I'm looking for some new tires for my 5.0. I would like to spend about $100 each. Dry pavement performance is my main concern.
Need more input. Tire/rim size? Street use only, or some track use? Daily driver or weekend toy? Straight-line, cornering, or a compromise between the two? Ride quality, noise, tread wear, any of those other things matter?
kumho sucks nuts. I have those on my 02 and the traction is horrible. save some money and buy some nitto 555's. you wont be disappointed.
BFG KDW. Had them on a 97 Cobra, then they went on my 91 notch. Excellent tire in dry and wet, and I pulled 2.0 60fts on them without heating them. They corner excellent too. I could never get the front tires to squeal when turning.
I'm not going to say they are the best, but Nexxens and even Hancook's are pretty cheap, less than $100 each with nice tread patterns.
Nexxens are actually not bad, Hankooks wear faster than Goodyears. Under $100, you aren't going to find much. To be honest, as stykthyn suggested, a good set of Nitto 555s are the way to go. I too was always looking for inexpensive, and ended up going through tires too fast because they didn't grip for crap. So I went back to DRs...more money, but they last longer (surprisingly) because they grip. At least in my case they do.
Ive had good luck with Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's in 245/45/17 and 275/40/17 on a 97 Cobra, Sumitomo HTR-H4 in 215/60/16 on an 95 SHO and Sumitomo HTR-Z in 275/40/17 and 315/35/17 on an 03 GT, and Yokohama Avid V4's in 225/55/16 on a 91 LX 5.0. My friend used to run Dunlop SP Sport 5000's in 225/55/16 on his old Pony wheels and they seemed to wear quickly but had good traction. I have Kumho Solus in 205/60/15 on my Volvo now and they are good but not performance tires at all. On my 89 GT are Kumho Ecsta MX in a 255/45/17 which have excellent traction and cornering. One of the worst tires in that price range are Falken Ziex ZE-512 which were on my Volvo and wore quickly. Of course if you have 15" wheels there is the old standby BFGoodrich Radial T/A. I have also heard good things about the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport. There are TONS of tires in that price range, hit up Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels and check them out by the size you need. btw what wheels are you running?
FWIW, I've had good experiences with Fuzion HRi and ZRi tires (in the 225/60/R15 and 245/50/R16 sizes). Pretty good grip off the line, good cornering, good wear, great hydroplaning resistance, and usually can be had for under $100 a tire (depending on where you go and what size tire you need, of course).
I have Falken FK452s on my car, and even in the 18" version they werent expensive. Ive been 1.91 60' on them at the track as well. They dont hook like a Drag Radial, but you can get out of the hole with them if your not too agressive.
You might take a look at Riken Raptor ZR, they're made by Michelin/B F Goodrich. Summit has the 225-55-16 at $80.00 each.
I think im going with the bf goodrich g force sport. There $109 each, not bad. Opinions on them? btw my tires are 245/50/16
