328 Tires, again

Yes, I've searched the archives....

It's time again to replace the rear tires on my 328 before heading to Indy. I'm currently running the S-03, and the tread wear has been extremely rapid. I'm putting about 1000 miles a month on my car and this is the second set of rears in 14 months.

I'm mostly a freeway flyer, not a track guy, so ultimate grip isn't vital to me. What I'm looking for, in order, is the following:

1) low road noise
2) tread wear
3) wet road handling

I'm running a 225/50/16 on the front, 245/45/16 on the rear. I'm thinking of going to a 225/45/16 on the front.

Suggestions? I checked tirerack.com and there's only 5 choices for my car, and I know I don't want the Bridgestones again. Thoughts on the Kumho ECSTA 712, Sumitomo HRTZ or Yokohama AVS ES100?

Thanks

 

I've run the Sumitomos on my 911 for 18 months, maybe a little more. Put 10K miles on 'em, stil lhad tons of tread left when I sold the car last month. I might have gotten 25K out of them total if I had kept the car. 50/50 local/highway use. Great wear, mechanic loves 'em, can't beat the price, handle well, a little less well in the wet than I would like.

I also have Sumitomos on my Dino, not the performance version as they don't come in 205/70/15 but the guys at Algar really liked them on the Dino.

I've had Pirellis and Bridgestones on the porsche before, and they compare favorably to them, at least in my opinion.

 

__________________________________________

Am the "same" kind of driver, Tillman . Check out the Pirelli
PZero Nero's at Tire Rack. Excellent rating. The M&S Ultra High Performance all-season version
is even better. I recently purchased a set of the latter for my 328 (have only logged about 78 miles so too early to comment). $676 installed (lifetime free rotation, balancing, etc) at Dobb's Auto & Tires in St. Louis - just to give you an idea. (M&S stands for mud and snow but, no,
I don't drive mine under those conditions).

I really wanted summer tires and I know the Bridgestones
and Michelins are topnotch but ended up with an all-season tires to give me some flexibility under different driving conditions if I am unavoidably faced with such.

Ron

 

Tillman,
I have been very happy with the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. I have had them for about 4 months. Very good in the wet (first hand experience), low noise, good tread wear. Except for snow, Tire Rack rates it Superior in all catagories.

Though they do not make the exact sizes you want, I know you have experience in the sizes that will fit a 328.

 

I've been real happy with the Goodyear F1's on my 328. A good all around tire. I mostly use them on the street, but I have also run with them at Laguna Seca and Sears Point and was very pleased with the grip on the track.
Good grip performance yet I have gotten good life out of them.
Gil

 

Thanks for all the input.

Speaking of tires, I saw a 308 with 255/50/16 on the rears. Very aggressive, but too much tire for the car in my opinion.

 

I have 255/45R17 and they fit very well. All dependent on the wheel offset.

 

Why? Trust me, you do NOT want to go this route, you are going to sig. alter the handling. In my experiance you should ALWAYS keep the front the same rolling diameter. The rear can be bigger and it wont be felt as much. But changing the front too much directly alters the steering of the car and can make it almost undriveable. (Long story with my BMW, but I can proudly say I hammered it all out after lots of self-testing and learning as I go with tire pressures and rolling circumfr.)

 

I've always hated the way it looks like the front tire is taller than the rear. I have 225/50-16 the front and 245/45-16 the rear.

The 308 had the tires sticking out a good 3/4 inch (at least) outside the fenderwells on gold honeycomb rims.

 

Why not 225/50 front and 245/50 rear? That is the setup I would choose personally. And then run the rear at one or 1.5 PSI less then I would run a stock 328 rear to compensate.

 

Thought the 245/45 was the biggest that would fit with stock wheels and offset. I'll look again.

 

According to tirarack for a goodyear F1:
245/50YR16 fits 7-8.5"

Our rears are an 8".

As for your rolling diameter, it would be about the same as Mule's rear rolling diameter (check his images and see if you are comfortable with it)

Best of luck, and I hope I can help out.

 

Here is a little better view of the rear. It is 3/4 inch taller than stock when measured mounted. I am the same way about the rear looking bigger than the front. Remember, 17 inch wheel, though.

 

I have Kumho ECSTA 712s on my other car, my Honda Civic SI, and I like them better than the Michelins that came with the car.

Of course this is like comparing apples and oranges, but I have a 328 with Dunlops that will need replacing soon, and I will seriously consider the Kumhos.

 

That's what I went with, because they're available tomorrow from Discount Tire. Roughly $500 installed for the 4, with warranty etc. Once the sealer wears off I'll let y'all know what I think

 

I'm in need of tires too....I have stock size Goodyear F1's (old design) that are now 7 years old and starting to get hard...though tread is good. I would like to get the new F1's as there is a lot of excellent feedback from users on www.tirerack.com....but am concerned that they only have the 245/50 and not the 45 series. Personally, I don't like the look of the taller and larger overall diameter....I guess I will probably go with the Bridgestone SO3's.

Just ordered some new Goodyear F1's for the front of my BMW...235/45/17. Will have them installed on Monday.

 

I'll obviously be interested in what you think!

 

Have used the Supra 712 for over 5k miles here in New England. When they are warm they are good, they LOVE being hot and do well in wet. Even at -10F they are ok once you get a few miles on them (brief flat spot due to sitting still in DEAD cold).

Over all they are very good, excel at nothing really, but do well in most everything. They have a very progressive feel when pushed to their limits, so no sudden "let go."

Again, they are not the "ultimate" at anything really, yet are good all around. Due to new race-like suspension set up am dumping them as my summer tire for Yoko 032R. The Supra 712 will be for winter driving.

Oh, and tread life seem like forever and a day.

 

Here are some facts:

The "dont change the size" quote above does have merit in some cases... However...

Lets look at the 205/55/16 Vs the 225/45/16 in say the Yokohama ES100.

Front tire choices:

205/55/16 OD = 25.0 inches
225/45/16 OD = 24.0 inches

Stats on rear tire size:

245/45/16 OD = 24.6 inches
225/50/16 OD = 25.0 inches

As you can see the 205/55 & the 225/50 do have the same Overall Diameter. Both Ferrari & Porsche implement those tire sizes. However, on both my Porsche's & my Ferrari's I have searched for improvement & found that on a 7 inch front rim that the 225/45 Yokohama ES100 & the 245/45 on the 8 inch rear rim look great & perform flawlessly in the handling department.

The .6 OD change front to rear using that set up does not adversely effect this car in any way shape or form. Additionally, the 225/45 is actually a lighter tire, reducing unsprung weight.

The 225/45 is rated for a 7-8.5 inch rim. The 245/45 rear is rated for a 7.5 - 9.0 inch rim.

I am currently using that exact combo & could not be more pleased. The ES100 is also priced very well. Lots of performance for the dollar. Note: There may be a slight speedometer error with the reduced OD, but that reduced OD also makes for better 0-60 times.

 

I have them for sale, I hate to see them just sit, someone make me a offer...

I have a full set of new BRIDGESTONE POTENZAS RE730`s 225/50/zr16 front pair and 245/50/zr16 rear pair.
I bought them last year for my 308. I just went one size smaller RE750`s on the car now,
they are last years design, never used, still have the sticker on the treads.
they retail for around $170.00 a tire, and will sell the full set $400.00, not sure if its worth shipping any long distance do to the weight?

I am near Sacramento CALIFORNIA.

p.s. maybe I`ll have to buy another F-car so the tires don`t go to waste!