria than if you take it to the track on the same tires. Don't worry about the non-runflat issue, how often do you see someone with a blow out? Slow leaks are the norm and the tirepressure sensors will tell you when you get low. The last 4 "flats" that I've had had been slow leaks (some slower than others) that I could drive around for days before getting fixed, just had to keep them inflated.

I liked my Kumho MXs, but one autocross and 7 track days and 12k miles and they are toast. Got a new set in at the tire shop, just want to punish them a little more first I'd recomend the MX to anyone who takes their Vette to the track, although we don't get a lot of rain here so I don't know how well the do in the rain. I know they suck in the snow and ice :o

If I were only driving on the street, I would definately look at the GY's or other american tires, but at this point in time the tires have to do double duty track and street. I do not want to chew-up a set of expensive tires on the track. I'd rather chew-up less expensive tires. Hopefully I'll have a set of track wheels soon.

 

Obviously, none of your competitors had GSD3s!


I understand your position, although many guys who have the big bucks buy only the best.