It's tire time for me... need advice!

[VoodooChi|d]

I've got about 27k on the stock goodyears... well 3 of them. The previous owner replaced the front right tire with a kuhma ecsta. My front driver side tire is extremely bald (Too much hard cornering, never rotated) so I was going to get that one replaced with prolly another kuhma ecsta.

Now yesterday it rained. I learned by almost crashing my car how to drive in the rain in my car (really slow). But yesterday driving slow didn't help. On the way to school around a turn I was going super slow... I could feel the rear end sliding and the traction control comes on. I just figure there musta been some oil there or something. After school going to my friends house straight on the highway the rear end starts to get loose again and the traction control light goes on... I'm going 55 in a 65. I slow down to 50 and it does the same thing a few hundred feet later. It scared the crap outa me. The thing is my back tires have a fair amount of tread on them. I was reading up on tires and it looks like the goodyear eagle f1s would be awesome for me (good grip for corners and good try and wet traction ratings) only problem is they are really expensive.

So I guess what I need is a good ZR or YR 17x8 tire that has really good wet traction. I dont drag or street race so the only thing I need dry traction for is for cornering (I love hitting up the twisties). Oh and I live in Austin so theres no need for snow or ice traction.

Suggestions please.

 

[Sleepy1]

What's your price range? I heard that the Bridgestone Pole Postion SO-3 are the best for the rain. But they are expensive. You could look into the BFG KDW. I think they are only ~160 a piece. Not bad for a good tire.

 

[COramprat]

I have some Pirelli P6000's and they are pretty good rain tires. A hundred a piece from Discount Tire Direct. Cornering with 4.10's is a different matter. The Kuhmo Ecsta's that were on previously were good also. I saw some Goodyear Eagles at a Walmart for 100 a piece but I don't remember which Eagles. I was surprised when I saw them because Walmart doesn't normally stock the particular ones I saw. THey had them on a closeout shelf. I'll have to go back there and see which ones they were.

 

[VoodooChi|d]

What's your price range? I heard that the Bridgestone Pole Postion SO-3 are the best for the rain. But they are expensive. You could look into the BFG KDW. I think they are only ~160 a piece. Not bad for a good tire.

Theres no real price range just want the most inexpensive good ones.

 

[cjist1]

try doing a search on ebay. I usually type "275/40/17" in the search field and get alot of results. I have ordered goodyear eagle F1 GS's 2 seperate times from ebay. The fist time I found a set of 4 new ones for $575 to my door...last time I found some for $180 a piece. They are great tires and handle good in the rain. I think Tirerack has them for round $230 a piece....but try ebay.

 

[wjfawb0]

For a daily driver I would suggest Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s. That will be my next tire. Great dry traction, great wet traction and great handling. Looks cool as hell too.

GS D3

Tire rack data

-Jason

 

[Wolfhound]

I live down in Florida where it rains quite a bit and I had the same experience with the ZR Gatorbacks. They suck in the rain. I am running the Yokohama AVS ES 100 and they do pretty good in the rain. No problems so far and I drive quite a bit on I-95 when it's pouring down rain.

 

[VoodooChi|d]

For a daily driver I would suggest Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s. That will be my next tire. Great dry traction, great wet traction and great handling. Looks cool as hell too.

GS D3

Tire rack data

-Jason

Thats what I wanted...

I showed them to my dad and he goes "you could buy 4 tires for what one of those costs" then I say "well isn't my life worth it" and he says "sure, we'll sell the car and get a kia"

 

[jadesville]

Thats what I wanted...

I showed them to my dad and he goes "you could buy 4 tires for what one of those costs" then I say "well isn't my life worth it" and he says "sure, we'll sell the car and get a kia"

they have decent prices on those tires too

 

[VoodooChi|d]

they have decent prices on those tires too

You know where to get them cheaper than the tirerack price of $174?

 

[Wills Black 98]

i ordered some nitto 555's today. they were 117 a piece, ill let you know how they do!

