Tire Replacement - Help...

[ptdreamer]

I know there are a lot of posts bagging on the RS-A tires that came standard on my '04 GT. I too have experienced some of the issues with slippage in wet weather, etc. Mine are at about 52K. I replaced 2 of them this summer with RS-A's again - had a blowout & no time to shop around. I did not like the $175/tire price tag either. [xx(]

Now I wanna look around before replaciing the other 2. What is a good replacement tire that isn't going to break my piggy bank wide open?? I live in TX, so snow is not an issue, but wet weather is. Need good wet/dry traction & less noise preferably. Wanna keep 'em under $150, that's for sure [:I]

[Mean Green]

I had Toyo Proxes 4 All Season tires. Handle great in dry or wet and I live in Oregon where it pretty much rains 8-9 months out of the year. Not a noisy tire either, even when going hard through the twisties. They were somewhere around $110-$125 a tire. It was a couple of years ago. I'm going for the same tires on my SRT-4 when those tires wear out.

[littleblueGT]

I went with the Kumho Ecsta in 205/50R-17 and have been very happy with them.They are ZR speed rated and considered all season.(treadwear:420, traction:A, temperature:A) They were $110.00 ea @ Discount tire. I live in california so not any snow unless you go to the mountains. They have better traction than the goodyears and less noise.

[SR-PT4]

Falken Ziex 512. Great handling in the dry, and they shed water like a duck. Probably the best bang for the buck all season tire on the market (although I hear they aren't all that great in the snow - for you snow belt readers checking out this thread). Edgeracing.com has great prices on them too - well under $80/tire. If you don't like buying tires online I believe Sears carries them, as does American Tire. Always a good idea to ask if they'll price match.

For comparison:

On my '99 Miata I used to have a set of Kumho Ecsta 711s and they were damn slippery, especially the one time I drove them in the wet. I now have the Ziex 512s on and they hook great, although I must admit it was fun to step the tail end out any time I wanted. Keep in mind this is in a 2300lb rear drive car, not necessarily a direct correlation to a 3300lb front driver, but still..........

On my '92 Camaro RS V6 running a pretty new set of Kelly Chargers there was a specific stop light on the incline of a freeway overpass that I could not pull away from in the wet without breaking the tires loose. Now, with the Ziex 512s, I can floor it and they bite - the car is also in a better state of tune now.

A few of my local PT Cruiser buddies have switched to the Ziex and are thrilled with the handling (especially in the wet), ride and noise level. It should be noted that we don't get a lot of wet here in SoCal, so we tend to get a lot of oil buildup on the streets and a light rain can be treacherous.

For the record, my PT is shod with BFG KDW2 tires. Love 'em.

[fritz_t_coyote]

Continental Extreme Contacts.

Once you get past the dumb name, they are darn good 'ultra high performance' 4-season tires which have real competence in snow.
(If you ever let your car see snow.)

Personally I wouldn't mix tires on a car, even on different axles. It can lead to some spincter-checking situations when the 2 types behave VERY differently on wet or snowy roads.

Bite the bullet and buy 4.
Go to tirerack.com for info and prices low enough to make buying 4 tires less painful.

[strangelove]

Yokohama AVS ES100, grippy, great feel, rienforced sidewall.

[black_gt_boosty_hh1321]

Either Kumho ECSTA ASX's, or the Continental Extreme Contacts. Have had each, and liked them both, they both blow the Good-for-a-Years away in wet and dry!

[SR-PT4]

quote:Originally posted by fritz_t_coyote


Personally I wouldn't mix tires on a car, even on different axles. It can lead to some spincter-checking situations when the 2 types behave VERY differently on wet or snowy roads.

Oooops, I missed that part. Yeah, don't mix for the above reason!!!

quote:Originally posted by fritz_t_coyote

Bite the bullet and buy 4.

Makes the Ziex 512 look even better.

[foghornleghorn]

Just placed some 215/50/17's Yokohama YK520 on my wife's 05 GT Conv... excellent tire. Superior to the stock badyears. They are also the only performance tire I know of that comes with a 60k warranty.

Since you are in TX, you should have no problem finding them at your local Discount Tire. I purchased them for 115.00 each (minus the addtional charges).

went with 215's cause they handle houston pot holes better

[ptdreamer]

Thanks tons for all the feedback. I'm still digesting and pricing.

Another thought, tho.. Some have suggested changing the tire size??

So to stay with the stock 17" rims on the '04 Dream, what are my sizing options?? I see foghorn mentioned 215/50/17. I seem to remember one site configured a diff tire size when I was pricing(can't remember which site tho). [:I] For some reason, it dropped 2 205's in the cart and 2 of another size (215's or 225's??) Any help from the masses is greatly appreciated..[xx(]

How does the sizing actually affect the tire?[:I]