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bang for the buck in OE 16" CSVT tire replacement options?

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blake

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 7, 2000
Messages
51
Location
birmingham, AL
[disclaimer: perhaps this would be better served as a continuation of the sticky/FAQ thread, so if a mod wants to move this or have me repost it there, that's fine.]

i'm about to replace the well-worn and mismatched tires on my '98 CSVT and i see a number of possibilities on the tire rack website in my admittedly very-low price range. given that preferences and impressions change over the years, would anyone care to offer any recommendations or cautions for/against any of them?

to help you gauge the "appropriateness" of any given tire for my situation:
- my CSVT has 99k miles and is an "extra" car in the household; it doesn't see high annual mileage, and merely exists to scratch the itch for day-to-day "fun-to-drive" factor. it's not a track or auto-x toy, but it does merit something more performance-oriented than what you'd put on a camry.

- it needs good wet-weather performance but snow and ultra-cold temps are a non-issue down here in the south.

- budget is tight - i have too many other irons in the fire to justify spending over $100/tire before shipping/mounting/balancing. i'm thinking $80/tire max, w/ less being better.

- the car is bone stock and on still on E0 wheels. current tires are sumitomo HTR somethings and are mismatched front to back - fronts are 205/55-16's and rears are 205/50-16's. (i bought the car a couple months ago and "inherited" these; i have no idea what led the PO to install that configuration!)

from tire rack, there are a several options that seem viable. any preferences/"stay-away-from" thoughts you can offer on these?
- dunlop SP sport 8000 - $62 ea. + $50 rebate
- hankook ventus R-S2 - $64 ea. (i saw the fairly-positive recent posts about these...?)
- sumitomo HTR+ = $70 ea. (prob. sim. to what i have now)
- fuzion VRi = $73 ea. (toward the bottom of my list - had ZRi's on my wife's TL but am leaning toward something else for the SVT)
- kumho ecsta ASX - $73 ea.
- kumho ecsta SPT - $73 ea.
- general exclaim UHP - $74 ea. (these seem very favorably reviewed and are therefore pretty high on my list, but should they be?)
- BFG g-force sport - $77 ea.
- dunlop direzza DZ101 - $80 ea. (pretty much top of my target price range)

i see that the hankooks, the kumho ASX's & SPT's, and the sumitomo HTR+'s are also available in the slightly more preferable 225/50-16 fitment and still slide under my $80 cap.

which would you choose, given the "background" and intended use i've mentioned above? i'm not interested in splurging on an expensive tire that performs accordingly, but neither do i want to completely cheap out and saddle a great car with grossly underperforming tires. price vs. performance, the great dilemma: which of the above presents the greatest "bang for the buck"?

thanks all!
 
honestly, i would go with the Ecsta SPTs. IMO they are the best compromise between performance, price, and longevity.
 
striker2 said:
honestly, i would go with the Ecsta SPTs. IMO they are the best compromise between performance, price, and longevity.
Click to expand...

thanks - i'm hearing that from multiple sources, so i may just do that.

any thoughts on going w/ 225/50-16's instead of 205/55-16's? stock suspension & stock wheels, so theoretically they should fit w/ no rubbing....right?
 
blake said:
thanks - i'm hearing that from multiple sources, so i may just do that.

any thoughts on going w/ 225/50-16's instead of 205/55-16's? stock suspension & stock wheels, so theoretically they should fit w/ no rubbing....right?
Click to expand...

I would suggest going with 225/50/16. IMO, 205/55/16 is too tall of a sidewall. Remember that stock size is 215/50, and 225/50 is probably the closest you can get to that.
 
blake said:
thanks - i'm hearing that from multiple sources, so i may just do that.

any thoughts on going w/ 225/50-16's instead of 205/55-16's? stock suspension & stock wheels, so theoretically they should fit w/ no rubbing....right?
Click to expand...
225s on stock wheels and suspension shouldnt have any rubbing issues. i had 215/45/17s on B&Gs with a 40mm offset wheel and had no rubbing. with 225/45/17s on the same wheel and suspension i had rubbing, but was able to roll the fenders enough, finally, that they dont rub unless i hit a massive bump.
 
thanks - i'll probably go ahead and pull the trigger on the 225's then.

zorrex, i believe the 205/55-16's were what came on the E0's - the 215/50's didn't appear till the E1's. either way - i don't disagree! (though i drag the tailpipes on the sidewalk every time i enter my driveway, so a taller sidewall might not be such a bad thing in my case!! LOL)

thanks for the feedback!!
 
