Performance wise it would effect braking and handling well for me it would cause annoying bouncing when going at high speeds (85mph+). I noticed better cornering when I replaced mine with Kyb's. I am sure it effects more than what I just said.

 

Yeah, that's my main problem..my braking and overall feel when I drive the car..my Camaro HATES dirt roads, anything but super smooth pavement..I was considering getting some KYB's as well, are there any specific struts by them that you would recommend? My car is really rough when it drives, everything starts shaking when I go faster.

 

I am running Kyb GR2's. So far I love em and their good on the wallet as well. Check out KYB Outlet for em, their around $50 if I recall.

 

Well you should have whatever is causing your handling problems fixed first. The rule of thumb I always go by when it is raining is with sports cars you should always have tires with alot of tread, drive 5-10 mph below the speed limit, and when you are having to slow down pump your brakes to keep your tires from locking up and slidding out of control.

 

Are there any specific tires I should invest in? I want the best ones I can afford, a friend told me Goodyear & BC Goodrich makes some decent all-weather tires. What do you think?

 

Goodyear I believe is a pretty good choice but on mine I have a set of normal performance Kumho tires. I have the 350 in my car and I have yet to slide around or lose any traction in my car even when I try to. In fact they also kept me from rearending this guy who slammed on his brakes right in front of me. They also keep me from peeling out whenever I punch it at a light. On my car I have Pirreli (I think) 245 on the front and Kumho 255 on the back because wider tires will help provde more traction because you have more rubber on the road. Dont get 255 on the front otherwise your tire will rub and cause your tire to pop.

 

On dry pavement yes you will get better traction with wider tires. On wet pavement you will have better control with a narrow tire because you have less tire for the water to get trapped under.

 

Always ran good year tires here, Currently I have 2 Hankook Ventus V4 ES 235/45/17 on front and 2 worn 245/45/18 Pirelli Pzeros in the back. I plan to switch to Goodyears Eagle F1's for the rear soon. The Pirelli will not hook on my car for doodoo, worst tires ever and has me fish tail countless times, I know its fun but jesus. My front Ventus on the other hand, they get mixed reviews but their very comfortable.

 

Here is a link to the tires I have on my car now. Just after I bought the car back in '98 I had a set of Goodyear Eagles put on it. Great tires but cost at that time $150 each. When they got old I had a set of Metric brand tires put on. They had a very hard compound very little grip on dry pavement and a real pain when the road was wet. The next set I bought was Kelly tires for $50 each and that was the biggest waste of money. I had the tires for 2 years very litte tread was used. I changed my breaks back in April and noticed the inside sidewall on all of the tires were dry rotted. Two of them even had major cracks that was half way through. I took the car back to Clark Tire here in Granite to show them and was told all of those tires were bad. They had a recall on them about a year ago and didn't release the memo to the dealers until the cutoff date was up. Clark Tire gave me some credit on the tires so all wasn't bad. I bought a set of Goodyear Eagle GT-HR tires and that is what I will stick with. They cost about $135 each.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Eagle+GT-HR

 

Couple ways to do better in the rain, don't have crappy/bald tires and slow the f down! Don't drive like you're in dry weather conditions, drive like an old lady going to her bingo game. Brake earlier, accelerate slower, slow down in turns and learn some car control. I can take my car out in the rain no problem, not spinning a tire once or slipping and sliding everywhere. Next time it rains, go find a wiiiiide open lot where you wont be bothered or run into stuff. Just mess around pitching the car sideways and counter steering. Also remember, everything is going to be slick as snot when it first starts raining and for some time after.

 

Bump..

What would you recommend I check first? My back tires are in really bad shape, which I'm sure is the reason I hydroplaned, and it's causing me to brake horribly..aside from the tires and front suspension, what else should I look into?

 

Id check things out closer before ya replace parts, you made comments on that it doesn't ride nice cept on smooth roads but these are sports cars, your suppose to feel every bump in the road. The real fancy pricy Euro ones, you can feel a blade of grass when run over on a smooth road.

But bad tires are not good though as the rear is is light on these.
Without weight to hold it down, grip is all ya got.

 

I just want to have better overall control, when I brake my car, even sometimes at really low speeds, the back tires will squeal a lot and my car will start turning slightly, I have to be super easy on the brakes..it's scary to drive this thing when there's other cars on the road.

 

Sounds backwards, front should lock first, might be a brake problem.

 

I was thinking the same thing, but damn brakes sure cost a lot to fix..I think my brake pads may be worn down, but for all I know the entire brake system might need work..how would I be able to tell?

 

brake parts are cheap if ya do it yourself........