Tire recommendation for all seasons?

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Well, as you know I'm in Japan now and pick up the Z on Friday as it is offloaded from the ship container.

I was not able to buy the new tires I needed before leaving Hawaii for the stock wheels and looking for some replacements. The tires on now are Pirelli P7000s and very, very old although it has some meat on them. I have never really used them other than to roll the car around the garage during the build and to ship the vehicle (did not want to ship with the nice set).

I am very interested in the Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season that are made in our sizes for front and rear, but trying to find them in stock might be the challenge. I will contact Tirerack, but they don't list the size on their site. From all the other tires I see available on both Tirerack or Discount Tire Direct are mostly performance or summer tires and I need some for the winter (very limited snow if any) and summers here with 2 months of rain.

I will see how the set of Michelin Sport Pilots do on my 18" CCWs and although they are like new thread wise, they are about 7 years old too.

My immediate purchase is to replace the tires on the stock wheels as shipped since the Michelin CCWs sets are not due to arrive with household goods until the end of June.

I think I can pass the inspection with the Pirelli P7000s based on thread as long as they don't look at the production date and I don't like the idea of driving on them regardless. I bought some tires for the Audi A3 I just bought and Tirerack shipped them dirtcheap to my FPO military address for $65 for the set of 4 via USPS priority mail so that was great. Once my wife goes to work the Z becomes a daily driver as I can't have more than 2 cars here.

I know we have a very limited choice of tires for our cars stock sizes, but wondering from the folks that had to drive their cars in the bad weather or cold seasons as to what works okay.

Thanks in advance.

Craig

[Aurora40]

I have to say, I don't ever recall seeing the F1 A/S made in a 315/35-17? I can't imagine there will be many, and I'd be surprised at any, all season tires made in 315+ tread width.

I drove the GS-D3's in slushy snow at highway speeds before, and they did ok. Maybe some 275's all around in an all-season? Or maybe go with the late C4 fronts at all four corners in the winter? Dunlop makes a performance snow tire in 255/45-17.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

I have to say, I don't ever recall seeing the F1 A/S made in a 315/35-17? I can't imagine there will be many, and I'd be surprised at any, all season tires made in 315+ tread width.

I drove the GS-D3's in slushy snow at highway speeds before, and they did ok. Maybe some 275's all around in an all-season? Or maybe go with the late C4 fronts at all four corners in the winter? Dunlop makes a performance snow tire in 255/45-17.

Thanks for the input Bob. I am just going by the Goodyear site tire application guide and agree that I did not hear about these for our cars so not sure if an error or not.

http://www.goodyeartires.com/cfmx/web/goodyeartiresel/search.cfm?front=637&rear=50384&year=1990&make=Chevrolet&model=Corvette&version=ZR1&option=#performanceTab

I will call Tirerack to see if they can check availability and maybe special order?

Good news about the GS-D3s being able to handle some inclement weather. I really do not want to have to look for another set of wheels for the rear since mine are powdercoated with black centers. I cannot really imagine having to deal with snow here, but also can consider the bus and train on those days if so. Just thought a more friendly tire than summer or performance would be best but we do not have many choices.

Initially I wanted to go cheap with the Sumitomo HTZs, but that sounds like a bad choice for the application. Thanks again.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

I have to say, I don't ever recall seeing the F1 A/S made in a 315/35-17? I can't imagine there will be many, and I'd be surprised at any, all season tires made in 315+ tread width.

I drove the GS-D3's in slushy snow at highway speeds before, and they did ok. Maybe some 275's all around in an all-season? Or maybe go with the late C4 fronts at all four corners in the winter? Dunlop makes a performance snow tire in 255/45-17.

I just looked at Goodyear site in more detail and you are right, none in the F1 series for our size even though the application guide stated so. I went to details of the tires and all the sizes came up same as listed on Tirerack.

Hmmmm.......I will keep looking and see what other folks have had any luck with. Thanks!

[4-cam]

I got the Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance at the end of last summer and love them. Shipped these only cost me $ 725 mounted. Not an all season but lots of tread and much better than the sumi's that came with the car. Discount tire sells and ships tires just like Tire Rack and offers some alternative choices.

discounttiredirect.com

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct

Good Luck in Japan

4-cam

[gbmidyear66]

I'm also very happy with theNitto 555's . Haven't run them in the rain - but noticed a huge traction improvement over the 10 year old Dunlops.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

I got the Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance at the end of last summer and love them. Shipped these only cost me $ 725 mounted. Not an all season but lots of tread and much better than the sumi's that came with the car. Discount tire sells and ships tires just like Tire Rack and offers some alternative choices.

discounttiredirect.com

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct

Good Luck in Japan

4-cam

Thanks. Amazing reviews for a nicely priced set of tires. I'll dig more into these and consider them. Only $73.64 shipping to Japan is great too.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

I'm also very happy with theNitto 555's . Haven't run them in the rain - but noticed a huge traction improvement over the 10 year old Dunlops.

