are these good tires?

[muddy02]

Really? I have to check the sidewall, they are not XL rated (usually says 40psi on sidewall with XL) I think the sidewall shows 36psi.

 

I thought of that, but if you saw the roads I have to take to hit the highway you'd recomend 31' BGF All Terrain TA's:lol:

 

I-95 in providence BLOWS.

[GTTuner]

Well, last night I read the markings on the sidewall. They ARE rated XL and max pressure on the sidewall is 50psi. Whoah!

 

Question is, how is a ONE ply sidewall considered XL? I mentioned I was skeptical about the thickness of the sidewall when I mounted them. It's been a LONG time since I have seen a one ply sidewall!

 

Hey, they work great, that's all I care. And I still recomend them for the price.

 

I bumped the pressures up to 39f and 37 rear on recomendation of fellow board member wukindada and they rode beautiful this AM. Thanks for the tip my friend!

[wukindada]

Anytime:)

[muddy02]

Well, last night I read the markings on the sidewall. They ARE rated XL and max pressure on the sidewall is 50psi. Whoah!

 

Question is, how is a ONE ply sidewall considered XL? I mentioned I was skeptical about the thickness of the sidewall when I mounted them. It's been a LONG time since I have seen a one ply sidewall!

 

Hey, they work great, that's all I care. And I still recomend them for the price.

 

I bumped the pressures up to 39f and 37 rear on recomendation of fellow board member wukindada and they rode beautiful this AM. Thanks for the tip my friend!

 

you have the Kumho ASX's right? i'll do the same when i get mine. I went to my Subaru Dealer last night and talked him into giving me the Tire Rack price with no markup, just shipping. But this was the funniest part. Apparently the machine they use to mount tires is so old that it can't handle 18" rims without scratching it, so have to send the work out to another shop to do 18's. I thought that was funny.

 

On another note, i bought a set of Hawk Ceramic pads from the vendor forum and if they come in in time, i'm gonna have them installed instead of the stock pads. I'm hoping this couple changes will help the car handle much better overall, while not having to clean my wheels every week.

 

At the risk of changing the direction of this thread, how long can i expect these ceramic pads to last??

[tantal]

Thumbs down on the Kumhos. I have not had good experiences with Kumhos, and would definately spend the money to get a good set of rubber like the Conti's, which are a very good deal right now.

 

IMO it's no contest between the kumho and the conti - buy the conti.

[muddy02]

the guy from TFT just called me with a quote on a set of Kumho ASX = $129/each (total includes balancing, tax etc.).

 

Now, he also mentioned he can get me the TOYO FZ4 for $136/each. First i've heard of these, he says waaaay better. Anyone else have any opinions on them?

[GTTuner]

Yes, the ASX's are what I purchased.

 

As for the pad life, that is a tough one. It mostly depends on driving cycles.

[rporter]

the guy from TFT just called me with a quote on a set of Kumho ASX = $129/each (total includes balancing, tax etc.).

 

Now, he also mentioned he can get me the TOYO FZ4 for $136/each. First i've heard of these, he says waaaay better. Anyone else have any opinions on them?

 

Wait a minute, I thought that you got the dealer to match the Tire Rack price of $85 per tire for the ASX? Mounting/balancing/tax should not add more than $20 per tire.

 

I don't understand long-life pads wth no dust! I buy pads for stopping power. The Carbotech Panther+ pads coming off the car today have 12K miles and are worn out after three track days and regular driving. They are noisy and dusty, but work great!! Hawk HPS are going on for the winter. Comparable to the Carbotech Bobcat, these are the lowest-level pad that I would consider for these cars. IMHO those ceramic pads are for mommy's soccermobile.

[rporter]

Now, he also mentioned he can get me the TOYO FZ4 for $136/each. First i've heard of these, he says waaaay better. Anyone else have any opinions on them?

 

Do a search on this forum for Toyo tires. They are one of the favorites of this crowd.

[muddy02]

Wait a minute, I thought that you got the dealer to match the Tire Rack price of $85 per tire for the ASX? Mounting/balancing/tax should not add more than $20 per tire.

 

I don't understand long-life pads wth no dust! I buy pads for stopping power. The Carbotech Panther+ pads coming off the car today have 12K miles and are worn out after three track days and regular driving. They are noisy and dusty, but work great!! Hawk HPS are going on for the winter. Comparable to the Carbotech Bobcat, these are the lowest-level pad that I would consider for these cars. IMHO those ceramic pads are for mommy's soccermobile.

 

 

TireRack was 85 + ~12 for shipping. So he was giving me them for that, plus they charge $25 for mounting/balancing. after taxes the whole package came out to $513 for the Kumho's. This was equal to TFT price.

 

I just talked to the dealer and couldn't match the $544 total price for the Toyo FZ4's. the best he could do was $560. I think i am just going to go with the Toyo's , as i've heard they are better than the Kumho's, and i'll go with TFT cause they are cheaper.

 

I'll let you know how it comes out, thanks for all the help everyone, couldn't have found my way without you.

 

PS - i never plan on tracking this "beast" so i'm not worried about the ceramics. I'm all about low maintenance.

