GSpilot

Dose anybody know what the largest tire that you can put on the factory 17" inch wheels is? Cause i want to get rid of the Bridgestones.


thanx for the help

GSpilot

and which brand and model do u suggest?

RealMarty

Largest recommended size is 245/45/17.

Best tire? Depends on what' important to you.
Handling?
Quiet?
Long wear?
Good in snow?
Good in rain?
Look of sidewall?
Look of tread?
??

GS4Will

bridge re730,

dunlop sp5000

toyo t-1s

yoko avs db.

all the above have good balance of the factors marty mentioned.

RealMarty

...and my personal favorite -

Michelin XGT/Z4 (but I wouldn't recommend it for snow )

TMitchell

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GSpilot
[B]Dose anybody know what the largest tire that you can put on the factory 17" inch wheels is? Cause i want to get rid of the Bridgestones.


Why are you getting rid of the Re 030s? I asked this question on the regular forum. I have read a lot of complaints about noise, but mine seem okay. I only have a bit over 4,000 miles on them. How many miles on yours? Every car I have owned I try and upgrade the tires, but usually after the stock ones are at least half wornout.

GSpilot

i got 5500 miles on them and they're noisey as hell. i hear every little crack and rock on the road. i am looking at the kumho 245 45 17 . i have heard a lot of good things about them from u guys.

RealMarty

I had the 030s on my 98 GS400 and will have them again on my GS 430 when it shows up.

They may be one of the worst tires I've ever owned. The noise was not an issue to me. I never found them particularly noisy. Perhaps it was because of the screaming coming from my mind over how terrible they handled and how they tracked any groove or rut (or even bird droppings) in the road. Oh, and as they wore, they did so unevenly and began to cup and cause the car to vibrate.

The only good thing about them is that I barely got 15k miles out of them so they weren't around very long...although I may not wait for them to die of natural causes on the 430. They just take too much away from what the car can do with decent tires on it.

All in all an embarrassment of a tire to put on a Yugo, let alone a $50k performance sedan.

GSpilot

what do u guys think about the Kumho 245/45/17 's?

mooretorque

Hmmmmm.......well, Kumho can be rearranged to "Hokum" (southern term with which Marty is no doubt familiar).......and, while I can't entirely disagree with Marty re the 030s, as rim protectors they work fine. And they are quieter than the Dunlop SP8000s I had (albeit on an SC300 5 sp). So far, they have decent wet and dry traction, considering that I don't flog the car too much. Except for maybe the occasional rubber dance. And then, there's that occasional 4 wheel drift my wife doesn't want to hear about........oh, never mind, maybe I do give it the boot more rather than less.

In all fairness, Lexus could have done better but historically seems to pick bargain basement rubber for vehicles which otherwise challenge world standards. However, the Bridgestones are a damn sight better than their Goodyear choices for other models......not a very big damn, mind you, but their Goodyear selections must have been made on the basis of a)being black and b) semiround most of the time.

In short, I can live with the 030s till I've worn 'em down some, but they won't be my replacement choice.

Marty, what word on your car???

RealMarty

mooretorque,

They tell me it's on a truck heading east from WA by way of CA and who knows where else.

I have to be out of town from Thu to next Wed so it'll probably come in then.

GSpilot

can anyone tell anything about the kumhos?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

1SICK has 'em and says they're no better or worse than the Bridgerocks, but cheaper.

GSpilot

thanks bitkahuna

any more info would be great!

RealMarty

Check the tread wear numbers. If I recall my earlier research, they aren't very long wearing.