What to Buy When Ready for new 17" Tires?

[C4Fan]

Good morning everyone. I am ready to buy new tires for my '91 (for stock wheels) and was wondering what the recommendation is from the current selection available from TireRack?

I don't track or race my ZR-1 and only get to drive the Corvette about once a week, for short distances. From a design standpoint, I like the way the original Goodyear tread pattern looks when the hood is up. Anything available close to that?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Ray
'91 VIN #1464

[mike100]

The Goodyear GS-D3's are a known quantity and work well in the wet if you have to drive it in the rain. They get a little louder on the last half of the tread, but I was able to get about 12k miles out of the rears on my last corvette (not a ZR-1 but the 315 size.). I think the fronts could last 20k miles easy. My car went from spinning the rears when the powerband hits at 4000 rpm to never spinning on straight line roll type of accel. They have held their balance nicely also.

The sumitomos are cheap, but narrow despite the 315 size rating. I have heard a couple of negative comments directly from real people and not just the internet reviews.

There are the Nitto's and people say they hook like glue, but wear out fast and suck in the wet. The price is attractive though.

[secondchance]

The Goodyear GS-D3's are a known quantity and work well in the wet if you have to drive it in the rain. They get a little louder on the last half of the tread, but I was able to get about 12k miles out of the rears on my last corvette (not a ZR-1 but the 315 size.). I think the fronts could last 20k miles easy. My car went from spinning the rears when the powerband hits at 4000 rpm to never spinning on straight line roll type of accel. They have held their balance nicely also.

The sumitomos are cheap, but narrow despite the 315 size rating. I have heard a couple of negative comments directly from real people and not just the internet reviews.

There are the Nitto's and people say they hook like glue, but wear out fast and suck in the wet. The price is attractive though.

Only 12,000 miles for rear tires? 20,000 miles for the fronts? I got my first GS D3s and haven't had them long enough but my experience with B F Goodrich and old Eagle GSCs, I was getting around 50,000 out of tires.
As for Sumitomos, they looked funny - sorta like a doughnut w/ rounded shoulders.

[ScottZ95ZR1]

I have heard and read very good reviews of the Khumo Ecsta XS and I like that they offer a 335.

[mike100]

Only 12,000 miles for rear tires? 20,000 miles for the fronts? I got my first GS D3s and haven't had them long enough but my experience with B F Goodrich and old Eagle GSCs, I was getting around 50,000 out of tires.
...

I got 40k miles once on some LT 235/75's on my V6 stick shift C1500 pick-up, but any type of performance car is never more than 20-25k miles. My C6 was used up at 13k miles on the rear (had the softer supercar runflats).

I scare my passengers and when I'm alone, I drive even faster. I think if you get 20k miles on your fronts, that is fairly representative of the average performance car. The point I was making is that the GY tires will last a little longer than the really soft ones like the Nittos.;)

[ZZZZZR1]

I have heard and read very good reviews of the Khumo Ecsta XS and I like that they offer a 335.

I have a set on my car now and very nice!

Much prefer Michelin PS2's and they are available in 335 too.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/searchTireMatchingPairs.do?mps=-50&yr=1997&vid=001234


These are my next tires!

:cheers:

David

[Kevin]

i have 315 gsd3's and love them. the ones i have are a few years old now and don't hook quite as hard as they used, they would dead hook the 1-2 snap shift, now they spin. but i still love them. but i may go to michelin next

[Ccmano]

I have heard and read very good reviews of the Khumo Ecsta XS and I like that they offer a 335.

If you drive that little, you might as well have tires that stick. No sense spending the money on Michelin PS2's with your yearly milage, they'll get hard before they wear out.

These Kumho XS's are the way to go, a buddy has them on his C5 and they stick like glue and wear reasonably well. If I were in the market it's what I would buy. On the other hand if Michelin made the Super Sports in our size they would be number one. It's the tire to beat right now. But they don't.
H
:cheers:

[SharkPilot]

I have Nitto NT555's on my car and they work pretty well. My only concern is the noise they make. While they are not loud the noise almost sounds like a bad bearing on most road surfaces. There are some freeways around here that have different pavement and they are quieter when driving through there.
They stick pretty well and on acceleration they dig in and hang on well. I only have a couple thousand miles on them so I can't judge the wear yet.
SharkPilot

[Daniel_Mc]

I have had good luck with Kumho?s but I?ve only run the V700's and V 710's the 710's got greasy on me once you started pushing it but these are all track tires. You guys are saying that 335's are available but I can't seem to locate any. The sites say they have them but once ordered it is not the case. The wheels on the ZR-1 are running 285 front 335 rears and are stretched badly. I really need a 315 front and 345 rear but chances of finding that are slim to none...

Also I just changed to BF Goodridge KDW's on the GS and those have been great.

Daniel

[John Boothby]

I just put a new set of GS-D3's on my car and they are great. I love them and the looks too. I just returned from a Cedar City, Ut car show and had rain for about 75 miles including the Virgin River gourge which is nice and twisty. The tires held up great at speed going through there. The only drawback is expense and the rears are hard to find. I paid $241ea for the fronts and $348ea for the rears at Discount Tire.

Good Luck!

