muswang

Help with tires

I've got a 06 gt coupe and she needs new tires! (235-55-17)

I've never had to purchase tires before and pretty much dread going into a tire shop with no knowledge with the possibility of being gouged, especially since I'm female.

My driving style is pretty mellow, but I do take the car out to the tracks maybe couple times a year? (not drag tracks)

I'm trying to find something that won't die on me in like 20K miles, but maybe a bit longer? The tires that I think will work out for me are (based on what I can figure out from Tirerack.com)

Sumitomo HTR ZIII (Max performance- summer)
Kumho Ecsta SPT (Ultra high performance summer)
Yokohama S drive (Ultra high performance summer)

I've been told to not ever bother with the all seasons since I live in So Cal.

Anybody have any of these tires and can offer some opinion/ experience info?
THANK YOU!!

RodeoFlyer

your sig pic was taken at the Streets of Willow I presume?

I have the Khumo ECSTA SPT's on my street wheels currently. They're not bad, and weren't very pricey. Honestly I bought them because I wanted new tires THAT day, and they were the cheapest set in town and in stock.

MOST people wouldn't know the difference when it comes to street tires, and those that can are likely doing $hit they shouldn't be on public roads. Unless you are F1Fan tearing up Mullholland (see previous sentence ), get the tires that fit your budget and have a stance and tread pattern that appeal to you.

I find the debates over Goodyear this Falken that laughable. In general all street tires suck. The Bridgestone RE01-R's and Falken Azenis 615's are both great tires , albeit with the reduced tread wear you are trying to avoid.

just my .02

houstonnw

I went with the Kuhmo SPT's in the 255/50/17 size. They have almost exactly the same overall diameter as the 235/55/17's that came on the car. I try to take my Mustang to a track day once a month, and these tires seem to have much better grip than the Pirelli P-Zero Neros and also seem to have pretty good tread life.

The nice thing is that you can order them from Tirerack.com and have them shipped to a local installer. I did get a nail in one and the local Discount Tire carries them also.

muswang

Thank you both for the input! I've been doing most of my research on Tirerack.com and that's how I came up with those tires. I will look at the bridgestones and falkens (depending on tread wear..).

Rodeoflyer: Yup, it was at Willowsprings. From you avatar, it looks a bit like Willow springs as well... although from your sig... it doesn't seem like that?? My sig picture was from my first attempt at the track. If you look carefully, you can tell I'm waaaaaay off the burn!

Argonaut

I have those Sumitomos and really dis-like them. Little grip and dangerous in rain. They do last a long time, are cheap and look good though. I wont get them again.

I hear a lot of folks like the Nitto 555.

I have the Falken RT-615 as well. Love them, awesome tire for the price. But they are a 200 treadwear rating and will not go 20K, more like 12-15K of street use max.

muswang

Thanks Argonaut... I was really looking at the Sumitomos.

Looks like I found the MFers that track their cars! (instead of the drag strip)

Sleeper_08

You sure did. Welcome to the group.

I'm a newbie and have done two track days so far this year with my third coming up on Aug 4.

I'm also going to run a parking lot event on Jul 27 just for fun.

For mine I chose the KDW2's but was not worried about wear - only dry and wet performance.