Baby needs some new shoes (GT2 AWD)

[Buzzrush]

Hey everyone. So I've started looking at getting new tires and I thought what better place to get some opinions than the forum. Wife and I are moving to FL at the end of May so I think summer tires may be the way to go...please correct me if I'm wrong. I have OEM Potenza all-seasons on now that have lasted just shy of 40k. Should I go with summers or stick with all-seasons? I also have OEM 18 inch wheels. Can anyone recommend a good summer tire that they have been happy with? I'm considering Pilot Super sports, Pilot sport 4s, Potenza sports and Continental extreme contacts. Looking for good performance, relatively quiet and relatively good tread life. Also, what's the max tire width people have put on the 18s? Thanks in advance!

 

[Snicklefritz]

I like tire discussions. my actual working experience is limited to michelin, nitto and bridgestone. the latter two are a/s. the nitto are y rated, or maybe even (Y) rated, I haven't looked for years at the sidewall specs but no matter, who is going to ever exceed 186 mph? the michelin of course are (Y) rated but the nitto and bridgestone have much higher treadlife warranties than the michelin summer tires. at least your on square setup and will get the full warranty instead of halved in the rear for staggered.

the only thing really making me not seriously consider 245 wide on 18" wheels is the 'sandblasting' that the rear bumper cover will get with the wider width. I noticed on my gt1 that the 255 in the rear were starting to affect the paint in the bumper cover. that's why I put on the oem mud guards. but they're kind of a bitch to install but if I do go 245 wide on the premium 18s I'll also put the mud guards on as well.

 

[Buzzrush]

Thank you for the reply Snicklefritz! Yeah I’ll probably stick with the 225 width to keep the grime and rock chips to a minimum. Thanks again!

 

[ChaneRZ]

RokBlokz mudguard will solve that problem.

 

[Deviate]

If ya wait till you are here we might be able to work a deal out for the Potenzas i got sitting in storage on my factory 18's.

Whats going to be your commute? How abusive are you as a daily driver? Most of your high speed cornering will come from the on/off ramps in the area. Only you know your driving so thats something to add in too.

If you've been happy with the potenzas and their performane why change?

I know Firestone Firehawks have been super good for my friend. (Hes got just under 500whp on his GT1 and is not a gentle driver) His milage wasn't bad either.

 

[Buzzrush]

If ya wait till you are here we might be able to work a deal out for the Potenzas i got sitting in storage on my factory 18's.

Whats going to be your commute? How abusive are you as a daily driver? Most of your high speed cornering will come from the on/off ramps in the area. Only you know your driving so thats something to add in too.

If you've been happy with the potenzas and their performane why change?

I know Firestone Firehawks have been super good for my friend. (Hes got just under 500whp on his GT1 and is not a gentle driver) His milage wasn't bad either.

Thanks for the offer on the Potenzas Deviate but I don’t think I can make the 1300 mile trip on these tires. They’re pretty bald and 1 isn’t holding pressure very well. I’ll check out the Firehawks for sure. Costco has a deal for 150 off any 4 Michelins installed so I’m looking at that as well. I’m pretty easy on my car but I do enjoy some spirited cornering from time to time on the on-ramps around here. From what I understand, aside from grip (which doesn’t really matter with AWD) summers are quieter and a bit smoother than all-seasons so that’s why I’m thinking about the change. But is that worth the durability difference..I dunno. I think I just need to try some summers out see the difference. I guess my question is What would be the point of buying all-seasons in a warm weather climate other than durability? Rain I guess…

 

[Snicklefritz]

michelin pilot summer tires are very good in the wet, with good tread depth of course.

 

[Rob M]

Summer tires generally perform better than all-season tires in rain. So if you never expect to travel to locales where it might freeze, summer tires are great. But a legitimate consideration for staying with an all season tire is that you will spend less than half as much on tires over the life of the vehicle. For example, Michelin "4" tires in 225/45/18 cost about 1/3 more for the summer version than the all-season. Then consider maybe 30K miles tread life vs. 50K. The "poor" folks with staggered setups will spend around 3x more on tires than those of us limping, lol, around on the 18" square configuration.

 

[Buzzrush]

Does anyone have any experience with Uniroyal Tiger claws A/S or BF Goodrich Advanced control tires? This is for a 2018 GT2 AWD. Wanted the Continentals but the guy at the shop said they didn’t meet load requirements for my car so he recommended these. Also said there were limited PS4s in the state and they could be hard to get if I had to replace one. Any info or suggestions would help greatly!

