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Best all around performance tire at a good price?

M

MRaetherSVT

New CEG'er
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
20
It's time to put some new tires on my '00 SVT. Looking for an economical tire (I'm a poor college student lol). Been looking on Tirerack and I've come down to a couple choices...

1. Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500s:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...hawk+Wide+Oval+Indy+500&partnum=145WR7FHWI5XL

2. Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110s:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...odel=Ventus+V12+evo+K110&partnum=145WR7K110XL

Leaning more towards the Indys... I drive quite spirited and the ware rate/wet performance is very important (I live in Seattle... need I say more?) let me know what you guys think! I want to consult with the SVT pros before going throwing money at new tires for my ride.

Thanks! You guys rock :laugh:
 
so you don't ever get any snow where you are? you picked summer only tires. are you going to run snow tires?
 
There's not really enough snow here to make buying a set of winter tires worth it. I work right next door to where I live, so if it snows terribly bad, I simply won't drive anywhere. I know they're summer tires, but supposedly the Indy's perform very well in wet weather as well.
 
wet weather is not snow. the summer tires will simply not grip when the temps drop below even 60 degrees. If you think that you will ever see snow you want an M/S rated tire.
 
I got the hankooks on my svt. They perform flawlessly. Wet traction is phenomenal. Another thing to take into consideration is amount of tire noise made. The hankooks have virtually none. I was surprised about how little i could actually hear them going down the road.

But like said before, they do not like the cold... Any snow and you will not be going anywhere
 
If you are a cheap college student you shouldn't be buying new performance tires. Pick your priorities. I so far have $400 invested in E0 wheels, Used Khumo 711 tires, and Used Bridgestone Blizzak tires. The 711's are now gone but lasted 3 summers, and the snows still have another year on them.

If you can't afford to buy summers and winters buy used all seasons and save up.
 
I wouldn't suggest used tires. however there are good all-season tires that are around $60~75 a tire which would be a good compromise all around, just like all seasons are.
 
I buy used tires...but for a totally different reason than anyone else may buy tires for. Camber wear is a b! Besides, I don't go fast anymore lol
 
My car is slammed two inches. I'm not going to put a tire on there that isn't at least somewhat performance looking. Plus the driving experience is something that I love about my SVT - why ruin the fun cornering with fat boring passenger tires?

With that being said, I just realized I navigated TireRack wrong and was looking at their 17" rim options, while I'm on the stock 16"s. There's only 5 different tire options for a stock '00 SVT rim?!?
 
Hahaha, if you think 2 inches is slammed, try having your oil pan just about 2 1/4 inch off from the ground. I'm lowered just about 3.75-4 inches. Maybe more. I don't even remember stock height lol
 
contourspd98 said:
These tires are no bueno in snow... Know this first hand. Read the reviews...
Click to expand...

I had ASX's on my 15's for about 3 winters (had them installed during winter), and they worked pretty well. I only got stuck once with them and that was while they were really worn down (maybe 25% tread or less) and it was on roughly 5-6 inches of slush that fell overnight into the next day until about noon, was then driven on all day and packed down, then 4-5 more inches of powder fell on top of that before I had to drive home from work, and trust me when I say that no one was going anywhere in those conditions.

Would I reccommend them over winter tires, or even deeper tread all seasons? No, but they were certainly not helpless when it came to snow.

EDIT: Forgot to add that since I'm sure no one knows where Tunkhannock is, it's in extremely hilly NEPA, on many rural roads that almost never get plowed adequately, as well as in East Stroudsburg, which is also pretty hilly, though they (sometimes) plowed better in winter.
 
Below are the tires (and TireRack brief description) I installed back in 9/2010 at the same time as my suspension rebuild/upgrade. I got a pretty good deal on a new set from my local performance shop. They are a great all season tire (which was what I was looking for) because I knew I'd be driving the SVT a little bit in the winter. No complaints what so ever.

Michelin Pilot Exalto AS = 225/50/16
Pilot Exalto A/S radials are the entry-level High Performance All-Season members of Michelin's Pilot family of performance tires. Pilot Exalto A/S radials are designed for sports cars, coupes and sedans to blend responsive handling and long wear with year-round traction, even in light snow.
 
MRaetherSVT said:
My car is slammed two inches. I'm not going to put a tire on there that isn't at least somewhat performance looking. Plus the driving experience is something that I love about my SVT - why ruin the fun cornering with fat boring passenger tires?

With that being said, I just realized I navigated TireRack wrong and was looking at their 17" rim options, while I'm on the stock 16"s. There's only 5 different tire options for a stock '00 SVT rim?!?
Click to expand...


lol. performance looking? I perfer tires that have actual performance of looking like they do.

a high performance all season tire would be your best bet. they will provide the driving experience that you are looking for. If there is any chance that the car will be in snow or temps below 60 degrees the summer only tires will not cut it at all.

So when it comes down to it what you are talking about doesn't go together .... poor college student, economical and performance tire. if you want a true performance tire you are going to pay for it. So that again takes you to the high performance all season, thats a good bang for the buck. I know that is a 15" tire a good high performance all season is about $65-$75
 
Ignore the banter, I think you are correct and that the SVT commands performance rubber.
I would get the Hankooks hands down, been impressed with my Hankook winter rubber and hae a friends that loves the Ventus V12s on his Mustang.
-J
 
I've used the Khumo ASXs in the snow before I got my winter set, never got stuck. Plus, when it's dry they are a good tire as well. Try searching for an alternate sixe for stock rims, more selection. I currently run 225/50/16s w/ no issues, other than speedo being off a bit. But Pirates seldom look at the speedo anyway.:laugh:
 
getsum111 said:
I've used the Khumo ASXs in the snow before I got my winter set, never got stuck. Plus, when it's dry they are a good tire as well. Try searching for an alternate sixe for stock rims, more selection. I currently run 225/50/16s w/ no issues, other than speedo being off a bit. But Pirates seldom look at the speedo anyway.:laugh:
Click to expand...

What he said, plus I picked up a set for the 15's (205/50/R15 IIRC) for $50/piece, definitely worth every penny.
 
MRaetherSVT said:
My car is slammed two inches. I'm not going to put a tire on there that isn't at least somewhat performance looking. Plus the driving experience is something that I love about my SVT - why ruin the fun cornering with fat boring passenger tires?

With that being said, I just realized I navigated TireRack wrong and was looking at their 17" rim options, while I'm on the stock 16"s. There's only 5 different tire options for a stock '00 SVT rim?!?
Click to expand...

All season tires aren't "fat boring passenger tires". I think you're thinking of touring tires or something of that nature. I've run Kuhmo 712's as well as some less expensive performance tires, that I forgot the name of, and have since started running all seasons. When winter came around they just didn't perform well, even on 1/4" of snow. It was terrible. I'm currently running bridgestone G019 all season performance tires I had the Bridgestone G009's before that. They're pretty decent in the snow but they aren't the cheapest tire out there. They have great summer/wet grip and tread wear. The Kuhmo asx seem to get decent all around reviews and are cheaper.
 
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