I need tires for the Maro and I want some good ones but don't know what to buy. I was looking at the eagle I or II's but are they any good? I want some high performance "Z" rated tires. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

 

I have Yokohama yk420s. They are v rated, but the other day I drove (aggresively) up to summenrhaven during/after a storm, and never lost traction. If that means anything to you

 

It does...here's what someone said about those tires:

These are H-rated passenger tires.
They are not touring tires and absolutely not performance tires.

So I should clarify a little more. I want a tire for high performance that has good traction in the rain. How about the yokohama AVS ES100? Anyone using these? They seem to be low profile type tires. I don't want low profile tho.

 

I'm running them, 275/45 17. I think they are noisier than the Firehawk SZ50EP's I used to run, but Firestone doesn't make the SZ50s any more.

Side to side grip is good to excellent. Front to rear isn't as good as the Firehawks, but these do well on wet roads.

They've been on for a year now and there is lilttle tread wear, unlike the Firehawks.

The tread pattern is fairly agressive, which I liked and TireRack had a decent deal on them.

 

I know there seems to be very good reviews on them at tirerack. Good wear, good in rain etc...the other problem I seem to have is that my tires deteriorate from the ozone. I don't drive the car more than 5K a year and from sitting the tires become no good anymore. They crack a lot. A few of the more expensive tires say they are made from compounds that won't break down. I can't remember which ones. Does anyone have the eagle tires? I know they are only rated an "S" but I would be willing to try them depending on the price of the yokohama avs's...

 

My 92 Z28 put two years in Prescott and the Northern AZ area on Potenza 730s recently and had no problem with them. Also had them on my 87 IROC, but one blew out, I guess from sidwall rot. Now the 730s are not produced anymore, so I bought a set of yokohama AVS ES100s. I like them a lot, both in hot weather and rain. The yokohama AVS ES100 is an excellent tire for less then $100.

 

Is it a low profile tire? It seems to look that way in the pic on tireracks website...

 

Firehawks are touched by (diety of your choice). I have Firehawks on the back and Potenzas on the front, I can almost launch in the rain.

 

The stance of the '87 is the same as the Potenza 730's, I don't know if it's a "low profile" tire or not ... just a nice, aggressive-tread 245/50/16.

 

Here are the choices I have so far that interest me based on the description given at tireracks website:

BF Goodrich Radial T/A, Firehawk Indy 500 with UNI-T, Yokohama Avid S/T, or es100's and Goodyear Eagle #1 Nascar....not sure which ones I like better. Ratings were highest for Firehawks then Yokohamas, Goodyear and lastly BF Goodrich. They all had an S or T rating and I believe the es100's have a higher rating either V or W...

 

How often do you plan on keeping a *sustained* speed over 112 mph (S rating)? Sustained doesn't mean trips down the 1/4 mile either. Z ratings are for over 150 mph sustained, which if you're doing that... tell me in advance so I'm not on the highway at the time.

I've had BF Goodrichs on the back, and the hooked like crap. The Yokohamas were a little bit better, their benefit is rain traction and handling. Firehawks were brought down the mountain along with the 10 Commandments.

 

Oh, and go with 255/50/16's in the rear. Can't have too much rubber on the ground back there.

 

I like the firehawks and the yokohamas the best...as for size, I am sticking with 15's all around. As far as ratings go, why bother with them if noone sustains those kinds of speeds? I think there is more to ratings then that. Our cars came with Z rated tires if I'm not mistaken. Why?

 

The origin of the ratings in the first place was for use in places like Germany where cars actually do those speeds. The original definition of the ratings was in km/h for that reason.

I suspect they (meaning Irocs) came from the factory that way because our cars are capable of those speeds and it'd be a hell of a lawsuit waiting to happen if they didn't. RSes and V6s didn't come with Z rated tires. AFAIK

 

You will find that most Z rated tires come with a softer compound=better grip, faster wear.

 

Which is of concern to me because my tires tend to crack with age because they don't get much use. I'm not sure tho if softer tires or harder tires would prevent or slow that process.

 

All tires crack with age, softer tires tend to do it faster which is why people who run slicks have tire covers over the tires. Just get some covers for the tires for when it's parked.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to lead you wrong, I was just under the Impression that when my tires say P245/50 R16 96V It means they are 16 inch rimmed, 96 load rated, V speed rated radial passenger tires. And V rated meaning, according to the wierd yokohama scale, that they are good to sustained speeds of 149 mph. I didn't know all those numbers and letters mean H rated. So how do I read the information on the sidewall of my tires correctly?
Also, they say stuff about treadwear 420, traction AA, temperature A, do these things indicate sub par tires as well?

