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best tires

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 6:51 pm
by OB
I got my heart set on the 17x7 ASA AR1's in black w/chrome lip, and i now need a super good tire to wrap em with. I need the best all weather (superior wet grip is a must, but no snow or ice) tire around. I want max performance and at least a good 20k+ lasting tire (with average street driving and the occasional chirp).

tire rack suggests a 205 40 17, but i was told a 215 is ideal. tire racks site basically wont let me change the tire size when goin for a wheel/tire package. anyone know why its like this and how to get a 215? is the kumho ecsta a good tire? its only 50 bucks each and its a best seller and a "super high performance tire", so it looks like its exactly what i want. help help help!!!

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:28 pm
by scneonchic
Theyll probably let you get a 215, but call them....its usually alot easier to just call and talk to these companies, they can give you alot more info than their website can, plus answer all your questions

I have fuzion ZRi (summer tire) 205/40/17 on mine...never even considered 215's

Ive heard the kumho's were good...I just got a really great deal on the fuzion's when I replaced the tires in november, and so far i really like them. I had the fuzion HRi's (all season/wet tire) put on my mom's malibu a couple weeks ago, and for being on a stock malibu's suspension, they gripped the road very well...I almost kept up w/ Jason's car on all those turns ;) very suprising

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:33 pm
by OB
ive heard good things about fuzions. tire rack also praises them. what about toyos line? proxes? anyone else have info please? ill call tire rack when i get a better idea of what i wanna do. thanks jacq

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 9:02 pm
by 01rtgurl
I've had 2 sets of the Kumho Ecstas. One set on my stock R/T rims (195/50/16) and another on the 17 x 7.5" 5Zigens. (205/40/17) They lasted about 6k, but I drive and corner like a maniac! Good tire for the money, definitely, pretty sticky.

I also had Nitto NT555's (225/40/17) on the Konigs (17 x 7) I bought from a guy and I LOVED them. They chirped really cool and hooked up fairly well... they weren't the greatest in the rain, but hey you win some, lose some. Butttt... one FULL balls-out day at the roadcourse and they were toast!!! (never heard so much squealing in my entire life.... squealing tires are happy tires!!!!!!)

So then I moved into the Nitto Neo Gens (215/40/17) I think I actually heat-cycled them, which saddens me. They were REALLY REALLY sticky the first week, then I did a few burnouts and well, they're not as sticky anymore. Poop. But they still handle pretty well!

I am now looking into the new Nitto NT01's or even the new Toyo's for my 17 x 7 Centerlines.

Offtopic but has ANYONE heard about these?? http://www.nittotire.com/news_detail.asp?id=92 They look extremely funky.

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 9:41 pm
by OB
i think i HAVE heard of those. wet traction is a must. at least better wet traction than stockers i mean. these suck!!! come on anyone else please?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 9:44 pm
by scneonchic
I had hankook ventus HRII 205/40/17's before i got the fuzions (forgot to add this up there) and they were very good tires for the price, but the fuzions are much better

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 9:46 pm
by Anonymous User
orangeblastsxt wrote:ive heard good things about fuzions. tire rack also praises them. what about toyos line? proxes? anyone else have info please? ill call tire rack when i get a better idea of what i wanna do. thanks jacq
i have prox FZ-4 in 205/40ZR-17, the grip grip really well in wet and dry. but mind you there a $100 dollar each a tire. only problems i had with mine is that a bubble was on my front left tire [ got tire replaced ], and that my sidewall got a deep gash in it, but i didnt leak [ was caused, when i enter my driveway i have to go in at such an angle that for about 5sec all the wieght is put on the front right tire]

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 10:47 pm
by dblsg
scneonchic501 wrote:I had hankook ventus HRII 205/40/17's before i got the fuzions (forgot to add this up there) and they were very good tires for the price, but the fuzions are much better
this are the ones a have.... at first i thought they were the bomb, but now that winter is here..... THEY SUCK!!!!! they don't grip for shit in cold or wet weather.

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:22 pm
by OB
so the BEST all weather super hi performance tire is....? what about falken azenis? those are suppose to be sick. and higher end kumhos? anyone have a really good all around tire? keep in mind i dont see snow or ice..

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:40 pm
by nodestiny
orangeblastsxt wrote:so the BEST all weather super hi performance tire is....? what about falken azenis? those are suppose to be sick. and higher end kumhos? anyone have a really good all around tire? keep in mind i dont see snow or ice..
depends on how much water you are talking too. Wet roads rarely touch most good dry performance tire. A great way to learn about a tire is tirerack.com. They have great reviews and tests done on tires. I origionaly opted for the Goodyear Eagle (cant remember name... GS-3? something like that) because they are rated VERY well through both the users and tirerack's tests. They seem to grip in all weather condition (wet/dry). But after looking at my budget, the Kumho's are looking quite a bit nicer :D But after hearing how quick their tread wears... might just be a weekend warrior tire.

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 6:45 pm
by dinetuner
eagle ls....bwahaha joking i got hancook ventus and there fine for me.. not bad in the wetness and so forth but not super awesome on the twisties.. just like everyone said here you take some lose some my tires handle almost as good in the rain but arent good against other tires... in the dry

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 6:57 pm
by Diablo0
I got Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires... love 'em... grip very well in wet and dry conditions but it's ONLY a summer tire so they'll really suck in cold, snowy, icy conditions.

Tires go for almost $150 each though but I like them... thread wear is also great.

