All Wetaher Tire Recommendations?

ZCAT3 · 02:28 PM

My 87 Carrera is being pushed into daily driver mode this winter and I feel the need to remove the 7x9 16 inch Fuchs with RE730s on them and go to something with better all weather handling. I have a set of 6x7s and I was thinking of going with Falken Ziex ZE512s, but really have no clue. The car will mostly see dry conditions here in the winter, but we do get our share of rain. I also might make a run or 2 to Lake Tahoe in it, so snow is not out of the question.

As always, any thoughts or advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

Andras · 11-18-2003, 01:56 PM

Bill,

Be careful with the Falken 512s.

I have them on my wife's Miata, and they are directional, and definitely a wet tire, and very good at that.

However, they are also similar to the Dunlop 9000, which have similar directional treads, and those were terrible in the snow. In fact, I had to take them off in the winter (I haven't lived in Florida for most of my life), becaue they would slip and slide. So I caution you about using wet tires in snow or slush situations.

Any tire which is advertised by TireRack for winter (meaning snow) driving is better than any wet or dry tire. Perhaps you ought to look at what the Scandanavians use, for they have snow for 9 months out of the year.

Rot 911 · 11-18-2003, 02:02 PM

If you have any plans to drive in snow then get tires that can handle it. I run Bridgestone Blizzaks on my car in the winter month. Excellent handling in dry, rain and snow.

ZCAT3 · 11-18-2003, 02:26 PM

Thanks Guys - it will be mostly wet and dry driving. If I am in the snow I will use chains. Would that make the Falken's o.k.?

Andras · 11-18-2003, 02:37 PM

Bill,

I do like the Falkens on the Miata, as they grip well in the rain, and are good in the dry.

But my one concern is still that when the weather gets cold, and thus the tires get cold, they will not perform as well as tires which are designed for the cold.

You might check with TireRack, since they are very knowledgeable, and might be better able to answer your questions.

jakermc · 11-18-2003, 03:33 PM

Toyo Proxes FZ-4 is a nice all-season performance tire at a reasonable price. I've even run these on the track with decent results.

absinthe · 03:58 PM

micheline pilot sports A/S there really pricey comparatively but they last for ever, and they were way better in snow and ice than dunlop 9000 or conti sport contacts on my 91 M5 that had the added blessing of an 80% LS in the rear

ZCAT3 · 11-18-2003, 04:15 PM

A local tire store just recommended Continental Extreme Contacts -

absinthe · 04:46 PM

I know the tire rack guys love them and they are fairly cheap they replaced the tire I had, and the conti I ran I was extremely unhappy with. It was much rougher riding and wore out in about half the time of the Pilot A/S.

How much are they asking, for the conti's? I got the Michelins through costco which means cheap mounting and balancing and rotation for the life of the tire

ZCAT3 · 11-18-2003, 09:45 PM

The Conti Extreme Contacts will run about $85 per wheel delivered to my door. Then an additional fee to get them mounted and balanced.

I have heard horror stories about Costco mounting and balancing - at $9 per tire you do seem to get what you pay for there.

I really like the Conti Sport Contact IIs I have on another car. These are OEM Porsche tires so I tend to believe they must be pretty good quality.

absinthe · 08:11 AM

at that price it makes no sense to get the michelines they were 222 in my 245/35/18 size for the M-

I have heard the same horror stories about costco but if you keep an eye on them its fairly tough to mess up a mounting job, that said if you kow of a shop that still indexes tires when they mount them its worth the real money 100-150 total to get that done with allingment and mounting, With out indexing its bassically just puting the tire on the rim so long as it goes the right way and they dont mess up a wheel your fine.

FYI- got less than 9 k out of conti's got almost 21k from pilots but they were on through 2 winters when tires get abused less, so slight cost addvantgage to the conti's

Decolliber · 11-19-2003, 08:20 AM

I have Dunlop SP5000s on my Carrera and have been happy with them, but have never had anything else so cannot compare. I have Potenza RE 950s on Audi and also quite happy with them. Both tires were under $100 each at Tirerack. I know people rave about Michelin Pilot A/S but they are close to $200 each!!!