I just got my hands on a set of 25 th Anniversary Rims. Now I need to get new rubber for'em. Any ideas. I was thinkin of just gettin some BFG's but some one told me to get a tire with a "Z" rating. I heard they are pretty expensive....anyone got any ideas. Are they worth it? Is there a tire that is realitivly the same? And whut is "Z" rating?

------------------
89 Rs Camaro 305 TBI
Air Intake
K&N air filter
80 Series FlowMaster Muffler 2.5 inch Cat Back
BFG 235/60r15 (soon to be 25th Anniversary rims with 235/50r16)
Apperance: Black gray pinstripe. Black interior with Gray center piece in seat. Blue Gauge lights and 2 Blue neons under dash Board.
90 Iroc Checkerd Tail lights
Iroc Foglights
System: Pioneer 5200 Head unit Polk 3 ways up front and in the back. Kenwood 300 watt amp pumpin a 8inch JBL GT

 

Z rating means how much speed your tire can handel. A Z rating can withstand 149 mph I think. You can go to http://wwww.TireRack.com and look up tires to get the cost of the tire you want.

------------------
3rd Generation Camaros


[This message has been edited by 3gc (edited November 26, 2000).]

 

The Z rating is not really to tell you the top speed of the tire, it's not like your going to drive 149 untill the treads blow off, it's more really to tell you the characteristics of the tire, so basically the stiffness of the sidewall, i highly recommend them, but it's not always neccessary if your hurting in the pockets.

 

i wouldnt waste the money on z-rated tires. you will never be going that fast to worry about the tread blowing off and there is alot of other tires that grip almost as good as them. I would definitely recommend staying away from BFG z-rated as the ones on my mothers 98 cobra only lasted 15,000 miles
just my 2 cents

 

umm so whut size tires should I get???

------------------
89 Rs Camaro 305 TBI
Air Intake
K&N air filter
80 Series FlowMaster Muffler 2.5 inch Cat Back
BFG 235/60r15 (soon to be 25th Anniversary rims with 235/50r16)
Apperance: Black gray pinstripe. Black interior with Gray center piece in seat. Blue Gauge lights and 2 Blue neons under dash Board.
90 Iroc Checkerd Tail lights
Iroc Foglights
System: Pioneer 5200 Head unit Polk 3 ways up front and in the back. Kenwood 300 watt amp pumpin a 8inch JBL GT

 

If they are 16x8's then you should probably just get the usual 245/50/16
IMO

 

A tire thats Z rated means it can go 149 mph for 20 hours! I dont think anyone here is planning on doing that anytime soon!

Speed ratings not really a big deal to me, the higher the speed raing gets, the lower your tread life is.

I'd say go for some V rated tires, maybe even H ones....save some cash and get some extra life out of em!

Oh yeah, and I'd also suggest the 245/50/16's unless your having major traction problems.

------------------
1991 Firebird Formula, 305, TPI, Auto...stock till I get some money!!!
Former owner of an 88 2.8 Firebird....RIP

[This message has been edited by dudelovett (edited November 30, 2000).]

 

I did a TON of reserch before I bought my tires. I looked for tires that just blow anything away on the streets for performance. I found a magazine that rated the 10 best tires on road performance, track performance, wet road, wet track, noise, ride, skidpad, wear, etc.
The Dunlop Sport 9000's placed 1st or 2nd in every catagory, especially in the real world performance. The magazine rated the Sport 9000's the best tires to buy unless you're going to be on the race track most of the time (one set of tires rated awesome on the track but was loud as hell on the road, followed cracks, wouldn't last a week, and made the ride EXTREMELY harsh).
Best of all, the Dunlops were priced lower than most of the other tires. Some of the tires cost $240 a piece for a 245/50ZR16. After shopping around, I was able to pick up the Dunlop Sport 9000's for $170 a piece.

I am IN LOVE with those tires.I took them to a parking lot and COULDN'T get them to break loose or even squeal in a corner before I let off such as not to dis-locate my rearend or black out. When I launch the tires hook 10 TIMES better than my old tires, and before I had these tires my car was IMPOSSIBLE to drive in the rain. Everytime I'd go around a corner I'd have to let off the gas and slow down to about 5mph otherwise I'd be spinning in circles like a top, and when I'd come off a stop light I'd have a soccer mom in mini-vans riding my a** because I couldn't hook up if my life depended on it (and I'm not talking about trying to race, this is just normal everyday acceleration).
Now my car almost as well in the rain as it does when it's a sunny summer day. It feels like a completely different, SAFER car. These tires are by far the best "mod" I've done to my car so far. Since I've bought them two of my friends have as well. One drives a 95 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 18" rims and the other drives a 96 Acura Integra GS-R. They both praised these tires. After the kid with the Integra upgraded to 17" rims he tried Yokahoma A032R's......and was sorry he did.

