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Summer tire questions...


unfunnyryan

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Picked up some 19x8 wheels, really wanted 19x9 but these came along for a steal. Been looking at summer tires but can't make up my mind. Never had summer tires before.

 

Part of me wants to go really cheap and thrash the tires as much as possible. In the "really cheap* range I was looking at Lexani LX-Twenty. These are basically rebranded Lionhart tires that seemed to have good reviews. Reviews for these are quite decent as well. I can find these for $95 a tire.

 

The minority smarter part of my brain says to go mid-range. Discount Tire has Pirelli P Zero Nero for $152/tire which seems to be a quite good price for the tire.

 

The "you are going to use these rims year round anyways and never put winters on the stock rims" part of my brain says don't even go summers, and to get BFG G-FORCE COMP-2 All Seasons. I've had these before and really enjoyed them. Price, $188/tire.

 

Tire size I need is 245/40/19, which will give me the same circumference as the stock 17" setup.

 

Thoughts?

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I just bought 255/45ZR18 Lionhart LH-503's from Walmart online...shipped to my door within 3 days. I've had them on my CTS-V for about a month but have nothing but good things to say about them as a performance/street tire:

- smooth and balanced at 80+ mph

- Good stick in the wet/cold...predictable traction-release characteristics.

- Surprisingly good in dry conditions.

 

I'm realizing I have a worn-out tie rod end in the front I need replacing, but I discovered it when the tire was sticking so well on an on-ramp that there was a unnerving clunk in the front end. Jacked up the front end and I can see some play at the spindle. :lol: GOOD TIRES if they are maxing out the suspension/steering components!

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Unless the 19's are crappy, use your stockers for winter. Too many pot holes ect.

 

I am in the same boat as well. I am shopping based on tire weight. Going for decent summer / wet performance but as light as possible just to save some of that rolling resistance. Yes, I could get lighter wheels, but I dont plan to.

 

My current front-runner based on weight, looks, availability is the General GMax AS-05

 

One thing I struggle with is do I want a 500 (+) treadwear tire? Almost seems better to have less. Sure they wont last quite as long, but a stickier tire with what I assume could be a better ride may be nice.

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I just bought 255/45ZR18 Lionhart LH-503's from Walmart online...shipped to my door within 3 days. I've had them on my CTS-V for about a month but have nothing but good things to say about them as a performance/street tire:

- smooth and balanced at 80+ mph

- Good stick in the wet/cold...predictable traction-release characteristics.

- Surprisingly good in dry conditions.

 

I'm realizing I have a worn-out tie rod end in the front I need replacing, but I discovered it when the tire was sticking so well on an on-ramp that there was a unnerving clunk in the front end. Jacked up the front end and I can see some play at the spindle. :lol: GOOD TIRES if they are maxing out the suspension/steering components!

 

The Lexanis are literally rebranded Lionhart, so still tempted, but the price on the pirellis is too good. who knows.

 

Unless the 19's are crappy, use your stockers for winter. Too many pot holes ect.

 

I am in the same boat as well. I am shopping based on tire weight. Going for decent summer / wet performance but as light as possible just to save some of that rolling resistance. Yes, I could get lighter wheels, but I dont plan to.

 

My current front-runner based on weight, looks, availability is the General GMax AS-05

 

One thing I struggle with is do I want a 500 (+) treadwear tire? Almost seems better to have less. Sure they wont last quite as long, but a stickier tire with what I assume could be a better ride may be nice.

 

I'm all about that sidewall life when it comes to potholes. Would probably crack one of the 19s in winter.

 

Still need to figure out TPMS

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I love super sticky tires so I feel like my opinion will be pretty far off of yours. I start by looking at things in the 200-300 treadwear range and then decide how far I want to compromise. I’ve never had any luck with off brand mid or low end tires, and I avoid things cheaper then the Toyo, Nitto, Continentals, and Michelins I have on all my cars. Corvette, Camaro, Impala, and Silverado in that order. My toys would need Mickey Thompsons or Hoosiers to be noticeably better.
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going to make a decision on friday

 

should add on to this that I'm AWD and really don't need straight line launch power, it has rarely had problems with that on stock all seasons. Looking for tires that would help with cornering (the smaller sidewall is already going to help a ton)

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i always considered "cheap" summer tires to start at the level of sumitomo htrz3- and then move up from there. theyre good poverty summer tires. I have a hard time trusting anything lionhart/laufluellen/ other random chinese tires.
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going to make a decision on friday

 

should add on to this that I'm AWD and really don't need straight line launch power, it has rarely had problems with that on stock all seasons. Looking for tires that would help with cornering (the smaller sidewall is already going to help a ton)

Michelin Pilots all the way. Pricey bit they were awesome on my S4.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

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I don't think I would use 71R's for a daily driver unless it was just a weekend car. They just wear too fast. Love them on my autocross car though.

