tires

[jarod]

i was just on tire rack.com and looking for tires for my 1995 formula and i just cant decide between the FIRESTONE "INDY 500" and the "BF GOODRICH g-Force KDWS". Has anyone had any expierence with any of these tires. the only bad thing that i see about the firestones is the handeling and with the BFG's the poor snow traction. any help would be greatly appreciated, thanx.

[Dave M]

I've had experience with both tires. I have the Indy 500 on my beater car, a 1991 Camry. While this is likely not what you'd call a high performance machine unless you're a fan of "To Fast To Furious," they were a vast improvement over my old tires for that car. In fact, they are the best tires I've had for that car. Snow and wet traction are great and it gives more than acceptable dry performance for what I was expecting from that car.

I also have the KDWS on my new WS6, and while I've only had the car for about 100 miles and it has not and will not see rain/snow, they seem like decent tires. But the tread design doesn't seem to lend itself to the sloppy stuff as well as the Indy 500. When I need new tires for the WS6 I'll be going to the KD because I don't need the wet or snow traction.

If you're going to use the car for daily driving, my opinion would be to get the Indy 500 tires. I think they'll be your best bet for the sloppy stuff while still giving good dry performance. While I haven't priced them for that application, I imagine they'd be cheaper too.

[Detroit_Bird]

I've got the KDWS tires on my 95 T/A and have been pretty pleased with them- I've ran them in the rear all winter with 350 lbs of sand over the axle, and they've gotten me everywhere I need to go- not the best winter grip, but enough to go. Only bad thing- it seems to be with any BFG I buy- is treadwear- Only had them 10,000 miles and they're showing significant wear. might just be due to spinning em so much in the snow. Good summer grip though. I'll be buying them again for my next set- only tire I've found that can get me through the winter and have a "Z" rating for the summer.

[jarod]

thanks

thank you for your input and time. We have already put the Indy 500 tires on order and I feel that they will be the best bet for us. This is my wifes daily driver and she works in northern ohio, up in the snow belt. So as you can see snow and wet traction are of a big concern of mine. We wont be pulling andy big "G's" in the corners or anything. The only performing that we usually do is from stop light to stop light to get rid of those pesky ricers! Thanks again guys.