High Performance Tire Advice Needed

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So I'm putting down 290hp, serious brake upgrades, very stiff suspension, pretty stiff chassis. I now have Bridgestone Potenza Re760's in a 245/40/18 size mounted on 18X8 rims.

I come to you, wise people of the forum, because I have about 3-4/32nds of an inch left and it's almost time for replacement. They were pretty darn grippy, but only lasted 8-9k miles so far. I might pull another 1000 or 2000 out of my butt, but I don't know how much more careful driving I can do. They howl ridiculously at 65+ and I'm scared to drive fast.

I can't afford to spend $1000 every year on tires, if not more often, but I can't use less grippy tires, or the car will just eat them up. What do you suggest?

BTW, I am more than willing to answer questions for you to come up with a serious idea of the right tires.
 
Originally Posted By: jtaylor
So I'm putting down 290hp, serious brake upgrades, very stiff suspension, pretty stiff chassis. I now have Bridgestone Potenza Re760's in a 245/40/18 size mounted on 18X8 rims.

I come to you, wise people of the forum, because I have about 3-4/32nds of an inch left and it's almost time for replacement. They were pretty darn grippy, but only lasted 8-9k miles so far. I might pull another 1000 or 2000 out of my butt, but I don't know how much more careful driving I can do. They howl ridiculously at 65+ and I'm scared to drive fast.

I can't afford to spend $1000 every year on tires, if not more often, but I can't use less grippy tires, or the car will just eat them up. What do you suggest?

BTW, I am more than willing to answer questions for you to come up with a serious idea of the right tires.


What is your mileage every year ? Michelin Pilot Sport 3, Dunlop Direzza Star Spec, Yokohama AD08, Toyo Proxes 1, Proxes R888, Bridgestone Potenza RE11, Potenza S001, Hankook RS3 are all decent
 
want a real surprise? Check out Toyo Proxes 4. It's an all season with GREAT bite.

Many, many who own SRT8's swear by them. Great traction in almost any situation, and I set fast lap at a road course event with them. They just don't go away like you would expect of an all season tire. I got 22k miles out of my last set with 375 rwhp and a few track days and drag strip runs.

I also like the Ventus V12, but that's a summer only tire. Expect short lifespan.

Another popular brand is Vredstein, those do well on the road course, too!
 
First, get an alignment. I think the noise your tires are making is because of irregular wear - and irregular wear is caused by mis-alignment.

My experience says that the published alignment tolerances are too wide. Not the target value, but the allowable deviation from that value. I think it ought to be half of what is published.

Put another way, the alignment should be within the inner half of the spec.

You should be aware that even vehicles that do not have a pull can be out of alignment. There are settings where one out of spec condition is offset by another out of spec condition – typically camber vs toe.

Also, many alignment techs think that if the factory did not make provisions to make adjustments for the alignment, then they can’t make an adjustment and will declare the vehicle “OK”. This is totally wrong.

ALL alignment settings are adjustable, but it may require an eccentric bolt, some shims, etc. A GOOD alignment tech will know what to do and the vehicle should leave a shop with ALL the alignment settings close to the nominal.

Second, try using a bit more inflation pressure. According to Tire guides, a 2008 Honda Accord with 18" tires has a pressure spec of 34 psi - so try 38 or 39.

And lastly - when you are sitting in the driver's seat, that wheel in front of you is the source of most tire wear problems. Treat it gently and use sparingly.

The pedals near your feet are also problems - and should be used as little as possible and gently when you have to. But if you use the wheel and the pedals at the same time, it more than multiplies the effect! Don't do that if you want good tire wear.

But seriously, what is the point of doing all those modifications, then worrying about the natural effects?! If you want your car to perform, then you have to sacrifice the tires. If you go for better tire wear, then be prepared to lose performance. Your choice.
 
i agree with the toyo's best all seasons i have ever had on a car.

you say 8-9k is this mainly track time, or time spent driving aggressively? Because if you drive anything to 100% you can eat up tires, if you want a super sticky tire for the track but hate eating up you tires every few months, get a spare set of rims, and tires. It can pay for its self in a couple years and is alot safer in adverse weather. Your biggest problem is most likely heat cycling, and uneven wear which would make having a spare set even more appealing.

you say the tires arent as sticky anymore, its most likely because they are now hard used up carcasses

there are many great tires out there but i have yet to find the magic one with unrelenting grip and infinite wear
 
Originally Posted By: jtaylor
I can't afford to spend $1000 every year on tires, if not more often, but I can't use less grippy tires, or the car will just eat them up. What do you suggest?

If you can't use less grippy tires, then you've got to stay in the UHP Summer category, where RE760 has some of the highest rankings. You could go with something like General Exclaim UHP, but that'll only save you about $50 on a set of 4 compared to the RE760 ($600 for 4), so I'm not sure that's even worth experimenting.

As far as the howling, are your current tires worn evenly? Does your alignment match that modified suspension that you put on there?

One other option for tires would be to go with UHP All-Season tire like Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus or Bridgestone RE960. They'll give you 90% of the grip of RE760, but should last longer. They're more expensive though...
 
