Looking to take advantage of AMs sale on 20in staggered rims + Mickey Thompson tire kit, but I'm worried about MT tires.

The reviews all say great things about the grip and look of the tires, but I can't find anything on the tread life. Even MTs page for the street comps doesn't mention tread life anywhere. No mention of warranty or anything either, while I know the stock Pirellis came with a mileage warranty.

Anyone have any experience that could help me out?

 

I recently bought a wheel and tire package from AM with 20" staggered Mickey Street Comps. Like you I knew little about the tires but decided to give 'em a try. As I recall I found an article about them specifying the relative tread life rating as 300 which I believe pretty good for a performance tire although I don't really pay attention to tread life on my fun car.

My experience with them so far is positive. Like any 35 series tire they can be a bit jiggly and loud over expansion strips and really coarse pavement. I don't go to track days but I enjoy a spirited back road drive quite often and I can say that I think 90% of the drivers who might buy these will run out of nerve long before they run out of grip. They stick very nicely.
Transient characteristics seem predicable and general steering response equals all the Bridgestone and Falken performance tires I had on my Z4-M BMW that I had before the 'Stang.

I can't speak to wet weather use as I drive the FJ Cruiser when it rains. Within the limits of my experience with them I'd buy 'em again.

 

The MT's are pretty good for Chinese made Tires.

 

I had my M/T tires for about 16k mi, before switching to the Continental DW. You can easily get 20-22k mi out of them, with occasional abuse. I felt they were a little better than Pirellis. A good tire for a fair price. I'm also very pleased with the Continentals, which I think are better than Mickey's. The Continental's have excellent rear grip.

 

The treadlife should be 20k. I had the Cooper Zeon, and they make the MT's. http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Perfo...EON-RS3-S.aspx

It is a good tire. They have better grip than the stock Pirellis, and they can be had for a great price. As far as the warranty, you would need to contact AM to find out. I would assume that MT would warranty them for 20k and workmanship of the product.

 

Just heard back after I contacted the company.

Very surprisingly, NO warranty is offered with Mickey Thompson tires.

I'm afraid this knocks this idea out. Shame, as they are a really good deal, and the tires have stellar reviews for the most part.

I wonder why they don't offer ANY kind of warranty, considering most other companies do.

 

Because guys like us, turn them into baloney skins

 

That is odd. I'll scratch those off my list.

 

They have been around for a while and the reviews are pretty favorable, so i would let that guide me instead of warranty or not.

I have the street comps on my 14 and use them all year round with no issues. i never drive mine in snow however. They have a higher tread life than the michelin supersports, but won't perform as well. but then they are considerably cheaper.

 

I had the Cooper RS3-S. For the price, you can't beat them. I've had the MPSS too and currently running my stock wheels with some used PS2s, 255/40 and 275/40. Still, for the money, the Coopers are hard to beat. I have one buddy with the M/Ts and he complains a lot about a lack of grip. I'm pretty sure he's greased them up by doing burnouts and donuts though.

I'm not sure if the Coopers have a warranty, but I got mine from America's Tire for $860 installed. 255/35/20 and 275/35/20. I'm sure the 305/35 version isn't much more.

 

Are they drag radials? If so then there's your answer.

 

I disregard tire warranties. I've never known of one that was worth a darn after 50 years of driving sports and GT cars on various "performance" tires. The tire makers seem to be experts at wriggling out of any responsibility. Their "pro-rated" coverage just means you have to pay when their products fail.

If you drive hard enough to need performance tires don't be whining about warranties.

End of rant. Your mileage may vary.

 

Not drag radials. It's the Street Comps AM sells with the AMRs. It's just your average summer tire, and that's what I don't understand.

 

It seems like these tires are a tier below the best-in-class rubber. By all accounts, they're fine...probably a big step up from worn/heat cycled stock tires at the least and the price is pretty good.

As others have mentioned, they have been around for a while and probably like the BFG Radial T/A that serves other parts of the Muscle Car genre, it soldiers on like a zombie tire where non-curious shoppers just buy what they've always bought and the manufacturers aren't incentivized to improve them.

These say "Mickey Thompson on them..." is all it takes for some shoppers.

Again, I think they're probably fine. AM backs their products pretty well so if there' some flaw (not induced by clutch dumping or power-braking ) I suspect they'll take care of you.

If you're looking for the ultimate in canyon carving or Auto-x competition, look elsewhere.

Just my opinion!

 

Yeah, not sure why they won't warranty those. Michelin and Firestone warranty their competitors.

 

I understand now after doing more research into it. With staggered tires nobody offers a warranty for tread because you are unable to properly rotate tires. Didn't realize that before, just thought the warranty would be much shorter, but no warranty at all I guess.

However, there is still no warranty for squared tires for Mickey Thompson, which is very unusual.

 

That's true, but there's no way they're going to know if you're using a square or staggered setup. Still seems odd, though considering the niche it's for (ultra high performance summer), I can understand not warrantying them.

 

What is the main reason that you guys want to stagger the tires? Unless you're intending on running 295+ on the back and don't want to go the camber plate route, you should be able to run a matching set. IMO, more grip up front is ALWAYS good. Understeer is for the birds.

I have 285/35/19 all around (lowered) and they've never rubbed.

Some people worry about tramlining or some other odd behavior from the steering but I've never noticed a problem. Perhaps that shows up with -2* camber and 305s up front???

 

For me personally, I just like the way the car looks with a staggered setup. Whenever I get serious about tracking the car, it will be a square setup for sure. And yes, understeer is for the birds. A loose car, is a fast car, as long as you know how to drive it!

 

I have them. Got a staggered package from AM. They are ok but only after being warmed up. Kinda wish I had went with Nitto but wanted to give the MT's a try at the time. Not really worried myself about tread wear though.