Drop-a-Daimler

Drop-a-Daimler

I am now thinking about Kumho Ecsta V700 (competition) tires all the way around. Fronts 225/40ZR18 BW, 88W, UTQG: 50 AA A for $235.00 (each) and rears 245/35WR18 BW, 88W, UTQG: 50 AA A, for $173.00 (each, that's a TireRack closeout price). Heat cycling is $15 each and shaving is $15 each but for the road I don't think I'd have either done.

MRAMG1

Hey there Drop-a-Daimler:

I don't think you want to go with Auto x compunds for the street. I have a great deal of experience with these tires, BFG, Goodyear, Hoosier to name a few and two facts remain with ALL of them:

1. Don't expect more than 1200 miles of life
2. On my blown stang, my 60' times actually went up "considerably" They are great for corners, once they get hot, but your first few miles on the street where like driving on ice. they would spin wildly with just a little blip. FUN yes, but not the best way to go.

By yourself some Brigestone PP's and you will be getting one of THE best tires avaible that will last past 1200 miles. I have them on my C32, and they are terrific.

Great on the track, road race, and give me some 4.8 0-60 times as well.

Good luck and see yeah

Cee

Just purchased a set of Toyo Proxes T1R's about a month ago and they're real sticky. Unfortunately, 2 of the tires did not test well on the Road Force so I had to have them replaced. Road noise is low and everyday use is optimal.

Drop-a-Daimler

Great post, thanks MRAMG1! Do you mean the Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires or the Potenza S-03 Pole Position ones? By the chart on Tirerack the RE050A look like the better choice but I could not find a 245/35/18. I've never been a huge fan of Bridgestones but those do look like killer tires! And they are about $80 less per tire than the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. I have been a big Michelin fan for a long time. If I can't get the RE050A PP in my size, and you'all say the auto-x tires are hockey pucks on the street, then maybe the compromise is to fit some 255/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires on the back? Tirerack says they'll fit an 8.5" rim, they are almost 1/2" wider and are only 1/4" bigger in diameter making the speedo off by less than 1 mph (the good way too). A set delivered from Tirerack for these bad boys (225/40 fronts and 255/35 rears) is $1,000. Not bad! Me likie.

That's at least 2 votes for these tires. And they come in a 255/35ZR18 size. And they are about $70/tire less.

MRAMG1

[QUOTE=Drop-a-Daimler;2438970]Great post, thanks MRAMG1! Do you mean the Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires or the Potenza S-03 Pole Position ones? By the chart on Tirerack the RE050A look like the better choice but I could not find a 245/35/18. I've never been a huge fan of Bridgestones but those do look like killer tires! And they are about $80 less per tire than the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. I have been a big Michelin fan for a long time. If I can't get the RE050A PP in my size, and you'all say the auto-x tires are hockey pucks on the street, then maybe the compromise is to fit some 255/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires on the back? Tirerack says they'll fit an 8.5" rim and are only 1/4" larger making the speedo off by only .7 mph.

Hey there Drop-a-Daimler:

Yeah, I meant to say the RE050A PP"S. And yeah, I was surprised at how cheap they are, realativily speaking my friend.

I ran the michelins on my M roadster and they were garbage!
My 2000 convertable stang outhandled my M on Yok E100's, thats how bad they were. Some people have claimed good results on the pilot Sports, but I can only report on my car that they wore out FAST, less than 10,000 miles on a 3000 pound car, gripped for sh-t, and got hard, ie plastized, over the winter. When they were fresh, they weren't bad, but come on, a tire should last over a year I only drove the car during nice weather, being a convertable that is.
If the PP's aren't in your size, look at the Goodyear GS-D3's. They rock!!, just not as sticky as the PP's, IMO.

See yeah

Drop-a-Daimler

Thanks. #3 on the list above sorted by dry traction ratings.

Cee

BTW - I'm running 255/35ZR18's in the back on 18x9 rims. I picked them up for around 260 a piece for the rears, ouch.

Cee

Here's a link to a user review listing of several tires. Both the GS D3's and Proxes T1R are up there and recieve pretty much an equal rating over 4.4 / 4.3. Might have some more info for you to go on your tire purchase.

http://www.1010tires.com/tirereviews.asp?brand=Toyo

Drop-a-Daimler

Thanks Cee, that's an interesting read!

rbaker

One more data point on the Michelin PS2's... a track buddy of mine put them on his E39 M5 and hated them. Said they had slow steering response & were very squirmy overall. Also, I just came back from a biz trip overseas & picked up a couple British car mags... one of them had an extensive test of tires (or Tyres as they say it...) and the Michelin PS2's came in mid-pack for dry traction. Their favorite was a Goodyear F1 Asymetrico model that I don't usually see here. I could check the mag for the full name if you guys want.