[tomtom72]

Ray, I vote for the Khumos for your use.....and this is from a 2 time GSD3 user. If you don't do any wet work then no need to spend the dollars on tires for those applications like the PS2's or the D3's.

just a fwiw the last set of D3's went 32k on me before I replaced them, funny thing was that even as worn as they were, 3/4 worn, they still worked in the wet. I tossed them because they were 7 yrs old and I had some front bushing issues causing the out side shoulders to get a bit wiped. Another thing I noticed was they have a great resistance to scalloping if you push them fairly hard. I had none on mine. They are expensive and hard to get if you need them at the wrong time in G/Yrs production schedule, but for my money they are worth the price. JMHO.

:cheers:
Tom

[ammrpm]

Another tire that is currently available in our stock sizes is the Nitto NT05. I just put a set on my car and they work very well. I don't really drive the car in the rain so I can't give you a good evaluation there. They are a good tire at a good price. About $800 for a set.

[C4Fan]

Thank you everyone. I appreciate you all taking the time to share your experiences with me.

[evl_twn]

I'm looking at options for tire replacement also. My Z sat for several years after having the rears replaced (PO never drove it) and they are currently GSC's with a 2000 date code. I put new fronts on when I bought the car in 06, and the fronts are F1 GS D3's. I've got a vibration in the car, and it gets a lot worse above 75 mph, so at the very least I'm going to replace the rears and have the front tires road force balanced.

My question is this - I've looked around at tire pricing and availability, and I want to switch to the Pilot Sport PS2's, has anyone had issues with the wider (335) rears on an otherwise stock wheel/suspension setup? Are there any issues with running the PS2 rear with D3 fronts, until they're worn?

Edit: wanted to add that I'm in IL, so the car sits for 3-4 months out of the year due to crap weather. The tires sit on a treated floor though (epoxy coated) but the car sat from 2000-2006 on bare concrete. I'm guessing that's what started the tire issues, and I've always had a slight vibration, but it's time to do something about it.

[ScottZ95ZR1]

My question is this - I've looked around at tire pricing and availability, and I want to switch to the Pilot Sport PS2's, has anyone had issues with the wider (335) rears on an otherwise stock wheel/suspension setup? Are there any issues with running the PS2 rear with D3 fronts, until they're worn?

Several guys run 335 rear tires on stock wheels with no problems that I'm aware of. Check out this thread: http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8406&highlight=pilots

[tomtom72]

evl, This may be from left field on the mix & match tread patterns & brands.

This is jmho:o, but I'd think carefully about what you're thinking of doing. The PS2's have a sharper initial bite upon turn in than the G/Yrs. The biggest complaint about the G/Yrs is that they "feel" slow on initial turn-in. I kind of think that the carcass construction is perhaps causing this, the shoulder doesn't roll over quickly so the tire feels slow vs most others. I would expect that the PS2's on the rear could yield a slight bias toward over-steer, where the fronts respond slower than the rears on initial bite. In the dry this would proly be so slight that it could be a non-issue......I'd be a bit more concerned in the wet. The tail may actually slide more than the fronts due to the differing water evacuation methods of each tread pattern.....again, I'm only saying in 'theory' because I've never driven on PS2's. I compare notes with all my C5 & C6 buddies that use the PS2's.

:o sorry I'm not making too much sense trying to dissuade your mixing brands & tread patterns. It's like this as I see it: both tires are good at what they do, but they get there by different routes....that is due to matching carcass construction to tread pattern to get a result. The issue ( to me ) is will the grip & response be the same from both ends of the car? Specially in the wet.:o

:cheers:
Tom

[XfireZ51]

Check the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta or General UHPs.
These get great reviews and reasonably priced.

[mlotruglio]

I work at a Discount Tire Co in Charlotte NC, we have put nitto 555 on a few ZR1s including mine. Nobody has comeback with anything bad to say. They stick really well I have about 3k on mine now and cant see any wear yet. Nitto 555 gets my vote all day long!!!!

[SteelBlueZR1]

I just bought and installed Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta in oem sizes, and after driving 75 miles in all conditions, I can say these are a great deal for $826 shipped from Group A Wheels in New York. The tires have received universally rave reviews on other boards, have a 280 treadwear rating, are super quiet, smooth riding, great traction in corners and no tire spin ever. What a refreshing change from the original Gatorbacks that have been on my ZR1 for 20 years! Shipping took 1 day, and the tire's tread pattern is really unusual, but makes the car look particularly exotic.

[rhipsher]

Vreds are good sheet.:thumbsup:

[HAWAIIZR-1]

I work at a Discount Tire Co in Charlotte NC, we have put nitto 555 on a few ZR1s including mine. Nobody has comeback with anything bad to say. They stick really well I have about 3k on mine now and cant see any wear yet. Nitto 555 gets my vote all day long!!!!

I know you mentioned Tire Rack specifically, but if going with online then consider Discount Tire Direct and the NT 555s as stated. Very good tires, lots of comments about how they look and still well on dry and wet. They really bite well for me on a rolling launch and I was surprised a few days ago. Not enough time to tell about long term wear, but I don't even think about those things; when they get worn I'll buy another set.