| Author | Message | |||
| F-J'87EuroTR (Ferrarijoe)
Member Username: Ferrarijoe Post Number: 285 Registered: 5-2001 |
Steve, On Thursday I had the new Firestone Firehawk SZ50EP�s tires mounted to the new wheels and I switched the spine hubs from my old wheels to the new ones yesterday. I had BFGoodrich Comp TA ZR�s. Removing the chrome ring turned out to be fairly simple once I fabricated a flat-curved tool that is 15cm long, 5mm thick, 30mm wide with a 90� bend about 12mm long at the working end. I maneuvered the bent end between two of the five nuts holding the spline hub on that are partially hidden by the ring, and then gently pushed down and they popped right off. I cleaned and replaced the old copper-based loctite anti-cease from the hubs, mounted and re-torqued the wheels on the car (325 ft lbs or 440nm or 45kgm). As luck would have it here in Washington State, it was drizzling when I was ready to test-drive the car, which was perfect! I must say that I am very impressed by the wet weather handling of these tires, which was a big improvement over the BFG�s. I went through a long-swooping cloverleaf off ramp that I could in the dry push the car without breaking traction to 70-75 on the BFG�s. I was able to push the car with the new tires in the wet to 70 without breaking traction! I then drove down towards Olympia where the freeway was dry and a noticed a huge difference in the reduction of road noise. I have not tried dry lateral handling yet but hope to soon. Joe | |||
| Scott Grossman (Sngsmgaolcom)
Junior Member Username: Sngsmgaolcom Post Number: 86 Registered: 2-2002 |
Steve, I put the Michelin Pilot Sports on my car and have been really happy with them. The car sticks quite well, and the wear has been better than I expected. Cant really speak for there performance in rain though, since the TR doesn't get used much in inclement weather. HTH Scott | |||
| Bart McMurry (Mcmurb)
New member Username: Mcmurb Post Number: 8 Registered: 9-2002 |
I have run on the dunlops for the past two years. I think they're easier to turn at low speeds. Maybe my imagination. | |||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Intermediate Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 1490 Registered: 9-2001 |
I have Kuhmos on my e39 M5 and love them. They seem to perform as good as the So3s they replaced at 1/2 the price. | |||
| Adam Goldman '86 TR (Icnsltmfg)
Member Username: Icnsltmfg Post Number: 438 Registered: 8-2001 |
I have been using the Dunlop SP Sport 8000 both for street and heavy track use. I have two friends that also track their TR's with the Dunlops and we all like them very much. The ride is good, handling is quite good, wear is much better than the Pilot's, and the price is very good. $600 or so installed at Euro Tire in NJ. | |||
| Ben Lobenstein 90 TR (Benjet)
Member Username: Benjet Post Number: 852 Registered: 1-2001 |
Seems the choices get fewer and fewer for matching the front and rears to the same mfg and model of tire. Those 255's in the rear aren't stocked in any tire shop within 100 miles of here (guess why I kept an errant spare around) and I live in a major metropolitan area! The Firehawks IIRC are NOT OEM for the 'Vette, Goodyears Run Flats are, but most ('Vette) owners are so unhappy with that choice the switch to the Firehawks (I went reading alot of Corvette Forums before I made my final decision - if someone hunts down some of those links please post them). This is one of those times when I think that sportscars are similar at least more so than they are different. The Firehawks are race derived (the only current Firestone model from their street line of tires that is). And well when you get grief for having "those tires that explode" on your Ferrari, you can always return fire with if they are good enough for Formula One they are good enough for me (and remember the problematic ones were SUV tires!). Many of my friends have tried the DSP8000 on other cars, none went for a repeat purchase. Taking to the local shop where I purchased my tires (formerly a shop at Sears Point Raceway), I recall the price difference was more than just %10-20 btwn the MSP and FFSZ50 (IIRC - I paid ~$800 for my FFSZ50, the MSP were around $1,200+) delivered installed tax everything. They also talked me out of the DSP8000 - said they aren't meant for this application. Thier comment on the FFSZ50 vs. MSP, was that while MSP is the BEST tire money can buy, it's not %50 more a tire at %50 more a price (only %10-15 more a tire than FFSZ50). I have the FFSZ50 on my TR now, for about a year, they are pretty quiet, grab pretty well, supposed to wear well, priced right (reasonable). I don't track my car, but have been known to occasionally drive with the spirit of Enzo ;) Hope that helps -Ben P.S. I may be inclined to try the MSP when I am due for my next set - not becuase I don't like the FFSZ50, just to see if I can sense any differnece (and maybe the prices will get closer by then as it looks like they are down a bit from when I made my purchase), but then I'm not that far in the decision making process on the next set of tires, so things may change. | |||
| F-J'87EuroTR (Ferrarijoe)
Member Username: Ferrarijoe Post Number: 276 Registered: 5-2001 |
Here is a comparison of the Kumho, Michelin and Firehawk from the Tirerack. It is a word.doc (copy-paste) so hopefully it will work. If it asks for a password, just click the cancel tab and it will show.
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| F-J'87EuroTR (Ferrarijoe)
Member Username: Ferrarijoe Post Number: 275 Registered: 5-2001 |
Steve, Good post! I would like to see some input from users too. I just bought the SZ50EP�s and have not mounted them yet to my new wheels. Like you, I have seen rave reviews of this tire and I really like the tread pattern. The guy that I talk to at Tirerack (sorry, I do not remember his name) gave me a pretty good comparison of the Firehawks VS the MPS's. Even thought the MPS's were more, he recommended the Firehawks because of year round usability, lateral grip and overall ride comfort. He also said that they are Indy Car or CART derived. He pretty much echoed what I saw in the tests done on them. As soon as I can get up to Kent were they have a special machine to mount them, I will let you know first-hand how they measure up. Take care, Joe | |||
| bruce wellington (Bws88tr)
Intermediate Member Username: Bws88tr Post Number: 1116 Registered: 4-2002 |
steve not that i have them myself and cant vouch for that, but heard from alot of people about kumho ecsta (sp) being the best bang for the buck, and about 1/2 the price as the pilot sports.. my 2 cents..good luck steve.. bruce | |||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 1167 Registered: 1-2001 |
I tried to do my homework (here and on TireRack) so I have narrowed my TR tire brand choice (in the stock TR sizes) down to: 1. Dunlop SP Sport 8000 ($426 for the set, but more negative comments on TireRack compared to #2 and #3) 2. Firestone Firehawk SZ50EP ($572 for the set) 3. Michelin Pilot Sports ($848 for the set, and the user comments weren't significantly different/better than the #2 user comments) I'm leaning towards the Firestone Firehawks (gasp -- a Corvette tire), but would appreciate some brief feedback (great, horrible, avoid, etc.) if anyone is running these brands (doesn't have to be on a TR) -- TIA |