Image

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:35 pm
by OB
they grip good in the rain but its a strictly summer tire not for use in cold conditions? makes no sense. it rains here in CA exclusivly in the winter and spring, which is also when its cold. we see temps as low as 20 F and during summer as high as 110 F, so i need a tire with the following properties:

GREAT tread wear/longlasting (important)
GREAT wet and dry traction
ability to withstand the above temps w/o problem
Mildly affordable (100 each max)

The eagles we get stock put a bad taste in my mouth for goodyear, ill prob go with a diff brand.

what is a common lifetime for a performance tire (in miles)? I head the stock tires should last 20-25k, is that average for stock tires on an average car? what are the stats on tire life, both stock and aftermarket?

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:44 pm
by Mopar00Neon
I have Kumho Ecsta 712s. (I know, I know, finding them now is pretty impossible)... best tire Ive had on the neon outside the azines, but those are definatly not for use in the rain once they get worn down a bit. I had plenty of experience with them worn down on a 2400lbs neon on freeways.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:54 pm
by nodestiny
Diablo0 wrote:I got Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires... love 'em... grip very well in wet and dry conditions but it's ONLY a summer tire so they'll really suck in cold, snowy, icy conditions.

Tires go for almost $150 each though but I like them... thread wear is also great.

Image
Yeah, THOSE ones! I hear nothing but great things about them. Orange, basicly they will do fine in the rain, but once you hit freezing temps, i dont think there are many tires anyways that can handle that without being specificly a snow rated tire.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:23 pm
by OB
even when the tires warm up via driving? so the ones i have now prob arent doin any better than a all weath perf. tire would in the cold/rain? i just want a noticable upgrade and superior handling. want it to feel sticky but keep it real in the rain too, cuz thats how i crahsed my old car, slid down a hill in rain. i want tires that could prevent me from destroying my new baby.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:33 pm
by Knoxville_R/T
I would go with the Falken Ziex ZE-512 I have them on my stock 16" wheels(205/50/16) and love them. I am suprized that no1 else has mentioned them. they are only $81 a piece(215/40/17) from www.discounttiredirect.com . (free shipping too.) Call Rich at 1-800-477-8017 ext 359 he can give you an even better price. Just tell him you are with the neon forums.
-Brian

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:37 pm
by Kevin_GP
I have toyo proxies 4 and I love them. They grip really good in wet and dry (saved me a few times in the wet) and are really quite. I got them for around 90 i think. When the ones I have go out im going to buy them agian.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:42 pm
by rice_eater
i have nexen3000 tires on right now and they held up very well in auto-x and are quite good in the wet though i've had them lock up on me a couple times in teh wet. i really liked the falken ziex i had before coz they gripped hard all the way till the thread pattern was gone and tehy are suprisingly rated as all season tires, so should you get caught in that freak snow storm you'd be fine

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:50 pm
by scneonchic
the hankook ventus HRII's that I had lasted me 2.5 years, and around 20k miles. only reason I even replaced them is because the sidewalls were rubbing on the fenders and the front tire that i drove up in my drive way w/ first, had cracking on the sidewall, but i didnt discover that till they went to take them off

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:38 pm
by OB
i asked this in the other post about tires, but does anyone know why some companies rate tire widths differently? ie 225 for one company is a 215 for another? im thinkin it has a lot to do with the country theyre from/manufactured/designed in. anyone know much about this. like i said in the other thread, my car-smart friend told me this is sometimes an issue when ordering tires.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:13 pm
by rice_eater
orangeblastsxt wrote:i asked this in the other post about tires, but does anyone know why some companies rate tire widths differently? ie 225 for one company is a 215 for another? im thinkin it has a lot to do with the country theyre from/manufactured/designed in. anyone know much about this. like i said in the other thread, my car-smart friend told me this is sometimes an issue when ordering tires.
no no nononononononnoonnononononoonono! some tires are simply not available in some sizes because the demand isnt there... until recently you couldnt get 215/40/17 azenis for example. tire numbers represent the width of hte tire in millimeters, and the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the width of the tire

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:39 pm
by Loud-e-nuf
I have Yokahama Parada Spec 2's 215-40-17 and they grip GREAT!!! I picked them up from Tirerack for like $95 each
________
Madura
________
Mercedes-benz ponton specifications

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:23 pm
by neonsxt0486
I have the Falken Ziex ZE 512's and they grip awesome. Theyre also very quiet. Another one to consider is the Sumitomo HTRz 2. They grip better than my current tires on dry pavement but my falkens are much better in rain.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:11 pm
by OB
thanks very much keep it comin. remember im lookin for all weather only (well not snow tires) but rain and hot. very important that i get wet traction! ok gimme more!!!

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:19 pm
by scneonchic
I feel like we've covered everything :lol:

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:21 pm
by Diablo0
Yep... if you want reviews on tires get on TireRack or other online tire stores and customer reviews on each tire. Tirerack even does comparisions and their own reviews on tires so read their articles... they sometimes give good info like braking distance, skidpad, ect...

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 3:54 pm
by Knoxville_R/T
Well I will say that from my experience the falken ze-512 are the best for all out all-season performance at a very nice price. They have a tread wear of 360, traction of A, speed of ZR, and temp of A. To me you just can't beat that at a price of only $81 a piece with free shipping from discount tire direct. Plus they are voted #1 choice by consumer magazine. Like I said in the last post call Rich(at said number above) and he will give you an even better price then that. Just tell him you are with the neon forums.
-Brian

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:22 pm
by nodestiny
i found some VERY good deals on BF Goodrich G-force Sport at discounttire! They seem to have excelent reviews, too.

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 5:48 pm
by Praesepe559
just got the g-force sports. they are a good mix of performance and comfort. not as stiff a sidewall or as sticky as my KDW's or Parada 2's were, but they dont make nearly as much noise and ride a little nicer. I havent really laid into them, but have taken some corners around town pretty hard and they have yet to brake loose. $119 each for the 225/40/18 so they are pretty cheap.