 

[Deviate]

Give Mavis a call on SR70 in lakewood ranch. They might be able to help

 

[Snowwhite]

Summer tires are far better than all seasons, even in rain. Usually quieter, too, with some exceptions. however, they do wear much quicker. you won't need all seasons if you're further south than gainesville. Just note that summer tires do lose grip below 50 degrees F, and northern florida definitely gets weather like that during winter. now if you're aiming south of Orlando, don't worry because we never see below 50 here anymore. On the odd day you find yourself in weather like that, just take it easy, doubly so if it's raining. No big deal.

I'm on Hankook Ventus S1 evo3s (summer tires) and I love them. But they wear out just as fast as the factory michelin PS4s did.

 

[G70LEbyAdoom]

Thanks for the offer on the Potenzas Deviate but I don’t think I can make the 1300 mile trip on these tires. They’re pretty bald and 1 isn’t holding pressure very well. I’ll check out the Firehawks for sure. Costco has a deal for 150 off any 4 Michelins installed so I’m looking at that as well. I’m pretty easy on my car but I do enjoy some spirited cornering from time to time on the on-ramps around here. From what I understand, aside from grip (which doesn’t really matter with AWD) summers are quieter and a bit smoother than all-seasons so that’s why I’m thinking about the change. But is that worth the durability difference..I dunno. I think I just need to try some summers out see the difference. I guess my question is What would be the point of buying all-seasons in a warm weather climate other than durability? Rain I guess…

The only downside to the firehawks is they have more road noise than most. At least thats the case with mine.

 

[Volfy]

Does anyone have any experience with Uniroyal Tiger claws A/S or BF Goodrich Advanced control tires? This is for a 2018 GT2 AWD. Wanted the Continentals but the guy at the shop said they didn’t meet load requirements for my car so he recommended these. Also said there were limited PS4s in the state and they could be hard to get if I had to replace one. Any info or suggestions would help greatly!

Which Continentals didn't meet load requirement? The DWS06? Quick search on TireRack shows those and 2 other Continentals all have the same load ratings (93Y, 96Y) as the OEM Mochelins. I think your tires shop were trying to sell you what they have in stock (or make fatter profit on). Get what you want, not what the shop wants to sell you.

That said, most name bran tires of similar class aren't too far off each other. They all perform well for the most part, especially for street duty. Best to be perfectly honest about how the tires are gonna be used. It's one thing if you plan to tear up your local tracks, but most folks just used them for general everyday driving. The absolute best tire is one that is nearly brand new, still have most of its tread, and have not been heat cycled excessively. Personally, I prefer to buy them cheap (on clearance, with rebate, etc.), so I'm more likely to change them out early and into a brand new set sooner, instead of wearing them down to the cords trying to get my money's worth. Even the best performing tires suck by the time they have been worn down to near the wear bars, driven on, and exposed to the elements for a long while.

Check here for current deals: https://www.tirerack.com/specialoffers/specialoffers.jsp

 

[JSolo]

^^I keep getting almost daily emails from discount tire about various sales. Get $100-150 off. Michelin PS AS4 has more than met my needs so far. I wouldn't mind PSS, but that's overkill (had 'em on the G), and can't use 'em in winter.

 

[clemson85]

I live in South Carolina and it is hot most of the year though we don't don't get quite the amount of rain that Florida does. The oem Michelins have been excellent in my climate. I just turned 10,000 miles on the odometer yesterday and been in some rain storms on I20. I will go with the oem Michelins when it is time for a replacement. I do have Toyo summer tires on my 2002 Corvette and they are great for this climate. I am not sure if Toyo makes the oem size for our Stingers. Good luck finding what you want to buy.

 

[7Andrei7]

I've had ContiSport 6 and Nokian Powerproof on my Stinger. Then I chose the Pilot Sport 4. They are WAY better than the other. Both more comfortable and more grippy. They are a little noisy though.
My next tires will be the Pilot Sport 5.

 

[NYBIOMED]

Running the Conti ExtremeContacts, I'm super happy with them, closing in fast at 30k miles. I can easily get to the winter still before In put my snows back on, then start with fresh shoes next April...so I'd guess 40k miles, I would NOT say that I m easy on them.