LawRens

Hey guys! I just got my car back this morning, and it's time to go tire hunting for the rears. I was hoping some of the veterans here would have a few suggestions for some excellent tires that they could throw at me, because i haven't really had too much experience in this field.

Currently i'm running 275/35/18 Hankook Ventus V12 K110's on Lorinser RS-6 (rear 9.5"), and they have been causing some rubbing under heavy load or with alot of stuff in the back. They have gripped nicely though, they give alot of warning before the car starts to slide out. Road noise is good also, but haven't lasted as long as i hoped they would.

It's a definite that i'm moving down sizes to 255/35/18, but I have no idea what brands will be most efficient for my driving habits. I'm mostly a normal driver with a little bit of a lead foot sometimes, and I'm looking for affordable tires with good lifespan and decent grip (i go GMR every so often ).

So I was looking into BFGoodrich g-Force Sports, Pirelli PZero Nero A/S, General Exclaim UHP, Nitto NT555, Falken ZE512 A/S, or Yokohama S-Drives... I know, a big list, but i have no idea which is better than the others, and i don't trust tirerack customer reviews because they have differen cars and far different driving habits, so their definition of grip or road noise may be completely different than mine. And the tires stated above are sub $200 a piece and mostly have 340+ UTQG...

TLDR: Anyone have any suggestions for 255/35/18 tires? Sub $200, 340+ UTQG and decent grip? Thanks!

503C43 ////AMG

First don't even think about going with the Falken's, just had a set of the 452's and they suck BAD. I still have them with about 80% tread and I'm gonna throw them on craigs list to get RID of them. They tramline like you wouldn't believe and they have ZERO traction in the rain. I just switched out to some Toyo proxes 4's and they are GREAT. I have way better traction in the rain, no tramlining, and they are pretty quiet. I am running 265/19/30 in the rear and I have no rubbing issues, granted I am not lowered yet but I only plan on lowering an 1" and I don't think that I will rub. I have the mandrus millenium's with the staggered fit (8" in the front and 9.5" in the rear). Obviously the Michelin PS2's are the way to go but they are $$$$$$, I was going to go with the goodyear GS-1's but they are expensive and the size that I want is hard to come by (they are a stock porsche fitment making them high in demand). I paid $1100 for my toyos balanced and installed, it also included some new hardware to fit my new rims. The tires you are talking about I don't have any experience with but I can say I am happy with my toyos. Hope this helps some........GOOD LUCK

DRBC43AMG

I just changed mine for Michelin Pilot Sports SP2. I love them as the ride is smoother, little road noise and wear less than other makes. Had several times PZero Rossos which are also good tyres but wear out much quicker and tramline like hell when wearing out. When I purchased the C43, it had Goodyear F1's which felt like wooden shoes and gripped like soap.

503C43 ////AMG

LOL.... That is hilarious, never heard that one before. That settles it for me, my buddy says they are like clogs I shall pass. Guess the F1's are off the table and that means the next tires I get are the PS2's like I mentioned earlier. THANKS DRBC43

ECTurboGSX

Just as an FYI, the tread wear ratings are useless when comparing tires from different brands. Every manufacture picks a tire in their line up as their baseline and their tires are rated off of that. So it is only really useful when shopping in the same brand.

I currently am running the Generals and they are ok. They were dirt cheap in the stock sizes. I wish I could comment better on wear, but no one can seem to properly align my front end, so I chew through tires.

503C43 ////AMG

Was unaware of that.... Thanks for the tip

LawRens

Wasn't aware of that either... Thanks for the heads up, i was almost going to get Conti ExtremeDWS because of the 580 rating, but my friend said that the number was a load of BS...

Right now i'm thinking of general exclaims or the conti dws... bleh idk still

503C43 ////AMG

Yeah I was almost fooled by that number as well, can't remember what tire it was but it was SUPPOSEDLY a UHP (Ultra High Performance) tire with a 480+ rating. It sounded quite fishy to me and I passed, GLAD I DID.

