im looking to pick up a set of tires this week in the 245/50/16 size for my crosslaces. Im looking for a great high performance summer tire, with decent tread life.

I want to get the gs-d3's, but im reading a lot of recent reviews that they are now made in china and suck? or maybe just certain sizes?

I was looking at some michelin pilot sports which have a much better tread life, but i didnt have good luck with the michelin's that i had on my acura years ago.

any suggestions on a tire and why?

 

The pilot sport isnt available anymore, unless things have changed since I talked to Michelin. Thats too bad, because I have the pilot sports on my convertible and they're a very good tire. They have the A/S version but I dont personally know anything about those just the things I've read. None of it good.

I've been running the Yoko ES100 on a few different vehicles (one of them is a thirdgen) and I'm happy with them and I'm generally picky about my tires. The ones on my small truck have lasted quite a long time but its a little lighter than a typical thirdgen and it has no straight line power at all. I do abuse it though (cornering), and I think there is about 35k miles on them now although they're pretty much done at this point.

 

The Gs-D3s are excellent tires. They are grip monsters! I took my GTA in to an empty parking lot in pouring rain once and tried to drift it around and it was extremely difficult to get the *** end to come out. I know the tires have been on the car since at least 04 because I have a picture with them on it then. I got the car in 08. I have driven the car across the country with them on, in the rain, launched it a few times so I know them very well. If you drive your car in the cold before it snows though you have to take it easy because they get very hard and slippery when its cold, like 30, 40 degrees out. Also they do not squeal. You can roast these tires and they will not even make a chirp. Once I was showing off for a girl, and so I launched the car ***** to the wall. I didn't think the tires were spinning but there was so much smoke I couldn't even see out the rear view mirror... Scared the **** out of me, I thought I broke the car! But I would buy these in a heart beat and I plan to buy a fresh set soon!

 

its a shame the pilot sports are not longer available, i found the all season one, and the reviews blow.

Im probably going to go with the gsd3's, but i'll have to see if i can find out where they are coming from. I know the guys at the tire shop i use and can probably find it out. Tirerack says this size is from the US, not china, but thats subject to change.

 

You said you are looking for decent tire life? Define decent.

I've owned GS-D3s for about 6 years and around 12k miles. I love them but I doubt I'll get more than 17-18k out of them. Its a pleasure vehicle so its been a hard 12k miles. The GS-D3s are also useless in the cold (<60 degrees). They are worse in the cold than other summer tires I have tried. So if you drive a lot in the cold I'd recommend something else.

I now live in Seattle where it never gets hot enough to make them worthwhile. My next set of tires may be something like the Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S which I love on my Acura. I used to live in Pennsylvania and the GS-D3s were great in the summer.

 

i only use this car, my 92, for my summer driver, i have a truck i use for the winter.

goodyear doesnt seem to offer any other tire in this size other than the gsd3 on their site?

 

No crap, you are right. I guess they are starting to abandon 16" performance tires.

 

i have the bfg gforce sports on all 4 corners and i love them. decent price, great handling, quiet and good tread wear so far (only have 5000 or so on them still look new). oh and thyey are awesome in the rain. 85-90mph on the interstate in the rain no hydroplaning at all.

 

Same here there very good tires. i have the all season z rated tire and had it up to 120 with no tire noise. compared to my crappy kumho tires these out class it in every way.

 

ended up getting a set of firestone firehawk wideovals since the gsd3's are currently unavailable for some reason, maybe being discontinued in this size too?

what reviews i have found for the wide ovals are very positive and hopefully they fulfill the high expectations.

 

GOODYEAR eagle f1 gs3 i think theyre clalled. they sell them on tirerack

 

yup and they are back ordered there, at my tire place, and the local goodyear store.

 

I called my local goodyear store and the guy said they did not have any in stock but that goodyear was developing a new version of these! Could they be even better?

 

orly? i would like to see what they come out with.

 

Yeah im kinda holding off on gettin tires cuz im excited for this for i'll call back again and see what they say

 

i too was looking for these tires and inquired of my local gm dealer. after buying two trucks from them and doing all my regular maintenance there, they went the extra step and inquired all the way up the supply chain about china source. the answer i got was all the GSD3 in america are made in the USA. so i ordered a set and waiting on back order to catch up to me.

 

That sounds great man! I know there's a way to tell where they're made, it says somewhere on the tire, but i'll make sure when I go to the goodyear shop that they put on US made tires and not the chinese knock offs.

 

After less than 10K miles, I could no longer tolerate the howling and harsh ride of the BFG gforce tires on my daily driver. No more BFG's for me. Below average luck with Kuhmo's (never again) and only average luck with Goodyear products (wear out too soon). I've always had above average luck with (higher priced) Michelin products and have now switched to Pilot Sports on my daily driver. So far so good and a lot better riding and quiter then the BFG gforces they replaced.

 

Is if safe to say that GSD3 Eagle F1's are the top tire out there for summer weather performance?

 

there "were" supposed to be, but since they are not available at this time...

the firehawk wide ovals i picked up are pretty sweet, i really like them, stick really well and are quiet

 

Call tire rack, discount tire direct, and another local place and they all said that tire was on a national back order! This blows... I need new tires now, are the Fusion ZRi's any good? I think they are the next best thing..

 

Not sure if these were said wheni get money im getting Fusion ZRi's. They're owned by Firestone and I've heard really good things im doing a 245/45 front and 245/50 rear set up, i thin kthey run 110 a tire also, I do believe tirerack has them.

 

Now that the GS-D3's are unavailable, I'm debating on which tires are the best for DRY weather handling in the size of 245/50/16:

Fuzion Zri
Falken Ziex 912
BFG Sports 255/50/16 (wider tire than the others)
Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 (new tire)
Bridgestone Potenza pole position

Anyone know which one is the BEST one out of all these for MAX summer dry grip? (don't care about the price)..

Thanks

 

I got Generals from tire rack. They are 89.00 and incredible grip and no tire noise... They are the only general tire rack has in this size

 

the fuzion and the firestone have the lowest tread life, and both are the same. They are a softer compound, so will stick better, but not last as long obviously. Might not be the best way to grade traction, but its a start. The fuzions dont have great reviews, and the firestones are new, so they have only my review. So far i like them a lot

 

Tread life isn't a big issue unless it's like 10-15k miles lol, and I only put about 2700 miles on my car a year since I have another truck that I drive from October till April I'm the only kid at my school with 2 cars that run lol

 

Yeah I have a daily driver cavalier, this is strictly once or twice a week that i drive the camaro MAX 2000 miles a summer otherwise it's stored in the winter. I just want the best handling tires available on the street, as for treadwear, even if it lasts 15k miles, that'll last me 6-7 years probably so who cares... Is this really all the choice we have available for our cars??

 

Yea since all the newer cars even the strip cheap Camaro's came with 18s come on WTF lol 18s is pushing it on 3rd gens, and since everyone is going to HUGE A5S wheels most of the tire companys are abandoning 14s, 15s, and 16s unless its a rubber band for Imports.

 

Yeah I've been reading mixed reviews about the fuzions. As for the firestones I know that they're new but are they exactly the same as the fuzions? I mean, the firestones are cheaper I think but if you had to pick between the two, fuzion or firehawk, which would you go for? Oh, and where are the firestones made? USA or elsewhere?

 

They are made in the USA, My tire guy I use, if I remember right says they're made in Georgia, and there's even a Firestone plant about 15 miles from my house.

He said theres another brand called Maxxis I think it is, but they're made in Taiwan, but he said its not the cheap Taiwan crap, he said there made at the same quality if not better than the Firestones.

EDIT: I'd go for the Fuzions, Tire-rack links

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...50&diameter=16

All available tires in that size that tire rack has, just click on Sort by: Reviewer's Avg Rating in the top left corner.

I recommend not buying from them since you have to add shipping it ends up being about 50 bucks more and then on top of that most tire shops charge extra if you bring in someone else's tire to M&B.

EDITx2: I don't recommend the Goodyear RS-A they wear out in fast and for 210 a piece they're the most expensive

 

The BFG's have the 2nd best rating? Also, the Fuzion's look exactly the same as the firehawk ones (tread pattern) so i guess the fuzion's being a few bucks cheaper is the best bet... For some reason my tire shop quoted me 800$ mounted and balanced for the fuzions.... a bit crazy in my opinion! I'm gonna try to deal that one down or tell him that ill get it for half price off tire rack and he can mount and balance them and ill still save money.. Shipping to Canada is about 150$ including import fees but that's still 550$, not 800... Mounting and balancing for them is about 15$ per tire, so it comes out to 610$ + tax = almost 700$.. (15% tax over here).. So i'll still save 100$.. Hmm decisions decisions... I'll wait another week to see if Goodyear will get off their asses and start reproducing those GSD3's!