Try Nexen N3000 with speed rate of Y and UTQG is 340 A A, so that it should lasted 20-30k miles assume the alignment is good. You can buy Nexen at onlinetires.com for $100 + tax with no shipping charge if you pick it up at Cerritos. Installation/balance at Walmart is about $16, so that total after tax and installation is about $500.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8


I also like the Ventus V12, but that's a summer only tire. Expect short lifespan.



The V12 mught not suitable for stiff suspension setup due to softer sidewall, this tyre is more suitable for standard or not stiff setup
 
Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
Michelin Pilot Sport 3, Dunlop Direzza Star Spec, Yokohama AD08, Toyo Proxes 1, Proxes R888, Bridgestone Potenza RE11, Potenza S001, Hankook RS3 are all decent


The R888s are 'streetable' track day tires, and although they would be the grippiest things he would probably ever be able to install, I cannot see them lasting more than 5K-6.5K miles of hard street/open track driving.

(Like any 100 treadwear, or less, competition tire would last.
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)
 
I'd say get allseasons, they have longer wear. fwiw, BFG g-Force SS are faster then many performance tires, with better ride and wear at a decent price.

We like ours a lot.
 
I think I'm putting on about 8,000 miles per year. I guess if I toasted a set of street performance tires in that short of a time, a set of even grippier tires is crazy. But then again, it could prevent any sort of wacky sliding, which is what destroys tires anyway. Thoughts?
 
I think you need to slow down.
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In your size, the BFGs are $128+, Sumi HTR II or III are supposed to be good in a summer tire and are similarly priced.

The Yoko Sdrive are $10 more, and would be a tire I'd like to try out in UHP.

Then you hit the new Eagle GT, the next all-season I want to try. My Eagle REs were the best tire I every used.
 
On that hot SoCo pavement, any tire will wear very fast. A few high end like Mich Hydroedge or Turanza Serenity offer the ultimate wear. Kumho Ecsta Platinum are very high wear, at 800. I don't know if these come in your size.


At DTD, the Falken 912s are very nice for $125 shipped. I would use them again, n/p. Good wear.

There you go, great tires that are cheap and will wear well.
 
Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8


I also like the Ventus V12, but that's a summer only tire. Expect short lifespan.



The V12 mught not suitable for stiff suspension setup due to softer sidewall, this tyre is more suitable for standard or not stiff setup


Note that they win or almost win comparison tests often. They are approved for some extremely high speed vehicles, I suspect they are ok for ANY street driven high performance car.

Many owners of my car have found them to be very nice. We just don't have much data on how long they can last!
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I think you need to slow down.
06.gif


In your size, the BFGs are $128+, Sumi HTR II or III are supposed to be good in a summer tire and are similarly priced.

The Yoko Sdrive are $10 more, and would be a tire I'd like to try out in UHP.

Then you hit the new Eagle GT, the next all-season I want to try. My Eagle REs were the best tire I every used.


The Sumitomo HTR ZIII really is a surprise performer. A truly impressive performance tire, at an even more impressive price. If you're in need of a summer performance tire that won't leave your wallet weeping, this is a tire that won't make you regret not skipping lunch to save up a little extra tire money.

I think you'd really like the Eagle GT. There are quite a few GTI guys running them and I can't recall ever hearing a negative comment. Some actually rave about them, to be honest.
 
If you want good performance stay away from the Sumitomo's. They're not bad for regular everyday driving for most people, but if you want some good performance they'll fall short. I've had 2 sets. Both were great for the first month or so. After that they were horrible.

I have an '02 Mustang with upgrades and a set of 410 rear gears in it. On a nice dry summy day the tires would still slide all over the place. 275/40/17's in the front 315/35's in the back. I'm putting down about 275-280 at the wheels right now.

Things got worse after I went to the track a few times. A few good heat cycles made the tires feel really greasy no matter what weather or driving surface was.

I put a set of Nitto 555's on about a month ago and so far the difference is night and day. First gear is usable again ( at least as useable as it can be with the 410's). So far I'm very pleased with them.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8


I also like the Ventus V12, but that's a summer only tire. Expect short lifespan.



The V12 mught not suitable for stiff suspension setup due to softer sidewall, this tyre is more suitable for standard or not stiff setup


Note that they win or almost win comparison tests often. They are approved for some extremely high speed vehicles, I suspect they are ok for ANY street driven high performance car.

Many owners of my car have found them to be very nice. We just don't have much data on how long they can last!


Good review based on the same magazine for this brand need to be taken with a grain of salt.
The tires itself is good bangs for the bucks, and depends on the profile, quite often they have different sidewall configuration, but in general if the car has been modified with stiff suspension, most likely tyre with soft sidewall will make the car not to be able utilize the suspension optimally, due the tires bounces too much rather than the suspension. The speed rating only provides indication on the tyre ability to sustain the heat on specific load at high speed, but drive it in the streets with potholes, the rating is useless and the soft sidewall may allow damage done to tire and rims.
Anyway, this tyre can last about 20-30k miles if maintained properly.
 
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