As far as Z ratings go: You may not drive 150 for 20 hours straight or even drive above 85 on the highway ever in your life, but there are NO H rated tires that can even compare to a Z rated tire in performance in ANY field except maybe tire wear (although my Dunlop's are said to last 35,000 miles under normal driving, which sounds good to me). Although it MAY be possible to make a high performance tire that's not Z rated, no company bothers with it because it would be a waste, nobody would buy it. If you want performance, Z rated is the only way to go, hands down. I don't think anyone can argue with that.

 

Yes, I have heard some really good things about that particular Dulop tire. Another really good Z rated tire is the Firestone Firehawk.

 

i put michelins on my rs an i love them my advise to you is get a tire with the longest tread expectency ex. around 300 or so my buddy has the dunlops on his z and likes them but the michilins are a better snow tire.

 

The tires i have are goodyear eagle gtII's they look great and and they seem to be pretty good but the only thing is that with the slightest bit of rain, the can break away from the road very easy.

------------------
91RS 305-k&n,flowmaster, ASCD Supersport hood

 

Are Goodyear Eagle GTII still made? I have a those on my car, and one is bad, so I would like to find another one to match.

 

Goodyear Eagle GT II's suck. Just like you said, they break loose the second you tap the gas in the rain. The guy who had my car before wasn't much of a performance guy, so when he needed new tires, those were the ones he slapped on. They're 5 years old and have alot of tread left, but they still blow. Most of the shops that I've talked to strongly recommend avoiding them!

------------------
1991 Firebird Formula, 305, TPI, Auto...stock till I get some money!!!
Former owner of an 88 2.8 Firebird....RIP

 

Futura Ultra Z's. Bar none.

------------------
'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...

 

I've got H-rated Firestone Firehawks (yes, Firestones) 245-50's; for $98 each. They are fine for the way I drive; they corner well, and I don't drive it in the rain so I don't know how they are on wet roads. The original tires were Goodyear Z Gatorbacks, and they lasted for 50,000 miles.

------------------
90 TBI 305 Formula
Original Owner
Auto Trans, T-Tops
Completely Stock Except:
--Flow Cooler water pump
--180 T-stat

 

i have some 245/50/16 bridgestone potenzas. they seem to be pretty good to me. but when i get the money, if i still have 16in. rims, i want to get some 245/40/16 comp t/a's. just my opinion, but ill think they'll be sweet.

------------------
beau-t-ful yellow 85 iroc

 

I've got H-rated Dunlop D60A2's 245/50/16.They have worn well and grip very good for an h rated tire.Good value for about $95 a piece.I really want to get the Bridgestone RE730' when these wear out though.I've heard great things from everyone that has them.

 

i bought a set of Firestone Firehawk SS20 235/55/16 for my truck and only paid $130 each....and it still pulls .84 g's...too bad they suck in the rain. I gotta drive like an 'ol granny when its wet

 

I use 245/50-16 on the front
and 255/50-16 on the rear.

------------------
92 RS
350
Street & Performance MPFI
TFS heads
Crane Rollers
MSD Digital 6 Plus
24lb injectors
ZZ3 cam
Edelbrock Headers 1 5/8
3" Exhaust
Hi Flow 3" Cat
stock T-5
stock rear 3.08
koni yellow adjustable front
twin turbo glass hood
T-tops
Auto Meter Ultra Lite Series 2 5/8 gauges
Color: Teal Green

 

I bout Dunlop SP5000 Z-rated tires this past summer for my car. They grip well, but I'm not impressed with the way the treadpattern looks. My next tire will be a Z-rated Kumho tire. They run about $85 a piece and are used in Europe for road racing. I have heard nothing but good about them and their cost is perfect since they aren't advertising much.

As far as others here mentioning the 149+ speed rating, ignore that. If you want flat cornering and better handling, get the Z-rated tire. The sidewall is stiffer and doesn't give way when cornering. No H-rated tire can give that strong a sidewall. The reason for getting the Z would be performance and handling, not speed!! A Z-rated tire will probably give a better grip on the road when accelerating also. H-rated will break loose easier.

------------------
87 IROC 350 TPI with less than 10k original miles
www.users.uswest.net/~smoyer/iroc.htm