Bernie

Hey Guys/Gals,

I was at Pepboys today and saw what I think is a pretty decent deal on tires.

I believe the brand is Ventu but I may be mistaken. I have to go back to verify
I checked the list and they have a 250/50ZR16 tire for $119.00!!!!!!!
Damn good deal for those of us still running the original 16" rims.
I think I will go for at least a pair of rears to start. I am currently on the factory 225/50ZR16 and I think these new ones will be a great bang for the buck
They also had a H rated set of rubber for around $90.00 a piece.
Check out your local Pepboy and chime back if I was dreaming.

Cheers

Old & New

Bernie,

You mean 225/50ZR16?

Check tirerack.com for cheap tires like Kum-Ho

About $106 & up

You'll get what you pay for... There really is a difference.

Bernie

No,
I am running 225/50ZR16 now.
These are 250/50ZR16........

Scott G

Bernie,

I don't think that 250/50ZR16 is a valid size. Tire widths come in 10mm increments so you might want to double check that size.

If you want to go that much wider, you'll probably need to reduce the aspect ratio so the tire's overall diameter will be closer to the standard tire size. As an example, the diameter of a 245/45ZR16 will be about 1/4" smaller while a 245/50ZR16 would be about 3/4" larger than the standard 225/50ZR16.

You can get all this info at The Tire Rack.

Bernie

Hi Scott,

Your correct, the tire was actually 255/50/16. Once I had the guy pull it out, I decided that it was too big for a 928.
I did find the 245/50/16 and they looked like a decent upgrade. They are called Futura by Hankook Tires and are 118.00 a piece.
I'll check Tire Rack to see if they have comparable pricing.
I think its a pretty decent price for the daily driver 928's.
Can't really afford to be skinnin' the shark with gooey 300.00 tires anymore. Kiddies and all.

Thanx for the info.

Brett Matthews

Bernie,
you missed a heck of a deal. Tire rack was blowing out their old stock of Yokohama intermediate tires, about 3/4 of the way through last year, I bought a set of all four tires, for $312, shipping, tax, installation (at a later date, 'cause the ones on my car aren't YET worn out... ) and road hazard warrantee. Tire Rack IS worth looking in on, from time-to-time! Also check other on-line tire shops, you'll never know what you may miss! <img border="0" alt="[burnout]" title="" src="graemlins/burnout.gif" />

dr bob

I have a business acquaintance in Phoenix who swears by the Pep Boys specials on his MR-2 SC. He gets about 5k on a set of 40k-guarantee tires from them. All he has to pay is mount/balance each set, plus the time and aggravation of sitting there every few months while the boyz swap on a new set of "bargain" tires.

Hmmm.

There are probably a few better choices than the Hankook tires. I think I'd be looking at a name-brand H-rated tire for daily driving before I put a no-name Z-rated tire on the car. Just don't do anything quick or violent with any of the pedals or the steering wheel...

I managed to squeeze 30k out of the BFG's that the PO put on just before selling me the car. He said he kept going back to these tires since that's what was on the car when it was new ('89 S4). Anyway he managed to use up two sets in the first 22k of car life, and the third set lasted me to 53k and still had room to the wear bars. Moral-- Buy good tires and drive like a grey-haired dr and maybe they will last you a while. Just a thought!

HTH

grey-haired dr bob <img border="0" alt="[byebye]" title="" src="graemlins/wave.gif" />

AaronE

I had been putting Pep Boys tires on my 93 Formula Firebird for several years and was very happy with them. Their "Ultra-Z" tires are speed rated to 168mph and have AA traction (the full rating is 300-AA-A).

They were $119 for 245/50R16s, and I think the 225/50R16s were $99. They have a 40k warrantee on them, and if you're persistent enough you can educate Pep Boys about how milage proration works (usually takes me about a 1/2 hour and demanding to see the manager) and they'll honor the warrantee when they wear out after 12k of spirited driving.

From what I was told, the Futura brand is actually manufactured by Kelly tires, and distributed under the Futura brand exclusively to Pep Boys.

So, now that I've flipped my Firebird (even good tires won't help going 75mph on a 30mph turn with wet pavement) and bought a '79 928, I'll probably be replacing my tires when they wear out with more Ultra-Zs...

Ed Ruiz

245/50-16 will fit on a OEM 7" rim, but just barely as far as safety is concerned. Also, it makes every gear 3% taller, which is not good for acceleration and miscalibrates the speedo and odometer gauges. However, it does imporve mileage a bit. YMMV.

Old & New

Call me nuts, but I refuse to put anything labled Kum-Ho or Han-Kook on my car.

AaronE

test

Brent 89-GT

Old&New,

You must be NUTS <img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" />

I read through lots of reviews on the tire rack website. You would be surprised to hear what people think of the Khumos. There were guys with Vettes and M3s that run auto-x and track time that flat loved the new Ecsta MX version. Most were coming from S02'sor S03's and liked these better. In fact after reading a bunch of the top line tire reviews, the Khumo reviews were the only ones that were not riddled with PO'ed users.

I have run their DOT track tires and they work great, better than the Yokos they replaced.

Don't be too quick to judge <img border="0" alt="[bigbye]" title="" src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" />

Old & New

Brent,

I gotta differ. First of all, that's spelled Kum-Ho...

I've got my eye on the Bridgestone Potenza S-03.

It beats the Kum-Ho in every category except wear (according to tirerack.com, anyway), and there is only a small margin of difference there.

Figuring the difference in price for a set amounts to maybe 2% of the value of my car, that is one area that I don't want to skimp on. I'm not playing "supercar on a shoestring".

If you skimp on tires, you are affecting the handling, acceleration, deceleration & safety of your vehicle.

But that's just my take on it; you are certainly entitled to yours. No offence.

PorKen

On my factory flats I put 245/45/16 Kumho Supra 712's all round for $111 ea.*

They bulge only slightly, about the same as the OEM P7's.

*America's Tire - I had to supervise the entire time however, as the staff were nearly clueless.

Ed Ruiz

According to folks who sell tires for a living, 245/45-16 tires are too wide to be installed safely on 7" rims. If you have done this, be extra careful taking sharp turns or braking hard. :^( YMMV.