Author Topic: Any tire gurus around here? (Read 837 times)

ahgod69 · « **on:** October 20, 2005, 07:49:56 PM »

Just curious as I seem to be throwing away a ton of money this last summer on tires. My last set of tires were:

Dunlop SP Sport 8080E 225/45ZR17 (Front tires) didn't feed the family for 2 weeks $300

Dunlop SP Sport 8080E 245/40ZR17 (Obviously the rears) No going out to the bar for a week $400

I have eaten through the rears after putting 5K on them (fronts are looking nice with some noticeable wear). With winter coming up, I am thinking of jumping ship and looking for a good all weather ultra performance tire. But I don't think I will be going to Dunlop anymore. The Goodyears I had didn't fair much better, they lasted longer but were attrocious in anything but dry pavement.

So a change is in order. Any comments would be helpful, well usefull comments.

rpm · « **Reply #1 on:** October 20, 2005, 07:52:15 PM »

Dunlop is about equal to Logitech in quality. Step up to the plate and buy a set of Kelly's. You will not be sorry.

ahgod69 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 20, 2005, 07:54:50 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by rpm
Dunlop is about equal to Logitech in quality. Step up to the plate and buy a set of Kelly's. You will not be sorry.

I had a Logitech mouse that lasted forever though lol.

ROC · « **Reply #3 on:** October 20, 2005, 08:22:31 PM »

It's not actually the brand, but the type of tire you are buying. Sport versions are just that, for Sport Use. They are designed to Melt and Grip very well. That also means they don't last long at all. Interesting you mentioned the rear tires wearing quickly. A matched set should wear reasonably the same, with the front tires going out quicker due to turns. I'm betting you like to drop the clutch eh? lol

I've always done well with Goodyear Eagle GTs. Very good tire, great in rain and light snow around the Tahoe area, but not really a great tire for Heavy Snow.

Dunlop is actually a very good, but pricey tire. I run Lops on my bikes. 2 wheels is much more likely to do some damage if one goes out, and I've always trusted my hide to Dunlops without regret.

If it means anything, I've only been driving for 27 years

*EDIT* Side Note.

I just put tires on my wifes Camry. Only pulled 48k miles off of the front ones, Bridgestone Portenza. Been a wonderful tire. Came with the car.

ahgod69 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 20, 2005, 08:33:12 PM »

ROcrats,

Yes they are matched, but my car has this lil button I cannot stand called ACS. So I turn it off everytime I get in the car

I used Dunlops on my ZX-6R as well, and always trusted them and never had a problem, but these for some odd reason have worn quicker then any others. Forgot to mention I upgraded my ECU chip, added a cold air intake, and a few other niceties this summer (exhaust on order, been 3 freakin weeks now).

I ran Goodyear RSA's Z rated, and they were not too pricey, 150 a piece, but any water on the road and it was a death trap. I live in Michigan, and we get our fair share of rain and snow (cept this summer almost no rain!). I will check into Goodyears again, and compare but would like to see what else is out there. Might even go a size higher on my wheels in the rear, and mount the 245/40's on the front.

My lil angel

And yes those are oil stains from my previous car on the ground lol.

ROC · « **Reply #5 on:** October 20, 2005, 09:13:46 PM »

Another good idea is to not drive up in that car when you price your tires

automatically triple the price lmao

Sweet ride!

ahgod69 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 20, 2005, 09:27:01 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by ROCrats
Another good idea is to not drive up in that car when you price your tires automatically triple the price lmao

Sweet ride!

Thanks, 16 years in the waiting and I finally got what I wanted. Got my first ticket in it on Monday coming from court lol. I usually go to import dealers only, as they aren't going to screw you as much as a domestic dealer.

Flit · « **Reply #7 on:** October 20, 2005, 09:36:19 PM »

Might be cheaper in the long run and get another set of wheels and set of dedicated winter tires

crowMAW · « **Reply #8 on:** October 20, 2005, 10:48:12 PM »

It is going to be hard to find a good performance tire that will have decent snow capability. You might find a good all-season that will be decent in the rain...but personally, I simply change my driving style in the rain so that I have tires with high performance in the dry.

Suggested tires (from Tire Rack):

All-Season ($ per tire):
Kumho ECSTA ASX (Fr=$92; Rr=$102)
Sumitomo HTR+ (Fr=$78; Rr=$83)

Kuhmo has an excellent reputation. I have used their tires on both street and their R-compound race...no complaints. Don't know anything about Sumitomo. If you really must have all-season, then either of these will be about as good as any other performance all-season.

