need help chosing tires

[Jaebird82]

Well, my Ventus V12's lasted a good 15k-18k miles.... ... I know they're a summer performance tire, but I guess I was hoping for a little more. They are awesome, though.

The first few months I had them, I was driving through canyons on the weekends.I can't afford new tires once a year, so i guess im thinking all seasons, but want something that have a good turn in and steering response so that I'm not miserable with spirited drives.

ExtremeContact DWS's for SoCal weather (read they are awesome in rain and snow) don't seem like the way to go even though I've heard they're ok in dry conditions. Any suggestions? Anyone running DWS's in SoCal?

EDIT: i don't want to spend anymore than I did on the V12's.

 

[MikeHTally]

I've read good things about the Contis and they're priced right. I have Yokohama YK520s on my Mazda and my 300C. The Mazda's are at 22k now and probably have another 10K to go. The 300's are at 18K and probably have another 35K-40K left (the 300 is not pushed as hard as the Speed). Yokohama has a new tire out - the YK580. They ain't cheap, but they're getting good reviews.

 

[Russm]

Got 46 K out of Yoko W4s, replacement is new Yoko Invigor and looking for 45K +, have 12K on them and look new still, I ran 13.50's with the W4S and 13.4's with invigors so they hook and with the new Koni's the Invigors have really good turn in, much better than origonal tires, approx $160 each. Went through 7" snow last week and handled as good as you can expect any tire in 7" of snow.

 

[BigDaddyMS3]

I have Pirelli P Zero Nero Ultra High Performance All Season tires on my list for the next set I purchase. I have the Hankook Ventus V12s now.
Tire Rack has them on sale.

 

[WillD]

My finacee has the Conti DWS's and I've been very impressed with them. Very good in the rain and very good in the snow. She only has about 5k miles on them so far so I can speak to the tread wear.

Your V12's are done after 15-18k miles? I put 10k on mine this summer and they have plenty of life left. I don't see any problem going 30k miles on the V12s.

 

[MSMS3]

I have Pirelli P Zero Nero Ultra High Performance All Season tires on my list for the next set I purchase. I have the Hankook Ventus V12s now.
Tire Rack has them on sale.

I'm running the P Zero Nero UHP A/S tires and have about 35,000 hard "spirited driving" miles on them. I think Tire Rack rated them #1 A/S and they also were highest rated in Consumer Reports. When a performance source and Consumer Reports agree on something, they are probably pretty good.

On the plus side: Extremely good in the wet and under icy conditions (we don't get snow here). Good dry handling and excellent braking, good turn in for an A/S tire. Excellent wear. Very quiet and smooth ride.

On the negative side: These are not max performance summer tires. So, turn in is not as sharp as true summer tires, but still very good. They are probably as good as many summer tires in this regard, but not as good as the best. The big negative for me is that they are nowhere as good as summer tires for launching at the drag strip. In fact, they downright suck in that mode, but then do all other A/S tires too. There is just not as much contact patch of actual rubber on any A/S tire as on good max performance summer rubber. 60 foot times rose by two tenths, and 0-60 times are also off by about the same amount. Once they hook, there great.

If you are looking for an all season tire with a long tread life, I recommend them. If you want max traction, especially launching from a standstill, you need to stick with true max summer tires and just know that they will wear out quickly.

There is no free ride. It's always going to be a compromise.

 

[speedy614]

If you want quality go for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I changed to them after running through a few cheaper sets and wouldn't even dream of changing back to anything else. They are a little pricey but they come with a 45k mile guarantee. These will perform with them best of them without sacrificing ride comfort.

 

[MSMS3]

Choice will depend on what factors you deem most important. Here's Tire Rack's comparo:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=147

I went with the Pirelli P-Zero Nero A/S, which came in ahead of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, overall. The Pirelli's posted quicker slalom and track lap times both dry and wet (way better wet) than did the Michelins, which subjectively had a better communications feel. I'll take raw performance over a little loss in feedback. The Michelin's were the worst in the four tire test under wet driving conditions. We have a lot of rain here. But either choice is a good one, IMHO. In fact, all four tires in that test ended up very tightly grouped and all are excellent A/S tires.

 

[Jaebird82]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. Yeah I know, 15-18k miles is awful, but I did do some hard canyon runs (one epic run chasing a s200). Probbbably had something to do with it.

I pulled the trigger on some Kumho Ecsta 4x's. I think I ended up paying around $135 per tire, came out to like $690 out the door (also have a $50 rebate going on) free tire rotations, etc. I honestly almost got the v12's again, but was talked out of it. So far I'm liking them. Read some good things about them on Tire Rack, and it seems like they liked them more than a few of the other "high performance all seasons". Ride is a lot more quite than my Ventus v12's, but of course, they feel a little heavier/bulkier and less nimble. Not sure about the grip off the line because im having issues with my car right now, but I've taken a few hard corners and so far, so good.

Oh and they don't look nearly as good as the Ventus v12s, but apples and oranges.. So far I recommend them; we'll see how they hold up.

 

[IRONBAR]

out of my experience driving mustangs lightnings and challengers plus my speed 3 heres the go list

Nitto invo
Nitto 555
Good year Eagle F1s
pirelli P zero
firestone firehawk GT

any of these tires will yield max results and have atleast 30k miles per tire i personally loved the p zeros, all these are Z rated tires just incase ur car can do 200+ mph (who knows right

pay the extra 20 or 40 bux per tire and you will know where ur money is going.

 

[finix]

I have a similar question. Here is what I have on MS3 2007:
Wheels: Enkei RS7, 18x7.5, 45 mm offset
Tires: Falken FK 452, 225/40 R18

The tires don't last long at all. I've done several alignments and have gone through a few sets of tires. My winter tires on OEM wheels don't have the same problem. I guess it's a bad combination of wheels and tires. Can it be a problem with the different size 225/40? Should I switch back to 215/45 or is it something else? Or is it a problem with the wheels and perhaps their 45mm offset?

Regards,
Finix