SharkSkin

I've heard good things about these new BFG tires, that at least on dry roads they outperform Yoko AVS-ES100 tires. Good things like, "These tires will drive circles around the Yokos" but I don't think that person had pushed them at all on wet roads at the time.

I have two concerns though, wet traction and changing grip characteristics over time.

Changing grip characteristics over time bears some explanation. My last experience with BFG tires was a long time ago -- 20+ years -- but it was so bad that I have made a point of avoiding their products since then. The radial T/As of that time achieved their traction/treadwear rating by using a very soft compound for the first half of the tread then a very hard compound for the last half of the tread. The result was, at half tread the tires were complete crap. At around 45% tread, I replaced them with Pirelli P6's of the day and never looked back. The P6's on a wet road would out-corner the T/A's on a dry road(same "test" corners where I could safely find and exceed the limit of traction) -- it was a real eye-opener for me.

So my question about grip is, has anyone run a set of the KDW2-NT tires down past 50%, and if so have you noticed any difference?

The wet traction is not as big of an issue as it would be in the PacNW, but what happens around here is that through Fall and Winter many of the turns in the mountains will have a sheet of water running across the apex on an otherwise dry road. It's times like these that the wet traction becomes especially important; even though I don't drive at 10/10 or even 9/10 all of the time, I don't want to have to tiptoe through such situations because I have a "summer tire". We don't often see temps much below 40°F around here, so I'm not too concerned that these tires are not recommended for freezing temps or snow.

So my question about wet traction is, how do the BFGs compare to the Yokes in the wet? If you have worn them past 50%, any significant difference at that point other than hydroplaning characteristics? For obvious reasons I expect hydroplaning to be more of a problem at 50% tread than 100%; I'm more interested in observations that shed light on possible issues with the compound.

Ron_H

What do they cost? I need a set of tires because my fronts are half worn on the outside and all worn on the inside, and my rears are smoooooth. And the rains are coming soon.

Herman K

I've looked at these and also have come accross a new series by Falken (FK 452) does any body have additional information on theses beside the BFG's

Thanks

1994 GTS 5spd

SharkSkin

Ron, Looks like your size is $140 ea. at Tire Rack. My sizes are $130 front, $160 rear. There is one person who posted a review on the Tire Rack site who made it to 50K miles, no complaint about reduced traction over time. People have good things to say about wet traction too... hmmm...

Ron_H

Thanks Dave. I think I'll stick to the cheaper brand. I wear out the fronts in half their life with my worn rack, and I don't see it being replaced soon. And the rears just life a brutal life with this ankle condition I have. Use 'em up and toss 'em. And I might be traveling to LA more often now and will use them up sooner.

fraggle

I have had two sets of the Yoko AVS-ES100's and they were horrible for tire noise. Got really greasy on the third or fourth auto-x run every time, too.

How does anyone get 50,000 miles out of a set of tires? I went through those two sets in only 3000 on the 928?

69gaugeman

Someone at enzo's dyno days was raving about it on Saturday. Can't remember who. Interested as low pressure caused one front tire to wear excessively on the outside edge. Time for new fronts for me.

Hopefully they will chime in.

IcemanG17

I think George and Bill both run these tires and really like them! They tend to score well at tirerack too! I am considering them for my next set too

Bill Ball

Dave has already heard me rave about the KDW 2s.

One big reason I could lay the rubber I did in my burnout videos was because I was running Yoko ES-100s. They were OK tires for cruising, but pushed hard, they slid all over the place. Now, with the KDW-2s, I'll be lucky if I can get even a little squeak out of the rear tires.

jorj7

I've had 2 sets on KDW2's on my car. I really liked them. They perform very well at speed and do
well in the rain also. I did the return leg of the 2005 Bonneville 100 in the wet and averaged 155.901
in the 155 class. I'd recommend them to anyone that needs good performance tires. I currently
run Michelin PS2 tires even though I like the KDW2's better, because the PS2's are (Y) rated (200+
mph) and the KDW2 tires are only rated to 186 mph. I didn't wear them out because I can only run
tires for 2 years, and they still had lot's of tread left.... Now saying this, I don't know what the -NT
means at the end of KDW2-NT. By the way, I was the one that told Bill (and Matt) to give these a
try.

edco

When I was getting my car ready for the open road racing season I asked George for a tire recommendation and he said go with the KDW2’s. I bought a set and have been very pleased, so far I have put around 5k miles on the set and each time the car goes through tech they ask me if the tires are brand new “like in just mounted”. The tires feel very solid at high speeds and the price is right – I paid $625 for a set of 4 delivered to my driveway from Tire Rack

George the difference on the numbering is Tire Rack Calls them KDW2 & places like Americas Tire call them KDW-NT. There was an original KDW with a different tread pattern. So NT “New Tread or Tire Rack adding the 2 to signify that it’s the 2nd generation of the tread pattern”.

From the Tire Racks web site

“The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2 (KDW for Key feature: Dry and Wet traction, the “2” is our addition and identifies that this is the second generation g-Force T/A KDW)”.

The tread pattern looks a little different, but I like the aggressive look I give them a big thumbs up!

jorj7

Thanks Matt. I had the original KDW tires on my D90 wheels, but when I
went to the 993 17" Cup 2s, I had to get the KDW2 tires. I liked them both,
in fact I still have a set of each still mounted on those wheels as everyday
road tires...

dr bob

George--

How the the BFG's compare on noise? I've been spending on PS-2's for the combiantion of quiet and great handling... in that order. Performance recommendation have been plentiful. How's the noise compare?

Others are allowed to chime in too!

hacker-pschorr

I have KDW's on the Cobra, thinking about KDW2's for the 928 next spring.

I know a few F-Body guys who run DE's with these tires, for the money they are an excellent choice. And they look cool

I've also been looking for reports on wet traction. I have Michelin Pilot Sport's on the 81 right now, excellent tires. Problem is they are almost $100 more per tire vs. the KDW2's.

SharkSkin

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I think I'm going to go ahead and give these a whirl.