Low cost tire review

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Dr_Strangelove
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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by Dr_Strangelove » Fri Nov 13, 2020 12:13 pm

Firstly, thanks for the writeup. How would you say the noise compares to a higher cost brand?

JayG wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 11:55 am They finally got the building permit on Thursday. They broke ground and graded the lot on Friday!
Should be finished and ready for us to move in around March.

The house is actually in Lago Vista, on Lake Travis/Colorado River. We are not waterfront, but very close and have a partial river view

Can't wait to have COTA as my home track :D :D

Second, dang Jay! My in-laws live in Lakeway. Next time we're brave enough to travel, (1 year old son...,) I need to reach out to you. I won't have my Porsche with me but that shouldn't be anything Hertz can't help me with. I'll PM you when the time comes. We can go for a roll in the hills.
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JayG
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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by JayG » Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:59 pm

Dr_Strangelove (whew!) wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 12:13 pm Firstly, thanks for the writeup. How would you say the noise compares to a higher cost brand?

JayG wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 11:55 am They finally got the building permit on Thursday. They broke ground and graded the lot on Friday!
Should be finished and ready for us to move in around March.

The house is actually in Lago Vista, on Lake Travis/Colorado River. We are not waterfront, but very close and have a partial river view

Can't wait to have COTA as my home track :D :D

Second, dang Jay! My in-laws live in Lakeway. Next time we're brave enough to travel, (1 year old son...,) I need to reach out to you. I won't have my Porsche with me but that shouldn't be anything Hertz can't help me with. I'll PM you when the time comes. We can go for a roll in the hills.
They seem to be quieter than the As/3's I had before

Lakeway is just across the river from Lago. Maybe if you time your visit right we can go do a rallycross. There is a rallycross track just outside of Austin and IIRC, a day of fun with one of their cars is under $200
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kookootz
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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by kookootz » Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:31 am

My 50% worn Sumitomos have had me chase a non existent wheel bearing noise. A pair of General GMax AS in the rear have solved the problem.
This is after going as far as checking everything all the way to Diff carrier bearings, and spider gears.
Since the IMS was getting its health check ( and summary replacement) it was all in conjunction with that task.

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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by JayG » Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:42 am

UPDATE.......

Now that I have a couple 1000 miles on the tires I have to say I am very pleased with their performance. We had some rainy weather in the last few weeks (yes I know it doesn't rain much in SD) and I felt very safe with the Nankang's driving on wet roads and in med-heavy rain.

At less than 1/2 the cost of the "name brands" they are a bargain for all season tires
2004 Boxster S 6 speed - DRL relay hack, Polaris AutoTop DIY (sold)
2004 996 Targa Tip
2020 BMW X3 Xdrive, 2004 F-150 "Big Red"

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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by JayG » Thu Nov 04, 2021 12:11 pm

UPDATE

Now that I have had the tires on my car for a while and living in Austin where we get not just rain, but torrential downpours, I have to say I am very happy with my elcheapo tires. They perform great on very wet roads

I would buy theses again
2004 Boxster S 6 speed - DRL relay hack, Polaris AutoTop DIY (sold)
2004 996 Targa Tip
2020 BMW X3 Xdrive, 2004 F-150 "Big Red"

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by FRUNKenstein » Fri Nov 05, 2021 12:35 pm

Jay - I have come to the same conclusion on my cars, mainly since I don't track them. I autocross the 996tt, and I plan to autocross the 914 and X1/9 at least once in the near future. But, autocrossing and track days are different animals as far as wringing the most out of a car and its contact patches. So, for my driving, I don't feel a need for the really expensive tires. If I get 90% of the performance for 50% of the cost, I'm good since I probably will never use more than 80% of the capability of a top-shelf tire.

I did put a set of cheapo tires (I think Nexens) on a Mitsubishi Eclipse that I just bought to flip about 15 years ago. Those tires were just plain bad. I could not have lived with them. The kid that bought the car was going to replace the rims with a much bigger size, so he didn't care anyway. But, that's the only bad experience I recall having with a set of inexpensive tires. Normally, you replace a set of tires because the old ones are worn, so any new tires is going to be an improvement over a worn out set anyway.

Other than the torrential downpours, I hope Austin is treating you well.
rain.gif
rain.gif (607.56 KiB) Viewed 1528 times
I need to get down there someday - I've never been there, but heard it has a really cool vibe.

