Ok, I'm new to the Camaro world but not new/inexperienced w/ cars. I bought my '83 Berlinetta (V6) on Jan 5th and am really enjoying it. Of course, it goes without saying that since I bought it cheap, it had some work that needed to be done. So far, I've fixed or replaced the following. (let me look at my logbook)

1. Rear brake shoes
2. Lack of Gas Pedal
3. No gauges except for the speedo worked.
4. All lift struts changed.
5. Front Struts
6. Front brake pads
7. Thermostat stuck open
8. Passenger side outer tie rod end
9. Rear defogger
10. Driver's side door lower hinge bushing/ striker pin
11. put in stereo, plugs, wires, and other piddly crap

Anyhow, the REAL question here. I'm going to be taking the car east to visit friends (after getting out of the military). The tires that are on it are pretty close to the wear bands so it goes without saying that these are probably going to be replaced. What I'm looking for is a tire with decent grip (I do like to screw around), but it doesn't have to be ludicrously sticky, as I'd like to see good treadwear (60k or better?). Good wet weather handling is a real plus as it stays wet the whole winter here in Western WA.

So here's my experience with various brands (models if I remember). Maybe this will help you see what I'm looking for:


1. Yokohama (AS40)--Have these on my T-Bird now and I like them alot. Also had these in the past on a Jetta and they were nice.
2. Firestone--Grip reasonably well (or ludricrously well, if Firehawks), but they seem to wear pretty fast.
3. Bridgestone--Ok if dry, but not particularly great in wet weather (had both potenza's (cheap, I know) and the 80k mile tire (don't remember the model))
4. Pirelli--Nice tire, but wears even faster than the firestones (didn't live in WA when I had these so I don't really know wet weather perf.)
5. Michelin (XH4)--Excellent Treadwear, but really similar to Bridgestone in wet weather (I guess the rubber is too hard)

I've never bought Goodyear tires as for the most part, it seems like their tires are ludicrously expensive in comparison with the competitions. I could be swayed if someone really thought they were worth the money.

Of course there is BF Goodrich and others too. So many brands I didn't want to post a poll. My experience has been that sometimes various cars favor one brand/ type of tire over another.

So what's the consensus, and what am I going to lay down for them?

 

Of course you probably run a different size but the falken 502 radial ziex wasn't to bad. They have a rain groove cut in them. They are z rated and don't have much tread depth so they wore out fast. The goodyear eagles on it now are h rated so they would have more tread depth. they are a balancing nitemare.

 

i'm assuming that you have the stock 14x7 wheels and 205/70s. going for price, wear, sidewall strength, grip, and price again, i would seriously look into cooper cobras. they're a great deal for the money. I'll be putting them on my berlinetta on different wheels when the firestones that came on the car wear out. I used them before on a healthy g body and was very impressed.

 

Cobras are nice tires but they wear so quickly its not worth it. I like BFG's Advantage GT. They are great tires and dont wear out quickly even under my lead foot.
SSC

 

I got about 10,000 miles out of my 245/50/16 Cooper Cobra's. Of course a few of those miles were at the track!!!

 

I have bridgestone Potenza RE730 on my car right now and I love them! They have excellent wet weather traction and don't seem to be wearing that bad. Don't know if they have them in your size or not. I have 255/45ZR17

PS. where in washington do you live?

 

I live just outside of Silverdale, on the Kitsap Penninsula. If you're familiar with the area, it should now be obvious who my soon to be ex-employer is. (US Navy, anyone?) Because we get so much rain here in this area, it's important that wet weather traction is good.

Thank you for all the input so far.

 

I've been using Falken GRB-II's for a couple years.(in 245-45-16 size).They're Z-Rated and are better in the rain than any others I've had.
-Rich-