IROCK123

What are the best tires for the cold/snow for a Camaro?

RJ_Moore

without a doubt, snows wide as you can get them on the rear, and snows about 215 on the front, but with a higher profile due to any ground effects you have, so say 75s or higher.

Richard.

L8modlracr

Goodyear Eagle F1 hands down. I have tried many other tires Michilen, Dunlop, Bridgestone and one or two others and the F1 wins hands down. I live around Seattle so we get rain and the F1 tires handle the rain like no other tire has. I have ran numerous tires on my late model stock car so I understand how a tire should feel and you can't beat the F1.

87CamaroIrocZ

not Kuhmo Extcas fast tread wear, vibration, flatspots due 2 sitting for a year one tire that wont hold air horrible wet cornering on 7/32 thread depth,big thing MADE IN KOREA.If buying foriegn only from japan and only name brands. Otherwise buy an american brand its worth the extra money.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

I've got some Hankook tires on mine which came with the car when I got it. So far so good but I won't buy them again. I don't buy anything made in Korea if I can help it.

rawley2

First I need to say I work at the Cooper Tire plant in Tupelo MS.

With that said Cooper Zeon tires take off hard and stick in the corners.

I should point out Cooper owns Micky Thomson and Avon as well as many lesser brands.

ALSO they are the 2nd largest producer of tires in the US behind Good Year. Most of the ties you guys are talking about are IMPORTED!!!!!

Sinister Z

I am running the Toyo Proxies T1-R's on mine and I absolutely love these tires, they stick real good and are very good in the rain, the sizes I have are 245/35/18 for the front & 285/35/18 for the rear

SCCAjunkie

For guys running 17s and 18s-

The Toyo R1R (the T1R is good too, but not compared to the R1R) is amazing. As a road course racer and a tire shop worker (part-time), I have run on MANY different tires. For summer and rain performance, the R1R beats ANY other street tire I've ever driven. The rain performance is particularly amazing. It just pisses me off that I can't get them in 245/50R16... They are so good, that I've actually got a set for my track car as rains (and turned lap times right with the Hoosier Dirt-Stocker and Hoosier Wet guys). I have NO idea how long they'll last, and I'm not sure about straight-line traction, since they're on a different car that makes a little less power... Also, do NOT plan to run them in the cold. In fact, they should be taken off the car when temps go below 20*F.

As for a more versatile tire, I'd suggest the Toyo Proxes 4. It's also available in 16" sizes...

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

What happened to all the 245/50/16's out there? I used to be able to get the entire BFG lineup, and now it's the G Force Sports and some all season tire and that's it. Tirerack has all of 12 tires available... When I got my BFG's a couple of years ago there were tons of options.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

No longer a popular size. Most tires seem to be geared towards the 17x8 size now.

But you can buy Nitto NT01's if you want a DOT legal R compound tire.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Was actually hoping to find something decent and cheap so I could wear the hell out of my BFGs autocrossing and have some other tire lined up. But now Im concerned.

I bet those NT01's dont last long on the street do they? I need another set of wheels...

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

They are a full R-Compound tire so wear is going to be an issue. And you can forget about Rain. They definitely won't like that.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 tires are GREAT in he dry and in the wet. Straight line traction is greatly improved as well. They REALLY grip well.

91RSCamaroSteve

I just bought some BRGoodwrench G-Sport COMP2s (245 45ZR17) and they are truly amazing tires.

They are the best tires I have ever had and I suggest them to anymore that is looking of an Ultra High performance tire that is very reasonably priced.

Steve

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

funny, i have never heard of that company

91RSCamaroSteve

LOL!!!!! I'm a F...... retard... LOL!!!

BFGoodrich I meant

grampaben

When I bought my 87, it had been sitting for 17 years. ORIGINAL tires. The car had sat in a heated garage for all that time. The tires looked like new, but........

