Overwhelmed by tire choices. Need advice plz
 

Hi I need new tires on my stock sport rims. Ive been reading old posts but have become more frustrated with so many choices. I have an '09 base +sport pkg. I am lookin to spend $300ish per tire or less. I can go higher if the advantages Re clear for my situation. But if there is a bargain tire that I should be looking at, I don't mind saving money. I don't plan on lowering my car. I wont be going to the track; just some twisty backroads. I would like better tread life and performance than stock tires(i just got my car with 12k miles on it and rear are almost gone). I won't be driving in the rain. Does anyone have an estimate for mileage on different tire for daily driving?

First, should I consider changing sizes? I don't want to change my tire rpm's much so it would be 255/40/19 and 285/35/19. Or maybe change one and leave the other? Advantages & disadvantages? Is it worth the inconvenience of the speedometer being off?

This larger tire setup would have a slightly larger side-wall. What effect would that have on a tire like Hankook with a softer side-wall?
I know this has most likely been discussed but I can't find a post that clears things for my situation. Thank u for any help.
Ben

I found this post in regards to changing the front tires. Makes sense. My car is black so I don't want to risk kicking up anything with the front tires. So should I change only the rears or stay stock?

Continental DW. Stock size.

Your speedo will be more accurate with 265/35/19 285/35/19 than your stock tires.

^^ those are sizes i want to get next time around...

RE-11's

^^ exactly! :D

but i think the op has budget in mind so the DW's in stock sizes would be best bang for buck and easy since stock size. :)

Thank you much guys for the comments. Everything helps


I felt like my speedo was off a couple of times on the long drive home but didn't think it actually was. Do you run the above setup? I understand that being wider and .21" less side-wall would be rougher than my current setup if my replacement tires were the same brand. I would want a tire that would improve on road noise and possibly comfort despite the size change. Does comfort come from a softer side-wall? Does .21" less side-wall plus being softer spell disaster for my rims?


It looks good on tiresizecalculator.info but the site doesnt estimate speedo variaton with different sized fronts and rears. I assume subtract the difference between front and rear speed variation.

Does anyone experience dirt or rocks being throw down the side of the car with wider fronts?


Also in response to RE-11's..

They aren't totally out of my price range but tread life is high on my list of concerns. I im trying to get more life and performance than my stocks.

Tread life and performance first, then comfort and road noise are a close second but not if I'm gonna increase my risk of wheel damage noticeably.

Thanks again
Ben

You say I should put DW's on if going with this size also?

You say I should put DW's on if going with this size also? Continental's tread life specs on DW look incredible. Do u run these? If not, why and what instead?

Thanks

Tires that improve performance while lasting longer while riding more comfortable while protecting the wheels while not kicking up dirt with reduced road noise that don't cost a lot.

Trade in the Z for a magic carpet :)

^lol

You want grip and performance yet you want to avoid rocks being picked up. I would go with Michelin Hydroedge that I use on my Prius, 80K miles warranty

you can and if i was going to do the DW's again i would do the 265/285 as the sidewalls are rounded on the DW's. :)

but from performance side, the DW's in stock size does very well. im running it right now on my Z. it's a surprisingly civilized ride perfect for my weekend touring. :tup:

This is a great tire size calculator I've used in the past. Gives you everything you need to compare tire sizes.

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

If you don't want to spend a whole lot, the Ventus V12's is a pretty common choice. I don't know a whole lot about its tread life, but its inexpensive enough to not worry about it. As with most high performance summer tires, the compounds used are usually softer and wear a lot faster. If you want something that will last longer, you should probably look into all-season tires which have harder compounds. You won't be setting any record breaking lap times, but they will last longer. The stock Potenza's aren't that bad, but they do get really noisy once they wear out. You're not gonna find a tire with better performance and better thread life. It's one or the other.

Thank you Ken and mike for some good info and opinions. Excellent point made about the rounded side-wall DWs.

To anyone trying to make jokes, it should be obvious that I am aware of trade-offs between different tires and there no such thing as a perfect tire. Just looking for advice bc I haven't been involved in previous discussions.

And I haven't researched much on the stock potenzas. I have just seen many posters discredit them without giving a specific reason. This led me to believe that getting slightly better performance and tread life for less or equal cost would be likely. I could settle
with equal performance and comfort if I could get better tread life. I listed additional concerns bc on other posts that is often the first question asked of the OP. I'd like to spend $200ea but can do $500 if there is an obvious choice for my needs.

I didn't know certain tires are more likely to kick up debris; I was asking about bow tire width may affect it. Thx Ken for some direction there on both issues. Now I can search for related posts.

I was reading that some tires are wider than the specs; is this due to a more squared side-wall with the intention of producing more surface area?

So I'm leaning towards Ken suggestion and will be researchig Hankooks. I like the idea of the wider setup with a less aggressive side-wall.

Thanks for any extra info or suggestions

high performance tires in general have bolder sholders and that usually ends up with a meaty wide tread. while the DW's have kind of a rounded shoulder it appears wider than say RE050A's.

the RE050A's aren't bad, they're just not that great. they wear too quick, prone to more noise, heavy, and grip is not as good as the RE050A pole positions (discontinued and replaced by S04 Pole Positions). also they dont grip that well in sub 50F temps when pushed.

you might like the S04's. im running the S04's on my G (245/35/19 & 275/35/19). they are excellent dry and expecially great in the wet even in sub-40F temps...but they appear much narrower than the DW's and are about 5-6lbs heavier each.

the DW's seem to be great all around for street use imho... plus i am 99% sure they are made in the USA so you dont get hit with silly exchange rate. :)

just to chime in on this thread. i've kept quiet mostly about tires, but i'm looking too. I keep hearing RE-11's are the way to go, then randomly people will throw in the Michelin Super Sports. opinions? OP, im not intending to take over this thread, but we are in similar boats.

mostly casual driving, all mods are in sig, no drag strip, no auto-x, maybe a few quick starts at a light, and im not afraid to take my Z out in the rain.

Get the Michelin if you want your tires to last 20-30K miles. RE-11 if you want more grip but at the expense of tread life (15K-20K max)