Don't bother with anything besides 225's. Worst case scenario, you get one of the rare tires that actually rubs, and your take a baseball bat to the inside of the fender and roll it a tad.
 
I'm running the Generals and I really like them. They stick pretty well, they're MUCH quieter than the Fuzions, and I was absolutely knocked out by their wet-weather handling. Down here in the swamp we get a lot of rain, and they've handled it spectacularly.
 
Tex said:
Don't bother with anything besides 225's. Worst case scenario, you get one of the rare tires that actually rubs, and your take a baseball bat to the inside of the fender and roll it a tad.
Click to expand...

hope you're right! ordered the 225 SPT's earlier...and then i just got a call from tire rack to make sure i was willing to take that risk! heh heh.
 
I currently have the Khumo AST's in 225/50/16. Never rubbed. Not a bad tire, decent in rain, ok in snow if you know how to drive. :laugh: They do seem to "squeal" more than some other brands, but I have not noticed too much of a difference in handling.

Previously had Khumo ASX's, Falken Ziex 512's, BF Goodrich, and a set of Firestone Firehawk somethings. The BF's wore out too quick, the Firehawks just sucked. I loved the Falkens, but they seemed to wear more quickly than the Khumo's (Lower treadwear rating as well). They did handle better on my car, though, but when I went to buy them the second time, the price had gone from $51 to over $80. :cry:
 
I have the falken Ziex as well, scored them off of craigslist, 4 new ones for 150 bucks. What a better tire than the PO installed. I had barium tires? Weirdest thing I have ever driven on. V rated but gripped like an H rated corolla tires.

Just my .02 cents, I'd run BF Goodrich G Force/KDW if I had the money. I had them on my track miata and they were amazing.
 
i ordered the 225/50-16 kumho ecsta SPT's around mid-afternoon yesterday and they were delivered to my house today - talk about a quick turnaround time!! i'll probably have to wait till saturday to get them mounted but i can't wait....i'm so ready to get rid of my current set it's not even funny.
 
im gonna want pics. and early E1's also had 205s. I think 99 started the 215 thing since the factory size was harder to come by and the 215s could be had for the same price or cheaper.
 
mnewxcv said:
im gonna want pics. and early E1's also had 205s. I think 99 started the 215 thing since the factory size was harder to come by and the 215s could be had for the same price or cheaper.
Click to expand...

will take pics as soon as i get 'em mounted and it's not raining.

i think you're right on the E1 transition - now that you mention it, i do remember hating the OE goodyears that came on my 98.5 and having to endure a 2nd set (after the 1st set was warrantied at about 12k miles) before i could upgrade to the 215 KDW's that were then being fitted as standard.

will provide a follow-up report once everything gets sorted.... :D

i'm just amazed that three 225/50-16's fit in the contour trunk....lol. i only had to put the 4th inside the car on the back seat - i was expecting to ride with at least 2 of 'em up front with me.
 
OK - tires are installed and unfortunately they do rub on the rear struts. Any ideas on how to fix? my inclination is a small spacer, which will be WAYYY cheaper than eating the cost of the tires (since i've driven on them, returning them to TR is no longer an option). a quick google search turned up an eibach 5mm spacer that would probably work, but a quick contour.org search turned up posts talking about accelerated wheel bearing wear with anything over 3mm and whatnot. any suggestions? any cheap solutions?

right now i'm kind of kicking myself for not sticking with the tried-and-true 205/55-16's, as now i've gotten myself in a bit of a pickle and can't afford to keep dumping money into what was supposed to be a cheap "fun" car...especially since the car also needs brakes all around. ugh!!!
 
Would a 3mm spacer not work? 5mm is more than you think it is, and may lead to the tires rubbing on the inside of the fender.
 
Tex said:
Would a 3mm spacer not work? 5mm is more than you think it is, and may lead to the tires rubbing on the inside of the fender.
Click to expand...

3mm probably would - just saw 5mm eibach's as the first thing that came up in my google search. do you know where i could find 3mm spacers to try?
 
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