Stock 18's, tire newbie

[Homer_J]

Bought my 06' GTO recently and she's due for new tires. 33,000 miles on the original ones. I found a little cord showing on the inside of my right rear. So, a few questions.

I need to replace the stockers, it sounds like the General Exclaim UHP's are decent bang for their buck. Still open to suggestions however. I've been thinking about some wider tires if I can fit them, but I can't seem to find a straight answer on what will fit without fender rolling or cutting. I'm not completely opposed to staggering, I figure I'll just replace the rears twice for every once that I replace the fronts(at least:turbonaug), any other problem with doing that, that i'm missing?

Does anyone have recommendations as to what tires can replace the stock 18's with no fender mods? (tried searching, couldn't get a good list)

Ok question 2: On all my tires, the inside inch is worn much more than the rest of the tire, this is where my cord is showing on the rear. I don't know whether this is being cause by the front or back because they were rotated often by her previous owner.

I've found 2 possible causes to this on the boards here,
Some say saggy rear springs,
some say bad radius rods, or more.
Opinions? I'm not too familiar with the front suspension parts, not even sure what the radius rod looks like exactly, I'll have to go out and take a look. (haven't had a chance to do the radius rod test to see if the wheels move under braking) If it is the radius rods and I need to pedderize a little, what parts do I need? I can't afford anything more than what is necessary, the tires are killing me already. thanks!

[JTO]

245/40/18 Potenza RE-11's. If you want your car to hook right.

[SkiPopeye36]

Go with some 245/40/18 tires. On stock 18's you don't really want to try and go wider. As far as the inside edges wearing, it could be due to sagging rear springs in the rear, and a combination of shot RR bushings, strut mounts and possibly bad alignment in the front.

Look under the hood at the struts. Is there a gap between the top of the strut mount and the body? If so, your mounts are collapsed and need replaced. Then look under the front of the car at the RR bushings. Are the cracked and leaking? Is the rubber pushed out? If so, they are shot as well and need replaced. Pull the front tires off and look at the strut for signs of the tire hitting the strut (the paint will be worn off).

Hope this helps.

EDIT: What's your budget for tires? Give me a range and I'll give you some suggestions. I've had the UHP's and they were pretty good, for the money.

[Homer_J]

Ok, thanks for the tips! I'm looking at the top of the struts... They seem fairly solid but there's a little gap. I'm not sure what they should look like I guess. I've attached a picture

I looked where the radius rod goes forward and meets the frame. It's a little hard to tell, but seems to be pretty solid with no rubber sticking out or anything...Maybe i need to jack it up and get under there.


My budget is very tight for this set of tires, I'm not looking for the top of the line this time, just something decent. Old posts list the Exclaim UHP's around 100 dollars, but it seems like the price has been hiked since then. I can get the 245's for $133 apiece on tirerack, and thats about all i can swing right now. If you have any that you think could be better for about the same cost, just let me know. thanks!

Edit: and no sign of strut rub

[Dwil]

245/40-18 RE050A Pole Positions
great all around summer tire that fits without mods, hooks great, quiet, and will last alot longer than RE-11s.
Talk to Jeff, sponsor on the left.

[Richmann MotorSport]

Pole Positions are great tires for sure. I have used them and my customers rave about them.

[Homer_J]

Thanks for the input guys

Here's a picture of the worst spot of my worst tire. They were getting pretty low anyway but definitely most on the inside. It was pretty hard to notice being on the rear. I'm glad I checked. Looking at it from the outside edge made it appear like there was still a little bit of tread left.

Put the bad ones on the front, time to send this set off:turbonaug :burnout:

[Raymond]

Thanks for the input guys

Here's a picture of the worst spot of my worst tire. They were getting pretty low anyway but definitely most on the inside. It was pretty hard to notice being on the rear. I'm glad I checked. Looking at it from the outside edge made it appear like there was still a little bit of tread left.

Put the bad ones on the front, time to send this set off:turbonaug :burnout:

Wow! You need some new tires miles ago. 33,000 miles on a factory set of tires on a GTO is pretty amazing. Even with a perfect setup, I don't see how you could get any more miles. I may see 18,000 to 20,000 miles on a set.

[brandon684]

Does this mean the car needs new strut mounts, because mine look exactly like this.
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/attachment.php?attach mentid=107550&d=1243983795

[aquariussuperman]

Those aren't too bad. There's a lot worse.

Here's some with Pedders strut tops. There should be a little bot of space so the strut top can flex on the body. I wish we had a strut bar that actually bolted to the struts. It would tighten up the car a lot more. Our stock bar is just cosmetic really.

http://sincitygoats.com/gallery/d/11088-1/strutT1.JPG


http://sincitygoats.com/gallery/d/11086-1/strutR1.JPG