Wheels and TiresNeed help with wheels or tires? Need to know if those new wheels you're looking at will even fit a Third Gen? Have questions about tire performance and handling? Ask all those questions here!
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I'm curious to see if we can't make a nice guide for the best tires for third gens on street on the strip and in bad weather.
Well i've got yokohama avid trz's on all four wheels. I only have the 2.8 v6 camaro and i can break the tires looose up to second gear and in turns. they stop well in poor weather and stick well on the straight away but today i almost lost my car turning on to a three lane road in some decnt rain. I fish tailed and was lucky there wasnt another car on the road because i had to stop my car to stop sliding. They were very nice when i first bought them but idk if its from the cold weather or the lack of rear weight or me spinning my tires every once in a while but they dont seem to stick as well as when i got them a few months ago and they have less than 5000 miles on them.
If you only drive your third gen on a nice day with dry road these are good but if your gonna beat on your tires than dont buy these because they are kind of pricey. (300 for all of them on tirerack.com)(STS quoted them for 600 when i called them) and thats all not installed.
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I've heard nothing but good things about BFG Radial T/A's. My father in law has gone through several old cars and said he's gotten the best all around traction than any other tire he's owned and do offer great traction on hard launches. They are cheap through Summit Racing and are what I plan on getting when the time comes. They are about as common on musclecars as Torque Thrust II's are for wheels, so you can't go wrong when so many people trust them to put on their old cars...
the bfg radial t/a is a great looking tire for an old muscle car, but its not a very high performance tire. if your looking for more high performance for handling bfg has a few other tires that fit the bill. i personally have the bfg g-force sport and i love them. they also make the g-force kdw and a couple others. tirerack is definetly the cheapest place to get tires and with next day shipping you cant beat it.
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08 best: 13.07@107 on street tires, untuned
I've only put about 250 miles on my Z28, all of them with my BRAND NEW BFG KDWS 245/50/ZR16's on. I can, however, compare the KDWS's to the factory issue Goodyear Eagle's that came on 3rd Gen's from the factory (which were on my old RS).
The goodyears were by no means bad tires...I never had problems with them in light to moderate rain (but i drove safe), but when i got caught in torrential downpours/intense rain, i hydroplaned and totaled my RS. Because of this, I will never drive my Z28 in the rain, so i could never give tell you how the KDWS's are in the rain.
Basically, the KDWS's are much harder to break loose than the Goodyear's...meaning i could spin the tires on my very lightly modded 305 TBI RS from a standstill and a 5-15 mph roll, and thats much harder to do in the Z28 (a car with 30+ HP and TQ more than the RS). They seem to have a slightly stiffer sidewall, and hold the road better when doing some serious cornering. Seem to be about as quiet as the goodyears.
I dont care how good a tire is in the rain when new, because when its 1/2 worn or worse, it will hydroplane on the expressway, even a tire designed for superior wet performance will eventually hydroplane very badly when worn down enough. It only takes alot of void in the tread to enhance resistance to hydroplaning, when the tread is 1/2 worn down, you have lost 1/2 of your tread void ----- 30 years experience designing great tires.
There are many great tires out there, just look thru all the choices on Tire Rack. You need to decide on the tire size, the specific type of conditions you drive in, and the performance attributes that you want the most as top priority. Then shop by price vs brand, and make a decision.
If I am buying a tire for one of my Camaros, then I am looking for great dry handling & grip, and good wet performance (I'll slow down abit in the rain). I am very partial toward axisymmetric tread designs (I want a wide outside shldr rib) and slightly toward directional designs. All season designs belong on my Winter beater!
I have a set of BFG 295/50/15's radials that I run on the street occationally when Im not runnin the mickeys. I have ran 12.90 at the track with them before I put on the Mickey Et radials.
