The Oldsmobile Connection

DKnight · Joined: 10 Nov 2003 Posts: 63 Location: Huntington, WV

What street tires are y'all using, and what tires would you like to be using? I'm getting some goodyear G/T Qualifiers.

DK

73Delta88 · Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 11:20 pm Post subject:

I have Dunlop GT Qualifiers.... never heard of Goodyear GT Qualifiers

The Dunlops have been great... They wore out a little quick, but I got great performance out of them. just a tradeoff you have to consider, the softer the compund, the better the performance but also the faster it wears out. A harder compound wil last longer but you might slide all over the road.

Psyco Diver 69 · Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 207 Location: South NJ

I run Cooper radial Cobra GT tires. Nice tires, good lateral traction, I wasn't completely satisfied at first with the acceration tracion but after about a month or 2 they have broken in and are pretty good. I'm pretty happy with them now. Their a great value.

I wouldn't mind having a set of Yokohama Spec 2 tires. I heard they have awesome traction for braking, acceration, and cornering. Their also suppose to be great in the rain too. Their usually in the high performance tire catagory when looking for tires

88Ciera_SC · Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 199 Location: Columbus Ohio

i'm currently using these Cooper Viper TR Radial GT's.
P215/60/R14's and that's the stock size also.
Used to have Michelin EXP's that where really good too but they where getting bald so i got the Viper's.

Was looking at the Goodyear GT II's also but they where more expensive then the Cooper's.

nice tires and not expensive..very good deal..

88delta88 · Joined: 09 Jun 2003 Posts: 2407 Location: Canada

Mine are el cheapo... But they work, and the winter hasnt given me a problem yet

They're hankook something.

86Delta · Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 281 Location: NJ, USA

Cooper Touring SLE 215/70-14, no complaints

BigBlockOlds · Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 171 Location: Ohio

I'm running Yokohama A520's. 245/45ZR17 in the front and 255/45ZR17 in the rear. I really like these tires as they are quite sticky.

88delta88 · Joined: 09 Jun 2003 Posts: 2407 Location: Canada

and smokey by the looks of your signature...

TheDarkShadow · Joined: 17 Jan 2004 Posts: 113 Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Don't know off top of head what the brands are, but front is 235/60/r15 and back are 275/60/r15 ... i think the front ones are firehawks. the back ones, well, are different treads :P i got them off a jimmy at work, 1 was flat, the other 2 were good, and the 4th was a different brand, got all 3 and kept the different tread one for spare, well, few months ago got a flat and shredded the right rear one, so now i got mismatched tread on the back :P... only powered by a 307 so no rear problem with traction, can corner better than most imports.. only problem is really easy to spin in rain.

strokercutlass · Joined: 09 Jun 2003 Posts: 379 Location: Wis

funny this topic came up, as I just ordered tires for the 74 today...General XP2000II's...245/60R15 front and 275/60R15 rear....wouldn't have been my first choice, but they were being discontinued by one of my distributors and I got a hellacious deal on all 4!

on the vista I'm running 245/45ZR17's front, 275/40ZR17's rear..Goodyears (had em used in stock), otherwise they wouldn't be on the car....

on the 72 I run 195/75R15 fronts, and 30x9.0R15 Hoosier slicks (who needs tread anyways? :twisted: )

If I hadn't gotten the Generals so cheap, I would have bought Cooper Cobra G/T's for the 74...BFG's are nice looking but overpriced, Goodyear has been going thru alot of financial trouble, and its beginning to show in their tires lately, Hankook and Kumho are both great brands, even though they're an imported tire, Yokohama doesn't seem to be a bad brand although I don't sell many.

86delta, the SLE is a GREAT touring tire..nice ride and good wear...
88delta, you've possibly got 712 Hankooks...the 845's are a more expensive tire, but have great traction and wear...
88ciera...the Viper TR is made by Cooper, although not advertised under their name. Its actually classified as a private label tire, only sold through certain areas and distributors.

At this point in time, as much as I hate saying it, I'd tend to stay away from the Goodyear line. They do have a new line which is supposed to be debuting soon, but we've had several issues with their passenger lines in the last few months. I've got my own love/hate list when it comes to tires, probably like everyone else does, most of which is based off what I see on a daily basis thru work....

My hate list....
Goodyear: quality slipping, poor customer service, overpriced
Michelin: overpriced, soft sidewalls, bead leakage issues, weather cracking
older General line: separations, weather cracking
BFG: overpriced, in many cases poor wear
My love list:
Cooper: excellent tire construction, decent price and wear
Kumho: quality, great price, especially in performance lines/plus sizing
Hankook: quality, price, overall design and wear
Firestone/Bridgestone: despite the media frenzied recall fiasco, Firestone has REALLY made a big comeback...good wear and construction in most lines, variety..
I mean, comeon...if you think about it, who's probably making the safest tire out there now? The company who's under the most scrutiny.. :wink:

BigBlockOlds · Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 171 Location: Ohio

Hey stroker, do they not make the Yokohama A520 any longer? I only ask because I haven't seen them listed anywhere. I check www.tirerack.com just to get an idea whats available in what sizes and they don't list the Yokohama's any longer.

I guess if they don't I better go a little easier on the rears. :)

strokercutlass · Joined: 09 Jun 2003 Posts: 379 Location: Wis

Andrew...yes, the A520 has been discontinued, although you may be able to find some still in stock online at a few places...heres the link to Yokohamas new Ultra High Performance line of tires, most of which are all new for this year...

http://www.yokohamatire.com/searchresults.asp?id=uhp

BigBlockOlds · Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 171 Location: Ohio

Cool thanks.

Have you had any experience with Yokohama tires? The A520's that I have seem to be a very good tire. They handle extremely well and grip decently for a low profile tire at the drag strip.
I couldn't comment on their road noise since the 3" exhaust seems to take car of most of that. :D

The car does seem to follow cracks in the road more and I constantly have to correct it. But I think that stems from 2 things moreso than the tires. One would be the fact that I now have 8" rims up front with a 4" backspacing. The puts the wheel out farther towards the fender and I think that has caused some of the "darty" feeling. And two, my steering box is probably binding since I tightened the adjustment screw trying to take out the slop. Now the wheel doesn't return to center like it should. If you turn the wheel a certain degree the car will continue to go in that direction until you counter act it. That can make driving long distances very tiresome. :(
Thanks,

strokercutlass wrote: Andrew...yes, the A520 has been discontinued, although you may be able to find some still in stock online at a few places...heres the link to Yokohamas new Ultra High Performance line of tires, most of which are all new for this year...

http://www.yokohamatire.com/searchresults.asp?id=uhp

86Delta · Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 281 Location: NJ, USA

IMO Coopers are the best tires on the market today, they wear well, reasonably priced, and made in USA. never really been a fan of Goodyears beacuse the rubber on the inside of the tire is very thin so you have to be really careful not to go through to the cords when grinding the rubber to patch the tire. BFG's quality has really gona down in the last few years. Michelin's are a decent tire but too expensive and French made.

Just put tires on my sister's 01 Grand Am GT coupe, Goodyear Eagle LE's i think. Got them because that is what the car had on it and they lasted 70k. One of the wheel's had 2 flat spots in it and a crack, so we got a new wheel from GM, $443 cost for one 16" wheel. Just for shits and giggles I asked the guy at the dealer to price a Corvette wheel, $1200 for one wheel for a new vette.

Wagonmaster/primerdeath · Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Maine

Well I have the VIP specials up front P225/75/R15, I got 2 studded P215/70/R15 for snow, 2 225/70/R15 BFGs Advantage plus , and 235/75/15 for back up (commanche)