Tire Poll

[turbocad6]

I'd def second the thought of looking at a max performance summer tire over an all season for you. the difference is nice. I did mine from the all seasons to the max performance summer tires & wow, big big difference, most are great in the rain too...

I just put a set of 285/265 kdw2's on a 350z too, really agressive looking tire & traction is awesome... can't say for the longevity there though...

a max performance summer tire would probably be what I'd pick for your use...

 

[gto]

So maybe the Nitto or Grabbers over the Ventus?
Just put in a Pool Heater last week, so trying to watch the wallet these months.
One thing after another with this new (old) house.
Between my mortgage, kids private school & all the trips to Home Depot are crazy. The 20K a month in my expenses had better chill sometime soon.

Now I know why they check your receipt when you leave the Depot . . cuz I'm thinking 'bout shoplifting toilet seats, lightbulbs & quarter sheets everytime I'm there.

---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------

Added General Grabber UHP to the poll

 

[Chedman13]

So maybe the Nitto or Grabbers over the Ventus?
Just put in a Pool Heater last week, so trying to watch the wallet these months.
One thing after another with this new (old) house.
Between my mortgage, kids private school & all the trips to Home Depot are crazy. The 20K a month in my expenses had better chill sometime soon.

Now I know why they check your receipt when you leave the Depot . . cuz I'm thinking 'bout shoplifting toilet seats, lightbulbs & quarter sheets everytime I'm there.

---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------

Added General Grabber UHP to the poll

I think the next step is putting a priority list together: 1) tread life 2) traction

Which one is more important to you? If it's tread life, get the Ventus. If it's traction, get the summer tires.

My thoughts are if you're in year round "summer" weather, I'd get summer tires. Even though I have a winter tire set, I still need all-season because once it gets cold in Chicago, summer tires seem significantly drop in grip. And if I put my winter tires on too early, I'll just wear them out so fast.

 

[gto]

Traction vs. Treadwear. FX sees about 4K a year!
Price is pretty important these recent times for me. Gots lotsa bills

 

[N2FX]

4K/yr - I say buy the best deal and call it a day. The cushion of funds is more important right now (for everyone)

 

[iheartfx]

had the paradas last time around. rolling on ventus right now. biggest difference is that the paradas IMO were better in more offroad conditions, light snow, gravel, dirt, etc. but i've recently moved away from that so i needed a better on-road/summer tire. i feel the ventus does a better job compared to the paradas as far as cornering and road traction. a champ in wet road conditions. not to mention the sizing is a bit more true, the paradas always seemed a tad bit smaller than the actual size. and of course the ventus tread looks really nice. but if were to live in an area where i would have to deal with light snow, some light off-road, I may go back to the paradas or even as aggressive as something like a nitto grappler.

 

[dragonh]

Nitto 555

A lot seem to go 285/35/22.

I personally went with 265/40/22 to get more sidewall height, it's closer to OEM height, and the tires are cheaper.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-26...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I bought these tires from this seller $688 shipped to your door.

Here are my two cents on your tire choices:
BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 - best handling dry/wet tire of your choices. 300 AA A, so doesn't last too long and many reviews say it gets very loud after 10,000 miles. Probably will only last you 20,000 miles.

Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico - 420 AA A, but I've driven on these before and they might be as sticky to get the "AA" rating, but the sidewall doesn't feel stiff enough. These are what I consider a great "highway" tire. Lasts long, not directional, quiet, and luxury soft ride.

Kumho Ecsta SPT - 320 AA A, I've read too many horror stories on Kumho tires, so I personally stay away. They could be great tires, but I've never been brave enough to try it.

Yokohama Parada Spec-X - 420 A A, all around good tire and also great all-season (good in snow).

Proxes ST II - don't know much about this new tire, but I like this much better than the old proxes (tread design)

Nitto NT555 - I think TrainerKen is the only one I know with this tire. He has them on his Element 114 wheels. These look like a high end tire

Hankook Ventus ST RH06 - 420 A A, my tire of choice. I initially tried this tire out because it was the cheapest one I could find that was a name brand. Ended up being the best tire I've owned and have purchased 3 sets of these so far and even their winter tire.

You could try out the:
General Grabber UHP 300 A A $177
or
Sumitomo HTR Sport H/P 480 A A $195
both on tire rack

I have a set of tires (265 40 22 Goodyear Fortera SL Edition) I'm going to try out next. I bought them due to the 500 A A long treadwear and excellent ratings on tirerack.com

Apart from trainerKen,,I also run the Nitto 555 here in Taiwan with my S/C 06 Fx35..Great tires but F***ing expensive here in Taiwan.

 

[elguapo]

My vote is for Pirelli. 90% of the rims we sell get wrapped with Pirellis as they are one of the few tires I believe in and trust

 

[gto]

Thanks for all the feedback. Gonna go with the poll & get the Kooks. They seem to suck in the snow, so that would be a good thing in my head. Price is right, & reviews rave.
One thing I'm gonna miss is the wide stance with what I've got, but less bulge will look better in the end.
If I hate the more tucked, small spacers may be next. Handling should improve with less sidewall too.

 

[gto]

Got them fitted, I like the tread design & they seem like very well made tire. They scream 'needs spacers!!!' to me, but maybe I'll get used to the look. They are a better fit for my rims, but the downsize feels very skinny. Got a bigger gap too, due to the smaller sidewall. Should handle better though. Cant tell yet as they are not broken in, so have to update later. Just wish my wheels were a 15mm more aggressive, cuz that what it looks like they need. Maybe half a coil too while I'm at it.

 

[Psiclne]

You get used to it - I went from a 285/50 to 275/45 at first it was weird, now it looks fine.

 

[StuLax18]

What size are they? +1 on getting used to the size change. So now that we have the same tires, we need to do the epic best handling FX contest.

 

[gto]

Let's hope. Im feelin pretty skinny & jack'd up right now, but surely those 305s were way too gigantor for my V5s



---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 PM ----------

What size are they? +1 on getting used to the size change. So now that we have the same tires, we need to do the epic best handling FX contest.

haha . . I will sooo take you with those stockerz They're 285/35s

 

[StuLax18]

Give me a year to get my FX out to Cali. Then we can go at it, haha. Maybe I won't have stockers by then?
But ya, I look forward to hearing how you like the Kooks, and what size are they?

 

[gto]

They're 285/35s


BTW, Big SHOUT out to N2FX (Dennis) & Kurt over at Direct Tire in NH for the hookup & great pricing. Kurt said he'll hook up all IS folk with a good deal. Very good guy.

 

[StuLax18]

So you lost 1 cm on each side. That's probably good. I've noticed sometimes that one side of the wheel seems to have more bulge depending on how I parked and stuff. Almost like the tire was rolling to the inside. I think it was from being on the jack, but I'm not sure.

 

[gto]

I believe the tire (bulge) is always bigger on the inside of the rim.

 

[StuLax18]

I believe the tire (bulge) is always bigger on the inside of the rim.

Ok good, I think it's a camber thing from dropping it off the jack. The inside of the rim hits first.

 

[gto]

huh?

 

[StuLax18]

I had the FX up on a floor jack, and when lowering it, the way it comes down (maybe due to camber) the inside of the wheel seems to get more pressure at first, possibly smushing the tire under there because of the angle. You kinda have to see it, hard to explain.