__________________ 1983 Z28 Camaro
10.48 @127MPH getting ready for next season.... maybe 9's ;-)
1967 RS/SS 396 Camaro
Restoration in progress
I have Bridgestone Fuzion HRI tires and you can see them at ( thefuzionzone.com ) For the money (57.99 ea ) I'm more than happy with them . Great traction in wet and dry weather so far . Fuzion offers three different models to choose from. I bought the non directional ones ( HRI ), and really like the look too. The Directional ones are off the hook . Check them out.
Last edited by ronusmcmma; 02-27-2007 at 04:29 AM.
rwdtech im with you i worked for goodyear for almost a year and i still wouldnt put them on my ex-girlfriends car. they are that bad well besides the GS-D3's those are badass but cost alot. I work for tire kingdom now and i have Fulda Extremos and i have pulled a 1.8 60' running 21psi in them i love the tires only problem they discounted them like 2 years ago i got the last 4 in florida. they are almost bald and im going to buy Yokohama AVS ES100 next. those are really nice tires. Later Daniel
__________________ 355 Stealth Ram, Hedman LT's with cut-outs w/ full 3 inch flowmaster exhaust, BMR Trak Pak Torgue Arm, Spohn LCAR, LCA's, SFC's, 1LE Aluminum driveshaft, 24lb injectors, .503/.508 lift .218/.220 dur., 1.52 Comp Cam Magnum Roller Rockers, functional Ram Air II hood, Turbo II wing, Hurst rachet shifter, BBK underdrive pulleys, Stewart Aluminum WP, 700R4 trans w/ 2600 stall, Superior Billet Servo, 5 pinion planetary from 700Raptor.com.
I used Nitto Drag Radials on my 97 Z28 when I had it. They gripped realy well and you can drop the tire pressure down for when you drag race. The walls are stiffer than BFG's Drag Radial so that's why I chose Nitto. I took a u-turn lane under an overpass one day at around 55 mph and it stuck it like a road race tire. I wouldn't attempt that feat though.
It all depends on what you want. Michelin aren't soft but they handle OK and will last for a good amount of time.
If you guys like the gsd3 but dont like price check out the Dunlop sp spot 9000 its the same exact tire with a little tread change. my dad is in charge of marketing high performance tire at goodyear and is now in charge of dunlop and he said they use the same molds just change the traed a little. or go direzza
I had the Eagle gt2's when I had 15's (235/60/r15) and I loved them.I didn't have a single problem with them and in the 2 years I had them before I sold them they had atleast 65% of good tread left on them.I just put a set on my truck.They're holding up quite well.I would'nt say they are a hiperformance tire but a good street tire for the occasional race.
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305 tbi, Ultimate TBI mods, March UD pullies and Brackets, Proform Electric WP, ACDELCO EP241 Fuel Pump, TNT Spacer, Inj Pod Spacer, Gasket matched and 2" Bored Edelbrock tbi intake, Xtremefi AFPR, Gasket matched and Ceramic Coated 2055's, Hooker 3" Aerochamber catback, LS1 Aluminum driveshaft, Homemade Open element, Comp 1.6 roller tip rockers, Edelbrock STB, Tubular LCA's & Panhard bar, E.S. Bushings, UMI LCARB's, Wonderbar, Eibach Pro-kit Springs, MSD 8.5 wires, MSD 6A Ignition Box, MSD blaster coil, A/C & Smog delete, Excessive weight reduction (2860lbs), GM 3.42 gears, Moser 26 spline axles, Powertrax noslip locker, Summit diff cover, TH700R4 transgo shift kit, Corvette servo, Permacool tranny cooler, Sonnax TV Spring kit, Aluminum Drums, Nitto NT555R Drag Radials, EBL and Zeitronix ZT-2 for the tuning.
Future plans are a Edelbrock RPM intake, 46mm Xtremefi TBI, ZZ4 cam, Ported ZZ4 heads and an EDGE 3200 stall going in after I learn how to tune.
My car had Dunlop SP Sport 8000s when I bought it. They were pretty worn down when I got it, so I can't really compare them to the Falkens. But they seemed like an ok tire, a little pricey for a new set though, which is the main reason I went with the Falken Ziex 512's, plus the fact that I heard and read some good things about them. The Falkens were $450 mounted and balanced as opposed to $600 for a new set of Dunlops.
