Nitto's, BFG KDW, Toyo 888's, or M/T ?

[69*Goat]

I am about to pull the trigger on tires for my GTO build.

I am wanting to go with 305/35-18 in the rear, but it seems as though that that size is very limited in the number of manufacturers.

If I drop down to a 295/35-18, it would open up more availability.

My plans for the car are the occasional AutoX, and street driving. I really have no interest in Drag Racing.

What are you guys using?

Why?

Thanks in advance for the replys

[srh3trinity]

The rival is getting some high marks. Probably available in the 295 size.

[69*Goat]

1 response out of 90+ views?

Really? No one here is running on any of the higher performance tires?

[Tomswheels]

For a strictly Autocross tire the Toyo R888 is a good choice, particularly on a heavy car. For mixed street/autocross driving the new BFG Rival is the autocrossers obvious first choice. Second choices are Michelin Pilot Super Sports, Falken RT615K, or Dunlop Direzza Z2. Third tier is Bridgestone RE11, Dunlop Direzza Star Spec Z1 or Nitto NT-05... I usually run Michelin Super Sports because they are more readily available used (cheaper) and they last longer than all the others above... I dont recommend the KDW, any M/T or any other Nitto (except the NT-01 which like the R888 is a good autocross only choice).

[CarlC]

With those sizes your options are very limited.

For the 295 the Rival is likely your best bet if you can wait. The Michelin PSS is better in the rain but only the PS is available in that size. The Rival is not happy in wet conditions. The Z2 is on my to-do list.

If a 315/30 could be used that opens up more possibilities.

[Formula43wheel]

The Rival is going to be the latest in tire technology. BTW...BFG is owned by Michelin. We typically build either a 10.5" or 11.0" wide for a 295 tire. The Michelin Super Sports run very wide so I would recommend a 11.0" wide wheel for these. We haven't mounted any of the Rival tires yet, but if they're similar size wise to the KDW, they will fit nicely on a 10.5" wide wheel. If you want to purchase the Rival's, get your order in with Tire Rack as they're going to be available in mid to late July, but how many they'll receive is unknown at this time, so they might sell out quickly. Tire Rack will will not bill you until they ship them to you. The new Dunlop is a good looking tire as well, but I don't have any feedback them yet, however, Dunlop was the preferred tire in ALMS last year over Michelin, which is very rare!

Toyo R888 are very noisey, and older tire technology. I was told recently, by a good source, that all Nitto tires are built by Toyo.

[Formula43wheel]

The Falken 615K seems to be the preferred tire for the West Coast PT guys and are a good looking tire as well, but on the expensive end of the price range and limited sizes. Discount Tire seems to be the best place to buy these, but will most likely have to order them and will charge you shipping.

Hope this helps...Good Luck!

[srh3trinity]

Any opinions on goodyear f1 supercars. They are available in the sizes I need and I have a connection at goodyear.

[Tomswheels]

Any opinions on goodyear f1 supercars. They are available in the sizes I need and I have a connection at goodyear.

Not good. They wear out quickly, and dont do well in tests head to head with the tires mentioned above.

[srh3trinity]

That is what I was afraid of. I never see them mentioned here and I thought there must be a reason. The goodyears I have had in the past did wear quickly

[69*Goat]

Pulled the trigger on 295/35-18 BFG Rivals for the rear, and I purchased 255/35-18 RE-11's for the front.

[Tomswheels]

Let us know how you like them both!

[69*Goat]

After a phone call from Tire Rack, and a discussion about different tire compounds being on the front and back. I will now be running 245/40-18 Rivals on the front. They are just a little shorter in diameter than the 235/60-15's that I was running on the car without rubbing issues, but they are 1/3 of an inch wider, so I hope I do not have any rubbing issues. This change also saved me about $50.00.

[Z06vet]

I just ordered a set of rivals but will be some time before my new wheels are done. The pilots sports im running now are date coded 2002 so I think any new tire should be quite an improvement. Will be following this to see how you like them.
Scott

[Tomswheels]

Im anxious to hear how the Rivals work for you guys...

[79-TA]

I'm glad you went with good 200 tw tires. That will keep your car legal and competitive for a wide variety of pro-touring and autocross events. With only 255's up front, I'm also glad you went with the "small" rear option.

I prefer to run "square" setups (where the front and rear tires are the same size) for the sake tire rotation/replacement options.

The Trans Am runs 265 40 17's, The Mustang runs 245 40 17's and the Miata runs 195 50 15's.

[69*Goat]

I would love to run a "square" set up, but because of the shape of the front wheel opening on my GTO, I am limited. I guess I could run 245/40-18's all the way around, but I would have NO rear traction.

[72BBSwinger]

You still won't lol! Can you say "throttle modulation".......

[Buryingthesun]

I run Falken Azenis RT615k's on the street and R888's for the track. The Toyo R888's will wear out in a month of street driving

[LS1-IROC]

I run Falken Azenis RT615k's on the street and R888's for the track. The Toyo R888's will wear out in a month of street driving

No they won't. I've had R888's on my car through 2 summers of driving and they have tons of life left in them.

[Buryingthesun]

No they won't. I've had R888's on my car through 2 summers of driving and they have tons of life left in them.

Im not saying they wont last. . . but in a track day ive worn a set damn near bald.

Anything will last, all depends on how you use it



Side note* BFG KDW's & KDW2's are teh worse tires known to mand kind. I don't know why people buy them, they are hard and greasy. Ive met babies with a stronger grip

[bret]

When we switched from the KDW to the Falken 615K we picked up 1.5 seconds on a 35 second autocross lap. We've repeated this gain on several customer cars. And they wear much better.