And as far as my experience with them driving dangerously in the rain, I guess you don't have to believe me if you don't want to
Oh well
I hope that when you get new tires, you don't get ****** like I apparently did!

 

I am not understanding your response...I think your tires are R rated which is what the R16 is. I didnt understand your last statement. One of the words is blocked out. I appreciate your input on this subject. I always try to do a lot of research on things I am going to buy so I can make the right decision. I am leaning towards the firehawks at the moment. I will find out tomorrow what they will cost me when I take the Blazer in for new tires.

 

I stand corrected blasto....your reading of your tires was correct. I checked the tirerack website again. You have V rated tires with a load rating of 96 which means one tire will handle 1565 pounds.

 

Why shop for high performance road tires in the 15-inch size? Having had both 15 and 16-inchers on my IROC, I noticed tremendously better handling with the larger wheels. Stock 91-92 16-inch wheels are pretty cheap and 50-series tires will keep the chassis at the same ride height as 15's.

 

It's for Radial.



I'm guessing he's shopping for 15 inch tires because he has 15 inch rims.. I could be totally off, though.

 

Woot! I was about to throw my tires through the window of discount tire like the old lady in that commercial.

Sorry for any confusion. Hope you tell us what you fianlly got Captain

 

You would be correct...hard to fit 16's on my new 15" outlaw II rims. My preference is 15's and I want a high performance tire which limits what I can get by brand because most HP tires start in the 16" size and go up from there. I have remington xt-120 ctr's on the back now and I like them. They are a T rated performance tire and I may just go with those instead. In the meantime, I am still looking into the ones I mentioned already.

 

The reason you noticed better handling with the 16's is because all iroc's came stock with 16's not 15's...

 

Better handling with 16" wheels is because there's less sidewall to flex, which also results in a little harsher ride. Having more sidewall is better for traction when launching in a straight line for weight transfer and planting the tires to the ground.

 

That too....

 

OK, I ordered the tires today and they will be here next Tuesday. I went down to look at them before buying even tho I knew what I wanted and it seems that I will have to have white lettering on the outside because the blackwall side looks like sheit in my opinion. With a front end alignment the cost comes to 461.00 installed. I went with the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's. Pics next week...

 

Pic of the tire I bought...

 

I just pictured that and I can't stop laughing!

 

If you ordered the tires from Tirerack, did the local installation facility deny you lifetime balance, rotation, etc, even though they installed and balanced the tires?

That's what the Hawaii installer told me when I had the tires shipped to them -- even though the store is a recommended TireRack installer -- the store said that I would have received those benefits if I had bought the tires from the Hawaii store [and of course paid a much higher price per tire].

 

I bought them from a local tire dealer, not from tirerack. I won't be getting them until Tuesday. With the cost of shipping per tire it was almost the same price buying them local, so I did.

 

I tell you what dude... I drove on those Yoko YK420's for 2 years with my Camaro. Whenever they blew out or wore down they were always replaced with a freshie. They had better traction that most others I've tried. They're not hard. The give an awesome ride and really do have good traction in rain. Just ask 90_WS6_Formula. He bought my set from me when I parted the car out. They're priced pretty well too.

IMO I think the "someone" that told you about them doesn't know their *** from a hole in the ground.

 

I quoted it from the tirerack website. It was a quote from the tire maker themselves...

 

it figures...

 

not sure if u have 16's or 17's. if u have 17's, id go for a set of nittos. if 16's... i have no clue. im in the same boat with those irocs i got. no clue, besides thsoe new ET streets, for a good tire thats 16"

 

 

well **** then.. haha. i know for sure there are some nice size ET streets for 15's.

 

If your talking to me, I have a new set of M/T ET Street drags already. I use them for drag racing on the 95 and 94 Z28...

 

then get the turd a set!

 

Nah... I will use regular slicks for mine.

 

then what do u want?!?! haha

 

Umm, I can't in all seriousness answer that because this is a family oriented forum, but I already stated in the post some time back that I was getting the Firehawk Indy 500's.........I will post pics on Tuesday when I get them put on. I would like opinions as to what everyone thinks of them with the white letters facing out.