Post: #1 Posted: Today at 11:56 am Post subject: Not sure which tires to get!

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I have an '05' SL. My OEM's are starting to hit the wear bars.

I have had Yokohamas in the past and have been wildly successful with them. But they were on my Accord, not my Max.

I get very easily overwhelmed at all the info on tires.

I would like to keep the speed rating. Here in SC we get quite a bit of rain, some snow and ice. I won't drive on ice, so that isn't a factor. I will, very rarely go out on snow because of others and their over-confidence. So primarily, rain and speed rating.

I will scan tirerack, but again, it's all Hebrew to me.

I also don't want to buy without your input, because I am concerned that they will see a sucker coming a mile away!

Thanks,
Swee

 

Hey Swee,

Do you have a price range youre looking to keep it in?

 

Not really, I just want good, all season (rainy rather), and performance.

I have found Yokohamas yk520's for about $690 OTD.....That's everything, road hazard, mount and balance, and lifetime rotation. Well actually, all of it is lifetime of the tire anyway. Even free tire replacement.

These are for 225/55/17's. Are they any good? Are there pros/cons?

Thank you so much for your help NCSU!

 

First I would find out the width of the wheel. My new wheels, which I forgot to tell you Swee, are Mikes old 18 x 8 Konig Villains ( my big brake kit wouldnt fit under the other wheels I had that you saw at the last meet unfortunately). But I LOVE the Villains (check the members ride forum if you havent seen new pics). Anyway, these bad boys are 8" wide which is also a step up from the other ones which were 7.5" (both were 18 inch wheels) Technically I could fit 255s on these 8" wheels but the sidewalls would balloon out over the rim. Because of this ballooning effect the actual contact patch with the road is really no different than that of 245s on the same width wheel (which if you looked along the face of the wheel the tire would sit flush with the face of the wheel and not balloon out like the 255s). Reason Im going with the 245s is bc I need more rubber for the supercharger I would assume your wheels are 7.5" wide but I would double check. In that case take my scenario from above and apply the sizes 235 and 245 (where the 235s would be optimal). Keep in mind you could also put 225s on yours but who doesnt want more useable rubber! Another disadvantage to going with the widest possible tire for a certain wheel is that your sidewalls become much softer which is not as good for sharp cornering. So wider is not always better depending on the wheel. Keep in mind your aspect ratio (40/45/50/55 etc) will also determine the stiffness of the sidewall - the higher the number the softer the sidewall but also the harsher the ride.

So once you decide on a size I would go for a good all-season tire. Im going with summer tires in the next few weeks once again bc they are stickier and I need that for the SC. Also we really never get snow here and Ive talked to alot of auto-X guys around here who run them all year long. You wont go wrong with all seasons though. I have personal experience with a few that I can speak about

1. BF Goodrich g-force T/A KDW 2 - George, my friend who you met this summer with the other pebble beige 4th gen has had these for 2 years now. Still has over half the treadlife!!!! These things are unbelievable! They have a crazy tread design and some complain the moan a little at high speeds but Ive never had a problem with them in the many times ive ridden with George
and they sitck like crazy!!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ce+T%2FA+KDW+2

2. Pirelli P Zero Nero - I had these on my old wheels for a few weeks and beat the crap out of them - loved them. As with the BF Goodrichs they are a little pricey but they boast a long tread life. Overall a good tire IMO.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ero+Nero+M%26S


3. General Exclaim UHP - On the other end of the price spectrum, these are a newer tire that have recieved amazing reviews. I cant tell you how many times Ive heard the phrase "best bang for the buck tire". I dont think the tread life is as long as the first two but then again they are like 50-80$ cheaper a tire.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Exclaim+UHP


4. Two tires I havent had any personal experience with but hear great things about - Toyo Proxes 4 and the Falken 512's. I know alot of Org members have tried these so maybe they can chime in.


Theres a start for you, I would just talk to alot of people and shop around some but these are some points I felt might help. Let me know If I can help out anymore!
Grant

 

Thank you Grant,

I am fairly certain that you knew more about tire than most of the shops I have dealt with! What do you know about the Yokohamas yk520's? My husband loves the 'YoYoMamas', and we wondered about the yk520's. Until this moment, neither of us knew much about playing with the sizes. So the 520's were all we found that were available here.

Thank you again Grant. Your advice and info was 'yummy'!
Swee

 

I cant find anything on tirerack about the 520s unless Im missing something. I havent heard alot about Yokohamas but the reviews on tirerack seem to like them pretty well. The only experience I have with them is the decibals that I have on Mikes old wheels that are on my car now..... but that gotta go - they are pretty much slicks As for the tire sizes its all about what you want to do - If you want a comfortable ride and dont mind sacrificing some cornering stability I would go with a higher aspect ratio (the second number in the series ie. 235/45/18) A lower aspect ratio will result in a shorter sidewall, better cornering and a slightly harsher ride. Its really all a matter of personal preference. Honestly I really didnt really notice much of a difference going from my stockers (225/55/16) to 235/40/18 which is a fairly large decrease in sidewall size. But then again Im used to a stiffer ride with the coilovers so you may feel more of a difference with stock suspension.