I ran these on the back of my car for a while, and now they are on the rear of my brothers sixer. They are a decent tire if your just looking for a good driver tire, with no track time. I raced the set I had twice, and while they did ok, I wouldn't call them an idea track tire.

Sidewall roll was not too much of an issue with these, no more than the stockers were. No road noise, rode nicely, both on dry and in wet. I don't know if I would wanna run the on the front however. No real concrete reason why, but the thought just kinda turns me off.

You mention the Goodyear Eagle GT's also. Just got a set of the on the dad-in-laws 1999 Benz SL500. They replaced a set of Dunlap DZ101's and I can only say that in the 50 or so miles I had the car, the GT's were FAR and away better than the Dunlaps he had.

 

I just bought the stock Pirellis again, they're a good all around tire. I had a couple dozen passes at the drag strip on mine and they still had tread at 30k miles.

 

Anyone know anything about the Cooper Zeon Sport A/S? Just another tire I came across going though other sites. I know a lot of the guys with classics run Coopers (probably more that they still make tires in the sizes they need than any specific performance benefit, I'd guess). They're a 99W, 400 AA A rated tire, so on paper they're certainly competing for the same customers as the Pirelli, Goodyear, and Kumho. Can't find much in reviews on them though.

 

So, I just got off the phone with my local Discount tire. Decided on the Eagle GTs, they undercut my costs from TireRack.com by 2.50 a tire (online price match thing). Tried to get them to do the same on the Kumhos but didn't get a response, probably cause they're a special order tire, and the GTs are regular stock. Gonna get them put on Monday (my next day off). I'm expecting a significant improvement.

 

I've said it before - street tires are like condoms. One may feel a little better than the other, but they all do the same thing.

Unless you are running an SCCA street tire class - just find tires at a good price for the weather you live in. Ridiculous speed ratings aren't necessary either. If you are going those speeds on public roads you're pretty much a dummy.

Personally I wont buy anything other than Goodyear or Cooper anymore, as they are the only street tires still American owned and manufactured. That's a personal choice - just throwing that fact out there.

 

Rodeo, I'll be honest I wanted the higher speed rating not because I drive like a maniac on the public roads, but because I intend on doing some limited amount of tracking for the sole purpose of learning my car better. I want to do this on equipment I'll be running every day so I know where the limits are if it ever comes to that. Also, I plan on doing some road tripping which will take me through the West, and in the middle of the night through the desert, there's no one else around to endanger by going quickly.

As for the made in America part, that was indeed a part of my consideration. In the 235/55s it was easily worth the premium (<10%) to buy them. If I'd been insistent on the 255/50s I would have had a much more difficult (read: impossible) time justifying it (>50%). I've no doubt I'll be quite happy with the Goodyears. If, for some reason I don't find them to my liking, I'll give the Coopers a shot next time I need new rubber.

 

Ironically, the higher speed ratings are well above speeds you will see on any racetrack. You're not likely to see anything over maybe 150 or so, and even then only for a few seconds. Speed ratings are for sustained speeds.

Keep in mind also that the temps and pressures you will see on the track are much higher than what you will see on the street. That makes a track/street comparison a moot point.

I'm just tossing you some thoughts that you or other people reading this might not have thought of.

 

The one thing that you want to have in your tires' construction is a cap ply. I think the lowest speed rating at which you can normally expect to find this feature is 'H', as it exists for the control of tire tread deformation/growth due to centrifugal force. Some tires of lower speed ratings may have it, but it is not guaranteed.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/New+pl...ly.-a092725653


Norm

 

[QUOTE=Kotobuki;6645012]Rodeo, I'll be honest I wanted the higher speed rating not because I drive like a maniac on the public roads, but because I intend on doing some limited amount of tracking for the sole purpose of learning my car better. I want to do this on equipment I'll be running every day so I know where the limits are if it ever comes to that. Also, I plan on doing some road tripping which will take me through the West, and in the middle of the night through the desert, there's no one else around to endanger by going quickly.

Be careful out west at night. Some areas such as Nevada have open ranges.
No fences.Those cattle standing in the middle of the road won't move. Nothing gets your attention like seeing a dark shape go by your door at 70+.

If you are interested in learning limits, why not try Ron Fellows' school in Parhump or Bondurant in Phoenix while out there. Cost $2000 to $3000. A lot of us spend more than that on suspension mods which provide less benefit to our driving skills.

Cheers.