Are you happy with the factory 18inch tires??

[dms]

I have driven several new GTO's and I am not impressed with the facoty 18" tires. With a extremely low tread wear rating, an moderately aggressive driver will probabaly not et 10,000 out of these tires. Just looking for opinions from you guys with 05 factoyr 18's with he Bridgestones, the KDW's are fastly superior, Even the Falken 451's are better handling in my opinion and they will last longer. Any thoughts??

Mike
dms

[JHamilton]

Well....the only other GTO's I've driven had the stock 17" BFG's and I believe the Bridgestones are far superior to those as far as handling is concerned. I don't have any unusual tread wear, but only have 1200 miles. FWIW..The Bridgestones are one of the best looking tires I've ever had. The thought of replacing them is concerning....over $200 a piece.

Sorry I can't speak on the other tires on the GTO, but I haven't been impressed with BFG's on my last car.

[wyd_trkr]

Well....the only other GTO's I've driven had the stock 17" BFG's and I believe the Bridgestones are far superior to those as far as handling is concerned. I don't have any unusual tread wear, but only have 1200 miles. FWIW..The Bridgestones are one of the best looking tires I've ever had. The thought of replacing them is concerning....over $200 a piece.

Sorry I can't speak on the other tires on the GTO, but I haven't been impressed with BFG's on my last car.

I can second the opinion on the Bridgestones being allot more superior and a better tire than the BFG G-Force KDWS tires will ever be. Balancing comes to mind here on the BFG's, as they do not hold a balance for very long, as opposed to the Bridgestones Potenza's.

Also, on dry pavement the Bridgestones Potenza's definitely hold the pavement allot better on a quick start, verses the BFG's literally going up in smoke, when to stab the gas pedal to the floor. For the money difference, all 04 / 05 GTO's will ride allot smoother with the Bridgestones in either 17" or 18" size, plus hold the road better than any BFG KDWS tire made IMO.

BTW, I have had both BFG G-Force KDWS on my 04 and 05 GTO's and prefer the Bridgestone Potenza over the BFG's two fold in any performance area.

[GT-OH]

I only have 246 miles but the Bridgestones are working fine for me so far.

[MC2182]

I have 3,000 on mine, no unusual tread wear yet. I got a nail in the right front tire just 2 weeks after I picked up the goat so I'm looking to swap the rears to the font but haven't gotten a clear answer as to what the largest size we can fit out back on the stock 18 inchers.

Looking to go 255/40 or 265/35.

[bbroach]

Has anyone tried Michelin Pilots or Pilot/2s on their GTO? I Have the Pilot A/S on my heavily modded 1.8T New Beetle and really like them a lot. Damned expensive, though. :banghead:


regards, billb....

[Scott04GTO]

I have an '04, the stock tires suck, doesn't matter what year you have or whell size. They were constantly slipping even with a mist and wearing unevenly. I put 19x8.5 RPM's on my goat (fit perfectly, don't think you can fit anything bigger without rolling), now I can gun it while it's raining and there's nowhere NEAR the slippage of the stockers. Not only that, but the tires that they came with (and that are on there now) are some cheepo general tires. Bottom line IMHO is that the stock tires blow donkey c@(k.

[ddawson]

Hijack
"Do you have a link to these RPM rims?"
End Hijack

[pittsburgh goat]

I have the 18"s because they were suppose to be "summer only"...I was a bit dissapointed when i picked it up...( phone deal) do over..I would have got the 17's and burnt them off and swapped for after market 18 or 19

[JHamilton]

I have the 18"s because they were suppose to be "summer only"...I was a bit dissapointed when i picked it up...( phone deal) do over..I would have got the 17's and burnt them off and swapped for after market 18 or 19

Thats funny...I'm the exact opposite. I was going to buy one with 17's and switch to aftermarket 18's. I really love the 18's now and have no interest in replacing them.

[dms]

I guess my biggest complaint is driving the OE 18, and a OEM wheel with KDW's. Also the tread life is realy low on the Bridgestones. But the OEM 18s are much better than the 17" KDWS. I will aggree to this.

