What would be the best all season tires for my GT convertible without breaking the bank. The stock tires have allot to be desired as to traction, FORD could have done a better job on tires for the GT.
R/Mike

 

Look for a tire where every aspect is rated A or better?

The BFG G-Force KDW's are a good example of a all around performance tire. And probably not the only.

 

It would help to know if you have the 17" or 18" wheels, as not all tires come in both sizes, and can be dramatically different prices for the two sizes.

 

Continental ContiExtreme all seasons. You can find them on Tirerack.com. Hands down they are the best all season tire that gives you a decent amount of grip. I've used them on three cars and my 08GT.

Just my opinion though.

 

I have the stock GT wheels for Apr 05 production, think they are 17" wheels. I ran my car at the Nurburgring a year ago and the stock tires gave up a lot sooner than my 300 horses did....did 120-130mph in the straight aways but curves were a diff story...
R/Mike

 

If you want a good all around tire and a tire that will perform well on a race track, you might need to consider two sets of wheels. There are a number good high performance street tires that will do well on the track, but there is always a compromise. There are plenty of consumer articles written comparing the strength and weaknesses of several contenders. You might do a little research.

 

I got the NEW Goodyear F1 All Season's form the Tire Rack.....I love them!!

 

My nitto nt555's have been great. Good traction and great wear at a decent price...

 

I've always liked the performance of Michelin's Pilot Sport A/S tires. I also found the stock BFG KDWS tires to be pretty good as well.

 

The stock 18" BFGs aren't the best for all-season use, they're really summer tires that can be used in the rain.

The stock 17" Pirelli P-Zero Neros seem to be a decent ultra high perf all-season tire, but I do not recommend them in the snow.

I am considering Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds for the 17" wheels because they have positive reviews for use in snow. They are NOT a performance tire though. The Continental ContiExtreme Contact tires also have gotten rave reviews for use in snow and ARE a performance tire.

 

I was very happy with the stock 235/50 zr18 BFGs in the snow and they were decent during the summer, after about 30k miles they looked close to new, but after a few really good smoke shows for friends they were done, but they probably would have lasted well past 40k.

I wanted to go a little wider so I replaced them with 255/45 zr18 Pirelli pzero nero M+S, they look better because of the width and cool tread pattern but I would never buy these tires again, theyre fine on dry pavement and rain but almost useless in the snow, I'm not sure how they can call this a M+S tire, almost as bad as pure summer tire.

I'm sure these will make some nice smoke and next winter I will go back to the stock 18" BFGs or go with the Michelins.

 

The local folks who drove their Stangs with stock 18" BFGs in the snow said they could only do about 10-15 mph. I would never try the P-Zero Nero in the snow since they're an ultra high performance all-season tire. The M+S rating is misleading. In order to qualify as a snow tire, it MUST have the snowflake logo on the sidewall.

I ran my Dunlop SP Sport 5000s in the winter ONCE, and they have a similar tread design/pattern/material to the 17" P-Zero Neros. I couldn't drive faster than 25 mph even if I wanted to because of the poor tread design. It is hard to drive in 6" of snow on the highway at 25 mph when everyone else is doing 50+ mph.

If you're going to drive in snow, get snow tires and limit the amount of power you supply to the rear wheels and reduce the tire inflation.

 

Nitto Nt555 or BFG KDW2 NT

 

A warning to those looking at them, Kumho Ecsta ASX all seasons have very good peak grip and do great in the wet and cold compared to Pirelli's, but once they lose grip its like falling off a cliff. Don't just look at peak grip but also how progressively the grip fades. The Pirelli's were actually superior to the Kumho's in that respect. Very progressive, which is why Ford chose them.

 

According to the survey on the TireRack web site, the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions are rated the best. I put a set on my Wife's Grand Marquis 2 years ago and they are great in the frequent frog strangler rain storms we get down here in Florida. No aquaplaning and on a couple of winter trips to Ohio they performed well in snow. Unfortunately they don't have a size similar to my P-Zero Neros. As an aside it looks like Pirelli has modified the the P-Zeros, the tire for the Mustang 17" rim is now the P-Zero Nero M+S Pinna. It says it has extra siping for snow.

If I were in snow country I'd opt for two sets of tires, one for all season and another for snow and ice. Many many years ago I learned that a '68 Camaro with H-70 15 BFGs doesn't work very well in snow.

BB
Semper Fi

 

I've always been impressed with Bridgestone's performance (well except for the Bridgestone RE940, but that was more than a few years ago).

In back to back comparisons at the time, Bridgestones usually eclipsed Michelin in the wet seemingly at the expense of longevity, although both were extremly close in the dry.

 

Yeah... I couldn't drive at anything more than an IDLE (even in 5th gear) without the back end wanting to go out on me... And I got stuck for a few minutes at the end of my LEVEL driveway... with the tires spinning at idle..

I like the grip in the summer though!!

 

I'll second that instance of getting stuck at the end of my driveway!! I got stuck in the cul-de-sac before I could even get into my driveway. Flat and level ground, probably 2-3 inches of snow on the road. It was sick. Worst part was it was 12:30am, and a very quiet neighborhood. My Mustang was waking up all the neighbors, even with stock exhaust at the time!! It sucked pretty bad.

 

I had to drive home in the snow one time when I was caught off guard. I had my Dunlop SP Sport 5000s on the Crown Vic (Open Differential at the time), which are the same class of tires as the stock Pirelli P-zero Neros on our Mustangs. I couldn't drive faster than 25 mph without losing lateral stability (car wanted to wander away from the road), nor could I take off from a stop within 10-30 seconds without the rear tire spinning like crazy even when slightly tipping the throttle. Whenever I had to make a turn, it was like I was in a rally race in the Norwegian area except without AWD. The car was almost undriveable even in 1/4" of light dusting (limited slip differential solved this issue).

After that lesson, I installed a limited slip differential and went to snow tires during the winter season. I do NOT recommend any type of all-season tire in the snow unless it has been proven to function well in snow. I have heard good things about Continental ContiExtremeContact and Goodyear Assurance TripleTred for driving in the snow - but I have never tested them so I can't recommend them wholeheartedly.

 

I have a 2008 Shelby GT500 white, with Blue stripes, looking to replace the stock tires. Althought I have tread on the tires this year it seems the temp has made a difference on my traction, so I am looking for all season tires so I don't have to go through this ever again. Looking at the Michelins and the Continentals. I noted that you liked the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. Were they better than the stock tires?