 

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on the Bullitt, which are terrific, but pricey.

 

Have Derek's aforementioned Sumitomos on the Focus ST in the summers.

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As of now the frontrunner is Pirelli P Zero Nero GT at Discount Tire for $152/piece.

 

 

These seem to be a newcomer but are quite well reviewed, placing near the top in the max performance summer (aka: still daily) category on tire rack https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=MP

 

 

The second place right now... facebook marketplace has 4x used BFG G-Comp 2 A/S with at least a summer or twos worth of tread for $250 ;) located in cleveland though, but I need to go to cleveland soon anyways to get my tune done... anyways I've had these tires in the past and really liked them, not that I have much to compare them to but I thought they were excellent. Downside is one of the tires has a plug in it, will tire shops mount/balance a tire with a plug?

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As of now the frontrunner is Pirelli P Zero Nero GT at Discount Tire for $152/piece.

 

 

These seem to be a newcomer but are quite well reviewed, placing near the top in the max performance summer (aka: still daily) category on tire rack https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=MP

 

 

Look further down the pack at that tire when it was called the Pzero nero it has 5 million miles reported vs 180k and the reviews aren't as good. It wouldnt be the first time a tire manufacturer changed the name on a tire claimed there is new compounds and left the tread design and everything else the same. just something to think about.

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Are you going to track the car? If not, come drive mine. You'll be surprised how well it handles with AWD on even Touring tires. ZERO road noise is so nice and Michelin's are hard to beat. I won't likely ever stray from them again. I just got tired of the super harsh ride of high performance summer/all season tires on this car.
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I just put on the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on mine and love them. I only have 1000 miles on them so far but they are incredibly quiet and really sticky. I have a set of Continentals on the summer only wheels and they are quite hard and noisy. The Michelins seem to be more predictable in the wet as well.
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Look further down the pack at that tire when it was called the Pzero nero it has 5 million miles reported vs 180k and the reviews aren't as good. It wouldnt be the first time a tire manufacturer changed the name on a tire claimed there is new compounds and left the tread design and everything else the same. just something to think about.

 

Thanks for the insight, I'll look a bit more.

 

Are you going to track the car? If not, come drive mine. You'll be surprised how well it handles with AWD on even Touring tires. ZERO road noise is so nice and Michelin's are hard to beat. I won't likely ever stray from them again. I just got tired of the super harsh ride of high performance summer/all season tires on this car.

 

Going to do as many autocrosses as I can make it to this year. Maintaining a decent ride is still something I want to an extent. Harsh ride and loud exhaust doesn't impress most lady passengers.

 

You also have a Q50S :p I've been checking junkyards hoping to find a G37S to steal brakes and paddle shifter from, still need to research if the brakes will fit the stock 17" wheels.

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You also have a Q50S [emoji14] I've been checking junkyards hoping to find a G37S to steal brakes and paddle shifter from, still need to research if the brakes will fit the stock 17" wheels.

 

Yes but mine is the Red Sport 400 AWD

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

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You also have a Q50S :p I've been checking junkyards hoping to find a G37S to steal brakes and paddle shifter from, still need to research if the brakes will fit the stock 17" wheels.

 

The Akebono fixed 4-pot caliper and 14-in rotor require a minimum of 18" wheels, even then, not all 18" wheels would provide enough clearance radially, laterally, or both.

 

If I could say anything about tire set for autocrossing, I would suggest running scrubs in order to keep the street set in a nice condition. In case you didn't know, street tires used in autocross tend to become rougher in ride quality as edges are chewed up.

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THE TIRES HAVE BEEN CHOSEN.

 

I ended up with the facebook marketplace set of 245/40/19 BFG G-Comp 2 A/S with ~75% tread left for $250. I've had these tires before and enjoyed them, and for the price I wasn't going to say no.

 

Wasn't going to pay 3x as much for a tire 20% better. Maybe I will for the next set if my abilities exceed that of these tires.

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