Summer tires (TW=treadwear rating):
Kumho ECSTA MX (Fr=$121; Rr=$140) TW=220
Avon Tech M500 (Fr=$105; Rr=$115) TW=280
BFGoodrich g-Force Sport (Fr=$94; Rr=$105) TW= 340
BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 (Fr=$109; Rr=$152) TW=300
Kumho ECSTA SPT (Fr=$90; Rr=$105) TW=320
Yokohama AVS ES100 (Fr=$113; Rr=$113) TW=280

The Kumho ECSTA MX is a max performance dry tire...the others are not quite as sticky but still pretty good.

I currently run the Yok ES100s...decent tire. But I may try the Kumho ECSTA SPT next. High treadwear...Tire Rack gives them decent marks for wet and dry...low price.

You may not have heard of Avon, they are new to the US for street (vintage racers have used Avon tires here for years). However, they are a very well known and old tire manufacturer in Europe. The M500 has received excellent reviews.

Tire Rack has Test Reviews as well as Customer Reviews for each tire on its website. Check it out.

Based on what you have said in your post, I would probably recommend the Kumho ECSTA SPT. Reviews indicate excellent rain handling, although you will probably be dissapointed in the snow.

BTW...what year is the car...it looks like a '99 2.8 Z3 coupe.

ahgod69 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 21, 2005, 12:11:17 AM »

Thanks Crow, will def look into these. I was thinking of getting some new wheels, 18 for the back so that may be an option for different sets of tires for the season. The car is a 2000 Z3 Coupe, 2.8 (auto). It was very hard to find, only 1 for sale up here in MI and 14 for sale when I looked online in the US. Wanted a manual, but beggars can't be choosers so I took the auto. Tire rack is where I check out tires too, funny I was at that site before I posted this lol. The car moves though, and the best thing about it is no back seat drivers

mora · « **Reply #10 on:** October 21, 2005, 03:38:19 AM »

http://www.tires-easy.com/start.html

I dunno how competitive their prices are, but the same company is one of the cheapest places to buy tires here.

eagl · « **Reply #11 on:** October 21, 2005, 03:57:26 AM »

Consumer Reports just did an all season and winter tire comparo.

For all-season except for icy conditions, the top rated tire was the goodyear assurance tripletred. It appeared to be good except for icy braking and their sample was only $80.

Their recommended all season tire is the michelin X Radial. It hwasn't quite as good as the goodyear for snow and wet/dry traction but it was better on ice so they saw it as a better overall tire if you may see icy conditions. Their sample cost $111.

beet1e · « **Reply #12 on:** October 21, 2005, 04:52:18 AM »

Tend to agree with ROCrats about sport tyres (hope you don't mind if I use the proper spelling

) being for sport use. Are you sure your tyres are the correct hardness for the type of driving you do? F1 racing cars might use very soft tyres because they must mould to the road surface for increased grip, especially in wet conditions. The downside is that they wear out quickly. But too hard a tyre, which might be ideal in dry, arid conditions will be useless in the wet. It rains quite often where I live, so I know about this.

Quote

Originally posted by ahgod69
Yes they are matched, but my car has this lil button I cannot stand called ACS. So I turn it off everytime I get in the car

I'd be very interested to know what that button does, and whether it has anything to do with 4WD or diff lock. My curiosity was piqued because some of the 4WD Land Rover/Range Rover vehicles had various ways of altering the drive. The Land Rover could be driven in 2WD only, and this was recommended where possible in the interests of minimising tyre wear! The Range Rover had a diff lock, which was useful if you had to drive across mud, but would be quite inappropriate on a dry road. Some of the up-market bimmers have some sort of diff lock device. Is ACS anything to do with that?

And, as ROCr hints, the clutch dumping style of driving will result in a drastic reduction in tyre life.

If it means anything, I've only been driving for 33 years

ahgod69 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 21, 2005, 05:21:46 AM »

beetle,

(ASC "Automatic Stability Control "sorry misspelled it now that I look at it lol) is a suspension control system that reduces engine output, until the vehicle can move or acceleration can take place, without the wheels spinning.

Turn it off and you know have instant tire degradation

If I had a clutch I would have gone through tires a lot quicker lol. And I have been driving for 16+, just got tired of paying for tires.

My style of driving is hard and fast. If I see a set of turns on a road I instantly go for them without hesitation. Long stretch of road and I no there aren't any cops on I open it up all the way

Governor was set at 138, after ECU upgrade that was gone, and was able to hit 145 with 400 left on rpms before I hit my old redline of 6500.

nuchpatrick · « **Reply #14 on:** October 21, 2005, 07:47:18 AM »

CrowMAW posted some good stuff..

I'm also going to put one in from Tire Rack too.. Kumho's are a big plus!!

A little unknown tyre is Avon Tyres from the UK, there big here in the states for motorcycles..and I have been racing on Avons (Competition Tech-R) for a year now and I think there a good tire.

I would suggest the M550 its an all season tyre if they fit.. I'm not sure about the 245/4017's.