With a bone stock 305/700R4, I could smoke'em all the way through 2nd, and into 3rd. When I went to the tire shop, I burned the back ones off in their parking lot. Then I had to clean rubber off the rear fenders. What a maroon!!!!

Later

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Maroon is a red like color.

Moron is the word you are looking for.


On Topic, if you can run an NT05 its an amazing summer tire. I don't think it comes in 245/50/16 though. The NT05's in 275/40/17 totally transformed my cars handling in all respects. I am no longer afraid of the back-end breaking loose violently. So much more controllable and predictable. Its almost enough grip when at operating temp that stomping on the brakes is more than my brakes can handle.

They do make NT01's but those are R-compound tires. I know of people using them on the street though, just don't get caught in any sort of rain.

grampaben

NOOOO Moron is a person of low intelligence.

"MAROON" Is a line from Bugs Bunny - "WHAT.. A maroon!!"


NOW: I have looked at NITTO's and actually called their tech support. I told them what I have (car/engine/tranny/rear end) and they recommended NT05's on the front and NT05R's on the back.

I'm glad to hear they grip in dry weather. I expect to go with 245/40's-17 in the fronts, but don't know how big a tire I can put in the back. Do you know? I have heard 285's to 315's. I don't want to have to tub the car, and I don't want them sticking out passed the fender lips either.

Do you know?

Thanks a lot for your help. I have GOT to get this thing to stick better.

Gramps.

PS: Must be the generation gap. You never saw Bugs say Maroon.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

No. I got that. Only about 10m after I made the post though

I went with a squat setup for tire rotation and because I'll auto-x and hpde this car.

I may pick up another set of rims or reuse my 16" rims for 245/50 NT01s in a year or two.

RoboYogi

i've been running some continental extreme contact dry wets in the back of my 4th gen ws6 for a while. the modded lt1 can barely brake them loose in 80 degree weather. and they dont seem to notice when its raining. much better than the eagle f1s i took off.

Flightoficarus

Hey all, figured I'd make a quick post in here before starting a new thread. Simply put, I'm putting on a set of 16x8 88-92 WS6 wheels on the bird soon, and they will need tires. Not to mention, the ones on the stock 15's are pretty dry-rotted, and need to go.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience w/the Toyo Proxes 4's? I've heard a few good things from non-third gen owners, but a set of 245/50/16's is pretty spend I found out. I was quoted ~$880 out the door.

I was also curious about Firehawks, and some of the BFG goodrich options. I live around the Seattle-Tacoma area, so good wet weather handling is a MUST, although the car is mainly driven in sunny weather. I will not be driving the car in the snow at all, but decent traction in cooler temps (like 40-50F) is a plus. It's also strictly a street car, but who knows? I might take it up to the strip for fun at some point. But mainly street use for me.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

The Conti DW's get rave reviews. Not sure if they are available in standard thirdgen sizes though.

I LOVE my NT05's. Incredible grip, definitely an increase in road noise though. But then again they are pretty much 3 solid blocks of tread. On-ramps got a WHOLE lot more fun with the NT05s.

IROCKT1

My '87 still has the original Goodyear Gatorbacks. While they only have 22,000 miles on them, they are getting some sidewall cracks. I'm leaning towards the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. Has anyone had any experience , good or bad, with them ?

grampaben

[quote=
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience w/the Toyo Proxes 4's? I've heard a few good things from non-third gen owners, but a set of 245/50/16's is pretty spend I found out. I was quoted ~$880 out the door. .[/quote]

Okay I think I can help with the rears some. 255/50-16 proxi 888R's. If you're interested they are brand new. Here's the link. I'm ordering 2 of them next week (payday of course).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-New-255-50...41828414331563

$250 a pair. They look like they will stick like glue, and are DOT approved.

Later
Gramps

firestein

I just got 2 on my rear since im poor, and since im from Canada tires are ridiculously overpriced, but still only paid 386 after tax for 2 sport comp2s and so far im impressed, for the price you cant go wrong

paul_huryk

Problem is the real fact of limited 245-50-16 tires for everyone's stock 16 x 8 wheels - there are only 5 or 7 high performance tires available today, rest are high mileage all seasons.

