Q45 tires on 17" rims

[Rmay]

I'm starting to head towards new tires, and I'm interested in what people have been happy running on 17" rims. (I have 17 x 8 TSW's on my car.) I'm interested in what size people have been running on 17s - I've been using 245/45 - and I'm particularly interested in brands and models of tires people have been using. Personally I've run (original) Firestone Firehawk SZ50 (great handling, excellent wet, lousy wear), Sumitomo (forget which ones because it was such a lousy tire), and currently Bridgestone Potenza RE730 (pretty good tires, much like the 'stones, but not quite as good).

I'm thinking of going to a softer stickier tire, perhaps Yokohama.

Suggestions?

[PalmerWMD]

I am currently running 245/45-ZR17's.Firehawk SZ50EP's.

Fred...

PS: Our mods liste looks very similiar...:pface

[Rmay]

Yeah, I had noticed that. (Great minds think alike??) We should trade notes (perhaps via private e-mail).

[greg_atlanta]

I've heard good things about Bridgestone Potenza S-03 (but on other cars, not Q45). $181 each at tirerack.

Yokohama AVS ES100 is $109 each. Those are new, not sure how good they are, but I say better to buy cheap tires since you won't feel bad throwing them away.

No high performance tire will last that long, so why spend $200-250 per tire?

Buy 'em cheap, drive 'em hard, throw 'em away!

:Werd

[AZhitman]

See if Discount Tire has the Yoko YK420 in that size - Great tire for the $$$.

[Q45tech]

Just past 17,000 miles on the Fstone SZ50 non EP and they were rated at 220 pretty hard for a true performance tire since most OEM are 140 or so.Can't understand why owners would want more than 20,000 miles out of any tire, by 2 years old most tires are tired and all broken, crippled, and bruised inside and the ozone has increased the vulcanization roughly doubling the compound hardness.

Tire industry is most scared of the new proposed age durability test......in warm climates they just don't last!

Half worn [but harder] is the time to change them to maintain what ever wet water performance they came with......4-5/32" is not much water!

[szh]

On my Q, I have used the original OEM Michelin XGT (good in dry, bad in wet), Bridgestone RE940 (good in dry and wet, but sidewall went catastrophically well before the tread wore out - fortunately, I was not at high speed) and non-OEM Michelin XGT (decent in dry, bad in wet conditions, more roll than OEM).

Recently, I have put Firestone SZ50EP on my Q (in a 15" size) and think these are the best tires I have ever used - in over 25 years of driving! They handle well, are outstanding in wet braking (as I discovered today for the first time!), are super quiet on the highway, etc. I cannot say enough good things about the Firestone!

Z

[ERicincal]

I have BF Goodrich Comp T/As 245/45-ZR17's.. so far they are pretty nice. I paid 100 bucks each installed at americals tires. They are wearing pretty nice . If I can get 20K out of them I will be thrilled. ( Im used to getting 3500 miles @ $180 each on my other car )

[Q45tech]

Just ordered [TRack] 5 more YOK AVS Intermediates in 215/65/15 for next Spring at $39 plus shipping they won't be around. Why 5 usually 1 of every 4 tires I get is bad in some way except for Michelin and sometimes even those..........15,000 miles is good really wowed by the ones I have. The 215 size [currently after 5,040 miles] seems to be much better than the older 235/225 I've tried in the past 5 years in staying round??????????? maybe they changed something in this years production.Same withe the Firestone's [SZ50] when you buy the Primo top of the line [even obsolete ones] you would assume they have some ethics.......would I try the FStone at 149 mph not likely unless it was cool otside.

Almost cold enough to switch to A/S [cool weather] tires my sun porch has 4 Pilot H4 235/60/15 awaiting the exchange.....ah fresh, strong, soft [relative]----- for 3-4 months anyway decent tires.

My son thinks I should open a very slightly used tire store. Oh well I'm set till next November.

[reggiegsd]

I have about 6000 miles on the Yoko AVS Intermediates (245/45-16). They are half way sticky, pretty stable, but WOW are they LOUD. Especially at slow speeds.

I've never had a street tire this noisy before.

[greg_atlanta]

I have about 6000 miles on the Yoko AVS Intermediates (245/45-16). They are half way sticky, pretty stable, but WOW are they LOUD. Especially at slow speeds.

I've never had a street tire this noisy before.

I've never noticed mine being excessively loud. But maybe I was having too much fun. (Or stereo too loud).

:rockon

[Rmay]

On my Q, I have used the original OEM Michelin XGT (good in dry, bad in wet), Bridgestone RE940 (good in dry and wet, but sidewall went catastrophically well before the tread wore out - fortunately, I was not at high speed) and non-OEM Michelin XGT (decent in dry, bad in wet conditions, more roll than OEM).Z

When I first got my Q it had the stock 15" wheels with the stock Michelin XGT-V tires. Those were the worst tires I ever drove on - they aquaplanned so badly in the rain I thought I was going to die.

On the other hand, the SZ50 is a great tire in the wet.

[szh]

When I first got my Q it had the stock 15" wheels with the stock Michelin XGT-V tires. Those were the worst tires I ever drove on - they aquaplanned so badly in the rain I thought I was going to die.

On the other hand, the SZ50 is a great tire in the wet.

A total agreement from me! On both tire observations!

On more than one wet occasion, I had extremely negative things to say about the XGT's - barely avoiding accidents. On only one occasion did I bless(?) the XGT's I recently had. I spun slightly in the wet when starting out from a light and paused - just long enough to avoid being nailed by a 300ZX running the red light from my right!

Z

[OLU40]

Anybody try Falken tires at all? I heard they are exceptional but not well known because they are making their mark out of Japan.