Thanks for the input and 2 votes for Nitto 555s so far.

[USAFPILOT]

Michelin Pilot Sport 2

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Michelin Pilot Sport 2

I really do like the Michelin Pilot Sport I have on my CCWs and you must be talking about going with 335/35/ZR17 Pilot Sport PS2s? I can`t seem to find other tires from Michelin with our size. I don`t mind the 335s and only slightly larger diameter. I know that my speedo has to be accurate for testing here and I already have 4.10 gears with Marc H speedo correction so not sure how far off I will be in the end.

Thanks.

[DaveK]

I have the Michelin's and 4.10s the speedo is accurate to a couple of kms at any legal driving speeds I can do. Compared to the reading on my GPS anyway...

[ZZZZZR1]

Michelin Pilot Sport 2


X3. PS2

Looking to put a set on soon....




Khumo's are a decent tire too

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Thanks Dave and David!

[DaveK]

Forgot to mention that the accuracy is also with using the green correction gear from Marc

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Forgot to mention that the accuracy is also with using the green correction gear from Marc

Dave,

Thanks for the info and I also sent an email to Marc to see what his thoughts are with the speedo correction gear and his testing if any with the different tire sizes. I want to play it safe staying with the 315s since there is testing involved and at stake with the government here, but the 335s sound nice and so does the Michelin PS2s.

[DaveK]

Hope it all goes well Craig and you pass with flying colours!

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Hope it all goes well Craig and you pass with flying colours!
Thanks Dave and I hope so too. It cost over $2300 US for each test if I fail.

Another member recommended these and I'm very interested in these too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyWMTiXPbLQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I am waiting to hear back from the seller about shipping cost and size availability.

[DaveK]

Thanks Dave and I hope so too. It cost over $2300 US for each test if I fail.

Ouch!!

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Here is the pricing on the Vredestein Ultrac tires:

315/35/17 are $237.00 each
275/40/17 are $217.00 each

Shipping to FPO in zip 96347 is $34.00 per tire.

Total comes to $1044.00

I am still looking and researching, but these are not bad at all.

Man, tire shopping is hard work.............

[USAFPILOT]

I really do like the Michelin Pilot Sport I have on my CCWs and you must be talking about going with 335/35/ZR17 Pilot Sport PS2s? I can`t seem to find other tires from Michelin with our size. I don`t mind the 335s and only slightly larger diameter. I know that my speedo has to be accurate for testing here and I already have 4.10 gears with Marc H speedo correction so not sure how far off I will be in the end.

Thanks.

That or get an 18" Wheel. :cheers:

[HAWAIIZR-1]

That or get an 18" Wheel. :cheers:

I can't afford another set of 18" wheels and no room here for the one extra set already; it will have to be in our spare bedroom. Thanks for the thoughts and I'll do more searching before I pull the trigger. My 18" CCWs with Michelins are still stuck in Hawaii shipment with household goods so it will be a few months before I see those.

[| 1990 ZR-1 |]

Craig, as others stated, it might be tough if not impossible to find all seasons in our sizes. You might be able to find somthing with more tread and depth from Dunlop maybe?? I just put Nitto NT05 Maximum performance summer tires on mine, and they handle incredibly on dry payvement. I highly recomend them. I did not havea chance to test them in wet weather yet.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Craig, as others stated, it might be tough if not impossible to find all seasons in our sizes. You might be able to find somthing with more tread and depth from Dunlop maybe?? I just put Nitto NT05 Maximum performance summer tires on mine, and they handle incredibly on dry payvement. I highly recomend them. I did not havea chance to test them in wet weather yet.

I did not expect to find all season tires that are called all seasons in our sizes. I was hoping to get some recommendations as I am getting for tires that have been used in the various seasons or as my title states for all seasons. I never had to address the issue in Hawaii other than dry or wet, but not sure how cold had effect and got some good feedback about the Sumitomos that are very hard during the cold weather. I don't plan to use them in snow, but if encountered was curious to what works okay. I think if and when it snows here it is very light and does not last long and I would just have to catch the bus and train as I don't even like driving the Z in the rain unless unexpected. Almost all the time I would run my Michelins on the CCW 18", but I don't like to use those wheels in the inclement weather seasons and don't mind beating down my stock wheels.

Thanks for your input. I have come to the conclusion that only summer or race tires exists for our stock size tires.

