Tire question: Continentals vs. Goodyear vs. ???

[Roger in Kensington]

Calling the tire mavens!

My Goodyear F1s on my TA are showing signs of needing replacement (they wear out from time, not use).

Was going to replace them with another set of Goodyear F1s, but my tire dealer said he could no longer recommend Goodyears because of quality issues. He'll sell them to me if I want, but recommends a set of Continental "Extreme DWS". These are asymmetric, not unidirectional like the F1s (less expensive, too).

Any suggestions?

Help me, Obi-Wan Ke-Wolfie! You're my only hope.

[Z Ya Later]

Well, I'm not Ken, but I'll throw in my dos centavos if it'll help.

From the tires you've mentioned, I'm guessing you need a good performance all-season tire, right? If so, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS that your tire shop recommended look to be pretty good from what I've seen. The tread pattern is a little odd, I agree, but apparently it works. A couple of other good alternatives would be the BF Goodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S or, if you don't mind spending the money, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

Now, if you want something a little more aggressive, I'd highly recommend the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500. I've been running their predecessor, the Firehawk Wide Oval, at Ken's recommendation and have been very happy with them. In fact, I've been so happy with them, I recommended them for my sister on her 96 Z28 and for Craig on his TA, both of whom seem to be pretty happy with them as well. The Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 just came out, so I don't have any personal experience with them, but since they are the replacement for the Wide Oval, I'd imagine they're at least as good if not better. A good alternative would be the BF Goodrich g-Force KDW. I ran the old tread pattern KDW on the Z when I first got her and was pretty happy with them, but not quite as happy as I am with the Wide Oval.

Obviously, I yield to Ken's knowledge on the topic, but I hope this helped. Good luck on your decision.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

I've seen some good reviews for BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport AS over at TireRack. They're all season, but seem to emphasize dry performance. They have a direct comparison test against the Conti's which did better in the wet, but worse in the dry.

I'm running Pirelli PZero Nero M+S. They do good in the dry and ok in the snow. Very good ride.

[98 'Bird]

Funny a thread on tires comes up today. I got nailed at work. Wearing a donut right now for a patch repair. grrrrrrrrrr




What about the new Eagle GT's? No good? I was thinking about getting them myself. They supposedly have a outer lip to protect the rim from scrapes.

[Z Ya Later]

They supposedly have a outer lip to protect the rim from scrapes.

I believe a lot of tires boast this feature, so its not something limited to the Eagle GT. As for the tire itself, I'd go with the BFG, the Continental or the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position on the 16s. Hope this helps and sorry to hear about the tire.

Also, any bets on how long it will take Ken to chime in? lol

[ryan34]

I believe a lot of tires boast this feature, so its not something limited to the Eagle GT. As for the tire itself, I'd go with the BFG, the Continental or the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position on the 16s. Hope this helps and sorry to hear about the tire.

Also, any bets on how long it will take Ken to chime in? lol

I'd thought he'd be in on this thread already, but I'll give him 0800 Tuesday.

[Roger in Kensington]

Thanks, everyone.

As Wolfie will attest, I'm not a very aggressive driver, although I do want something that grips well when cornering. The car is a '98 and has 36K miles on it. Rarely driven in snow. Okay, rarely driven, period.

So, my tires tend to wear out from age, not mileage. The sidewalls are cracking on the two oldest (6 years) Goodyears.

I'll wait for the saying of sooth from Obi-Ken and will check-in tomorrow evening. In the meantime, thanks again for the advice everyone. Hoping all goes well for you, 98 'Bird.

[98 'Bird]

So, my tires tend to wear out from age, not mileage. The sidewalls are cracking on the two oldest (6 years) Goodyears.

I'll wait for the saying of sooth from Obi-Ken and will check-in tomorrow evening. In the meantime, thanks again for the advice everyone. Hoping all goes well for you, 98 'Bird.

Over 6-year-old Goodyears here too on my 98. All is well; got a patch for now. Wish I could advise you on the tires, Roger.

I believe a lot of tires boast this feature, so its not something limited to the Eagle GT. As for the tire itself, I'd go with the BFG, the Continental or the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position on the 16s. Hope this helps and sorry to hear about the tire.

Thanks, Z. I once met someone who had the same car, same rims, and everything. He went to park and bounced off a curb. "ouch" I thought. Then he shows me his perfect unmarred rim and says that he's hit curbs many times and that his rims would look pretty bad if the flange stuck out like mine. Why I didn't check his type of tires I don't know.

Sorry for the somewhat unnessesarily large pic BTW, will have to resize things in the future.

We'll wait for an expert on the subject. Anticipation of the Wolfman continues...

[Z Ya Later]

I'd thought he'd be in on this thread already, but I'll give him 0800 Tuesday.

Still nothing. Maybe he had an AARP meeting? lol

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

Considering your priorities, I'd say the Conti's are the way to go. I'm always looking for my next tire and Continentals you mentioned, from what I've read, are very good in the wet, which is not an F-body strong suit. They should ride comfortably for an all season performance tire.

I had Wide Ovals on my last F-body, but the Indy 500 version looked like a totally different tred pattern. I can't really compare one to the other.

[Roger in Kensington]

Thanks, Joe.

You're right about wet weather handling.

[Wild Willy]

I had some Firehawks that I thought were pretty good- lots of audible warning when you were getting near the limits, and wore far better than the Yokahoma's I used- And the Goodrich KDW's were okay in wet, but were useless when the temps got down to about 35 deg. or so- for that part, the all-season Goodyears I am currently running are about the same- when it gets cool out, feels like the road is covered with sand, and slippery. The Goodrich were terrible about following the wheel ruts in the road, the Goodyears are a little better.

[Christopherrr]

I just got back from Uvalde TX from Continental's Proving Grounds after beating up on their tires and the competition. I work for Discount Tire btw.

Continental makes awesome tires...much better than any Goodyear product. Although, the Eagle GT is a strong tire in terms of performance.

The DWS is on galactic backorder - so finding them in a 245-55-16 will be hard. It has alot of new technology, but a very soft sidewall.

The GT is one of my favorite tires...hate Goodyear, like the GT. It has the largest rim/flange protection I've ever seen. Also locking sipes.

I would stick to asymmetrical tire designs...so you're able to rotate side to side rather than just forwards and back.

But between the GT and DWS...I'd pay for the GTs, better dry performance and better looks.

[Roger in Kensington]

Very informative. Thanks.

[sneitzel]

I have to cast my vote for the BFG GForce Sport tires.

I currently have them on my Camaro. Actually, there are KDWs on the front and Sports on the back. I replaced 2 tires with the KDWs and when I went back 3 mo. later to replace the other 2 I was informed that the KDW had been discontinued and replaced by the GForce Sport.

I liked them so much, I just recently put a set of the GForce Sports on my GP as well.

Having said all that, my cars almost never see ice or snow and only see rain a few times a year so my experience is based on mainly dry and HOT weather performance.