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i just bought a set of two rear tires in 255-50-16 and let me tell you, they are a huge improvement over what i had.
the previous tires were some offshore brand no name tire.
they would break traction at half throttle in first gear, and i could spin them in second for a few seconds.
in the rain, they were scary.
needless to say i burned them to a crisp.
now for the new tires....
firstly, they look awesome. the tread pattern just looks fast.
they stick like glue
the are fatter than my other 255's
i havent done any super hard launches, but from 20 mph, i cant spin them.
i am a bit reluctant to find their breaking point for the simple fact that with performace comes a price tag.
i got them shipped, mounted, balanced, and with new valvestems, for $320.
not bad IMO, but more than i really wanted to spend.
now i just have to manage to wear out the fronts (same as the old rears) and i will have four shiny new tires.
by the way, if anyone in the hampton roads area is looking for a good place to get tires, PM me.
they guy i got them from is awesome.
i only paid a few bucks more than TIRERACK for the tires, and didnt pay shipping.
cha ching
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Well you bought new tires for the rear, good for you. I bit of advice and my opinion only is never just replace two tires and have different brands & tread & wear patterns. Also how do you expect to steer the car with that increased traction you are so pround of with those front tires..
I've had two sets- 245/50R16 and 275/40R17. I liked them. Not the best in the owlrd, but they stick good and don't wear that bad. Look really nice too.
__________________ KONIs I Eibach Pro-Kit I 36mm/24mm sway bars I Spohn: Adjustable PHB I Wonder Bar I SFCs Custom LCAs I LCARBs I J&M Products Camber/Caster plates I Hawk's Ceramic Pads I 4th Gen 3.23 Posi I LS1/LT1 Brakes
Well you bought new tires for the rear, good for you.
thank you, i thought so too
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I bit of advice and my opinion only is never just replace two tires and have different brands & tread & wear patterns.
pardon me for not having $700 laying around.
the only reason i got them was that the rears were nearly dead and i wanted something better than what i had
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how do you expect to steer the car with that increased traction you are so pround of with those front tires..
well i havent been driving for too long, but i assume you would turn the steering wheel just like in any other car...
if you are asking weather the car's balance will be affected, then yes.
will it hurt anything?
no
if i had done it the other way around, then there would be more of a problem as i would have more grip in the front than the rear, which would result in oversteer and the rear wanting to break free in hard turns.
HOWEVER
having the rear grip better does not hurt anything at all
that being said, i normally would replace all four at the same time but could not afford to at the moment
pardon me for not having $700 laying around.
the only reason i got them was that the rears were nearly dead and i wanted something better than what i had
well i havent been driving for too long, but i assume you would turn the steering wheel just like in any other car...
if you are asking weather the car's balance will be affected, then yes.
will it hurt anything?
no
if i had done it the other way around, then there would be more of a problem as i would have more grip in the front than the rear, which would result in oversteer and the rear wanting to break free in hard turns.
HOWEVER
having the rear grip better does not hurt anything at all
that being said, i normally would replace all four at the same time but could not afford to at the moment
i will agree with you, if you are just driving the car, it really doesnt matter if the rear tires dont match the fronts, so long as they are in drivable condition you wont have any issues. No need for people to bash you for it.
pardon me for not having $700 laying around.
the only reason i got them was that the rears were nearly dead and i wanted something better than what i had
well i havent been driving for too long, but i assume you would turn the steering wheel just like in any other car...
if you are asking weather the car's balance will be affected, then yes.
will it hurt anything?
no
if i had done it the other way around, then there would be more of a problem as i would have more grip in the front than the rear, which would result in oversteer and the rear wanting to break free in hard turns.
HOWEVER
having the rear grip better does not hurt anything at all
that being said, i normally would replace all four at the same time but could not afford to at the moment
Someone has educated you...nice.
I still would have went with the SUPER sports tho.
i bought a set of 255/60 15's and then decided i could go bigger on the rear and went to 275/60 15's on the rear. i paid 85.00 per tire for 4 tires - and 10.00 for mounting, balancing, etc. no tax at all.
it helps if you buy through the military.
if you like the 255's you will love the 275's or 295/60 15.
and the kdw's are nothing to brag about, so what does that say for them?
Really? You didn't like them? I've had a couple of sets of them and thought that they handled pretty awesome. Of course, they were noisy, were shot after 30K miles, and weren't great in the snow. But man, the KDW's handled great.
I've tried the G-Force Sport too, and consider it a decent tire, but in my experience it is substantially outperformed by the KDW's.
I just replaced the 20 year old Gatorbacks on my '89 IROC. I would have gone with the KDW's, but since they're no longer available in our size, I got the Goodyear F1 GS D3's.
__________________ 1989 IROC-Z, LB9, T-5, 3.45 -- 10K miles
1983 Z/28, LU5, 700R4, 2.93 -- 97K miles
i can't find kdw's in my size. i have the stock 16x8's and need some sticky tires id like to go as wide as i can (245,255 or more?????) any suggestions? my car will be run street, strip and autoX.
i can't find kdw's in my size. i have the stock 16x8's and need some sticky tires id like to go as wide as i can (245,255 or more?????) any suggestions? my car will be run street, strip and autoX.
first of all, you cant do all three well at all on the same tires.
255-50-16 g-force sports are pretty grippy, but thats about all the experience i have with that.
if you are serious about drag, get drag radials on a dedicated set of rims.
if you are serious about autox, get a dedicated set of tires for that.
even so, the suspension setups for each are completely different. great drag suspensions will handle terribly on the street and autox track. great autox suspensions will beat you to death on the street and not hook at all in the 1/4 mile.
my advice is get a good set of street tires and get other tires as you need them for various other activities.
just dont set your suspension up for drag racing or it will snap oversteer on the street and track and will be a bear to drive in the twisties
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if you like the 255's you will love the 275's or 295/60 15.
those are all 15" tires.
big difference from 16" tires.
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I still would have went with the SUPER sports tho.
but those are all season and i only need summer tires.
they are also more $$$
Quote:
and the kdw's are nothing to brag about, so what does that say for them?
really? i was under the impression that they were great tires.
tire rack has them rated very well just FYI.
same with the g-force.
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Last edited by RED_DRAGON_85; 07-13-2009 at 05:49 PM.
first of all, you cant do all three well at all on the same tires.
255-50-16 g-force sports are pretty grippy, but thats about all the experience i have with that.
if you are serious about drag, get drag radials on a dedicated set of rims.
if you are serious about autox, get a dedicated set of tires for that.
even so, the suspension setups for each are completely different. great drag suspensions will handle terribly on the street and autox track. great autox suspensions will beat you to death on the street and not hook at all in the 1/4 mile.
my advice is get a good set of street tires and get other tires as you need them for various other activities.
just dont set your suspension up for drag racing or it will snap oversteer on the street and track and will be a bear to drive in the twisties
those are all 15" tires.
big difference from 16" tires.
but those are all season and i only need summer tires.
they are also more $$$
really? i was under the impression that they were great tires.
tire rack has them rated very well just FYI.
same with the g-force.
so what width should i run for my 16x8's? or how wide can i safely run? this is a budget street car that will mainly be driven on twist country roads. i couldnt see buying tires for the strip or autoX as i only bring it on all comer days not to compete but for my own fun.
Really? You didn't like them? I've had a couple of sets of them and thought that they handled pretty awesome. Of course, they were noisy, were shot after 30K miles, and weren't great in the snow. But man, the KDW's handled great.
I've tried the G-Force Sport too, and consider it a decent tire, but in my experience it is substantially outperformed by the KDW's.
I just replaced the 20 year old Gatorbacks on my '89 IROC. I would have gone with the KDW's, but since they're no longer available in our size, I got the Goodyear F1 GS D3's.
they handle ok, but about 90mph the start to wander bad
really? i was under the impression that they were great tires.
tire rack has them rated very well just FYI.
same with the g-force.
the ratings are done by customers, not all customers drive there car the same way.
Im running them currently, 245/40/18 front, 335/30/18 rear, traction is as good as its going to be for a 18" wheel, but like i said, right about 90 mph they start to wander. Haven't noticed any noise issues.
they do smoke like hell though, probably a good choice for a burnout compitition
they seem to be nail magnets as well, i have had so many flats with these tires is ridiculous, not the tires fault, but strange. Only thing nice, with the rears, 5lbs of air and they still ride.
The SUPER sports are an all season with a harder compound. Not stickier than the Sports.
__________________ KONIs I Eibach Pro-Kit I 36mm/24mm sway bars I Spohn: Adjustable PHB I Wonder Bar I SFCs Custom LCAs I LCARBs I J&M Products Camber/Caster plates I Hawk's Ceramic Pads I 4th Gen 3.23 Posi I LS1/LT1 Brakes
I have the KDW on my 90 IROC right now. No complaints. I believe it is available as a KD model for better preformance, the W is for wet conditions. I will be replacing them next year with some Firehawk Wide Ovals. The specs just look too good to pass up. The tread pattern is very aggressive looking. Take a look at them.
Just FYI i do not use my car for a daily driver, and will never drive it in the rain/snow.
just to clarify
the KDW-S and the G-force SPORT are the exact same tire... just with a different name
G-force Super Sport is all season as said before, and has harder compound with less grip.
funny story,
they have so much more grip than my old tires its rediculous.
i used to be able to do a burn out, with my foot on the brake, and the car would shift to second, then i'd let off the brake and fly away
with these tires, if i do a burnout, i get to the top of first and thats about it
let off the brake and i get terrible wheel hop.
they are pretty good tires.
good enough to break my trans (as i unfortunately found out)
just to clarify
the KDW-S and the G-force SPORT are the exact same tire... just with a different name
G-force Super Sport is all season as said before, and has harder compound with less grip.
I don't think I'd call them the exact same tire... The g-Force Sports are a high performance summer tire and the KDWS are high performance all season. The UTQG rating for the Sports is 340 AA A and the KDWS is a 400 AA A. The tread pattern looks different:
Sports:
then the KDWS is different than it used to be or is different based on size
my Girlfriends mustang has KDW-S tires (as read off the side wall) and my camaro has G-force Sport (as read off the sidewall) and they look exactly the same.
both look like what you posted as the G-force sport
also, just for giggles, can you tell me why the sidewall of what you called the KDWS has "g-for" on the sidewall?
is it possible that that is the super sport instead?
It's because the tire's full name is g-Force KDWS. Here's a link with the Super Sports and the KDWS on it. The Sports, Super Sports, KD, KDW, and KDWS are all in the g-Force series I think.
__________________ KONIs I Eibach Pro-Kit I 36mm/24mm sway bars I Spohn: Adjustable PHB I Wonder Bar I SFCs Custom LCAs I LCARBs I J&M Products Camber/Caster plates I Hawk's Ceramic Pads I 4th Gen 3.23 Posi I LS1/LT1 Brakes
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