Drop-a-Daimler

Well, if I was going to pass on the Pilot Sport PS2's then the Proxes T1R's would be my second choice with their AA traction rating. These are all described by TireRack as max performance. What about some of the new (TireRack classified) "extreme performance tires" like the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01Rand the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07? These seem like they are even closer to an autox tire but made for the street.

MRAMG1

Hey Drop-a-Daimler:

You do know that the traction rating on tires is based on stopping ability on WET road. IT HAS NOTHING TO DUE WITH STRIAGHT LINE ACCELERATION!

This is a VERY deceptive point on ALL tires. DRAG radials have a C traction as well as most AutoX tires, which are FAR supierior to street tires. Do a little reading at tirerack.com

See yeah

rbaker

I'd either go by the experience of people who have tried the tires you're looking at, or just call Tire Rack (& others) directly. All will give you biased info towards the brands they sell, but if you tell them you're looking for the stickiest street tires in the dry, they can at least refer you to the ones they like. And like MRAMG said, don't just go by the "Traction Rating" on the sidewall... very un-helpful info for the most part.

BTW, in my post above about the British mag test I just saw, their "dry traction" results were measured time & G's around a dry handling course, not based on the tire ratings.

rbaker

I haven't run either the RE-01R, or the AD07, but have heard they are pretty good, but as always YMMV.

Another track buddy of mine with a C5 gen Z06 tried the Toyo T1-R and said they were no better than the stock Goodyear tires (which are decent). So they may be OK.

If money is a factor, some cheap ones that are decent are the Hankook Ventus RS2-Z212's. I run them on my Mini S (street & track), so not a real test of how they do on a heavy & high HP car. They do get greasy on the track, so that would be worse on the heavy AMG once they heat up. I do wish Toyo made the RA-1 in sizes for our AMG's, as those were a track tire that worked well on the street. I run them on the M3 street/track & they have good grip at almost any temp, won't kill you when cold and only take about a mile to warm them up enough for decent street traction.

Drop-a-Daimler

Thanks guys, for all your input. That has been a real help. Last night I rotated my back tires since the passenger side (right) rear was showing a good bit more wear than the driver side. Don't know how that happened?!? And I put my Odyssey racing battery back in to aide in transferring more weight to the rear during hard launches. Plus the 45 pounds lost over the front tires can't hurt the front-rear weight distribution and handling either.

I am leaning heavily towards the Potenza RE050A Pole Position right now. Besides the glowing remarks here, I like their aggressive "look". They are pretty expensive comparatively but I am always willing to shell out for decent tires. Sadly I am not sure they come in either 245/35 or 255/35 sizes. Gonna check around. It's a dayum nice looking tire ...

rory breaker

Works for me!

Drop-a-Daimler

Offah! That's chunky. My buddy has a modded Z06 and he just switched to these and he loves 'em. I'm still liking that Pole Position look though.

PS: I got to cruise it tonight with the rotated rears and the lighter nose and it feels a little better. I haven't had a chance for any gonzo G-TECH runs (it's not dark here yet, I have to do it on a deserted flat/straight back road with my lights off) but I may get a chance this weekend.

Quicktwinturbo

That's what I have on mine right now..

Get RE01-R if you want the MAX performance. They are probably the best in the market at the moment for street tires..

rory breaker

Well, dont buy tires for the looks man! :P If it counts for anything, everyone mentions those tires look badass when they check the car out.

Drop-a-Daimler

They do look beefy but I am shallow.Yeah those are the new "extreme" tires I was talking about. And get this, 2 Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R 235/40ZR18 fronts (one size up is all they have) and 2 255/35ZR18 rears (aslo a size up) are only $948.00!

Drop-a-Daimler

Would a 235/40 up front rub on full lock? It's 8.85" vs. 9.25" wider (.4") and 25.08" diameter vs. 25.40". About 1%.

As a side note, these tires in these sizes are $940 delivered from TireRack and $1,400 delivered from 1010Tires. Can you guess where I'll be ordering from?

dorikin_86

I have the 255/35/18 nitto invo on my car. I have about 12,000 miles on them and they're about 1/2 worn. If you stomp on it from dead still then you'll spin tires but other than that...they've been quite good in the dry or wet. For the money..they're hard to beat..and I've been around the block with tires =)

You can of course to a Bridgestone RE01R or neova but those don't offer too much comfort.

Drop-a-Daimler

Actually those RE-01R's come in the stock 225/40 so I'd go with that for the lower rolling resistance.