What impressed me the most about the Falkens was how well they handled in wet weather. I've never expirenced any hydroplaning or loss of traction with them. Their handling is even better when it's dry too. The car stays firmly planted to the road in in every situation. Their cornering ability is excellent. They're also really hard to break loose from a dig. This is with a stock L98 though, so that would probably change if more power is added. Their braking performace in both the wet and dry is great as well. They're supposed to be ok in the snow too, but probably not mounted on our cars though. But I wouldn't know as I don't drive my car when it snows.
There may be better tires out there, but for the money, I don't think you can beat the Falken 512's. For the driving I do (average, everyday driving with the occasional stoplight drag and blast down an empty twisty back road) they're perfect.
i'm rolling on Fulda Carat Extremo's. Fulda is a german company and their tires are relatively tough to find but i love these tires. the traction i get from these is outstanding.
I'm a little bit shocked that no-one's mentioned the tires I have....
I'm running Firehawk SZ-50 EPs on all four corners, & they are, without question, some of the best tires ever made. Spendy as hell (!), but I swear to *** they're worth every freakin' penny I paid for 'em, & then some! I have 245/50/16s on the front, & 255/50/16s on the back, the list price for them came to about $825, but I found a dealer with a local F-body group hookup, & he matched TireRack's price, which saved me about 25% of the total (I think I got the whole set for about $640 installed, a bit like getting one tire free).
Yeah, that sounds expensive, until I tell you that the amazing wet traction that these tires have has saved me from wrinkled sheetmetal not once, but twice now! (And if you have any idea what body work costs, you know that these tires have more than paid for themselves already...)
I wasn't sold on getting them, but the local F-body group recommended them so highly that once I found the price-match, I bit the bullet & gave 'em a shot. I'd do it again every day I ever had to buy good tires.
It sucks that they no longer make 'em in 16" size, but hell, I was planning on getting 17" rims anyway, & I love these tires so much that it's literally worth the expense to me... I think you can get an idea of what they look like if you hit my vBGarage (link in sig)...
AWESOME! im going with 245/45/17 and 285/40/17 Firehawk Wide Ovals when i get my new wheels. They are basically rebadged pontenza RE92__ (cant remeber exactly) i got them for 460 bucks too, brand new!
I also have the BFG G-Force Sport, and it's one of the best handling tires I've ever had, and a good price at Tirerack. They also have great feedback on the BFG's. I have a hard time spinning my wheels now, even with all my low end torque mods.
I got some khumos on the front, they suck, They were good for the first two days, but now Im regretting I had to put the BFG Radials T/As from the front on the back....Im gonna go with those when I get tires again ><
how in the world can you like BFG radial ta over kumhos i know kumhos suck but i dont think it gets as bad as the radial ta's. Im going to try out the Yokohama AVS ES100 whenever the tires i have on there now wear out. those tires look bad *** i cant wait. Later Daniel
__________________ 355 Stealth Ram, Hedman LT's with cut-outs w/ full 3 inch flowmaster exhaust, BMR Trak Pak Torgue Arm, Spohn LCAR, LCA's, SFC's, 1LE Aluminum driveshaft, 24lb injectors, .503/.508 lift .218/.220 dur., 1.52 Comp Cam Magnum Roller Rockers, functional Ram Air II hood, Turbo II wing, Hurst rachet shifter, BBK underdrive pulleys, Stewart Aluminum WP, 700R4 trans w/ 2600 stall, Superior Billet Servo, 5 pinion planetary from 700Raptor.com.
i've been bouncing between BFG G-Forces and Kumho ASX's for 86$ a piece and they have 30k warranty, AA traction, 420 treadwear and A temp rating you cant really beat'em unitll of course you want a softer tire.
I just burned through a set of BFG G-force drag radials. Hooked pretty good on the street and at the track. I got a 1.6 60 ft. time.The only thing I would say is they didn't last as long as I would have liked. Next I'm going with M/T drag radials, so will see how they are.
M/T drag radials are good for around 2k from what I've heard from buddies. But we also do a lot of racing on them sometimes on the street as well.
__________________ my car thats never done
"I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6"
First Place Camaro Modified Thirdgenfest '05, Second Place Camaro Modified Thirdgenfest '06, Best Modified Camaro Thirdgenfest '07 , Second Place Camaro Modified Thirdgenfest '08
MFBA March 2008 Featured Calendar Vehicle
I am running Bridgstone Potenza 730's. They are great wet weather tires,but,beware of going up hills ....... I have Khumo's gonna go on next oh , and how do i get on the board without someone typing first ........
Last edited by Z28IROC2NV; 03-09-2007 at 10:47 AM.
It's funny no one has mentioned the Hankook Ventus HRI 16' Tires . I have had them on my 88 350 Formula for over 1 year now with no complaints . A Friend of mine also runs them on his 89 Trans Am , and we both agree they are a Great Dry / Wet Tire for 3RD Gen. F Bodys . And for 67 Dollars apiece at Discount Tire , they are a Great Tire for the money .
__________________ (*> ....... The BIRD is the WORD , FIREBIRD ! CAW !
I currently am running the Bridestone Potenza's and I chose them becaue I had the PSO2's on my vette. The potenza's are one step down from the
pso2's. I think my PSO2's were a much better tire and probally comparable to the eagle F1's. The potenza's 730's are better than my old BFG's. My experience with BFGs was they worked great the first 1/4 of their life then were hard as a rock, traction sucked from there on! I have vowed never to use BFG's ever again, yet I hear good stuff about the KWD's, but I will never spend a dime on them. I plan on purchasing the eagle F1's next round.
I ended up getting the nitto dr's for the mileage because I only got 5k out of my bfg dr's. The nittos flat out suck by comparison. They are only marginally better than a street tire imo. I consistenly cut 1.7x 60fts (best was 1.70) on the bfgs with a 5-10 sec. burnout. With the nittos, I had to at least double the burnout time to get them to sort of hook for 60ft. times in the 1.9x (best 60ft. was 1.80). So I had to double the burnout time and guess what? I only got 5k out of these as well.
I just picked up a set of the M/T ET street DR's. 275/40/17. Will see how they are this summer. I still have a little life left on the BFG's to burn through. My plan this time is to only use the DR's on the street and get a set of slicks for the track.
Just located 3 sets of OEM Goodyear Gatorbacks. Problem is ,they are new but 22 years old! Never been on a car, sitting in a tire warehouse in Houston. I have heard about 20-30 arguments about these tires. Are they ok to use or are they too old? The retailer wants me to put them on my 1985 Iroc-Z and give them a try. I told him I prefer not to play Russian Roulette with a questionable set of tires. Sooooo, anyone got a clue as to the quality of these 22 year old tires? BTW, they are 245/50-16's. Badman
i'm rolling on Fulda Carat Extremo's. Fulda is a german company and their tires are relatively tough to find but i love these tires. the traction i get from these is outstanding.
agreed! i have run these tires for 3 years now on my camaro and love them. they are fairly cheap but give great performance. 1.8x 60 foots on my stalled auto L98 were capable on a good launch. they dont get the best mileage tho... something like 10K miles for me... but the performance makes up for it.
I cant seem to find them anymore. a new model came out and features harder tread so it wont grip as good...i'm a bit dissappointed to say the least
Just located 3 sets of OEM Goodyear Gatorbacks. Problem is ,they are new but 22 years old! Never been on a car, sitting in a tire warehouse in Houston. I have heard about 20-30 arguments about these tires. Are they ok to use or are they too old? The retailer wants me to put them on my 1985 Iroc-Z and give them a try. I told him I prefer not to play Russian Roulette with a questionable set of tires. Sooooo, anyone got a clue as to the quality of these 22 year old tires? BTW, they are 245/50-16's. Badman
How much does he want for them? I've still got the original Goodyear Gatorbacks on my car.
right now im running goodyear eagle F1 GS-D3 and they are unreal, i cant believe how they grip, and i just got subframe connectors in, lowered control arms, eibach sportlines, so cant wait to see how they hook now.