Also hope your son in the Army is doing well.
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02TX996Cab
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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by 02TX996Cab » Sat Nov 13, 2021 5:41 am

I ran Hankooks on my 996 Cab for years and loved them...until Hankook quit making them in the sizes the car required. Dammit.

I then swapped to Bridgestone S-04 Pole Positions, a bit pricier than the Hankooks but still a large discount from Michelin, Pirelli and Dunlop. I love them. Now they've no longer in production, dammit.

My use cases for the car, and preference for widely tested and respected tires (seeing as they're the only thing connecting the car to the road), preclude me from considering any of the "who flung dung" brands.

The options on for my 996 (18" wheel option) are pitifully few. Likely will have to go with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s unless my insider contact at Bridgestone can unearth some S-04s from somewhere.
Proud owner of a Flat6-powered 2002 996 Cab, 2016 GT4, 2019 Ford F-150 "Country Cadillac", and 2005 Ford Focus (not so hot hatch) daily driver. And a Wright ZTO 52" to keep several acres of grass-like substance neat and tidy!

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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by gnat » Sat Nov 13, 2021 7:03 am

02TX996Cab wrote: Sat Nov 13, 2021 5:41 am The options on for my 996 (18" wheel option) are pitifully few. Likely will have to go with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s unless my insider contact at Bridgestone can unearth some S-04s from somewhere.
They are definitely pricey (but far better than they were when the 996 was new and 18s were big wheels), but we have only ever put PS2s on her car. I dread the day Mich does stop making them, but 20 years strong so far. Overkill for how we use the car, but they have been reliable, hold up well, and have a smooth and quiet ride.

I have a set of the PS4 for SUVs on the P!g for its summer tires and have been really happy with them.

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02TX996Cab
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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by 02TX996Cab » Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:47 am

I have a set of PS4s on my GT4 and they're great. I'm sure at 10/10ths they give up a bit of dry grip over the Pilot Sport Cup 2's the car came with, but in damp/wet conditions the PS4s shine whereas the 2's tried very hard to make my wife a wealthy widow.

Should I end up with PS4s on my 996 I'm confident I'll be very happy with them; their performance envelope is overkill given the way I drive that car. I'll just a bit lighter in the wallet vs. replacing the S-04s in kind or with a similar mid-priced option, which no longer appears to exist.

First world problems...
Proud owner of a Flat6-powered 2002 996 Cab, 2016 GT4, 2019 Ford F-150 "Country Cadillac", and 2005 Ford Focus (not so hot hatch) daily driver. And a Wright ZTO 52" to keep several acres of grass-like substance neat and tidy!

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Re: Low cost tire review

Post by JayG » Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:28 am

FRUNKenstein wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 12:35 pm Jay - I have come to the same conclusion on my cars, mainly since I don't track them. I autocross the 996tt, and I plan to autocross the 914 and X1/9 at least once in the near future. But, autocrossing and track days are different animals as far as wringing the most out of a car and its contact patches. So, for my driving, I don't feel a need for the really expensive tires. If I get 90% of the performance for 50% of the cost, I'm good since I probably will never use more than 80% of the capability of a top-shelf tire.

I did put a set of cheapo tires (I think Nexens) on a Mitsubishi Eclipse that I just bought to flip about 15 years ago. Those tires were just plain bad. I could not have lived with them. The kid that bought the car was going to replace the rims with a much bigger size, so he didn't care anyway. But, that's the only bad experience I recall having with a set of inexpensive tires. Normally, you replace a set of tires because the old ones are worn, so any new tires is going to be an improvement over a worn out set anyway.

Other than the torrential downpours, I hope Austin is treating you well.

rain.gif

I need to get down there someday - I've never been there, but heard it has a really cool vibe.

Also hope your son in the Army is doing well.
Jeff,

As the Brits would say, You are spot on. Different tires for different uses.
The tires I used for the track are different than tires for AX and certainly different for DD.

Yes, you need to come visit Austin and hill country. It does have a very cool vibe other than the recent shit from the Texas Taliban.
Lots of nice back roads and of course there is always COTA. There is even a Rallycross track close that I haven't had a chance to get to and they even rent cars cheap!.

My son is doing well in the Army. He goes in front of a promotion board next week to earn his stripes and, from he has been told by his 1st Sgt, its basically a formality for him. So when he is home for block leave later this month, we will have a Sgt with us
2004 Boxster S 6 speed - DRL relay hack, Polaris AutoTop DIY (sold)
2004 996 Targa Tip
2020 BMW X3 Xdrive, 2004 F-150 "Big Red"

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