Max performance tires????

[viperrt450]

I need a max performance tire for the summer only that will be good for street driving, track driving and drag racing. I was thinking about the Nito 555 but i think those are only a good drag tire, and not a track tire or i could be wrong. Is their any in between? Price really dosen't matter, i want to stay around $300-$350 for 2 tires. I went on tire rack and their where about 35 choice of top of the line tires. So I want any of your guys experiences with tires. I have on the nitto 450 and i can't stand them so they are staying on the back for some oversteer fun.

<small>[ April 01, 2003, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: viperrt450 ]</small>

 

[thebigjimsho]

You seem like a fart smella, so I'll just state the obvious. It's better to have 4 matching tires.

Anyway, you want max??

Yokohama A032R. boink

 

[ddawson]

I'm very happy with the Kumho MX's

Checkout the tirerack review. Very close in performace to the BF KD's.

 

[yamahaSHO]

I like my Hankook Ventus K102's. They seem to grip well, but I really won't know until I get the suspension done. wink

 

[cRaZySHO.]

Many high end cars now a days come with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's. They are supposed to be an excellent tire. My buddy had Kuhmo VictoRacer's on his old Cobra, and they stuck like glue(Could've been the 295 width wink ). The GT cars on Speedvision used to run Toyo Proxes T1-S's, not sure what they run now(heat cylced and shaved of course).

 

[SHOspazz92]

I was VERY Impressed By My Nitto NT-450 Extreme Performance Tires, The best thing we could have done to our SHO (Exept a 60k ), They ran us Near 600 Bucks for all 4 tires, Was Well Worth it to!. boink

 

[drivinhard]

$600 for a set of 450's? What size? When I bought 225/55 16's last year for the 89 they were around ~$80 tire.

 

[ddawson]

The Nitto 450's were ok and they run around $90 each. The Nitto 555 is better but it hardened overtime and got slick. I ran the Toyos on my Corvette and loved them. They stick pretty well but the sidewall was soft causing a delayed turn in. The Toyo was also great in the rain.

The Toyo was my favorite and I still hold it in high regard but with a heavier car I wanted better turn in.

The MX has been great so far. Turn in is crisp as the sidewalls are pretty stiff. The SHO is much worse on choppy roads then any tire I've had to date. The grip is great with the Kumho MX but I haven’t tried anything too fast yet.

The new Goodyear looks good but for the price and performance I went Kumho.

 

[GreenBird]

I run Yoko Intermediates and can barely chirp the tires on a 1-2 powershift in my stock gen I.

SZ50's are the best. RE730s are a close second, but the RE730s are probably a better "bang for the buck".

 

[thebigjimsho]

thebigjimsho:
You seem like a fart smella, so I'll just state the obvious. It's better to have 4 matching tires.

Anyway, you want max??

Yokohama A032R. boink

RE730s are not Max-performance.
Yokohama AVS Intermediates are not.
Nitto NT450s are not.
Hankook Ventus K102s are not.

Kumho Ecsta MXs are. They have been given great reviews.

But if you want max, look to the top. boink

 

[Emerald94]

Just curious but was wondering if members with Kuhmo tires had problems keeping them balanced?
The shop I deal with will give lifetime balancing/rotation on wheel/tire packages except for Kuhmo. He said he doesn't want to lose his shirt rebalancing them for free every month!

 

[SHOTIME]

Flaken Azenis's

R rated compound, Found to be better than the Bridgestone S-03's.

I had them on SHOTIME. GREAT tire.. sick in the twisties.

 

[ChitownA34DR]

That is one serious looking tire. I like it. eek!

 

[viperrt450]

Damn those tires look *********!!!!!! eek!

 

[DeaconBlue]

If you truly want Max Performance tires, try the Tire Rack's customer survey review. The only ones that are reasonably priced are the Kumho MX's.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/max.jsp

You can also try the Ultra High Performance selection, the only one here that is reasonably priced is the Yokohama AVS ES100

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/uhp.jsp

or Ultra High Performance A/S selections as well

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/uhpas.jsp

Now it's true that the TireRack doesn't sell every brand of tires, but this will give you a nice selection to choose from and no one beats their prices.

BTW, my track rubber this year will be a DOT approved 235/45-17 sized Toyo RA-1 on a set of lightweight rims. I know a few guys that run these tires on the street all summer long and love them.

<small>[ April 04, 2003, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: DeaconBlue ]</small>

 

[viperrt450]

It really dosen't matter to me if they are resonably priced, i just want max performance for the summer, track, and the strip.

 

[speedy91]

viperrt450:
It really dosen't matter to me if they are resonably priced, i just want max performance for the summer, track, and the strip.

Easy. BFG KD's. Grassroots did an article on several max performance tires and those won.

 

[thebigjimsho]

Yeah, but Grassroots didn't include the Yokohama A032R. That is a track tire with just enough tread and just enough grooves to drive in the rain. It will smoke any other non-competition tire anywhere. boink

 

[cyanmauve]

I own a 91+ with the following suspension mods: STBs, H-brace, SFCs, Koni'Eibachs, polyurethane bushings , police subframe bushings, and HD endlinks. I've done an SVT on track day with my SHO and have put her through a slalom and road course on 225/50-16ZR Firestone SZ50s. Phenominal tire. It just doesn't like to slip, no matter if it's in the rain or in the dry, They also wear very quickly. However, they've come out with the SZ50 EPs now, so that might not be a problem. I can say that the BFG KDWs are very good also. They are also very noisy. I can't make a direct comparison though, because I drove them on my parents' SVT Contour. They are very good tires as well. Go with whatever is cheaper. You will be pleased. I do strongly advise against Goodyear GSCs (I honestly don't know if they still make them or not). The Yokohama AVS ES100 ( what I have now) is a good tire, but not the tire that you are looking foor. It will be a great replacement, though, after you burn up the set that you are about to buy. Good luck.

 

[Mark W]

I had Firestone SZ50's and they are incredible in the rain or dry, but feel like you're driving with the parking brake on in snow. Weird. They wore really fast, but if money were no object, I'd get another set ASAP.

When they get worn, though, they're like running on the bare rims. You can run the engine up to redline in first and second on dry pavement, with no squealing. Not good.

My tires now are used Firestone Affinity's, courtesy of Mikeys_Taurus, but they're not as bad as you might think, traction rated A. I'm actually pretty pleased with them, although I wouldn't recommend them for someone with the money to spend on better tires.