Pus, I am not very happy in the OEM 18 and how it handles in the rain.

mike
dms

[JHamilton]

I guess my biggest complaint is driving the OE 18, and a OEM wheel with KDW's. Also the tread life is realy low on the Bridgestones. But the OEM 18s are much better than the 17" KDWS. I will aggree to this.

Pus, I am not very happy in the OEM 18 and how it handles in the rain.

mike
dms


I definitely agree about the rain. I think the "oilyness" of city streets and the water has a huge affect of these tires. It can downright spooky sometimes even with the TC on.

[Wes G]

I'm not that impressed with them. Yeah, they probably are marginally better than the stock 17"s, but the key word there is marginal. As has been said, they're scary in the rain. On the dry, it's hit or miss. For what it's worth, Tire Rack doesn't seem to think very highly of them...
Would You Buy This Tire Again? Most said: Probably Not (Average of 2.8 out of 10)
How Did This Tire Rank In Its Category? 39 out of 40 tires (Score of 6.3 vs best tire in category score of 8.4)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=B ridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE040&vehicleSearch=true&partnum=34WR8RE040&fromCompare1=yes

I think that there are much better tires for the price.

[jmasse]

I am a District Manager for Bridestone/Firestone and bought the VZ Monaro 18 inch wheels. The Potenza RE040 tire is good, but when they need to be replaced, upsize to the 245/40/18 Potenza RE050A. This is the OE tire on the Ferrari Enzo (in a different size of course). This is an assymetrical tread pattern (inside/outside instead of rotation). This tire rides better than the OE 17" BFG, is quieter, and has unreal forward bite. By the way, the 245 size is the factory 18" tire size on the Monaro in Australia. I don't understand why they went to the smaller size here. I have absolutely no rubbing issues and they look great! If anyone is intersted in these or any others, I will be happy to make you a great deal at a store in your area and they come with a 30 day test drive....no questions ask. PM me if interested in ANY tires.

Jeff

[jmasse]

At my store in Tennessee, I was an official supplier and installer for THE TIRE RACK. I obviously ran a Firestone store, but sold every brand of tire. The ratings from their site almost never matched my customers opinion. Most people have no clue how to rate tires and the installer and/or balancer has a lot to do with the drivers satisfaction. Look at a tire you were happy with at some point and their ratings probably won't match your opinion.

Jeff

[DirtyRatz]

I have a little over 1800 miles on mine and they seem to be working great so far.

[craigD]

I am a District Manager for Bridestone/Firestone and bought the VZ Monaro 18 inch wheels. The Potenza RE040 tire is good, but when they need to be replaced, upsize to the 245/40/18 Potenza RE050A. This is the OE tire on the Ferrari Enzo (in a different size of course). This is an assymetrical tread pattern (inside/outside instead of rotation). This tire rides better than the OE 17" BFG, is quieter, and has unreal forward bite. By the way, the 245 size is the factory 18" tire size on the Monaro in Australia. I don't understand why they went to the smaller size here. I have absolutely no rubbing issues and they look great! If anyone is intersted in these or any others, I will be happy to make you a great deal at a store in your area and they come with a 30 day test drive....no questions ask. PM me if interested in ANY tires.

Jeff
PM sent

[markd]

I think the reason the Tirerack ratings are so low on the Bridgestone tire is they are original equipment on the Nissan 350Z, which has a real problem burning up the edges (feathering) of the tires. If you look at the surveys, most of the people that gave bad ratings, own a 350Z. The other car owners in the survey, seem happy with the tire.

['91 Formula]

I am a District Manager for Bridestone/Firestone and bought the VZ Monaro 18 inch wheels. The Potenza RE040 tire is good, but when they need to be replaced, upsize to the 245/40/18 Potenza RE050A. This is the OE tire on the Ferrari Enzo (in a different size of course). This is an assymetrical tread pattern (inside/outside instead of rotation). This tire rides better than the OE 17" BFG, is quieter, and has unreal forward bite. By the way, the 245 size is the factory 18" tire size on the Monaro in Australia. I don't understand why they went to the smaller size here. I have absolutely no rubbing issues and they look great! If anyone is intersted in these or any others, I will be happy to make you a great deal at a store in your area and they come with a 30 day test drive....no questions ask. PM me if interested in ANY tires.

