i orderd some 16" rota jmags w/ a +40 offset for my 98 accord and i was planning on getting some goodyear eagle-gt's. i have heard very good things about them. i already have a set of snow tires/rims so the snow performance means nothing to me. i do plan to autocross the car and i hear they are a fairly stickey tire. the 50,000 mile treadwear warrinty is the main reason i plan to get them. i was wondering what size you recomand and if you have any imput or experance with the tire i would love to kno, thanks in advance

 

Different Accords use different tire sizes. What kind of '98 Accord do you have? IOW - coupe or sedan? V6 or 4 cylinder? EX, LX, or DX?

As for the choice of tire, as you note, the winter performance means nothing to you. Therefore, your choice of tire primarily involves a trade-off between performance and treadlife. The Goodyear Eagle GT is one of the best all-season tires. All-season tires are designed primarily for the added flexibility of winter performance (which you don't care about), and in exchange for that flexibility, they sacrifice performance (compared with summer tires); they also provide greater tread life. So their non-winter performance is going to be just okay, not great and not particularly sticky, especially for autocross, but they'll last you maybe 50K miles or so. You can get better performance from a good summer tire (e.g. Yokohama S.drive), in dry weather as well as in rain, and for autocross, but they won't last as long as all-seasons - typically 25-40K miles. If you want still better performance, they make supersticky specialty tires (e.g. Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec) that are great at autocross but will only last you maybe 15K miles. So with all of these choices, you need to decide whether to trade off performance for longer treadlife, or trade off treadlife for stickier performance.

LMK what kind of '98 Accord you have and I'll provide some specific recommendations in each category.

 

i have a 98 lx sedan. from what other people have told me the eagle-gt is somewhat stickey, could be wrong but thats what i am told

 

alos, i ahve been told that a 205/50/16 would be my best bet but i have not found any tires that are somewhat stickey and have good treadlife on them in that size tire

 

For the best 16" tire size, 205/50-16 is TOO SMALL for your car. If your '98 LX Sedan is a 4-cylinder, the stock size is 195/65-15 and the best 16" size is 205/55-16. If it's a V6, the stock size is 205/65-15 and the best 16" size is 205/60-16 (although you can also use 215/55-16).

Again, the Eagle GT is still an all-season, and all-seasons are not that sticky, nowhere near as sticky as summer tires. But they do last longer.

Here are some recommendations, with prices from the Tire Rack shown. In each category, the tires shown go from the stickiest to least sticky, and from the quickest-wearing to the longest-lasting. The treadlife estimate is approximate and can vary, and is shown for comparison purposes.

If your car is a 4 cylinder:
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 205/55-16 - $106/tire (20K miles)
Pirelli PZero Nero 205/55-16 - $80/tire (30K miles)
Kumho SPT 205/55-16 - $76/tire (40K miles)
Goodyear Eagle GT 205/55-16 - $89/tire after rebate (50K miles)

If your car is a V6:
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 215/55-16 - $99/tire (30K miles)
Kumho SPT 215/55-16 - $71/tire (40K miles)
Goodyear Eagle GT 205/60-16 - $79/tire after rebate (50K miles)

 

yeah i have a 4 cylinder not a 6. you dont think that the 205/55/16 will rub at all? i plan on lowering the car 1.5" when summer comes around so i dont want any rubbing or as little as possible

 

No, 205/55-16 won't rub at all, even with the 1.5" lowering, assuming you've chosen the right offset for your wheels (i.e. the one that gives you maximum clearance in the wheel wells). As a general rule, tires usually rub only if they are more than 20 mm wider than stock and/or if they are significantly larger in diameter than stock. The 205/55-16 is only 10 mm wider than stock and is actually ever so slightly smaller in diameter than stock (24.88" vs 24.98"). They'll be fine. (FWIW, the Tire Rack recommends 205/55-16 for 16" wheels on your car.)

 

i forgot to mention that the jmags are 7 inches wide. idk if that makes a differance. idk waht the stock tire width is.

 

Most 205/55-16 tires are approved for mounting on rims 5.5-7.5 inches wide, so 16x7 should be just fine.

 

thanks you have been a very big help

 

after looking for some summer tires i have been thinking that the dunlop direzza z1 star spec look promising but are they more of a set of tires to keep on another set of rims just for track day? or are they a everyday tire? the price isint bad at $111 a tire IF they last over 20,000 miles ikd though, your thoughts?

 

The Star Specs are a "supersticky" summer tire, almost a cross between a regular summer tire and an R compound tire designed specifically for the racetrack and autocrosses. The Tire Rack calls this category "extreme performance summer tires" and the Star Specs are perhaps the very best tires in this category. In side-by-side comparison testing, they beat the others including the well-regarded Bridgestone RE01R, as you can see at
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=107

Some people use them only for autocross and the track, while many others use them only for the street, and still others use them for both. It's up to you how to use them, but they can definitely be used on the street without significant problems. Predicting tread life is difficult since it can vary from one car to another, but I would say that 20K miles is a reasonable expectation. Some of the tires in this category come with a shallower tread depth (8/32"), but the Star Spec comes with the same tread depth as most summer tires (10/32"), which helps.

Incidentally, good job on comparing prices; $111/tire with free shipping at Discount Tire Direct is a better deal than $106/tire plus shipping at the Tire Rack.

 

haha thanks, the only thing i am wondering is what happens if i blow a tire and its still under warrinty. do i just send it back to them no questions asked? i have never orderd tires online b4 so idk what to expect. from what i here, discount tire direct has good customer service and is easy to deal with

 

Tires are warrantied by the tire manufacturer. You can also purchase a "road hazard warranty" from many of the online sites as well as local dealers (although personally I think they are of dubious value, but read the terms and make your own decision).

If you have a problem with a tire, the coverage depends on the cause. The manufacturer's warranty doesn't usually cover road hazards, but covers other problems. If a tire blows out and it's caused by a tire defect, you should call the tire manufacturer's customer service line. They typically have you bring it to a local dealer that carries their tires, to exchange it (even if you didn't buy it there). If a tire blows out and it's caused by a road hazard, and you've purchased the road hazard warranty, then you'll need to contact the seller and ask them what to do. If it's Discount Tire Direct and they have local dealers in your area (Discount Tire and America's Tire are their retail arm), they will probably have you bring it there, rather than shipping it back to them. I doubt they would bother asking you to ship it back, but you'd have to call them and they'll give you instructions on how to handle it.

 

i was thinking, if i have 195/55/15 tires on now, wont the 205/55/16 be larger than the stock tire that i have? i dont understand how they wont rub

 

Your stock tire size is 195/65-15. If you feel like checking - heck, maybe you don't believe me - the stock tire size should be shown in your owner's manual as well as on a placard on your door jamb, or maybe on your glove compartment door. (If you really have 195/55-15 tires on your car now, they are much smaller than stock, by about an inch and a half in diameter, and they are throwing off your speedometer and odometer by more than 6 percent.)

The outer diameter of 195/65-15 = the diameter of the wheel plus two times the sidewall height = 15 inches + 2 * (195 mm * .65 / 25.4 mm/in) = 15 + 2 (126.75/25.4) = 24.98 inches.

The outer diameter of 205/55-16 = the diameter of the wheel plus two times the sidewall height = 16 inches + 2 * (205 mm * .55 / 25.4 mm/in) = 16 + 2 (112.75/25.4) = 24.88 inches.

 

hah my bad, i believe you. had a brain fart

 

No problem, happens to all of us.