DRBC43AMG

Hi all!
With the performance potential of a C43, I recommend only the best tyres. Don't mess around with lesser brands, as the car deserves good "sockings" and not rubbish stuff with holes in them

jumph4x

Where are you getting this info from?

While its true that tires with same wear rating won't wear equally in all likelihood, it is also to the best of my knowledge, that the baseline tire is a [federally?] mandated sample. Both TireRack and Wiki claim this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadwear_rating

But in the end your statement is probably true, the Limitations anchor link in there says something similar.

OP: Unfortunately your grip rating requirement is too low to recommend good tires, but if you consider buying something sticky, then two of my personal recommendation are the Dunlop Direzza Star Spec Z (previous category champion) and the new player on the block looking to decrown (value wise at the very least), Kumho Ecsta XS. These are both summer tires.

tasho3

i had the F1's in my car and i had to get new tires after 8 months, they were terrible, my car sounded like a helicopter and they really feel wooden, i have Yokohama S-drive now and i m really happy with them, they grip well, quiet and have lasted me 18 months, i m due for new ones when winter starts and i m plannin on buying the same ones, i believe they are summmer tires but i went thru last winter with them without a problem and we do get alot of snow in chicago lol

503C43 ////AMG

HILARIOUS ANALOGY... + the second time we have heard them described as wooden. This is interesting to me as I searched for the right tires for a month and the GS-1's were recommended to me by several different retailers including people that didn't even sell them. That lead me to believe that they MUST of been good if retailers who aren't selling them are recommending them over stuff they sell. I am definitely not looking to shoe my C43 with clogs.

DRBC43AMG

Changed my Monos (with dead wood tyres) for my previous wheels (also staggered) and new tyres Michelin PS2s. Like them or not?

ECTurboGSX

Read further in:

"The Treadwear Grade describes how a tire manufacturer views the wear of a given tire. In theory, this means that a tire with a 200 grade will wear twice as long as a tire with a 100 grade. However, tire manufacturers are not under any obligation to grade a tire based on the test results, except to say that they can not overstate the grade. This is enforced by NHTSA requiring documentation to justify any assignment of a grade on a tire."

"The assigning of UTQG grades is done solely by the tire manufacturer. In many cases, this has resulted in the UTQG grading system to be more of a marketing tool than was originally intended."

503C43 ////AMG

Thanks for letting us all in on the tire manufacturers dirty little secret!!! Next time I buy tires I'm gonna bust this out on them and see what they have to say then. Although I will say that I deal STRICTLY with a local company (NW only I think) called Les Schwab and they are as honest as it gets.

LawRens

Quick update:

Ended up getting 255/35/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE760 sports, the OEM tires BMW and MBZ use sometimes on their cars off the lot. I've got about a good thousand miles on them now. Although I haven't driven them long enough to make a detailed review, they do work well, with minimal road noise, and good grip (but somehow not excellent, my hankooks held up a little bit better at GMR); but that's obvious, seeing as how they're completely new tires.

I'll keep you guys updated!

siideways

Are these the old S03 replacements?

LawRens

I think they replace the pole positions... Don't know for sure.



But update: so my driver side falken ziex tire gave out today with a nice bang on the 91east. Sidewall burst, but there was still alot of tread left. Saddening. Now it's time to search for front tires! I guess it couldn't handle all those runs at GMR, now could it? At first i thought it was a bent wheel because there was a little bit of vibration when the tires rolled, but i didn't notice any air leak... I was actually about to take the wheels off to inspect them, but the tire decided to burst before i could get home.

fml.

FLYNAVY

I always used the OEM contisport 2's, never had any problems and enjoyed them. Tread looks pretty mean from the back as well. Not sure if you can still get them, but I know they have a new seasonal line out now

KJWHIT

i just put on cont. dws about 2 months ago on my rear and i love em but i live in jersey so i need something for snow rain and nice weather goin to order front tires real soon just wanted to wear down everything on front before summer ended but back to the point i love my continentals