Jeff

Sorry, but the OEM tire on the Monaro CV8 with the standard 18 inch wheel is the RE040 Potenza, 235/40/18.
http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/featurelist?modelid=12001&catid=1002

The HSV GTO with 19's come with 245's, but they are Pirelli's. :rolleyes:

Now how about some SO2's or SO3's.:)

[jmasse]

According to Jeff at JHP, the OE tire is the 245 size on the Monaro. Regardless of that, if you look at the diameter of the 245/45/17, is it almost identical to the 245/40/18, whereas the 235/40/18 is almost a 1/2 inch shorter. Also, the RE050A is a better tire than the S-02 or S-03 for our cars because of the assymetrical tread design. It offers better forward bite and the ability to cross rotate the tires. The issue with the 350Z tires was an alignment issue and Nissan paid to replace those tires, not Bridgestone. Anyway, PM if there are any other questions and I will help any way I can.

Thanks,
Jeff

[dede]

According to Jeff at JHP, the OE tire is the 245 size on the Monaro. Regardless of that, if you look at the diameter of the 245/45/17, is it almost identical to the 245/40/18, whereas the 235/40/18 is almost a 1/2 inch shorter. Also, the RE050A is a better tire than the S-02 or S-03 for our cars because of the assymetrical tread design. It offers better forward bite and the ability to cross rotate the tires. The issue with the 350Z tires was an alignment issue and Nissan paid to replace those tires, not Bridgestone. Anyway, PM if there are any other questions and I will help any way I can.

Thanks,
Jeff

235

http://www.ls2gto.com/forums/attachment.php?attach mentid=22368&stc=1&d=1129570569

[jmasse]

As I said...................regardless of that.....read a little further before you pass judgement. Possibly researching what you are arguing about may help too. This thread was never about the OE sizes, it was about the best sizes for our cars. You can do what you want. Not to mention the tires in your pictures are NOT RE040 Bridgestones as you stated in a previous thread. Again, get your facts straight before you start passing judgement.

Jeff

[Fulton 1]

I've only got about 1500 miles on my OE Bridgestone RE040's so I can't really comment on tread wear. I can tell you that my alignment was off from the factory, which doesn't seem to be uncommon. My only complaints so far about these tires are their relatively poor wet-weather traction (of course ANY 235 tire on a car with 400 ft-lbs is going to be traction-limited especially in the wet) and tire noise that I would consider slightly above-average, but not unacceptable (of course my ZR2 runs 32" MTRs and they don't bother me, so maybe I'm not a good judge). Dry traction appears to be solid, but I haven't really tested their limits either. Treadwear complaints notwithstanding, I would consider these a good OEM tire - especially from GM.

With that said, though, when these wear out I will be replacing them with PS2's. I'm running those on my F-body and love them. Actually I've always had good luck with Michelin performance tires - having had Pilots, Pilot A/S, and PS2's on various cars - of which all have performed above expectation IMO.

[jmasse]

The PS2 is an excellent tire as well. It has a very similiar design to the RE 050A. I will be happy to supply these as well at very solid prices. PM me if there are any inquiries about this or other products.

Jeff

[dms]

I've only got about 1500 miles on my OE Bridgestone RE040's so I can't really comment on tread wear. I can tell you that my alignment was off from the factory, which doesn't seem to be uncommon. My only complaints so far about these tires are their relatively poor wet-weather traction (of course ANY 235 tire on a car with 400 ft-lbs is going to be traction-limited especially in the wet) and tire noise that I would consider slightly above-average, but not unacceptable (of course my ZR2 runs 32" MTRs and they don't bother me, so maybe I'm not a good judge). Dry traction appears to be solid, but I haven't really tested their limits either. Treadwear complaints notwithstanding, I would consider these a good OEM tire - especially from GM.

With that said, though, when these wear out I will be replacing them with PS2's. I'm running those on my F-body and love them. Actually I've always had good luck with Michelin performance tires - having had Pilots, Pilot A/S, and PS2's on various cars - of which all have performed above expectation IMO.

One thing that a lot of dealers and customers of the OEM 18 is the recommended tire pressrues are split on the tire placard. Check this out.

Mike
dms