My next set of tires will be for longevity and price sake the Bridgestone Potenza re750, they look like an awesome tire and are very well reviewed on tirerack.
orr89rocz you cant find the fulda's anymore because they a were discountined and replace with a shitty tire i cont remember what they are called i havent sold one in a long time. i was looking the other day and i think that yokohama avs es100 are discountined in 245/50/16 but im not sure i gotta call them and see. so if if anyone wats them i best buy them now. anyone one in central florida hit me up i can get you a deal on them. Later Daniel
__________________ 355 Stealth Ram, Hedman LT's with cut-outs w/ full 3 inch flowmaster exhaust, BMR Trak Pak Torgue Arm, Spohn LCAR, LCA's, SFC's, 1LE Aluminum driveshaft, 24lb injectors, .503/.508 lift .218/.220 dur., 1.52 Comp Cam Magnum Roller Rockers, functional Ram Air II hood, Turbo II wing, Hurst rachet shifter, BBK underdrive pulleys, Stewart Aluminum WP, 700R4 trans w/ 2600 stall, Superior Billet Servo, 5 pinion planetary from 700Raptor.com.
I have BFG KDW's. Awesome tire in the dry and great in the rain. I live near Vancouver and we get rain like no one else. These tire will cut through puddles and water filled truck grooves with little difficulty.
My stock brakes have a hard time locking cause these tires have lots of grip. Mind you I have 275's on the front and 295's on the rear. Dont know how to compare them to a set of 245's.
__________________ The world's best cam combined with a poor set of heads will produce an engine that's a dog. But bolt on a set of great heads even with a poor cam, and that engine will still make great power
Hey guys, I have a question I have the Bridgestone 730s and they need a replacement. Can a z-rated summer tire be driven when it is cold (fall time) (-10) - (-20) degrees celsius with no snow. I know they are not to be driven in the snow, but some times here we get a cold fall or do not get snow right away (Winnipeg, Canada). The car is not driven in the winter but sometimes doesn't get parked until the first snow fall. I was reading at tirerack on performance tires and all of the descriptions read "...xxx is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice. Anybody have any input on this. I was possibly looking at the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position, or should I get something else.
Darrell
__________________ 1991 GTA L98
K&N Filter, Subframe Connectors, 3.73 Gears, Hypertech Airfoil, Ported Plenum, Underdrive Pulleys, Flowmaster Catback, no cats, Hypertech AFPR, Ed Wright Stage I Fastchip, a 160 Thermostat, Poly Bushings, Rebuilt Tranny with shift kit from Pro Built Automatics, KYB GR-2 and Gas Ajust Shocks, UMI Front A-arms, Bosch III Injectors and Racetronix Fuel Pump Performance Kit.
I have owned many many sets of tires on my Camaro over the years, All upper end tires.
I will agree that the old Firestone SZ50 and SZ50EP tires were a strong 8.5 & 9 out of 10.
BFG's just plain suck now. I ran numerous sets of BFG Comp TA's backiin the late 80's and early 90's and they were top of the line at that time but now tires have evolved much better and BFG fell behind. I currently have a set of KDW BFG's on the car right now and I will say strongly that they SUCK. I give them a 6 out of 10. BFG radial TA? A frikin ice skating rink and rate it a 2.
