OK, this weekend I purchased some 96 SE saw-blade wheels for my 91 SE. The came with some old Toyo rubber on them, two 215/60sr15 and two 205/65sr15. There’s about 20% tread left so I figured I’d finish these tires off before I changed back to mine. I put the new wheels on and took the car for a spin. I can’t believe the difference in handling, it’s a big improvement. I can’t figure out why. My tires are BF’s 205/65sr15. I would think these are comparable to the Toyo’s. I did put the taller 205’s on the front of the car just to level it a little, but that’s only +- ½” difference. I can’t see that adding that much. The new rims seem to have a slightly different offset. They look like they sit in (under) the car a little more, but I’m not sure on this. The ride is much firmer and there is a lot less under-steer. Any ideas?? I don’t want to go back to the BF’s if thats the problem.

 

Tires vary widely among manufacturers. I just put a set of Kumho Ecsta HP4s on my wifes minivan and they made a world of difference in ride and handling. compared to what was on there before.
Had the same deal when I went from Uniroyals on my S-10 to Pirelli Scorpion A/T tires handling improved as did ride and traction.
Check tirerack for tire surveys they will give you an idea of how different two brands can be.
BTW the KUmho tires were the cheapest and best rated in the vans tire size 205/65/15

 

I installed Bridgestone Potenza's and IT made a WORLD of a diffrence, traction when from none to some. I put back my old tires and well it sucked, so beleive it or not tires can make a world of diffrence. The smallest thing can have the biggest effect.

 

Of course tires make a huge difference. They are the only part of your car that is contact with the road. Cheap tires = death when it is raining or when you need perform an emergency stop.

I have been running Yokohama AVS-ES100s for the past year and they are awesome. And you can't beat $80 a tire. (225-50/15) The best part is that 225-50/16 cost the same. (upgrading very soon)

 

i have 225-50-16'z on my 91 maxi -
i got some michillin pilot rubbers - they are nice too - i had pirelli on before -i can feel the diff.
wider is better - i say....

 

Thank you PONTIAC Grand Prix

 

i had the same tires on my car for about 5 months and they do handle well and have greater tration than my previos tires but what kind of tread wear are you seeing on the front my front wore very fast the backs are still like new i bearly have 6k miles on them and i dont spin the tires that much just corius

 

Do a little research on tirerack.com and you'll see that the majority don't like Kumho Supra712s. Too much road noise, crappy wet traction, terrible treadware, but decent dry traction.

After doing months of research, I determined that Nitto and Yokohamas are on top as far as pricing, traction, and treadware. I got the Yoko AVS ES100 and they are awesome. Very quiet and I can't say about the treadware just yet. I"ve only had them for a month or two. But traction is out of this world, wet AND dry. When the Vegas roads get wet, traciton is horrible on every other tire. A couple times, I tried my BEST to lock up my wheels from a 40 mph roll. I couldn't do it. I have ABS and the ABS never kicked in. I mean, I stood on my brakes and couldn't even get a chirp out of them. I'm amazed.

If you throw price out the window, then I would have started to look at nice Pirellis, Toyos, Dunlop, and Michelin Pilots. But the best bang for the buck is Yoko AVS ES100.

*edit* Oh yeah, prepare to have this thread moved any minute now.

 

I thought the best bang/buck were the contiextremecontacts.

 

recently when i purchased my wheels/tires i got 235/45/17 sava intensa
tires. I was thinking that because they were cheap at 110US per tire (cheap for NZ) that they would be crap. I dont know if its just the width that makes them stick but theyre very very good in dry and wet conditions... my only gripe would be that they are a little loud.

 

I've been buying Yokohama tires for years. The ES100's are awesome.