I've taken the 17's off my car, and now am riding on the stock SE wheels, which I happen to like very much. I was planning on getting different wheels this summer, but I'm starting to change my mind. The like the comfort of the 16's on the highway (which I will be driving on 600 miles/week starting next week) and do not mind the handling loss quite that much. I'll be living in Buffalo, so I have to have a good solution for the snow. So...

• Should I go with a really good all-season tire? One that will last year round?
• Get a set of performance tires such as Kumho's ('cause they are cheep) and stick with the RS-A's that are on there now for the winter, eventually replacing them with snow tires?

And then...

• Will going to a 225/50/16 tire worsen the ride that much? The difference between the 235/45/17's that I have and the 215/55/16 that I'm on now is night-and-day. I wouldn't mind a little in between, but I'd rather keep the ride smooth.
• What tires have the best tread life? I have no complaints with my Kumho's, but like I said, I'll be driving 600 miles/week or more, and I don't want to buy tires all the time. That's why I'm leaning towards a Kumho/Snow Tire approach

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

My Max came with the RS-A's. Great tire until it started to ware down a bit, then things got ugly. The new G35 is coming with RS-A's as well. There a great tire, but as they ware, performance and ride comfort drops.

There are so many hi performance all season tires out there now. Spend some $$ and get the Michelins. I've heard nothing but positive feedback from them. But there expensive!!!

 

I absolutely, completed H-A-T-E-D the OEM RS-A's that came on my car. They had terrible wet traction, and dry traction wasn't all that great either. They did not have very good lateral grip and howled when pushed. The worst thing was the wet traction, though...downright dangerous. Anyway, that's my opinion of the RS-A's.

That having been said, I have gone through now 5 sets of tires on my 97. I've tried the following, and here are my comments:
- Pirelli SS 7000: Ultra hi-pi all season. Just an okay tire all around, but much better than stock. Tread life was okay at best (30K)
- Dunlop SP8000: Ultra hi-po summer. Awesome tire. Fantastic grip in dry AND wet. Wore very quickly (18K)
- Dunlop SP5000: Ultra hi-po all season. Very good all-around tire. Did everything pretty well. Didn't get the miles I had hoped (28K). This tire "should" be very good in snow/slush due to the extensive siping. Siping greatly aids snow traction.
- CURRENT TIRE: BFG gForce KDWS: Ultra hi-po all season. This tire ROCKS! I would say at LEAST as good handling as the Dunlop SP8000s. Very stiff sidewalls. Noticeably reduces body roll. Tradeoff is harsher ride. Will likely not be as good in snow as the SP5000s, but still should be acceptable. Not sure, though. Main thing about this tire is it's an all season tire with 400 treadwear rating (remains to be seen what treadlife will be) and absolutely kicks butt in handling and traction. I mean this tire is very very sticky.

I would say unless you see a fair amount of bad winter weather, an all-season tire should do the trick. I highly recommend the KDWS for milder conditions. For a little more snow, SP5000s. For heavy winters (snow on the ground for days on end), go with a dedicated set of winter tires. For your safety, it's well worth investing in a set of good winter tires.

 

Well, I'm in Buffalo, NY, so we can get feet of snow in a day. So something that's really good in the winter is a must. I've used Dunlop snow tires in the past along with my RS-A's last winter. Both did well, although actual snow tires are much much better.

So, I'm assuming I will get snow tires. That leaves my big question to be that of tire size for summer tires. 215/55/16 or 225/50/16?

 

225-50-16 is a great size. There are loads of tires to choose from in that size, and in general the cost is less than 215-55's. They look better on the car due to the wider tread also. If the tires are on the narrower side of 225's, they won't bulge much either. There's little benefit in handling with 225's, though...primarily a looks thing.

And I would DEFINITELY buy a set of dedicated winter tires since you live in Buffalo. Any hi-po/better all season tire will generally suck in the snow.

 

Eric: My fellow buffalonian. Here is my setup.

Winter: Stock crappy 15in gxe rims: Dunlop Sp4000a/s, now discontinued.

Summer: 16in 300zx rims: Dunlop sp8000's.

The sp8000's stick like mad, but wear pretty well. I too will be putting a lot of miles on the max this summer(finally got a real job since grad.) and I'll keep ya updated.

One more thing. Buy them at Dunn tire. I didn't buy mine there, but if you do they will switch your summer and winter tires on the same rim for only 30 bucks each fall and spring.

 

Think they'll be a difference in ride quality? That's my primary concern. The same tires are the same price (or within $5) from 215/55/16 to 225/50/16, so that's not an issue, as you pointed out.

 

Mike - thanks. I alredy have 2 Z rims that I use for racing...and I'm thinking of looking for another pair to use for winter tires. They look okay, and the Z guys usually sell them cheep.

 

I face the Chicago weather/winter/rain etc.

My set up has been mint:

225/50 16s dunlops Winter *Sippened* on Black 16x7s
*stick like glue, just amazing when "sippened"
*looks tuned with the black rims, have no guilt about
cleaning the rims...self cleaning black.

245/40 18 Kumhos on 18x8 Konig Verdicts Summer
*heavy but looks clean...painful ride.