[tigerclaws]

Hi,

 

Just my 2 cents worth. While you are considering Kumho's, just have a look at Falken ZX 512. I hear they are going pretty cheap ($67) on discounttiredirect.com with free shipping + $25 mail in rebate. Just get those tires (or any other tire from this site) and get it mounted/balanced at some local tire shop.

 

Mounting/balancing should not be more than $15-20 per tire. While you are at it, get the alignment done as well.

 

Let me know how it goes?

 

J

[tantal]

Honestly those Toyo's aren't much better than the Kumhos, although if this is all you can really afford then it may be as good as you can get for that kind of money.

 

One tire you really should consider is the Avon Tech M550. This is a cheap tire that keeps getting excellent reviews everywhere one looks - I haven't read anything bad about them yet. I have the Avon 500 summer only, and I am very impressed by this tire, regardless of the price (paid $102 per for 225/45/17, run them on my A4). The 500 is creamy smooth, has excellent grip wet or dry - I still don't notice a perceptible decrease in grip when it is wet after ~ 8500 miles, and the dry grip is excellent. These tires compare favorably with my RE 050's in the same size that I run on my GT. The 050 is definately a better tire, but it is an absolutely fabulous tire (I understand B'Stone developed this tire for the Enzo). The 050 has better grip in the pouring rain than the RE 92 has at 80 degrees in full sun, no kidding. Anyway the Avons compare favorably, not as good but close enough to be considered in the same conversation, unlike, for example the kumho MX or 712, tires I'm familiar with and which are just crap by comparison.

 

Anyway, I think the Avon 550 is definately worth consideration. Don't know about it's winter grip, but others have commented there.

[muddy02]

thanks for all the advice. Tires must have the most options out these when it comes to car parts, there's plenty to chose from, and i've driven myself crazy trying to get the "perfect" tires.

 

I didn't really want to spend much, since these wheels were basically given to my by a friend and figured i'd give them a try. 1 flat turned into needing 4 new tires, and now it's gonna run me over 500 bucks. i'm sure whatever tire i put on, i'm not even be able to tell the difference and wonder what the fuss was all about. but maybe not. thanks again.

[muddy02]

Hi,

 

Just my 2 cents worth. While you are considering Kumho's, just have a look at Falken ZX 512. I hear they are going pretty cheap ($67) on discounttiredirect.com with free shipping + $25 mail in rebate. Just get those tires (or any other tire from this site) and get it mounted/balanced at some local tire shop.

 

Mounting/balancing should not be more than $15-20 per tire. While you are at it, get the alignment done as well.

 

Let me know how it goes?

 

J

 

 

thanks for the tip, i checked out the site, and the cheapest tire for the size i want is $88, and they aren't even all seasons. The price i got from Town Fair Tire on the Toyo FZ4's is the best for the quality of tire i'm looking for. thanks anyway.

[GTTuner]

The FZ4's are being discontinued soon. If you blow one out, you'll be screwed.

 

I had some Proxies 4's,(not on this car, my last one) the FZ4 replacement. Terribly noisy, usless in snow, great in the rain and dry, shimmy was a problem with them.

 

Unless your replacing Michelin Pilots, or Eagle F1's, the Kumho will be an improvement over the RE's. Depends on what you want to spend my friend.

 

It is difficult to evaluate a new set of tires sometimes due to the fact you usually have taken off worn out, old, crappy ones. Anything would seem better.

[muddy02]

The FZ4's are being discontinued soon. If you blow one out, you'll be screwed.

 

that's funny, i actually bought the tires tonight, so my decision has been made. i went with the FZ4's. The reason it's funny is cause i got the lifetime replacement deal ($14 per tire, a steal). So if they do happen to discontinue them, and then they aren't there, TFT will have to deal with it. who knows, i may end up getting an entire free set out of it.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the help, and i'll let you know how they handle in te snow, guy said they are rated for -34 def F, but just seeing the channels makes me drool over riding them in the rain. should be a huge improvement for 3 of the seasons for sure.

[ih8vtec13]

you really should get a set of winter tires, I had Perilli P7000 SuperSports on my last car and they were useless in the snow. After driving on snows and summers I dont want to go back to all seasons again. It is worth the effort and if you think about it, price wise, you are going basicly twice as long without buying tires.

 

You have the spare set of rims so you get them mounted with winters and swap them on in winter after they get mounted and balanced, you will probably have them on for around half the year. When summer comes swap to the 18's with your high performance tires and do some "spirited" driving and some track time maybe, and get more grip. You can even do it your self or get someone to do it for you cheep at a meet if you dont have the tools or are too lazy to do the swap your self.

 

In the north east we really do need to be concerned with winter saftey, but we all bought or Legacy's cause we like to have fun, 2 sets of tires means we can do both. Our cars have so much potential in summer and winter you should take advantage of it, a boost in handling is the best mod you can do. Good handling is a safety feature, and so is better traction and grip in the snow. Trust me and everyone else that recomends 2 sets of tires, the extra needs to do it are minimal and its worth out weighs it so much.

[GTLTDGOLFR]

Never mind.