Recommended tire brands and size?

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Didn't really mean to Bash the companies in whole there.

I do know that Goodyear makes a really good Slick racing tire!

But it is something as a general rule across the board that alot of the older used to be the best without arguement tire companies have fallen.

I went through the Ultra Hp's, Eagle F1s and I personally like my new Toyo's much much more. I have also had Indy 500s, and Firehawk Formulas, Bidgestone Protenzas, Michilen Pilot Sports, and Hyrdo Edges, and in all those tires, I was not impressed by any means.

[Abaddon]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

I do know that Goodyear makes a really good Slick racing tire!

Hahahah no kidding. I never looked at it like that.

But it is something as a general rule across the board that alot of the older used to be the best without arguement tire companies have fallen.

I went through the Ultra Hp's, Eagle F1s and I personally like my new Toyo's much much more. I have also had Indy 500s, and Firehawk Formulas, Bidgestone Protenzas, Michilen Pilot Sports, and Hyrdo Edges, and in all those tires, I was not impressed by any means.

I wonder what ever happened to good old fashioned quality in an American made product? Some of the best constructed cars in the US are foreign made. Mercedes, Honda, Camaro (well, mine was built in Canada...heh). The first two hold their resale value well and people buy them like they are going out of style. I used to have an Escort GT when I was a kid and I put Pirellis on it and they handled well and lasted for ages. People wanna blame the unions for raising the price of US made goods but at some point you have to think wages are just too high for the cost of living here.

Oh well. Back to tire browsing. I've read enough TireTrack reviews to last me a lifetime.

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Good luck.. I still love Cooper for certain though, still made in the US!

Perellis still kick! When I go to new 17" wheels, its going to be a rough decision Perelli P Zero Nero's or Cooper Zeon XS's, possibly others but I'll see who makes the right sizes.

Good luck from here

[SpeedingFirebird]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

I'm leary of Bridgestone/Firestone because of the Firestone tires that popped on the Fords.

There were a lot of factors that played into that. Mostly was the aggressive camber on the front of ford trucks/vans. Look at the left side front of any ford truck/van and you will see what I am talking about. Bridgestone/Firestone insisted this was too much camber.

I ran firestone's on my wife's saturn for many years with no problems. The Affinity (I think that was the model) was a good all around performer.

Read through the tirerack ratings for different tires. I found that to be quite accurate when picking out tires.

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Aww the other reason for the problems on fords, was ford was recomending too low of a tire pressure, so help soften and smooth out the ride of some of thier Suv's, infact Firestone got into a hudge lawsuit with Ford over it, because it hurts Firestones name...

I am personally a person who has never liked any Firestone tire I have ever owned, I do love the Bridgestone Blizzack though without a doubt. But never the less most of that Ford issue was Ford's fault.

[Abaddon]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

There were a lot of factors that played into that. Mostly was the aggressive camber on the front of ford trucks/vans.

Right. Which is why I also said, "I know it was a result of several different issues (including the wishbone design of the frame and won't be a factor for the Camaro) but I don't want to put on a tire I can't 100% trust."

You left that part off.

I just don't want to wonder if the problem was Ford's or Firestone's. I want to have some tires I trust. Firestone is a brand that has been around for years but I don't take chances on tires when I drive the way I do. I like hugging corners and cranking it up on the interstate. Can't do that if I can't 100% trust the tires.

[Abaddon]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Decision is made! Local tire place is putting on Bridgestone Potenza G 009s right now. I'm also getting an alignment and they are replacing the timing belt and transmission fluid. Man! What road trip do I get to take next? The car is going to be as good as new. It's just not right to let it sit in the garage. :)

Thanks for the help, gang.

[Abaddon]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

So far, I've been pleased with these tires. The sidewall isn't too soft so the cornering isn't bad and it handles wet roads exceptionally. Road noise is equal to what I experienced with the Goodyear GAs so it isn't bad at all. The only real downside is the Potenzas are a little stiffer because the size of the tire is different but that's what you want on a sports car. It took me about a day to get used to that. I've also noticed no flat spots even with the heat in Tennessee right now. That was one complaint people posted on TireRack.

I'll post on wear in a few months in case anyone else is watching this thread or considering a different tire.

Thanks again for the help.

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Those tires are fairly decent I put those on my gf's 94 until she stops driving it daily all year round, for her saftey in slightly worse weather. Price was right, and they do seem to hold nicely, and perform well, she has had them for closing in on 10k miles now and they still look and feel good.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Decision is made! Local tire place is putting on Bridgestone Potenza G 009s right now.

Firestone is a brand that has been around for years but I don't take chances on tires when I drive the way I do.

This is a contradiction.

The problem, btw, was Ford's.

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

This is a contradiction.

The problem, btw, was Ford's.

Oh um I think you left out that Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company, but I think you meant to say that... Just figured I would point it more directly.

[Abaddon]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

How is that a contradiction?

And many lawyers would disagree with you on the Ford issue. Ford never admitted guilt even after the research was complete. They simply paid off the people who filed suits and covered it over.

Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company now, yes. But they were separate once. The same could be said of Compaq and HP. Compaq is owned by HP but Compaq still manufactures their own computers by their own specs. And I'd buy a Compaq over an HP any day...the same as I would buy Bridgestone over Firestone. If I could afford it, I'd buy something more expensive and better quality over the Bridgestones. (shrug)

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

How is that a contradiction?

