What are the best tires I can fit on the stock 18"s?

[bnb5550]

For a daily driver. :popcorn2:

Live in northern California, so no snow or ice. Gets cold and rainy during the winter, but thats about it. No AutoX since I have the A4, so mainly drag. Tread wear is important since I am in college. :whine:


And yes I do want to haul ass on onramps :gears:

[City Goat]

If cold/snow isn't an issue I am very happy with the Bridgestone RE-01R tire.

[bnb5550]

If cold/snow isn't an issue I am very happy with the Bridgestone RE-01R tire.
Don't exactly have to worry about weather up here in Nor Cal :ftw:

[bnb5550]

oh and what size

[spd98]

If cold/snow isn't an issue I am very happy with the Bridgestone RE-01R tire.

I agree

[RobertHammen]

I've been doing some research on tires, as I consider what to put on my CV8-R's (Holden wheels similar size/offset to the stock 18's).

Depends where you live, and what your intent is for the tires. Temps below 40? Daily driver? Dragstrip? Autocross?

I've looked into the Bridgestones that CityGoat has - my main concern with them (as with the stock 18's) is treadlife is VERY short.

I don't race, but do like to take corners and onramps at a fast pace (an onramp is a terrible thing to waste ;-), but still want a compliant ride.

General Exclaim UHP is a pretty decent tire for a cheap price.
If $$$ is no object, the battle seems to come down between the BFG KDW NT (new tread), and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. I'm kinda leaning to the Goodyears at this point, mainly because the BFG's tend to get really noisy over time (friend/co-worker of mine got them on his IS300 on my recommendation, but the noise absolutely sucked after awhile).

Do some searching on the various brand names.

Tire widths vary somewhat by manufacturer for similar-sized tires (BFG's tend to run bigger, Toyos smaller), but 245/40/18 seems about the max on the front for the 18" wheels. You could go 275 in the back if you want to run staggered/don't rotate, but that can be a PITA/will likely shorten treadlife if no rotation and your alignment's not perfect.

Hope this helps.

--Robert

[BLACK05GTO]

The widest tires you can fit on all four corners with the stock 18'' wheels are 245/40/18s. You can fit a bigger tires (265s) out back, but they will not fit up front with the stock 18'' wheels.

So I'm going to go with 245/40/18s on all four corners.

I just put some BFG KDW2s 245/40/18s on the rear wheels. I'm still running the stock tires up front. When the stockers up front get worn down I'm going move the rears up front and put some new 245/40/18s in the back.

Here's a few pics of 245/40/18 BFG KDW2s. They are summer tires with great grip. But they are not recommended for cold weather, snow, etc.

http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7513524561.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5003784)
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7513524621.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5003785)
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7418354014.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4999090)

[bnb5550]

Updated the first post with more info

[City Goat]

General Exclaim UHP if you're on a budget.

BFG KD or KDW otherwise then.

[stealthblack]

KDs don't like the rain.KDWs do great wet, and have better grip KDWS. People I know with PS2s say they aren't too finicky wet, and relly stick dry, but they have a very, very short tread life.

[RobertHammen]

Here are some >200 treadwear suggestions under $200/tire (my personal limit) for further investigation:

General Exclaim UHP - Ultra High Performance Summer, W rated, AA traction, 380 Treadwear, 10/32nds tread depth, $111/tire at tirerack.com
Hankook Ventus V4 Es H105 - Ultra High Performance Summer, W rated, A Traction, 420 Treadwear, 11/32nds tread depth, $129/tire at edgeracing.com
Falken Fk452 - Ultra High Performance, Y rated, AA Traction, 300 Treadwear, 10/32nds tread depth, $128/tire at edgeracing.com
Toyo Proxes T1R - Max Performance, Y rated, AA Traction, 280 Treadwear, 10/32nds tread depth, $157/tire at edgeracing.com
BFG KDW2 NT - Ultra High Performance Summer, Z rated, AA Traction, 300 Treadwear, 10/32nds tread depth, $175/tire at tirerack.com
Goodyear F1 GS-D3 - Max Performance Summer, Z rated, AA Traction, 280 Treadwear, 11/32nds tread depth, $192/tire at tirerack.com

[bnb5550]

tirerack.com has the KDW2, but I don't see one with NT :quoties:

[RobertHammen]

The 2 is the NT, sorry (the NT = new tread = unique tread pattern). Like the one posted above:

http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7418354014.jpg

Here's some good reading, even if this is a little more than 2 years old:

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/tests/CandD_g y_f1_gs_d3/CandD_gy_f1_gs_ds.pdf

[bnb5550]

I probably won't get new tires for a little while anyways, as mine have a whole 2,400 miles on them :gr_jest:

[bnb5550]

about how many miles do you think the eagle f1 gs-d3s would last in 245/40-18?

