Tires for street and track time

[Kern Dog]

My tires are O L D !!!

I never thought the day would come where my tires would get old before they are worn out! I bought the current ones with the wheels in 2003. 275-40-18 fronts and 295-45-18 Nitto 555s. They have a treadwear rating of 300. I have about 10,000 miles on them and the rears are still at about 50%, the fronts are approx 70%.
I've been looking at different tires online but I can't find these exact sizes in a 200 treadwear tire. I want the next set of tires to wear out before getting old. There is a growing understanding that a tire of 8 years of age or older is not safe no matter how they appear visually. I like to drive the Charger hard and I don't like the idea of stuffing a $40,000 car into a guardrail because I was too cheap to buy new tires.
There are lots of great tire brands out there, but the closest to my size are a 275-35 and a 295-40 in the Falken Azenis 615 line. Yeah, they are a bit spendy but still cheaper than the Michelin Pilot Sport, another tire that I considered. I'm looking at about $1500 for a set of 4 tires, PLUS mounting and balancing. I'm thinking of havin g the wheels repolished before mounting the new tires.
What tires are you using?

 

[furryfrog]

I personally will be looking into decent tires soon, once I recieve and install the firm feel upgrades i have ordered.

I just had a look at this article from last year reviewing 200' ish treadwear tires.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/wheels-tires/1407-21-best-grip-tires/

I had a brief look and the Nitto NT05 is listed on their site in the same sizes you have now, and is a 200 treadwear tire.

http://www.nittotire.com/passenger-tires/nt05-max-performance-tire/

 

[Photon440]

I'm so happy with the Pilot Super Sports on my daily driver - 235/40/18 cost about $1200 Canadian three years ago. I'll buy them again.

 

[Kern Dog]

The Michelins have a great reputation. Too bad for me that they do not make the sizes I want.
I did look at the Nitto NT05. Furry is right, they do offer the same sizes I want so I'm looking at ordering them through Summit Racing. The set will be about $1200.

 

[Kern Dog]

I just ordered a set of the Nitto NT05 tires in the same size I currently have. $1129 from Summit racing.

 

[benno440]

heres mine, best and great priced tire I have ever had. (look awesome too)

Bf Goodrich G force KDW.
245/40 18 and 295/35 19
View attachment 263049

 

[Kern Dog]

I like that tread pattern. I may have considered them if they had the sizes I wanted.

 

[benno440]

I have heard those NT05 wont get many miles and that they are an extreme summer tire so definetly no wet roads.

 

[moparcrazy]

Here's a Great Video Guys !

http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=224&tab=tires

 

[Budnicks]

Gotta love that the old 70 4dr Satty was a full second faster, he said;
than the set up auto-x Beemer, he usually used for tire testing too...

in that comparison/test the Dunlap Direzza ZII was the best
{3rd most in cost $278 only $5 differences thou between top 4, $282 being most} ,
by almost 1/2 second to the next best, performance lap wise,
no real mention really about wear/milage,
then Hankook 2nd, BFG 3rd, Falken 4th, Michelen 5th, Bridgestone 6th, Nitto last

Here's a Great Video Guys !

http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=224&tab=tires

Thanks for sharing that

 

[747mopar]

I'm running the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval GT on my 19" wheels, so far I like them (cool tread pattern too).

 

[MoparThunder]

I used these on a car I had once and if I need a pair of tires for the track and street I would buy these again. vredestein ultrac sessanta

 

[Kern Dog]

The main reason that I went with the Nitto tires is because they had the exact same sizes I currently run. The 555s I have perform great but the 300 TW is a waste when I drive about 1800 miles per year. Even if I only get 10,000 miles from these NT05s, that is still around 6 years.
The other brands in that video do not have the sizes I wanted. I like a staggered size for my car, the wheels are an inch wider out back too.

 

[GetX'd]

I really wanted to go with the old school look and opted for the Goodyear GT L60 Raised White Letter tires on the rear. E60 on the front. The tires are polyglas and not the best for wear. But they're legit from the old days. A bit pricey too. I probably should have shopped around and looked at some options but knew the look I was going for.

 

[benno440]

have a look at the Bf Goodrich rivals, brand new tyre released not long ago supposed to be really good, the pro touring guys have track tested them and picked up heaps of time, while handling better, new sizes coming out all the time

 

[Budnicks]

One of the things I have noticed
is tire sizes/selections/choices or availability even are a big deal
when going to a 16-17-18 especially, even in some of the 19's too
I want something with a little sidewall, regardless of rim diameter,
our roads are far too rough & I just like that style too...

Not all like/tastes are alike, I don't care for the rubber band look much...

some sizes especially in a performance tire,
seemingly don't offer much in the way of choices at all...

like it's one size fits all, everything is in the 24"-26" range
or way too wide to get the 28" range for my purposes/likes/taste
without going to a light-truck tire, wrong tread or too aggressive {noisy possibly too} &
giving up performance characteristics I want...

Probably why I still have my 15" Hallibrands
I know that the 15's {much like 14's have become} will be few & far between soon too,
with all the tire mfgrs concentrating mostly on larger hoops/diameters 19"-20" trends...

 

[Kern Dog]

I like a bit of a sidewall at the rear to absorb some shock of acceleration. A 35 series tire is more likely to spin than a 45 series given the same tread compound. I recently went to a smaller cam with more low end torque, so I'd hate to see the tires go up in smoke too easily.


I just remembered a few details about a 73 Camaro I had in 1984. It had 14x10 slots on the back when I got it, 14x6 up front. I wanted better handling even back then and went with a set of 15x7 wheels from an 83 Z28 along with the Eagle GT 215-65-15 tires.

 

[benno440]

they reckon a 17" wheel is the best size in regards to performance, anything bigger is just adding unnecessary weight, and with a 17 you can still get a chunky tire

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I have not found a street tire that can hook. My e/t streets 31.5x31 are ok if I start in 2nd at about a 40 MPH roll.

 

[benno440]

I have not found a street tire that can hook. My e/t streets 31.5x31 are ok if I start in 2nd at about a 40 MPH roll.

no good for cornering though