I recently purchased an after-market set of tires/rims from one of the fine members here: 215/40-17 up front and 265/35-18 on the rear. It should surprise no one that I am now looking for new tires, particularly rears. I am looking primarily for quiet smooth riding tires, as I do no track time and spend most of my drive time (for now) crossing expansion joints on the Los Angeles freeway system (dry weather only). As the tire sizes do not come on your garden variety car, I trust that any available tire will have "decent" performance parameters. What tires best fit this description?
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17/18 Tire Recommendations
- Thread starter dfaul
- Start date
It's generally a bad idea to use different tires (different make/model) on the rear from the front, because the handling can be unpredictable. So your best bet is either (a) buy two new rear tires to match your current front tires, and wait until all four need replacing before switching to a different tire, or (b) buy four new tires.dfaul said:
Not necessarily; tires vary widely in performance. People look for many different things when buying tires - dry traction and handling, wet traction and handling, treadlife, price, noise, etc. You can find inexpensive tires with so-so performance just like you can find more expensive tires with great performance, even in those larger sizes. Depending on your priorities, you might choose one tire that meets yours, that's different from someone else's because their priorities are different.dfaul said:
I rarely hear about tire noise over expansion joints, so it's tough to comment on that specific criterion. But one top-of-the-line tire with all-around excellent performance that is available in those sizes, and costs slightly less than some other top-of-the-line tires, is the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. Right now the front size is $142 per tire and the rear size is $258. Another option that will work is the 255/35-18 rear size which is $215.
I used Kumho 712 before and now Nitto 555 for my daily driver NSX. The performance/grip is more than enough for any spirited driving I can do. I don't have Ken's driving skill so maximum performance is not necessary for me. I chose those tires for their high treadwear index of around 300 and their low prices.
Steve
Steve
If I didn't care much about performance, and I cared mostly about treadwear and price, I would choose the Yokohama ES100 over the Kumho 712. The Tire Rack did a side-by-side comparison test of these two tires, and the ES100 beat the 712 in 23 out of 23 characteristics. And the ES100 lasts a long, long time.whiteNSXs said:
Current Tire Rack prices for 215/40-17, 265/35-18, and 255/35-18:
Kumho 712: $88, $152, $164
Yokohama ES100: $102, $185, $179
However, if you care about performance, I think the relatively small additional cost of the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 (for a set of four, it's $140 more than the ES100 or $210 more than the 712, using the 255 rear size), is well worth it.
This statement is based on a totally invalid and false assumption - that I recommend specific tires to someone because they meet my personal preferences. In fact, I resent that this assumption is being made.whiteNSXs said:
The fact is, I recommend tires because they meet the preferences stated by the person asking. And if you read his inquiry, dfaul did not say that he's looking primarily for "cheap, long-lasting tires". If he had, I would have suggested the ES100 (which is what I have suggested in the past for those who care more about price than performance).
nsxtasy said:
I have Yoko ES100 on my NSX right now. Not a bad tire, but next time I'll go with a higher performance tire. I think the GY F1 GS-D3 would be a good choice over the ES100. Even though most of your driving is freeway, you might want some additional turn in response and grip for those times you do some spirited driving.
Come on, Ken. I think you read too much into that sentence. All I said was a praise of your driving skill. I made no reference of your own tire preference at all.nsxtasy said:This statement is based on a totally invalid and false assumption - that I recommend specific tires to someone because they meet my personal preferences. In fact, I resent that this assumption is being made.
Steve
Thanks for all your input. As far as my comment about the expansion joints, I guess what I was really trying to say was that as opposed to a lot of asphalt back roads with undulating curves :tongue: , I drive on a lot of concrete (with grooves and expansion joints). This generates a bit of road noise, compared with asphalt. I also noticed this in a C5 vette coupe I had prior to the NSX. I'm hoping to reduce the road noise a bit, but with the larger wheel and tires, this may be a bit optimistic :frown:.
I don't know what causes road noise from grooves and expansion joints. I might guess that high-performance tires, with their typically stiff sidewalls, would be more susceptible to this - as would a "plus" application such as yours (i.e. larger wheels than stock, with shorter sidewalls) - but this is pure conjecture on my part. You might ask your tire dealer, particularly if you're ordering from a place with a lot of expertise (e.g. Tire Rack, Discount Tire Direct) and let us know what they say.
I would also suspect that the portion and design of the negative profile of a tire has an effect on it. The more rubber on the street the more noise. The loudest tires I have are the race slicks (without any profile). As high performance tires have usualy less negative profile (closer to slicks) they may be louder.nsxtasy said:
