Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches New England advice on tires?

alright guys and girl(s),

here's my problem. one of the many at the moment, but one none the less. i bought a set of dunlop sp sport 9000 tires about 3k miles ago and they have not lived up to what i expected. since i still have enough tred on them to return them to tire rack and get a credit, i'm seriously considering it. in fact, i'm pretty sure that i will be doing it this week. here is the question. i was really considering the bridgestone 730 potenza's before i bought the dunlops but now i'm really looking into the pilot sports. the pilot's are a bit more money but have a great history. i'm just really worried that if i get the potenza's i'll have the same problem that i'm having on my dunlops. the major problem is off ramps and corners and what not. i'm not able to push the car anymore. even when i had my gs'c's that were on there stock i could push it. now with new tires, heck, it just doesn't feel right. so my question is, the pilots or the potenza's? i'm leaning towards the pilots right now, i really want the handling. but i really do want to know what you all have to say.

any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks.

then why dont you just go with the gs-c's. if you had good expeirences with the good years, go with them. also i belive the kdw's are a very good tire, with very good traction, wet and dry.

nick

Mike, I personally love the G-Force KDW's. They came stock on my car, and I'll use them again when I need to replace them.

I agree, but if you drive the car in the winter you definately need to get a set of winter tires.

I don't know if I'll go with the KDW again. They looked pretty scary when I took them off last Saturday to put the snows on. In the spring I may move up to the KDWS. Higher treadlife, still W ("Z") rated, less noise, very slight performance decrease, slightly wider (225 vs 215).

The only thing with the KDW's is that you have to keep them balanced and rotate them often. Otherwise they will get out of round or start cupping on the inside edges.
I think they are the best for "spirited driving".

A few weeks back, I noticed my fronts were getting pretty worn. I did tons of research and decided that shortly after the first flakes start falling I'll be ordering 4 new Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Asymetricls.

Like I said...this is based on research alone. I haven't ever driven on them yet.

Just my $.02

thanks for the thoughts guys...i'm still in my research mode now. i'll keep you all posted.

Sorry to hear about the Dunlops. I've had good luck with the SP5000's. If you're not worried about price, I would suggest the Pilots.

......Or, put on SP5000's and use tyhem for the winter. Then come Summer time, use your tax check to throw on some aftermarket rims and summer tires. I've thought about that a few times.

i hear you ryan...i have thought about that a whole lot, especially lately. but i think that i'm going to go with the bridgestone potenza's s-03 pole positions. they have some kick a$$ ratings and luke (@ tirerack) said they beat out the pilots. i talked with him today.

so hopefully but next week i'll have them on, balanced, and aligned. another $400 later!!!!!! these tires are costing me a fortune! they better ride very, very nice!