Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires Good all season tires for SVT ?

Hi,

I've got my 4 205/55ZR16 to replace. After going through a Chicago weather with almost slich tires, I'd like to make sure I get something to will handle the snow. I'm ready to sacrify a bit of the intraser performance.
Anybody has any idea ?
Thanks

How about the KDWS? KDWs with snow capabilities...I have heard good things about this tire - I think some members of this forum have tried them and liked them.

dont put all seasons on a svt buy steel wheel and snow tirers for the winter

KWDS and Dunlop SP5000 are excellent choices.

I'm very happy with the set of KDWS tires on my car, and they will probably never see snow. It is an exceptional tire. I went oversize to 225/50R16 and they are a close fit but they do fit with no interfearence. The 225/50R16 is the same diameter as your 205/55R16, but somewhat wider.

I live in georgia so i dont really have to worry about snow and stuff. But the toyo fz4 tire is a good high performance all season and its a pretty good price. I paid 112.00 each for my and im really happy with it.

I had the kdw goodrich but I upgraded to 17" rims and the toyo hold as good if not better then the G force.....Brian

I have run both Toyo FZ4 and Dunlop SP5000 on my 95SE. I think the Dunlops are a step above the FZ4's. I now run KDW's on my car. KDW is far far superior to FZ4 in grip. Of course, this is not really a fair comparison.


Barry

Kdw's are better then the Fz4 in grip how.
Are you talking dry roads,wet or snow.

KDW z rated tires have a 400 tread wear and the FZ4 have a 300 which means there rubber is softer and will grip the road better on dry roads. I tried driving on some light snow with my kdw and they sucked. And all the rating are the same except for the tread wear. With the goodrich all you paying for is the brand name and all the over head from the stores that carry them.

Now the GSC that use to come on the svt back in 98 had a far better grip the the KDW. The only reason they switch was because the gsc wore out too quick and the KDW has a bit better wet road traction.

With todays compounds and rubbers you could pick almost any zrated tire and have it perform as well as any other. Both the fz4 and kdw along with almost all the other name brand zrated tires ahve a AA rating in traction and a A rating in Temp. The treadwear is the only thing that is different in most of these tires. I dont run fz4 on my tour i run the t1-s and they would smoke the kdw.

Brian

Brian- KDW's provide better grip on dry roads. My KDW's(on E1 rims) only have a little over 1k on them and for sure feel better than the FZ4's even in the rain. For that matter, the SP5000's feel better than the FZ4's in the rain also. Members say the KDW's are horrendous in the snow. I will be using my SP5000's on my old rims for the winter. IMHO, a "summer" ultra high-performance tire will outperform an all season high performance tire in all categories. I also think the KDW's represent more recent adavances in tire technology than the FZ4's which have been around for a while. BTW, the FZ4's are A rated,not AA for traction and have a V-speed rating not Z in OEM sizes for our cars.

Barry

Well maybe for 16" they have a v rating but all 17" are z rated. And lets face it svt or not your driving a contour not a corvette. In no way would you ever be able to take advantage of any of these tires. My svt came stock with kdw there ok but nothing special. Like I said the gsc were much better.

But doesnt really matter everyone has there own likes and dislikes about tires. My t1-s are ulta high performace also but my friend has fz4 on his and in dry or wet you really can not tell the difference. These are not racing cars there sport sedans. The performace of the tire is better then the car.

Really all in all the only point i was trying to make is I think the kdw are pretty bad in the snow. I had to drive once in the snow with them and it wasnt a fun deal.

If i can take a corner doing 60 and go over 120 on the highway my tires are pretty much doing what I expect from them. V rated are for up to 149mph and z rated over 186mph the svt cant do either of those.

Brian