I know that there is a definate benefit to a better compound, but I'm talking daily driver street tires here.

To be specific, I'm referring to the BFG 295/50, and all the 245/50s for our 16"x8" 3rd gen wheels. The BFG does not have your typical "hi-speed" tread design. It's only a "S" rating, not a "Z" rating.

Thing is, your looking at (Tirerack prices) $113 per for the 295 BFG (the only street 295 16" tire) vs down to $62 Kumho (the lowest I've found) 245 16" tire.

In other words, the 295s look REALLY cool (ran them on my old 92 RS with the stock 16"x8" whheels), but is there a PERFORMANCE benefit to the 295s...at almost twice the price? (They damn sure look good!) Visual? Hands down, the BFG!

Sure, BFG has a good reputation, but is the wider tire worth the cost?

 

I'll tell you this Stephen, I looked at Tire rack 245/50R16 tires and found the Kuhmo ECSTA ASX and can tell you that running that tire at 82.00/ea will hands down outperform the BFG 295 all day long. Bang for the buck the Kuhmo is a great tire made by a company with has lots of auto-x and O/T customers under their belt.

 

I got ECSTA AST and like them quite well on my GTA.

U need to properly size a tire to the rim in any application for maximum results as well.

Running a 295 on a 8 inch rim will only help to soften the sidewall up due to the increased width as well as make the tire more prone to rolling over itself in corners.

later
Jeremy

 

Yes, 8" is the smallest you can use, but they sure looked good! Kind of a "fat tire" look.

 

A P295/50R16 should be run on a 9.5" wide wheel. When you put a 295 on an 8.0" wide wheel, you pull the beads in too far and the tire shoulders must pull down. This reduces the footprint width significantly. So, you pay for a 295 width and get the benefit of maybe a 275 tire at best. Bad idea.

Tires will always perform best for you when matched to the proper wheel width.

 

Did you have any fittment problems when mounting the 295's? All the info you can give me about everything about those tires will help. Thanks!

 

They just took the mounting guy a little more effort to get seated good, IIRC. That was YEARS ago, and I don't have a real good memory past 2.5 yrs ago anymore.

I noticed a guy the other day that has them right now, http://www.sa3go.proboards105.com , the red car on the front page there, not sure what his name was, but you could give you first-hand, current experience with them.

I'd get 295s too, but I have 4 good tires on my GTA (less than a year old) and 4 more good tires on my parts GTA. So, I'm set on tires for a while...I wish I needed tires, to have an excuse to get 295s!

 

Thanks for the info!

 

i'm confused. you want a good tire for a good price but your looking at a 295 wide tire which in any rim width and profile is not a good daily driving style tire... doesn't make much sense.

all companies offer tires in the respective ratings. h/z/r/s/ etc.. just do a bit of research and you'll see. also tirerack can offer decent prices but is not the absoloute lowest price so don't use it as a bible.

for your 16" tire a 245/50/16 tire will get you the best ride and performance. i'd stick with h rated if price is a concern... z rated if it's purely a weekend toy. lastly tires are tires to some degree. kuhmo or kelly's both make good budget tires. try looking online for companies that own companies and buy their more wholesale tires.

lastly stick to a tire that fits.. unless your drag racing 295 on a 16x8 is a bad idea on the street. you loose handling and when it rains your a danger on the road.

as reference my 91 hardtop has a 19x10 rear rim. i run a 295/30/19 michelin ps2. the tires cost me $400 a piece and while i can drive in the rain that wide it isn't much fun. they look cool but that's about it... my 91 t-top is a daily driver i have 18x8 rear with 245/40/18 and it's much better in the rain and just as much fun in the summer.

 

First off, the 295s are NOT a danger on the road. Driving style has more to do with capabilities, than the width. Show me a 285/16, and I'd be happy. It just sucks that it jumps from a 255 Z, to a 295 S. I never had a problem when I ran the 295s on my 92 RS w/stock 16x8 wheels.

No matter in the end. I've got 8 perfectly good 245s, and can't justify spending almost double the cost for 2 tires, when I already have plenty of good ones. Of course, the 245s on my car, will probably last me long enough, that the 4 spares I have, will have some level of dry rot, before I need them. I barely put 1200 miles on my car, in thelast 4 months since my last oil change. I might dismount the 4 spares, and sell the tires off anyways.

I know Tirerack isn't always the best price. My local stores will match the Tirerack prices, plus like $10 for mount & balance, It always beats shipping plus mount & balance if you bought thhe tires from Tirerack.