Going in 4th set of tires

[turbomangt]

I'm not hard on my turbo, don't spin the tires, drive normally so I can't understand why I go through tires like this. I have 85,000 miles, went through 2 sets of stock goodyears and now I'm on a set of Yokohama520, these have 20,000 miles on them now, and I'll be lucky to get anther 5,000 out of them. can someone tell me what is wrong here?

[CREWZIN]

Gary,

Yea, I can tell you what's wrong. The Treadwear Rating on your Yokohama A520 tires is 180 They aren't made to last long. They give excellent grip but that's all. They weren't made for touring and I'll bet the other tires you had were the same way. Always look for the Treadwear Rating on tires for a street driven car before buying. Yo want something in the high 300's and 400s for decent lasting tires on the street.

Here's something to read....

Treadwear rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[bobs turbo pt]

wow !! 180 is a low number !!

[rte662006]

I have the falken ze 912's the tread wear is 360 i think.The ride quality and road noise is way better than the stock good years.My car is lowered and it seems like it rides smoother than it did stock.The side wall is a bit softer so you will lose some of the handleing.You can get a set of (4) 17's for $380 with free shipping on ebay from discount tire direct.

[turbomangt]

Thanks Crewzin, I'm kind of pissed at the place I bought these tires they never mentioned anything about the rating of tires, and these guys SELL tires. I appreciate the info. I printed it out, good info. any other tires you know of with a high rating for our turbo?

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by turbomangt

any other tires you know of with a high rating for our turbo?

Gary,

The Turbo models don't take special tires except the size is a little different from the non-turbo models. Both can take the same type of tires, just the size is different. I think you have the 205x50x17 which are original but you might have upgraded a bit with all the different tires you've had so 235x45x17 is also a good size of a wider tire. Go to Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels and fill in the info for your car and then hit "show all tires this size" and it will give you loads of different tires to look at. Make sure you look for the Treadwear Rating for each tire. Pick a couple of tires that fit your need and go to your local dealer to see how much they want for them. Tire Rack will probably be cheaper but you have to add shipping (about $10 per tire) and have someone mount and balance them so you could be better off at a local dealer. Plus usually a local dealer will balance them, fix flats and rotate them for the life of the tire.

[lakersfan1]

Like RTE above, I also have Falken Ziex 912. I'm loving them. They look great and are about as good of a non-directional tire you can get.

As for tire wear numbers, 190 is ridiculously low and would wear out fast. However, the higher wear number tires are also hard as hell, spin out alot at stops because they're so hard, and handle like crap in the curves. I've found tires in the 350-450 wear realm are an optimal mix of roadholding and wear. You should reasonably get 40,000 good miles out of tires with that wear rating as long as your car is within alignment specs.

[03electricbluegt]

turbomangt, if you have the factory GT rims, the widest you can go is a 225\45\17 which will give you the same outer diameter with bit wider tread. The stock rims are only 6" wide and can't really accommodate a wider tire. Even some brands of 225\45 are too wide. I currently have General exclaim UHP tires on my GT and they fit great but are at the width limit.

It's harder to find a high mileage tire in such a low profile as the GTs have. Most folks want the handling and traction, which usually translates into a softer rubber compound which doesn't last as long.

Brian

[lt4supr]

Hey guys i'm no expert but close.I do buy a hundred or so tires a year.My 04 gt with 17 inch wheels- mic'ed out at 6.684 inches in width, so i have no problems running a 225 width.With no roll over of the side wall.But 225 is the widest i would go.After that your running on the center of the tread by sucking in the side wall beads to meet the wheel width,meaning your not using the whole tread width and then it will wear the center of the tire out prematurely and you have gained nothing.The softer the compound,the better grip, but the shorter the life of the tire.

[soonercruiser]

Kumho Ecsta SPTs here; 225/45/17. Rating 320.
Great handling dry & wet! Great looking too.
Over 20,000, and lots of wear left. (unidirectional)
BUT, horrible on ice & snow (back to the OEM in winter)
And, fairly noisy - low profile.