Tires

[Scott205]

I have been looking to replace my tires on my 92 Cutlass Supreme 3.4L DOHC Coupe. I currently have some very old Firestone Firehawk SZ-50 ZR tires (they don't make them anymore!) that have lasted 5 years and 40,000 miles. My only complaint with them is that they are a bit noisy, they still have pretty incredible grip.

I have been looking at the following tires:
(Still running the 225/60r16 size. Does anyone know for sure you can run 255/50r16 without rub on the original rims?)

Bridgestone:
Potenza RE960AZ Pole Positions (400 AA A)
Turanza LS-V (or LS-H) (400 AA A)

Dunlop
SP Sport A2 Plus (460 AA A)

Firestone
Firehawk Wide Oval (320 AA A)

Goodyear
Eagle ResponsEdge (440 A A)

Kuhmo
Solus KH16 (w or w/o HP4 Tread) (440 AA A)

Yokohama
AVID V4S (500 AA A)


I will say i have never been impressed with Dunlop tires except for the barely street legal motorcycle tires. I know the Firehawks are sticky, but don't last long and will probably still be noisy. The Goodyear is dissapointly only an A traction even though it is a really good looking asymetric tire and is super light at 21lbs. I am leaning towards the the Bridgestone's (both the most expensive tire here) or the Yokohama which is lower priced and seems to have a great traction and wear.

Also keep in mind I live in texas.. hot and dry or hot and wet, lol.. no snow!

Let me know if you have had good or bad experiences, Thanks!

[95SleeperAcheiva]

check tirerack.com

They have some great test results and rating on all tires and some pretty good prices too. I bought Firestone firehwak indy 500's and I went up one size from stock for my Acheiva. They bite nice, wear good and have excellant wet traction.

[Scott205]

Tire Rack

That has been the bulk of my research. Good company, that is where I bought my Firehawk SZ-50s.

[DEI37]

As far as the alternate size, some two door Cutty's had 245/50R16 tires. That would be a good size. Do you have the five spoke, or the ten hole wheels? The 245 tire can ONLY on the five spoke. Not sure if it's wider, but I would think so.

I run BFG Traction T/A tires, V rated on mine. I like 'em, though wear seems a little more than I'd like. I guess that's what 250HP will do.

[Scott205]

I have my 92 with the 10 hole?? wheels... the more expensive aluminiums, the 94 convertible (doesn't need tires yet) has the 5 spoke rims. They are exactly the same width, hieght.. just the outside is different... a 245/50r16 though would have slightly less revs per mile.. and i imagine they put those on the 96-97s only.. it would cost me acceleration and my speedo/odometer would be off. going up to a 255/50r16 would offer nearly exactly the same revs per mile.

[grandprixgtp_91]

i have p245/50 Z / r16's on my gtp, the stock size is p225/60/r16 but my other gtp had the 245's on it out of the factory, when i put the new tires on they were the same height as the 225's, and i took my gps out in the car and the spedo is still acurate. the tires i went with are Goodyear Eagle Ultra HP , i love the tires, i think the tread wear is 240 traction a temp a , they hook up really nice , and a really nice looking tread pattern too! they are directional, ive had them for about 8 months now and have zero complaints, very quiet, nice ride, the handiling went up about 3 million percent, instant notice. and they were cheap , over here in canada for that size they are $190 a piece, that was the cheapest i could buy that size in a brand name tire, and they are goodyears so they are good. personally i love them, the car hooks up amazing almost zero wheel spin on launch where my old kuhmos would melt, and my old eagle ls would spin, anyways thats my recomendation.

Jake

[Scott205]

Figuring tire size

ok, looking at tire rack to make sure my brain was still functioning..

The Basics:

225/60r16 tire... (approx)
Diameter: 26.6 inches
Revs per mile: 783-785

245/50r16 tire... (approx)
Diameter: 25.65 inches
Revs per mile: 809-811

255/50r16 tire... (approx)
Diameter: 26.0 inches
Revs per mile: 798-799

now we can clearly see that with a 245/50r16 you are going to accelerate faster, and your speedo will say you are doing 60mph when you are really going 57, or 100 when you are doing 90... if the speedo was set up accurately for 225/60r16s.. why, becuase it is smaller..

255/60 is close.. and you have only gained 10mm of width. This isn't neccessarily the tread width (sidewalls and curve of the tire drastically can change that), but it is the basic inside measurment that gives us 225(width in mm)/60(aspect ratio - 60% of width is it's hieght)r16(rim hieght in inches).

[DEI37]

That's goofy...I've never seen a CS with 225/60R16 tires on it. Mine have all had 215/60R16 tires. The plus size for that is a 235/55R16. I'm not saying there aren't any out there with 225's, but check the door jamb sticker first.

[patgizz]

That's goofy...I've never seen a CS with 225/60R16 tires on it. Mine have all had 215/60R16 tires. The plus size for that is a 235/55R16. I'm not saying there aren't any out there with 225's, but check the door jamb sticker first.

DOHC cars got the 225/60's. same goes for luminas. stock size on the 3.1 cars was 215/60 and stock size on the z34 was 225/60.

as far as tires go, i LOVE my new kumho ecsta 711's - nice and sticky for handling.

[DEI37]

Gotcha. I was unaware. Learning something new all the time.

[sonnywood]

My 92 GTP has 245/50/16 charger directionals.

These are great in the rain, never hydroplanes even up to 140kph and hitting puddles on the road. Great traction in the winter, I know Texas...no snow...but also I have a hard time spinning the wheels (dry pavement) unless I'm turning. Nice looking tire with the directional tread and I picked these up at a discount here in Canada for $550 installed with road hazard.