[| 1990 ZR-1 |]

I did not expect to find all season tires that are called all seasons in our sizes. I was hoping to get some recommendations as I am getting for tires that have been used in the various seasons or as my title states for all seasons. I never had to address the issue in Hawaii other than dry or wet, but not sure how cold had effect and got some good feedback about the Sumitomos that are very hard during the cold weather. I don't plan to use them in snow, but if encountered was curious to what works okay. I think if and when it snows here it is very light and does not last long and I would just have to catch the bus and train as I don't even like driving the Z in the rain unless unexpected. Almost all the time I would run my Michelins on the CCW 18", but I don't like to use those wheels in the inclement weather seasons and don't mind beating down my stock wheels.

Thanks for your input. I have come to the conclusion that only summer or race tires exists for our stock size tires.

In that case, I would certainly recomend the Nitto's. I do not daily drive my Z, and only try to drive it in dry weather, therefore I wanted tires that would give the best performance for the money. There is zero shift in hard cornering and zero wheel spin during take off, unless you drop the clutch. NT05's also got great reviews from drivers that track their cars.

[USAFPILOT]

My 17" Rims have Nitto NT-01's and I highly recommend them. They are also fine in wet weather. They have huge rain channels. I wouldn't consider them an all season tire though.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Thanks for the Nitto recommendation and checking out their site and reviews. The NT05s sound excellent for street and track and not sure it is what I am looking for, but sounds great for performance. I will check out the NT01s too. Thanks!

I will check around locally too and see what they have, but from what I heard tires are very expensive here; even the ones that come from here. Imagine that, tires made in Japan and shipped to US and if I buy them they are shipped back to origin and still cheaper?

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Thanks for all the recommendations and from what I have searched I think I am going with the Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance. I have come to the conclusion there are no other tires than racing or summer for our stock size. For the money and based on the reviews from other including several ZR-1 members it seems to be a decent choice for $700 shipped to me. The Sumitomo HTR Zs are nicely priced but no so good reviews.

I really also considered Vredestein Ultrac Sassentas and quite sold on these, but the seller did not really want to work with me on the price or shipping. I am trying to keep the cost reasonable and will not really be using these too much as I love my other wheels, but may get the Vredestein for those when the time comes.

[USAFPILOT]

Thanks for the Nitto recommendation and checking out their site and reviews. The NT05s sound excellent for street and track and not sure it is what I am looking for, but sounds great for performance. I will check out the NT01s too. Thanks!

I will check around locally too and see what they have, but from what I heard tires are very expensive here; even the ones that come from here. Imagine that, tires made in Japan and shipped to US and if I buy them they are shipped back to origin and still cheaper?

Correction...I have NT05's not 01's. The 01's are the race tire.

[Aurora40]

lol at the turn of events. You asked about all-season and snow performance, and are now gonna get 555's. :)

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Correction...I have NT05's not 01's. The 01's are the race tire.

Okay, thanks. The NT05s sound great, but it seems the NT555s might be better suited for some rain if needed for my situation.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

lol at the turn of events. You asked about all-season and snow performance, and are now gonna get 555's. :)

Yeah, after an exhaustive search that is what I wanted and not available for stock size so I am going to make due with what is available. The bottom line is I need some tires now and will just use the commuter system if I have to when the cold comes around since I really don't want to drive in that type of weather. Like I said earlier and in my subject, just wanted to see if there was anything that worked decent in all seasons if need be since they don't sell specifics tires for the purpose.

[USAFPILOT]

Okay, thanks. The NT05s sound great, but it seems the NT555s might be better suited for some rain if needed for my situation.

I've been caught in a TX Thunderstorm with brand new NT05's and the handling wasn't an issue nor was hydroplaning. Want me to send you some pics of the NT05's? My only caution with them is they have a lower tread wear rating and come with less tread depth to begin with as well. They will probably wear out sooner. It depends on whether you will go through the tire's life in 6 years or not. After the 6 years they should be replaced anyway.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

I've been caught in a TX Thunderstorm with brand new NT05's and the handling wasn't an issue nor was hydroplaning. Want me to send you some pics of the NT05's? My only caution with them is they have a lower tread wear rating and come with less tread depth to begin with as well. They will probably wear out sooner. It depends on whether you will go through the tire's life in 6 years or not. After the 6 years they should be replaced anyway.

Thanks, you have peaked my interest with these as I did some research before pulling the trigger. I have more time as of today since I have some big time emissions issues to deal with now before I can even get tested. These NT05s sound pretty good and maybe perfect for my other set. It seems they head more towards the track/competition end and shows up as slightly better dry and slightly worse wet than the NT555 that are definitely a street designed tire for sure. Man, they sure are a nice priced performance tire and good ratings from what I saw. Thanks again!!!