I have owned a few different Kumho's, Hankooks, a set of Falkens, Dunlop and Bridgestone Pole Positions- The tire that hands down out performs everything by far except the SZ50EP is the Goodyear F1 GSD3 and rates a very powerful 10 of 10. Why the heck I ever went to these crappy KDW tires is because of unjust recommendations on this website- I hate them and they do not even hold a candle to the GSD3's, not even in the same league.
like everyone else says, kuhmo's suck ***.. they have/had a rating of 8ish on tire rack.. my eagle GA's i have now, that are smaller (235 vs 245) and only have a rating of 7.2, out-perform the kuhmo's.. when i had a bit less power, with the kuhmos on, i could burn straight through second gear.. with the eagle GA's, i can only burn to about 5000rpm..
but now i can go through second easy..
heres a little guy i found somewhere
__________________
1984 Trans Am
385sbc(RIP)/t-5/4.30-9"
1.69-7.44-11.65 @ 116
next up-->383 with mild upgrades
Ive got Nitto NT555- 275/40ZR18 in the back and 245/40ZR17 in the front. And I have no trouble gripping even when I footbrake launch it at about 2500 RPM. Thats with a mildly modded 305, 700R4 w/shift kit, and an 02' SS SLP 3.42 Posi out back. Theyre kind of expensive but you can find good deals all day on Ebay.
Bringing a thread back from the dead! I wanted to let all you guys know that this is a very helpful thread. I need to replace my tires and have been reading review after review on www.tirerack.com and am beginning to realize that every situation is different, so how can people review a tire unless they can compare them to their last tire. And even then they are comparing their old worn out tires to new tires. At least with this thread everyone has the same car. Probably different mods and engines but we're not talking about BMW or Honda or whatever. Thanks again guys and keep the reviews coming! We should also be posting suspension/ drivetrain mods and engine size.
Chuck
PS the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval is sounding pretty good.
Hi All, just thought you might appreciate a contribution from 'Down Under', I'm using Sumitomo HTR Z series, 225/55/16 front and 255/50/16 rears on 16x8 Boyds, have to say these tyres are super impressive in all areas wet or dry, awsome cornering grip - more than once I've gone into a corner faster than I think I should, but you just get on the gas coming out and she goes around like she's on rails, leaves you wondering where the limits are!
Keep in mind we have some pretty ordinary roads here in Oz !
Craig.
I like the Goodyear Eagles GT HR. There great in the summer with dry and rain and pretty nice on ice down here. People keep talking about dry-rotting on them but I baby my car anyway so it's wash reguraly and tire shined and i've had no problem.
__________________ Cardomain
D.I.Y.- Sticking it to the Man. and saving money
Cheers!
Bfg now has a fairly new tire. BFG G-Force Supersport A/S which seems to be ridiculously good on snow, ice, rain, and dry weather. Now this tire goes from around 150-180. Ive found it also for about 135. That is per tire of course, but I have to say, after buying them for my 2002 Camaro, my wife decided that 780 dollars for tires and instalation wasn't too much money after all. "She was opposed to me buying these tires because they were too *pricey*"
I have owned 3 camaros to this point. 2 of them 3rd gen's. One 305 Berlinetta and a 305 Z-28 "before they had the 350's ". My camaro now has m just as much power as eaither of the previous camaros "top end less then my old z28 though" and with these new tires, the car handles about 50x better then any other camaro ive owned.
my opinion on tires, would be the BFG G-Force Supersport A/S... 245/50/16!~
ive got 245 toyo proxes 4's on my 86 IROC and no complaints. i havent tested them out at the track yet but so far they've been great. ive abused them pretty severly and so far no problems
1983 Z28 Camaro 
355 Stealth Ram, Hedman LT's with cut-outs w/ full 3 inch flowmaster exhaust, BMR Trak Pak Torgue Arm, Spohn LCAR, LCA's, SFC's, 1LE Aluminum driveshaft, 24lb injectors, .503/.508 lift .218/.220 dur., 1.52 Comp Cam Magnum Roller Rockers, functional Ram Air II hood, Turbo II wing, Hurst rachet shifter, BBK underdrive pulleys, Stewart Aluminum WP, 700R4 trans w/ 2600 stall, Superior Billet Servo, 5 pinion planetary from 700Raptor.com. 
, Second Place Camaro Modified Thirdgenfest '08
. and saving money
". My camaro now has m just as much power as eaither of the previous camaros "top end less then my old z28 though" and with these new tires, the car handles about 50x better then any other camaro ive owned.
