Where to buy tires?

[methdmx]

I have the stock 17" wheels on my bird (275/40R17) and it's time for new rubber. The tires that came with the car are Firestone Firehawk wide ovals. They're good in the rain but they're pretty loud when driving on the parkway. I'm looking for all season tires since this is my DD and not looking to spend a fortune.
Tire Rack has Sumitomo's for $109 each. That's the cheapest I've seen so far.
Where do you guys suggest?
Any brands to stay away from?

[BigAls87Z28]

Sumi what?
How much are you looking to spend? Do you drive this cary daily or just for fun? What are you looking from a tire?

[methdmx]

I know the name, just never used them. I was hoping to not spend more than 150 per tire. I'm on a tight budget so less is better. I drive the car every day. Hence, I'm looking for a good all weather tire. I don't need road course or drag tires.

[ib4200]

I'm looking for all season tires since this is my DD



seems like he daily drives it

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

The last set of tires i had on mine were sumitomos. They lasted great until my car went up to our trailer in the mountains in PA. all the roda there are gravel unpaved so it ate them up. I just put Kumho Ecsta AST's on mine all the way around and it ran me about 400 for all four. I am very pleased with them. Little road noise and excellent traction in wet weather. The tires came from TireRack.com. I have yet to see a place that can beat their prices.

[BigAls87Z28]

If you buy from tire rack, expect to pay additional for tires to be mounted on top of balancing at most places unless you know someone that can cut you a deal.

So you are looking to spend about 150 per tire installed...lets see.

BFG Super Sport AS tires are good, and @136 a tire its a good price.

I see the Pirelli Zero Nero's there for 154 Bit over budget but a great handling tire.

Most tires in this segment are gunna either gunna be really good at handling and poor at snow/heavy rain, or better at heavy rain/snow and offer less performance.

[FlyingDutchman]

Im rockin' a set of BF-Goodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S UHP that I got off Tirerack for $98 a tire (they were $125, I got em on sale). Excellent traction in the rain, I don't hear much of anything in respect to road noise. So far they've held up quite well, even saw a bit of snow.

[NastyEllEssWon]

sumi's arent a bad tire for the price. deffinately a decent compromise between wet/dry traction. as for pirelli's, theyre a good tire but youll be changing em with oil changes :nod:

[creeper]

I have Kumho SPT's on my WS6 wheels now. They should be well within your price range. I only bought them because I got all 4 for $300 brand new from a guy on craigslist though hahah. I've daily driven them for about 1500 miles and autox'd them once. They're good in the rain, should last a while (320ish treadwear), don't make much noise (then again I wouldn't know over my longtubes and rattling rod ends). For autox they're not great, but under a 3500lb car with an amateur driver not many budget tires are.

They really aren't super grippy off the line, but if you ease into the throttle they hold my power pretty well. If you really punch it around a corner they'll start to let loose but they are unbelievably controllable when they do.

Would I ever buy them again? Only if I was looking for a budget tire, but I'm happy with them overall. Then again I drive my car a lot harder than most people so it's hard to say whether I'd recommend it or not. I'd say they're probably better than most cheap tires, but next time I'll be looking into something with a stiffer sidewall and softer compound.

On a side note, buying dedicated winter tires and dedicated summer tires was no doubt worth it. Otherwise you'll end up with a set of tires that kinda suck in the snow, and kinda suck in the summer too. Just my opinion.

[sweetbmxrider]

the firestones must have been worn incorrectly, mine were quiet as can be. love those tires :)

[methdmx]

The alignment was pretty well off on the front passenger tire so it's definitely worn wrong. The rest of the tires were pretty close to spec.

[BigAls87Z28]

yeah if you featherd the front tires enough, then realign it back to normal...thats gunna be a problem.

Had this been over a year ago, Id tell you to come see me. But that ship has sailed.

[methdmx]

OK, tax refund came in so now I have money to actually buy tires. I'm looking for UHP ALL SEASON tires since my car gets driven daily. I'm looking for the best wet/dry traction and tread wear for the stock 275/40R17 wheels.
Here's what Ive narrowed it down to, feedback and suggestions welcomed.
These all have AA traction and A temperature ratings.
Tire... $/each... treadwear
Kumho Ecsta ASX... 129... 420
BFG g-Force Super Sport A/S... 151... 400
Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season... 176... 420

[Ls1dreamin02]

Im just gonna throw this in the mix. I daily drive my car as well. I love my Nitto NT555s. Now I won't lie...they are not good at all in snow. But in the rain they are great, driving smart obviously. Been in rain where I can't see out the windows and had no issues. They have excellent dry traction. 300 tread wear. A- traction A- temp. Got them off ebay for $139 a tire. USA Made. They make NO noise and ride super smooth...well the LM1 covers any up if it exists haha. If you are leaning towards more of a summer time tire that you can still daily drive all year, I would pick these. I have also run Eagle F1 All Seasons as well. They are great tires in all conditions and ride really well... if you have the money IMO they are worth it as well.

[WiMiMc]

the firestones must have been worn incorrectly, mine were quiet as can be. love those tires :)

sticky sticky :nod:

[WildBillyT]

PM NJ Torque, he may be able to help you.

[methdmx]

Nittos are nice and I eventually want to get dedicated winter/summer tires/wheels, but I don't have the money right now and I need new tires. My Wide Ovals are a summer tire and they spin with just a slight touch of the go pedal when it's cold. They're good when it's warm though, had a lot of fun over the summer :)
How reliable are the review scores on tire rack? They have the Continental ExtremeContact DWS as the highest average rated...

[BigAls87Z28]

Goodyear F1 A/S or BFG SuperSports. Pick one, and duit.

[JL8Jeff]

Pretty much everything in a 275 will spin when it's cold. And no 275 will be good in the snow. I forget what was on my SS, but the previous owner had just replaced 2 of the tires before I bought it, so I got the same brand/model tire when I replaced the other 2. I think they were Kumho's.

[redsoxsstink]

i just put continental extremecontact dws on my car about 2 months ago. i think they are great. im not concerned with dry weather grip since i dont race my car around and dont have loads of power with the v6. they are quiet and i think they handle great in the rain. in 2 inchs almost 3inches of snow i was extremely surprised how well i was able to get around so id say they are good in the snow. they have 10/32s treat wear which petty much as high as they go for car tires. and are rated for 50k miles. if thats true that means they are def a good bang for your buck. they are 156 each off tire rack which is over your budget but if you find a deal somewhere def consider them.

[WiMiMc]

Pretty much everything in a 275 will spin when it's cold. And no 275 will be good in the snow. I forget what was on my SS, but the previous owner had just replaced 2 of the tires before I bought it, so I got the same brand/model tire when I replaced the other 2. I think they were Kumho's.

yeah Kuhmo Ecsta of some sort

[RiggsLW81]

go with the kumhos. i use them on the iroc, and my girls scion tc. they are sticky, offer great traction in dry/rain...nice grip in the corners too..

no reason to spend more on a 'better name brand'.. the kumhos do what theyre supposed to do..and do it at a better price.

[methdmx]

Riggs, you are right. I compared the BFGs and the Kumhos side by side. They're pretty much even but the Kumhos have a slight edge and a little better tread wear. Plus they're $100 cheaper for a set. I think I'm going with them this time.

[WiMiMc]

idk about the kumhos, i was at a stop on a rainy day, turned and was going ~10, maybe a little more, and i fishtailed.