 

Actually i think the Firestone's would be better, my tire guys said they handle a little better than the ZRi's and have a a longer treadlife,

 

245/50/16 Firestone Firehawks Wide Oval Indy 5000 it is then

 

BFGoodrich KDW T/A NT-new tread
discounttiresdirect.com
unfortunately the rebate has expired

 

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...dc=*&x=10&y=17

Good reviews on Falken Ze-912

 

I went through basically the same scenario with the exception that I went with the Firehawk Wide Ovals because they were a much cheaper alternative. They also had an above average wet weather rating as well. It consistently scored second/third to the F1 GSD's and had good reviews on the corvette forums. Ironically from what I've read, the Japanese version is supposed to have a better rubber compound. Also, the latest version of the Goodrich G-Forces weren't getting the same reviews as they had before. I'm glad to see someone else here has found them to be a good choice as well.

 

if you check the specs, the firehawks are a little wider in section and wider still in the tread width, they are also a bit lighter.

 

yeah, i am actually really happy with the wideovals, particularly because they work well and are QUIET! the biggest complaint with the gsd3 were they were loud.

as for the bfg's, i have the bfg kdw's on my 86, and they really good in the rain, im was quite surprised by that, but are a little unstable at higher speed

 

awww you guys who wanna spend $$$$ on a tire? nuts man..
the generals i was telling you about are amazing. quiet. long lasting, awesome grip!
92.00 a tire. you cannot beat these tires. look at the reviews...highest rated at tire rack!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

 

Best tire for 245/45-50/16 is the General Exclaim UHP. At Less than $100/tire they can't be beat. I have these on my daily driver and they grip like a s.o.b. I'm buying them for my TA soon. Stay away from Fuzion's. While they do perform OK, they last about 6 seconds. Any yeah, that's 6 seconds on a weekend car.

245/45-55/16 is a dying breed of tires. Manufacturers don't make wheels this size anymore so good luck finding tires this size. If you find the UHP, you won't be let down.

 

Sorry there is no way a 440 tread wear H rated tire is going to perform well. Plus it doesn't make sense to put a 130mph tire on a car capable of going much faster than that.

 

Yeah, IMissmy86TA is talking about the General Altimax (you don't want these) You want the General Exclaim UHP (Very hard to find). There's always a catch.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Exclaim+UHP

 

That General Exclaim UHP tire isn't available in 245/50/16... So I'm still sold on the Firestone Firehawk Wideovals...

 

Why dont you want these? You want to go over 100 MP etc? yeah then fine. else these are great tires. I know a good tire when I drive em. Plus the tread looks aggressive as hell.

 

I would probably go faster than 100MPH actually, maybe at the strip or perhaps on the highway on long trips, or I would be close to that around 90mph, so I just don't have that sense of security like I would have with a tire capable of 180mph..

 

Just ordered the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500's from tirerack!!! Came up to 638$ with shipping and duties included to my door (canada)... Not bad price...

So i'll have reviews up as soon as i get em installed (should be in a week or two)

 

Yea but now you have to add on another 80 or so to mount and balance them, i check local shops and when i get mine ill order them through my tire guy itll save me 120 bucks over TR

 

Mounting and balancing will cost 15$ per wheel, plus i'm gonna do alignment at the same time... That'll cost 638 + 60 + 90$ (professional alignment) = 788$.

The shop wanted to charge me 800$ flat for the tires mounted and balanced, without alignment, tire rack still came out cheaper. But the real reason I did this is because the local shop didn't have these in stock and said they were on back order so I would have had to wait a few weeks... I have one almost flat tire (loses 20 psi in 8 hours) and the rest of them have like no tread left...

These tires should hopefully be good ones! I'll post a review once they're in next week!

 

Any update?

 

I already posted this on another thread:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/whee...ml#post4603746

Post#20: Early review of tires

Post#29,30,31: Pictures of tires installed on car