Official Tire Review Thread

[codyAK]

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of a tire that is the closest thing to a drag slick but is street legal and highway safe. I want to be able to drive to the track.

Street slicks.
Lots of discussion in this thread on another forum, if you want to do some reading:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2057914

[TheKeeper]

BF Goodrich g-force drag radials. Great for the ride to the track and once warmed up acts a lot like a slick. Ran em on my Camaro and Trans Am during the warm weather months on the street and on the track with no complaints.

[TheKeeper]

Firestone Precision Touring $125 each. Bought a set of 4 and after about 5k they have minimal wear and handle all the elements with ease. Decent in light snow but definitely not a snow tire. Very quiet at all speeds. A perfect 10 for everyday use.

[BillBoost37]

Wait a sec... Hippo did a tire review thread. Where's the wet leaf traction rating category?

[theaceofspades]

Wait a sec... Hippo did a tire review thread. Where's the wet leaf traction rating category?

Where's said review lol

[Sven the Sexman]

NEXEN N3000

245/45R16

Treadwear - 340, Traction - AA, Temperature - A

DID NOT PURCHASE - CAME ON CAR

Ok, these tires are the tires that came on my Camaro when I purchased it about a month ago. I've put 3k on them with occasional burnouts (because two wheels making smoke is awesome, right?) and there has been basically zero tire wear. They grip like crazy...when it's dry. When it's wet, all bets are off. Fourth gear drifting on wet is as easy as pushing the gas pedal a smidge. This would be fun if it were expected when it was going to occur. Hydroplaning is guaranteed even with 8/32" tread at 60 mph. I will not purchase another set...EVER. The only people I would recommend this tire to are people in Arizona....where it doesn't rain but 4 days out of the year...maybe even someone in Death Valley. Scary, scary tire.

[BillBoost37]

Bridgestone Potenza RE960/970AS PP 245/45/18

I have these on Lucerne rims and do have quite a few suspension mods. Overall these tires have a ton of grip, car feels like it's on rails in dry/rain. Snow is actually impressively good traction, although I typically do not run these in the winter. Without rotating, I was able to pull about 40K miles from the fronts. Rears were still in great shape with about half tread remaining. If you can find the money and want to stick to the ground, I recommend these babies.

[MrPoopyButthole]

MICHELIN
Pilot Super Sports
$120/tire (1 used, 3 on really good deals)
Extreme Summer tire
235/40/18
5,000

Okay...now I understand why you pay what you pay with Michelin. This tire...dominates everything I have ever owned. It is quiet, it is light (lightest tire this size), it grips like a monkey in a tree, the ride is comfortable, it beats out every other tire I have owned. I only will say this for all Summer only Michelins, as I have had their Pilot A/S's and they were loud, but they had good grip and okay in the snow.

Here is how I rank tires:
Summer only - Michelin's
All Seasons - Continental DWS's
Snows - Nokian or Gislaved
Trucks - Goodyear or BF Goodrich

[SomeDudeAtHome]

Dunlop
Direzza DZ102
$108 each +shipping (bought 4)
Ultra high performance summer- speed rating W, treadwear 460, traction A, temp A
235/55/ZR17
About 2500 miles

After almost one full season I'm really impressed with these and glad I bought them. I was stuck between a few different but now I'm sure I made the right decision. These tires grip like it's no ones business. I can accelerate hard through almost 90 degree turns and feel 100% comfortable doing it. It takes A LOT to get these tires to spin from a stop. I've never had a problem with wet driving starting or stopping and no hydroplaning. Braking is also fantastic with these when dry. Tread where has been very good and there's next to no noise while driving. As of right now I'd give them a 8/10. I'll wait and see how my opinion is after a couple more seasons before I give it a 10.

[SnowTh1ef]

It takes A LOT to get these tires to spin from a stop.

Coming from someone who is NA.. lol

[SomeDudeAtHome]

Coming from someone who is NA.. lol

haha has something to do with it for sure but I've spun all seasons in the past.

[steelholder]

Any new tire reviews? I'll be needing some soon.

[PaintChips97]

Bridgestone
Potenza RE970AS
$160 each (bought 4)
High performance all-season
245/45r17
about 2500 miles

These tires grip fantastic. Rain, snow, dry, it doesn't matter - they hug the road all the time. I love everything about them... except that they're pretty noisy. They hum at almost any speed. I love the way they handle, and I'd consider buying again, though I'll be looking into alternatives. I'd give an 8/10

[Garandpa]

Arizonian
Silver Edition
$90 each
All-season radial
225/60R16
About 25k miles



These tires were on my 2002 GTP when I bought it, but I have put around 25K miles on them so far. The fronts are almost to the wear bands although the rears have quite a bit of tread left. I have not rotated them (my bad, I know). I like the tires a lot. They have a very low profile due to a short stiff sidewall. The grip is good; they will chirp on very aggressive sharp turns, but they grab right back and go. They are a bit slippery in the wet, but fine as long as you don't push it too much. I do not drive this car in the winter here in Michigan, so I don't know how they handle the snow. They are quiet at all speeds and look great on my car due to their low profile. I would buy another set. I give them an 8/10

[mars5l]

Ill give this an update

First review is Kumho v720 in 245/45/17, they are a streetable autox/roadrace tire. I decided to give them a try a year ago because they were on clearance from tirerack, paid $75 a piece. My god want grip. Once broke in it was very hard to break loose even in the rain. I never got a chance to really push them in handling as I only had them upfront. There was a few times while I entering a turn lane very hot while under breaking I was worried it would push and lock up. Never did, turned in and kept going where I wanted it. My engine is NA, but even a aggressive launch at a light from the rain they only time they spun was when I hit the painted area then after it gripped. The Cons are they were noisy to the point you felt it in the car at certain speeds. They are a soft compound and the versions I bought only started with 6/32s tread. I used them hard everyday driving and pushed them to last about a year and 10k miles. The last month I had them they sat on the back of the car since we were getting into the rainy season. I never noticed just how stiff they were til then. Hard sidewalls made you feel every seam in the road with a hard jolt.

Im now currently running Falken Azenis FK615 in the same size up front. These are a popular autox tire as well just not as hardcore as the Kumhos. They have a harder treat compound even though the same tread life rating of 200 as the Kumbo v720s. They are a stiff tire as well and quite a blocky tread pattern. I haven't pushed them quite hard yet, but not as much off the line grip as the Kumhos so I don't have as much confidence to push them. They do grip so much more than any other street tire I've had on this car. They are quieter and have much more tread depth to start with. Im sure these will last about 2 years.