And many lawyers would disagree with you on the Ford issue. Ford never admitted guilt even after the research was complete. They simply paid off the people who filed suits and covered it over.

Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company now, yes. But they were separate once. The same could be said of Compaq and HP. Compaq is owned by HP but Compaq still manufactures their own computers by their own specs. And I'd buy a Compaq over an HP any day...the same as I would buy Bridgestone over Firestone. If I could afford it, I'd buy something more expensive and better quality over the Bridgestones. (shrug)

Ford was dead at fault, more or less didn't want to admit it in some of those vehicles, they were putting in the books the WRONG air pressure for the tires they were selling the vehicles with, a TOO LOW air pressure, causing them serious issues. Now should it have been that bad I cannot say, I am not a Tire "Expert", but I can say that Ford should have done something else to give their panzy a$$ suvs a smoother ride instead of telling their customers to under inflate thier tires. Ford would not have given up on that case so fast if it wasn't thier fault, they pay thier lawyers by the year on salary, it doesn't cost them anything extra to fight that case, and by paying the fines made them look really bad, hence costing them a fortune.

As far as Compaq and HP are concered, they both make bottom of the barrel trash, unless you buy their business class machines or servers, in which case you get the exact same components, and I do know that I am a computer tech, and build systems and networks for a living.

As far as Bridgestone and Firestone, I don't really care, I have never been a fan of either tire, nor many other brands. But the Firestone Affinity on my brothers maxima is a fine tire, and the Bridgestone Potenzas on my gf's '94 camaro are fine. And in that case I do know that they also come out of seperate factories, this isn't like compaq and hp where they just print a different name on the different box and call it different. Its more like General Motors owns Cadilac and Saturn.

[Abaddon]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Ford was dead at fault, more or less didn't want to admit it in some of those vehicles, they were putting in the books the WRONG air pressure for the tires they were selling the vehicles with, a TOO LOW air pressure, causing them serious issues. Now should it have been that bad I cannot say, I am not a Tire "Expert", but I can say that Ford should have done something else to give their panzy a$$ suvs a smoother ride instead of telling their customers to under inflate thier tires. Ford would not have given up on that case so fast if it wasn't thier fault, they pay thier lawyers by the year on salary, it doesn't cost them anything extra to fight that case, and by paying the fines made them look really bad, hence costing them a fortune.

As far as Compaq and HP are concered, they both make bottom of the barrel trash, unless you buy their business class machines or servers, in which case you get the exact same components, and I do know that I am a computer tech, and build systems and networks for a living.

As far as Bridgestone and Firestone, I don't really care, I have never been a fan of either tire, nor many other brands. But the Firestone Affinity on my brothers maxima is a fine tire, and the Bridgestone Potenzas on my gf's '94 camaro are fine. And in that case I do know that they also come out of seperate factories, this isn't like compaq and hp where they just print a different name on the different box and call it different. Its more like General Motors owns Cadilac and Saturn.

You are a computer tech? I own a computer tech company and have been a computer tech for more than 10 years. I agree about their low end computers but that can generally be said for ANY computer company when comparing their competing computer lines. Dell's low end machines blow, too. They make a decent upper level server, though. IBM servers aren't bad for the money, either.

As for the Firestone/Ford debate, you all seem to be forgetting a few things. It wasn't all Firestone tires. It was one line...the Wilderness AT tires. And Firestone didn't just blame Ford, roll over, and die (pardon the pun). Firestone paid a $41.5 mil settlement to several states, made many major modifications to their manufacturing processes, and recalled all potentially affected tires. Ford wasn't completely to blame. Ford DID put out the wrong tire pressures but the findings concluded that the tire pressures Ford released should not have caused the tire ruptures. It is my understanding that the frame design lended a hand in the accidents and Ford knew there were problems with the frame design because they had earlier experienced the same type of flaws from the salvaged design when it was first released for the Bronco II. In my unprofessional opinion, both companies shared the blame in finding the solution and dragged their feet in response to protecting the public. I simply won't put any trust into Firestone for awhile. That's my opinion and I won't change it until a few more accident free years have passed for any car line. (shrug)

You are spot on with your last comment. We have a Bridgestone factory here in Nashville and I know many people who (used) to work there. They make a quality product no matter who owns them. And if not, I know who to call to get the problem fixed. I had complete faith in Bridgestone tires when I purchased them. And after driving on them for almost a week, I'm glad I made the decision I did. They do the job FAR BETTER than the weak Goodyear GAs I had on there and they were cheaper in price. No complaints from me so far.

[Nikos95]

Re: Recommended tire brands and size?

Good to know you like em, I cannot find a Goodyear tire any longer that I am happy with from cars tires to the tires on my '95 Jeep, just can't find a single one.

Ya computer companies I have also been in the business for 8 years now, and it is ture, almost all the big dogs do make thier high end, personally I just build my own, but thats how I do it.

And you are correct I did forget that Firestone did recall a bunch of those tires and make a few fixes to a plant, my mistake there. And I did know it was that pesky Wilderness A/T, But I feel you completely on the trust thing, considering the tires you put on your car especailly being a f-body can easily mean life or death, its important to know you have a trust worthy tire. Our cars are too dangerous to cut corners.