[RobertHammen]

My thought process is leaning towards the Goodyears. Although I am a BFG fan and the last couple sets of tires I've purchased for my Aurora have been Traction T/A's (couple of sets of Comp T/A's before that for my Luminas), the noisyness of the KDW2's, and the superior wet handling of the Eagle F1's has me leaning in that direction. Although, I am intrigued by the performance and reviews I've read of the Falken Fk452's, at $64/tire less than the F1's.

*sigh*

If only you could test-drive tires like you can cars... my goals are:

a) good cornering/road-holding, in dry and (sometimes) wet (drive the GTO daily April through October, though I'll probably drive my winter ride more on rainy days if I can help it). Sometimes in early April/late October the temps are under 40 degrees in the morning (not driving it aggressively then)
b) lower noise
c) still want a compliant (i.e. not stiff) ride
d) would like to get 20-25k miles, if not more, out of these (stocker KDWS have 17k on them and about 5/32nds tread depth, though outer shoulders are a little worn down, probably from too much fast cornering/marginal suspension. I'm changing my front radius rod bushings (to Noltec) before getting the new tires...

[bnb5550]

Pedders + Hotchkis + Eagle F1 GS-D3 =:turbonaug

[spd98]

Just remember the kdw2's have ALOT of noise compaired to most. That is the only downside to that tire IMO. I still think the re-01r is a superior tire. You will probly get 15-20k out of them as well. I got 21 on stock 18's. On the eagles. If you pay attention tirerack runs them on sale every now and then for about 10-15 off per tire.

[stealth06gto]

The re-01r is like 217 a pc at tirerack. that is wayyy over my personal tire spending limit!

[stealth06gto]

the pole position s-03's are on closeout now there also in a good size for you stock 18's

[RobertHammen]

$169 for the Pole Position S-03's, but only a 220 treadwear rating (better than the 140 of the RE-01R's)...

[stealth06gto]

I thought I had read once that the tread rating is only good while comparing a manufacturers two diff tires and going across manuf.'s doesnt do any good because its not a "standard" to use. Please correct me if I am wrong. I was wondering how else you could know what to expect from these expensive things!

[RobertHammen]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.js p?techid=48

UTQG Treadwear Grades are based on actual road use in which the test tire is run in a vehicle convoy along with standardized Course Monitoring Tires. The vehicle repeatedly runs a prescribed 400-mile test loop in West Texas for a total of 7,200 miles. The vehicle can have its alignment set, air pressure checked and tires rotated every 800 miles. The test tire's and the Monitoring Tire's wear are measured during and at the conclusion of the test. The tire manufacturers then assign a Treadwear Grade based on the observed wear rates. The Course Monitoring Tire is assigned a grade and the test tire receives a grade indicating its relative treadwear. A grade of 100 would indicate that the tire tread would last as long as the test tire, 200 would indicate the tread would last twice as long, 300 would indicate three times as long, etc.

The problem with UTQG Treadwear Grades is that they are open to some interpretation on the part of the tire manufacturer because they are assigned after the tire has only experienced a little treadwear as it runs the 7,200 miles. This means that the tire manufacturers need to extrapolate their raw wear data when they are assigning Treadwear Grades, and that their grades can to some extent reflect how conservative or optimistic their marketing department is. Typically, comparing the Treadwear Grades of tire lines within a single brand is somewhat helpful, while attempting to compare the grades between different brands is not as helpful.

[stealth06gto]

Cool. thanks:)

[TheEricHarris]

I got the General Exclaim UHPs. I'm on a budget and needed something to last as well (I drive 17k miles a year).

I went with 235/40/18 all around because I didn't want to chance strut rub on the fronts. The difference between a 235 and 245 is like 3cm, not even noticeable by putting them next to each other. So I decied to save the $40 and possibilty of strut rub (guys with 245/17s get rub sometimes).

So far, I love them. For $100 a piece, I think it's a bargan.

http://home.comcast.net/~ejharris/gto/newtires.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~ejharris/gto/newtires2.jp g
http://home.comcast.net/~ejharris/gto/newtires3.jp g

[BLACK05GTO]

I got the General Exclaim UHPs. I'm on a budget and needed something to last as well (I drive 17k miles a year).

I went with 235/40/18 all around because I didn't want to chance strut rub on the fronts. The difference between a 235 and 245 is like 3cm, not even noticeable by putting them next to each other. So I decied to save the $40 and possibilty of strut rub (guys with 245/17s get rub sometimes).

