Hey guys, I just purchased a set of Ksport suspension that is able to drop up to about 4" I beleive. I am going to be lowering my car to about 2.75-3" and was wondering what would be the best tire for a 17x7 racinghart c5 rim. Keep in mind I would like to have a more stiff setup on the suspension but not a entirely rough ride while driving. Please feel free to post all suggestions, I had nitto neo-gens and let me tell you. Worst tire i've ever had. Lasted about 10k miles. Good huh? Thanks guys

 

What kind of car (model, version, year)?

And, what are your priorities for various tire characteristics? What do you care about - dry traction and handling, rain traction, snow, tread life, price, etc? To what extent are you willing to trade off performance for a lower price or longer treadlife? It will help to take a look at this overview from a previous topic, to see the various kinds of tires out there and figure out which best meets what you're looking for.

 

I have a 99 accord ex 4dr(4cyl) and Im lookin for all around performance, but not too rough of a ride and something that will actually last. Also the first number such as 205-225-215 and what not, what would be the best for a spring-winter tire? I have a set of winter tires I put on another set of rims so I'd actually be looking for rain/dry performance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by twobit &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a 99 accord ex 4dr(4cyl) and Im lookin for all around performance, but not too rough of a ride and something that will actually last. Also the first number such as 205-225-215 and what not, what would be the best for a spring-winter tire? I have a set of winter tires I put on another set of rims so I'd actually be looking for rain/dry performance.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your car came from the factory with 195/65-15 tires. The best matching tire size for a 17" wheel is 205/50-17, which will keep the speedometer and odometer accurate and shouldn't rub in your wheel wells. However, if you are worried about ride quality, you might think twice about those 17" wheels. The larger the wheel, the shorter the sidewall - and the shorter the sidewall, the harsher the ride. If you find the ride too harsh, it will be due to the size of the wheels, not the tires.

If you know someone with 17" wheels (even if it's on a Civic or Integra, which take 205/40-17 tires), you might ask them if you can swap their tires onto your car, just to take for a test drive to see how it affects the ride quality. (I'm sure you're already aware that 17" tires will cost more than tires for smaller wheels.)

Assuming you still want to get the 17" wheels, then the trade-off is among performance, price, and treadlife. Since treadlife is an issue for you, you should avoid the first three categories listed, which leaves these four:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">4. Best Top-of-the-Line Street Tires: Goodyear F1 GS-D3, Bridgestone S-03, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, etc (typical treadlife 15-25K miles)

5. "Value" Top-of-the-Line Street Tires: Toyo T-1R, Kumho Ecsta MX (typical treadlife 15-25K miles)

6. Budget Performance, "Bang for the Buck" Tires: Yokohama AVS ES100, Kumho Ecsta SPT, Dunlop Direzza DZ101, etc (typical treadlife 25-40K miles)

7. All-season tires: Kumho Ecsta ASX, Pirelli PZero Nero M+S, etc (typical treadlife 25-50K miles)</TD></TR></TABLE>

The mileages shown are typical for fairly exuberant driving styles in a smaller car (e.g. Integra) so yours will probably be somewhat more than those shown, but the relationship is still the same. IOW, the lower the category number, the better the all-around performance characteristics (dry and wet pavement), but the shorter the treadlife.

Here are per-tire prices (from the Tire Rack, except where indicated) for the best choice (IMO) in each category, for your 205/50-17 size:

4. Best Top-of-the-Line Street Tires:
Goodyear F1 GS-D3 $153

5. "Value" Top-of-the-Line Street Tires:
Toyo T-1R $135 (onlinetires.com)

6. Budget Performance, "Bang for the Buck" Tires:
Yokohama AVS ES100 $100

7. All-season tires:
Kumho Ecsta ASX $91

Of these, if it were my car, I would get the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, because it's such a great performer on dry pavement as well as in the rain. It won the comparison of top-of-the-line performance tires in the current (December) issue of Car and Driver, and it has the highest user survey ratings of all 24 tires in Tire Rack's top performance category.

HTH



Modified by nsxtasy at 12:02 PM 11/24/2005