There are other solutions - first one is to go to a 225-55-16 tire, of which you have about 15 high performance choices. The problem is giving up 20mm of section width in each corner, but it will easily work.

Second choice is to go up to 17" or larger wheels and get tires for those. A 17 x 8 (or 8.5) will mount a 245-45-17 tire, which practically every high performance tire is made in that size. You can also go with a 9.5" wheel and mount a 275-40-17 tire, which has over 30 choices, including a whole bunch of track oriented styles & compounds. You can also go 18", which will clear the largest brake systems.

I want to point out (if you didn't know already), that my company, CTW Motorsports offers a 17" x 9.5" wheel that needs no spacers to fit the third gens.

Check them out:

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I took off the GS-D3 tires and went with Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires.

It wasn't by choice. But I got a non-repairable flat on the Goodyear and as it turned out, Goodyear had stopped making the GS-D3 in our size for something like 9 months. I see it is available now at Tire Rack. But who knows how many they have on hand. When I needed a new tire, Discount Tire had none available in their country wide database and no idea when they would be available again.

So looking at the limited selection we have in the 245/50/16 sizes, I went with the Michelin. And later on replaced the other 3 Goodyears with Michelins.

In terms of Goodyear GS-D3 vs Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus

Goodyear = Great traction in the dry, amazing traction in the wet, they look awesome and they seem wider than they are. The downside is price, 280 treadwear life, and questionable availability.

Michelin = Pretty good traction in the dry, very good traction in the wet, they look alright (takes awhile to grow on you). They should last much longer than the GS-D3 (all season and 420 treadwear rating). The downside is that they look MUCH narrower than the GS-D3's were. The Goodyears were fantastic handling tires as well. The Michelins? Ehhhh they're alright.

The GS-D3 used to be cheaper than the Pilot Sport A/S (although the Goodyears won't last as long). Now the Goodyears are much more expensive than the Pilot Sport A/S. I suspect because the supply of them is low and/or unknown for the future.

lettuce

iTrader: (1)

I just got this 86 iroc in June. Someone replaced the original 16 wheels with some fairly nice looking 15s and they are wrapped in bfg t/a's. I just found a guy who has some original iroc rims that will trade me for my current rims. My local tire shop has toyo proxy 4s for their best tire in a 16. Will there be a noticeable difference in cornering with the bigger stock rims wrapped in toyo 55 series over the 15 inch bfg 60 series? If not I will just keep what I have. Thanks for any input

SCCAjunkie

OMG yes. Provided your suspension is in decent shape, the difference between a 15" Radial T/A and a 16" Proxes 4 will be unbelievable.

lettuce

iTrader: (1)

The suspension is good and tight. Thanks. That pretty much confirms what I thought. I had another iroc and the suspension on it wasn't in the best shape but I could swear it handled better. Must be the difference.

Homer23

I have a set of Falken Zeix Ze512s (mounted on my other car) and they are average in heavy rain. They grip good and stop well in the dry. My old Sumitomo HTR A/S were better in heavy rain/deep puddles and had just as much grip in the dry. But they are both all-season tires .

Homer23

Those rims are a good alternate choice, thanks.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

I actually would love to give those rims a try just to use for racing though and mount slicks on them since they're so light! It would probably be lighter all around setup than what I have now, but with slicks and 1.5" wider!

scooter500

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to get a set of these too after reading the reviews of manufactuer's web site and looking at the photos of your car.

Where did you get 'em for $110?

86F.BiRD

Does any one else have Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500s?

ringo234

Has anyone used the Nexen N3000 tire. I just put them on my new 18x8" rims but only have a few miles on them. I really like the tread pattern but haven't really driven them much.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Yes and they are beyond amazing tires. They are probably the best one you can buy for 16x8 wheels that aren't as expensive as the Eagle F1 GSD3 tires (eagles are probably the best ones but the firestones are good too)

jbenge

iTrader: (2)

I put a set of those on my 91 this spring. I was impressed with them, very good tire for the price. They balanced with very little weight and are super smooth. Took the car down the drag strip a few times, better traction than most other street tires for sure. There are some better tires our there but for the price these are hard to beat.