 

[jadesville]

You know where to get them cheaper than the tirerack price of $174?

ebay most likely

i could have sworn i saw them at sears or costco for like 150, i really think im starting to insane though

 

[tait_gt2002]

I'm extremely pleased with my stock size ZR Nittos for the money. Ended up being like $105 a tire I think. I've put 6000 miles on mine and they work pretty good in most conditions. I'm surprised how well they do in rain, which isn't awesome but they are better than stock. Fantastic dry traction, and they look pretty decent. I know for sure they not a crap tire, a couple times earlier in the year when the nighttime temps were still in the 70-80 range, they handled a 130+ mph cruise for 20-30 minutes. The stock tires did too which is good, but it's just reassuring to know the tire can handle that kind of heating. Important to me at least. I know I won't get the same 27000 miles out of the Nittos as my stock GY's, but I hope to make it to 20000 at least.

 

[DHGBullitt4.6]

hey voodokid, get bfg's KDW'S those are the ones that I have, and they are the best. Later.

 

[wjfawb0]

Thats what I wanted...

I showed them to my dad and he goes "you could buy 4 tires for what one of those costs" then I say "well isn't my life worth it" and he says "sure, we'll sell the car and get a kia"

That sucks. See, I consider the GS D3s cheap myself. At least when compared to the other tires I priced with close to the same overall performance.

-Jason

 

[VoodooChi|d]

That sucks. See, I consider the GS D3s cheap myself. At least when compared to the other tires I priced with close to the same overall performance.

-Jason

I know they are awesome for the price... but my dad sees $174 not superior wet traction, superior dry traction.

 

[jadesville]

I know they are awesome for the price... but my dad sees $174 not superior wet traction, superior dry traction.

i feel ya dude, i have bald tires and no brakes, my dad see's $$ not saving my damn life

 

[usn86gt]

I'm extremely pleased with my stock size ZR Nittos for the money. Ended up being like $105 a tire I think. I've put 6000 miles on mine and they work pretty good in most conditions. I'm surprised how well they do in rain, which isn't awesome but they are better than stock. Fantastic dry traction, and they look pretty decent. I know for sure they not a crap tire, a couple times earlier in the year when the nighttime temps were still in the 70-80 range, they handled a 130+ mph cruise for 20-30 minutes. The stock tires did too which is good, but it's just reassuring to know the tire can handle that kind of heating. Important to me at least. I know I won't get the same 27000 miles out of the Nittos as my stock GY's, but I hope to make it to 20000 at least.

Where do you live Germany. I don't know of any roads I could do 130+ for 20-30. Maybe Arizona. Just curious. I wanna do that.

 

[DarkHorse164]

I know they are awesome for the price... but my dad sees $174 not superior wet traction, superior dry traction.

http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.hp.HPGuestLogin?username=gsxr1_pilot164&password=84211293

Not that my link will help your debate, but it shows my car with the GSD3's. They ARE rated very high in the wet traction department! I have not yet had a real chance to *test* them in the wet, since it hasn't rained much here (in Florida it always rains). If you don't spring for the fatties (like I did), you can get them for a decent price. Maybe ask your dad to split the cost ! You'll love them if you get them.

Another good choice are the BFG KDWS's. They look alot like the stock Goodyears, but are rated near superior for ALL conditions and are very reasonably priced. The KDW's are good, too, but the KDWS's have the 400 treadwear rating versus the KDW's 280.

If you need wet traction, stay away from the Nitto 555's. From what the techs at tirerack.com told me, they're about as useful as slicks when the roads are wet. Good luck....my vote is for the GSD3's

 

[GotMustangs]

I recently bought new wheels and had Yokohama AVS ES-100's mounted on them. I was told that they would hook as good as the Nitto 555, but they were cheaper, so I tried them. On wet pavement, they made a world of difference over the stockers and had a great amount of resistance to hydoplaning. On dry, they would stick every corner I could throw at them, but they wouldn't hook for s**t during hard straight-line acceleration. This was also before my 4.10's were installed. I'm most into launching, so I took them back and got a full refunnd. For another $170, I got 4 Nitto 555's. These tires do much better in a straight line and a little better in the corners, but they suck balls on wet pavement. My car is now a fair weather car only, as long as I can help it. Hope this helps. Just my 2 cents.