Tire recommendations (mostly street - some track)
 

Not sure if this fits right in this section, but I have a GT and tires do help the performance...

I did a search and found tons of threads about tires but not much help on good tires to get. I was looking at the KDWs but hear they are loud and get louder as they wear. True?? If they are loud, are they worth listening too?

I was looking to pick up a set of the 18x9 Magnum wheels. I drive mostly street with a few runs to the track. I am spinning a lot on the stock tires (as is well known) and would like to upgrade the rubber while upgrading the wheels. What are other worthwhile tires? I see Nitto, but I think I drive a little too much street for them. And I am not looking to change my wheels just to go to the track so it would be something I keep on all the time. I also do not plan on driving in the rain or snow.

Nitto 555 Tires +1!

BFG KDW2...Sickest Tread pattern available
or
Falken Azenis (However you spell it LOL)

Sorry, But I see this hthread posted twice - Mods, can you merge them.


As for the Nitto's, how do they handle driving on the street more than the track? Do they wear out too quick?

I do like the KDW2 tread, however looks don't outweigh performance.

Another Nitto 555...

BFG KDW2 FTW!!!:metal:

The factory KDWS were good for about 24K of hard driving. I did one track day during that time. My wife has them and they're about half worn at 30K miles on her 06.

If you're like me and plan on using your tires, I went for hard compound with good ratings...

Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S. I have about 3K miles on them thus far. They work really well dry or wet. The tread pattern is pretty aggressive and looks good on the car. I don't know about longevity. I rotated them once already. They are 255 wide versus the factory 235, yet they don't weigh any more than the KDWS.

I heard the KDW2s had a bit of road noise. I've never rode in a car with them, so I can't say.
Nitto 555's here. I like them, good performance for the price, though definitely not the latest and greatest. Much stickier than stock, and a definite improvement.

Falken FK -452 Great tire super quiet and great price so you won't feel bad when you smoke them.

I had the Nitto's (5000 miles)on my 18's. OK for the rear, did not like the handling on the fronts, pulled them and gave to a friend. Went with the Goodyear Supercar tires, same as on the GT500. Best handling front and rear, so far (about 3500 miles). Driven exclusively in dry weather, so not sure about "All Season" handling.

Thanks - looks like a choice between Nittos, KDW, Supercar, and Falken. I still have to save a few bucks so I have time to make a decision.

Some of you will think I went cheap on the tires, but I just upgraded to 18" Razor wheels. The tire I went with was the General Exclaim UHP 255/45/18. I researched this tire and after careful consideration, I bought a set with the wheels. I paid $138 a tire on Tire Rack. Most of the reviews on Tire Rack were positive.

After riding on them for awhile, I find the car corners and rides better. These tires also have less road noise then the factory BFG's. These tires are actually made by Continental and are made in Germany. The quality seems very high. What also impressed me was the date stamp on the tire was in April 08. Lots of tires can be up to a year old before they hit the street.
(Just a minor thing, but I noticed). Others on this site have the same tires and feel the same way.

These are not the ultimate high performance tire, but I'm telling you for the money they cannot be beat.

As much as I hate Goodyear because of the way they handled my tire factory defect, the TripleTreds grip the road just like a summer tire but are supposed to be extremely good in snow. They are available in 235/55R17 and that is what I would use in my Stang if I can't get Continental ContiExtremeContacts. I would avoid summer tires and anything BFG unless you live in a sunny state that sees zero snow.

When I replaced my KDWS's with the KDW2's it produced a noticable increase in handling, although road noise did go up.

IMO the switch from the 235/50R18 KDWS's to the 255/45R18 KDW2's was a better handling upgrade than the FR3 handling package. Another nice thing about the 255/45R18's are that they are 2 pounds lighter per tire than the 235/50R18 KDWS's - always nice when you can reduce unsprung weight. The 255/45R18s on the Bullitt wheels save a total of 16 pounds over the 235/50R18's on the Fanblade wheels :D

I can also recommend the Nitto 555's.

I got a set of GT500 replica wheels and got 555's for them and I love them. They don't cost too much but they give just enough grip. They are also nice and quiet. There is some road noise still, but from what I hear, they are quieter than the BFG KDW's (I haven't had first hand experience though).

Now if you want to go for the best, get the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. From what I've heard these kick ***! But the price tag on them is enormous! I might consider those in a few years when I'm laying down more power to the pavement.

Remember though that these are summer only tires. Not sure where you are from but keep that in mind. I'm sure you already thought of that though!

The Goodyear F1 Supercar (255fr - 285rr) have been great for me. I have about 9k on them, a few trips to the track, and they're not showing any signs of unusual wear.

*I'm switching back to the factory rims/tires in late fall / early winter as we get snow here.

BFGoodrich Geforce T/A KDW-NT. A bit loud on the street due to the tread pattern but the grip is amazing as well as the 400 rating. I have over 65,000km on mine and will replace them next year. They would have lasted longer if it had not been for a bad alignment.

Oddly enough the KDW-NT and KDW2 are the same tire. For some reason dealers are using KDW2 when BFGoodrich refers to it as KDW-NT (new tread). I was looking around for something else to try but will be sticking with the KDW-NT. Goodyear tires are just that, good for a year.

lol adrenalin, funny.


metroplex, the tripletreds wont handle all that well, wont last the 80k they are rated for, and dont have the speed rating the Mustangs require. But for a sixer or any other car, the any weather traction cannot be beat.

I ran the F1 GS D3's in the street, road course, and strip. Best tires I have ever ran period, but any street tire is going to spin at the strip, 2.0 60's was the best I would get on them, some more practice a 1.9 would be possible. As mentioned, the price is very steep , but if you track the car or are concerned with wet weather traction on a daily driver, its the winner in my book.

I now run the SuperCars 285/40 rear 255/45 front and is a pretty good tire. Just dont plan on them gripping in sub 40 degrees. As with any Ultra high performance tires.
Wear is so so, I cant really give a mileage guess, the road course really took a beating on them, lol. But will get 2 full summer seasons and 2 days at the road course with them.

The price was right, they are priced really low for whatever reason. I got my set for 500 bucks before taxes.
But I do get them at cost, and had a 100 rebate, and 20 bucks back also.

Working at Goodyear has its ups.

The F1 All season would be a great tire if you do drive in colder weather, or even snow.

You will pretty much need a drag radial if you want traction at the strip.

Project Source Horse has the Goodyear F1 GS D-3's all the way around and I agree, they are the best gripping tire i've had the pleasure of using. Ive slung the car hard in the corners at barbers and couldnt come close to loosing grip from those things. If you got the money to spare, i recommend them. They are not the quietest thing out there, but are great for our area (Alabama) where we dont have extreme colds, so they are good all year round.