Berlyn0963

iTrader: (4)

for 18 inch the plain old pilot sports and toyo t1-r for the front. and for 15 inch size get the BFG radial TA all around they work so good, i wish they made em for bigger rims, they hook up well.

rebelson101

check out the rikin raptors i think thats how you spell it i ran a set of 275/40/17s not on a third gen but just the same the car had 245s on it uhhh bridgestone i think anyway the raptors made a huge difference in the corners at the track but by far the biggest difference was in the rain.....after a fight with the girl friend......i ran like 95 to 100 in the rain down a fairly curvy road here in nc and man every curve i was like this is it.....oh hey is the road even wet? i was so impressed im looking a set of 17s to do the same setup on the firebird

cosmick

How about worst tires? PrimeWell and Futura ( both Pacific rim ) are coming off my car as soon as I find wheels I like. Looking at Sumitomo HTR A/S?

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

I had futura tires before from the old owner uckkkkkk terrible tires!!

rebelson101

futura gls are not bad tires. for the price and the fact that they look good hook ok and wear great. i have a set on the back of my fbird and v8 s10. 275/60/15s im happy with them. nothin like slicks but hey if you wanted to spend 300 each on tires that wear faster than skinnies in a burnout comp you wouldnt be here.

cosmick

I'll be reporting back on some Kumho Ecsta 4X in a couple of months. This set I just scored looks barely driven-on.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

They are okay for the price. I had a set of them on my 2006 G6 GTP. They did better than alot of other All Season tires in their price range vs class as an All Season Tire. There were better tires, but those were significantly more money.

cosmick

Thanks, but I'm not sure that helps, because tires I liked on a 240SX, I didn't like on a Ranger. I found a set for $400, in 275/40R17, so I borrowed some loot since I like how '02 SS wheels look on our cars. Now gotta save up, repay the loan, save up again, and get the rims.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

The rims on my G6 were 18x8, and the tire size was 225/50-18. The Despite being a larger diameter, the sidewall was roughly the same as a stock thirdgen wheel. They are good upper/middle of the road All Season tires. But don't bother comparing them to a Summer Performance tire. They just won't cut it in that company.

You won't hate them, they are good, talk well, and gradually slip as they break traction with plenty of warning. Look at the TireRack reviews where they compare them against several other tires on the same car/rim combo.

They actually performed the best of the 4 tires tested in the dry, but the Gmax's were better in the wet. I wanted more focus on Dry Tire performance so I bought the 4X's over the others listed. But they are all seasons and I had them for nearly 2 years on the G6 before I traded it in.

For my TransAm though I have Nitto NT05's on 17x9 ZR1 rims and the grip level is just epic.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=151

cosmick

So it isn't suspension differences?

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

If you are asking opinions on Tires you need to eliminate all other variables from the equation. Since the Thirdgen platform is not used for tire review tests anymore, and most of us can't afford to buy 10 sets of tires to test back to back you are stuck with other reviews.

The link I posted is probably as close as you are going to get to an Objective, Measured and quantified review of the Kuhmo 4X. They used the same car, course, and conditions for those tests.

It just so happens that he car they chose was a RWD platform.

__________________

But lets bring a thirdgen into the game here. So lets say someone else had a Thirdgen and put Kuhmo 4X's on it. What would that person compare them too? I doubt they tested several different tires on the same car, and in the same conditions.

The fact remains, if you are looking for qualified objective results your only recourse is selection of tires compared on the same platform. From there you need to make your own decisions. The way the tires handled on the BMW in the test is going to be different than a Thirdgen, but the differences between the tires characteristics will remain very similar.