Stock rubber any good?

[Ridgegoat]

Since I dont know the answer I figured I'd ask. How good are the stock tires that come with the car (17's). What are good everyday driving street tires? Should I consider going to the 18's. Any pro's and cons going to 18's?

[RobertHammen]

Since I dont know the answer I figured I'd ask. How good are the stock tires that come with the car (17's). What are good everyday driving street tires? Should I consider going to the 18's. Any pro's and cons going to 18's?

I don't think there is an owner who thinks the stock 17" BFG rubber is any good. The "New Tread" BFG's would be a better choice, IMHO, but the stock rubber on most cars sucks. The Bridgestone Potenza 18's are summer-only tires and lots of folks seem happier with different rubber (i.e. Toyo Proxes). 18's will ride a little rougher (sidewall height is obviously lower due to the greater diameter of the larger rim), but, on the other hand, these vehicles were engineered for 18" wheels. The 18's will also wear out faster due to the composition/treadwear rating of those tires...

Oh yeah, don't forget that the 245 width of the stock 17's makes them more prone to the strut rub issues... the 18's come with a 235 width...

[mechanic58]

Nope. They're too hard and if you leave the car parked for more than 24 hours, they get flat spots on them and then they'll shake your goddamned teeth out the next time you drive the car.

[Gonna_Try_One]

I could spin the stock "all seasons" for days with a Maggie. Driving in the rain here was a treat, even with traction control on it was difficult to pull away from a stop-light under moderate acceleration without the traction control activating the whole time. I just replaced them with the BF Goodrich Sports. Big, big difference. I purposely tried to get the traction control to activate in the rain the other night, and while it did, it was very minimal. Traction dry is awesome.

[Hummina]

stock 17" rubber sucks. switched over to the KDW instead and at least now i can get traction before it shifts into 2nd:drink: of course im a little screwed for the winter, but oh well:-patriot:

[TheRealDeadApe]

the best tire for summer driving is a michelin pilot sport PS2. Excelent ride quality, no noise, great traction, and good treadlife if your not doing burnouts.

[swmn]

In general the stock BFG KDWS doesn't do anything particulary well. As a high mile interstate user I didn't much mind the KDWS doesn't hook very well on launch.

The wet traction on the KDWS at interstate speeds is, in my opinion, pretty poor. In fairness 4000# of car in half an inch of water isn't going to handle great no matter what, the wet traction to me, is shockingly poor compared to dry.

For launch stickiness there are plenty of drag radial type tires to choose from now. For Auto-X or road coursing there are several options as well. All of the foregoing will give away significant treadlife in exchange for grip.

For DD duty with occasional interstate trips the BFG KDW is quite popular, and the General Exclaim UHP is looking like a winning sleeper tire.

There is a sticky in this section of tires known to fit an all stock car. It is a pretty short list. Short enough to open tirerackdotcom in another window and read up on each of them.

M2c,
S

[Ridgegoat]

stock 17" rubber sucks. switched over to the KDW instead and at least now i can get traction before it shifts into 2nd:drink: of course im a little screwed for the winter, but oh well:-patriot:

Jon,

Just so I'm clear, the KDW is the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW's?

[Hummina]

yea. they're the summer version of the stock tires. much much better

[Ridgegoat]

There is a sticky in this section of tires known to fit an all stock car. It is a pretty short list. Short enough to open tirerackdotcom in another window and read up on each of them.

M2c,
S

I read the sticky, looks like it just talks about tire sizes not brands, did I read the wrong one? (Wheel Fitment Guide)

[dredz172]

I just put on some nexen n 3000's..... only cuz i got them cheap through my job
http://www.nexentire.co.kr/english/product_tec/sub 2.asp?idx=73&name=N3000&expend=1

but they are actually better than the stock BFG's imo
ive got 245/45/17's and for retail price on these, not bad for a tire

[Ridgegoat]

Jon,

Just so I'm clear, the KDW is the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW's?

I'm a little confussed. The stock tires on my 06 are (17 inch) BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW's. Are there different/better KDW's? How do you tell the difference?

[Hummina]

the stock 17"ers are KDWS's. the ones i have are KDW's. the first one stands for Key feature Dry Wet Snow traction. mine stand for Key feature Dry Wet traction. snows a no no with these

[Ridgegoat]

the stock 17"ers are KDWS's. the ones i have are KDW's. the first one stands for Key feature Dry Wet Snow traction. mine stand for Key feature Dry Wet traction. snows a no no with these

Thanks (LOL) KDW vs KDWS, now I get it . I was missing the 'S'. (It must be silent). Now do I pass the 101 of tire names, I guess not, I still have to figure out all the rest that you other folks stated (darn).

[Ridgegoat]

Looks like for the money the General Exclaim UHP's are the ticket. Well my first order of business is to get a good Winter tire (thinking about putting them on the 17 stock rims) then in the spring go for some nice aftermarket rims with the new summer tires. Thinking about the 18 inch. But still unclear of the real differences of 17 vs 18 except looks.

[Jake99SS]

My plan is to get another set of KDWS before the winter, and possibly next spring get some 18" wheels and some good summer tires. They did great the last two winters so I have no reason to change. For the summer I'm thinking KDW, or maybe those Goodyear F1-DS3s. The KDW did well on my Camaro but, in my experience, Goodyears stay blacker, longer.

[wraith]

I must be the only guy who likes the KDWS tires. I went to work with them in two snowfalls with accumulation of about 1/2"-1" and it was fine. In the rain, the tires have lousy traction but lets you have alot of fun because you slide until you let up on the throttle and then the car stops. In dry, I was able to holeshot an EVO 2x, but I have a good technique and dont overpower them by leaving at lower rpms with a slight slip of the clutch.

SAm