So far, I love them. For $100 a piece, I think it's a bargan.

http://home.comcast.net/~ejharris/gto/newtires.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~ejharris/gto/newtires2.jp g
http://home.comcast.net/~ejharris/gto/newtires3.jp g



Is that an M&S (mud and snow) tread?
Looks like the majority of the tire is cut up like a mud and snow. That will hurt dry weather traction but improve bad weather traction.

[TurkeyHawk]

[QUOTE=TheEricHarris;2375670]I got the General Exclaim UHPs. I'm on a budget and needed something to last as well (I drive 17k miles a year).

I went with 235/40/18 all around because I didn't want to chance strut rub on the fronts. The difference between a 235 and 245 is like 3cm, not even noticeable by putting them next to each other. So I decied to save the $40 and possibilty of strut rub (guys with 245/17s get rub sometimes).

So far, I love them. For $100 a piece, I think it's a bargan.

QUOTE]

How many miles on your car that you already needed tires on your '06? How loud are the Generals?

[RobertHammen]

I've read a lot of good reviews on the Falken Fk452 ($128)

http://www.edgeracing.com/tire/3146/

It is an UHP tire and not recommended for snow driving (not a big deal for me as my GTO is sleeping when the snow is flying, but it might be for some folks).

I think I'm pretty much between this and the Eagle F1 GS-D3's (@ $192/tire for those, that's a significant difference)...

[TheEricHarris]

I had 14,000 but one got cut pretty bad (wasn't losing air) so I decided to replace them. I got uneven tire wear on the inside on the fronts. I'm getting an alighnment on Thursday after my full Pedders suspenson is installed.

[AK Goat]

I had 14,000 but one got cut pretty bad (wasn't losing air) so I decided to replace them. I got uneven tire wear on the inside on the fronts. I'm getting an alighnment on Thursday after my full Pedders suspenson is installed.

Sounds like me. 12k miles, uneven wear on inside fronts, got a nail in one, so I replaced them all with 245/45/17 UHP Exclaims last week. I'm planning on a Pedders Street II install/alignment before driving it much. Got the tires for $100/ea at Discount Tire.

[italiastraps]

The widest tires you can fit on all four corners with the stock 18'' wheels are 245/40/18s. You can fit a bigger tires (265s) out back, but they will not fit up front with the stock 18'' wheels.

So I'm going to go with 245/40/18s on all four corners.

I just put some BFG KDW2s 245/40/18s on the rear wheels. I'm still running the stock tires up front. When the stockers up front get worn down I'm going move the rears up front and put some new 245/40/18s in the back.

Here's a few pics of 245/40/18 BFG KDW2s. They are summer tires with great grip. But they are not recommended for cold weather, snow, etc.

http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7513524561.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5003784)
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7513524621.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5003785)
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/3/7418354014.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4999090)


Those tires look great! How wide did the tread turn-out to be? (Can't quite tell from the pic.) Any issues with the 235 in front and 245 in back?

[LS2Greg]

For a daily driver. :popcorn2:

Live in northern California, so no snow or ice. Gets cold and rainy during the winter, but thats about it. No AutoX since I have the A4, so mainly drag. Tread wear is important since I am in college. :whine:


And yes I do want to haul ass on onramps :gears:

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s :ftw:

[Ancalagon]

I just orderd BF Good Rich g-Force™ T/A® KDW's for all 4 rims. I have used them on other cars I have owned, 96 Camaro Z28 SS & 2005 Dodge SRT-4. I have been very happy with them. They have some road noise but they grip like mad.

[drodr]

Continental ContiExtremeContact are available in 235/40 18" and they have a treadwear rating of 400 I guess they might be kind of similiar to the stock 17" BFGs. After my stockers are done I might look into these

[tfar]

I thought the difference in width between a 235 and a 245 tire would be 10mm which is one centimetre. Am I mistaken?

3cm would be visible when you put the tires next to each other unless your vision is really off.

Till

[LS2Greg]

I thought the difference in width between a 235 and a 245 tire would be 10mm which is one centimetre. Am I mistaken?

3cm would be visible when you put the tires next to each other unless your vision is really off.

Till

In theory it is true but in reality it isn't. All of the tire manufacturers vary in their sizing. A 245 in one type of tire will be the same as a 235 in another and vise versa. A 235 in an Eagle F1 is wider than the 235 stock Bridgestones.

[Barbados Blue GTO]

I'd recommend Kumho MXs for price to performance. I wouldn't expect them to last long though