Has Anyone Replaced OEM Tires? With What?

[Old G70 Guy]

Here's a question for you. I've owned my G70 for 3 weeks, and I'm already hating the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S tires that are on this car. What have you used when you replaced them? Pirelli P-Zero, Mich Pilot Sport, Yokohama, Continentals? I'm curious, because the 1st time I drove this car with those tires thru a very heavy rain, it hydroplaned like crazy, ALL OVER the place - and scared the hell outta me!

Now I know lots of people love Michelins, they think they're a great tire, but I'm NOT a fan. I think they're WAY overpriced, you're paying for a name - not necessarily a great tire. And I DO like a high performance A/S tire, especially on an AWD car that I'm going to drive year-round. I was running General G-Max AS-05's on my 2010 Camaro SS and I loved them - relatively quiet, channeled water out of the tread really well (hence, NO pesky hydroplaning) and they stuck like glue in 85-90 MPH sweeping turns, I was never not confident that they would grip on dry pavement - or wet (altho NOT @ 90 MPH wet)! These Mich Primacy's with the rounded outer edges (I like a more square "shoulder" on my tires) give me NO such confidence - 1st time I threw the car into a tight sweeping turn over 60 MPH I thought it was going to fly off the road.

Now granted, my Camaro 2SS with MUCH tighter suspension (and the resulting very harsh "sports car" ride) could take ANY turn tighter and flatter than the G70, but this isn't the softer suspension of the G70 that I'm feeling, I understand there's a big difference there - it's a result of crappy tires. And I've only owned Michelin's once before in my life and I've never had the opportunity to wear out a set, but altho I'm not going to go out of my way to wear THESE Mich Primacy Tour's out prematurely (and I don't even know what that's gonna be, I have no history to compare them to) I also can't wait till they're getting thin (I can't even imagine what the wet handling will be like then!) so I can replace them with something different/better.

The General G-Max was a surprise to me, and the first time I've ever bought General tires, but they were highly-rated by the test guys @ Tire Rack (who said they were in line to challenge the #1 tire in the Ultra High Performance tire class, whatever that was at the time) and had great reviews from performance car owners who had put them on their Mustangs, Beemers, Audis, etc. And they were reasonably-priced! NOT "cheap" (that can never be good) but easily $50-60 a tire cheaper than Mich Pilot Sports and the P-Zero's. And in line with Yokohama, Bridgestone & Hankook price-wise.

So bottom line, I'll gladly sacrifice a little quiet and maybe a tiny bit of comfort for an A/S tire that's going to perform MUCH better grip-wise and (especially) wet than these Michelin's that are on there now...
Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, folks! mw

 

[canucklehead604]

while i am a long way from replacing tires on my G70, a great option and good value A/S tire is the Conti ExtremeContact DWS. i think they are on the DWS06 version now, but regardless it is a great tire for the price. you see them on lots of Audi's, etc, as factory fitment. sidewall is a bit softer than a true summer tire like our Michelin SP4's, but it's great for 98% of the action.

i think there are other related threads in the wheels & tires forum...

 

[Slip_Angle]

I been on a lot of car forums and raced autocross for 10+ years. What I've learned is that people's subjective evaluation isn't accurate for several reasons. For example, they are often coming from a tire that has worn past it's tread life or time life (compound hardens), so the new tire they get is amazing in comparison. Some get a new tire and think it's terrible only to learn the release compound takes several hundred miles to come out and then the tire begins to come alive.... and lots of other reasons.

If you want objective testing, go to a site like the Tirerack where they test tires in the same class on the same track and in the same conditions. I understand you don't like Michelins but the fact is they often do very well in their given class. When Michelin was in Forumla 1 - they were dominant. Their tire technology is advanced. Having said that, there are lots of other great choices as well.

There is a lot that goes into a tire and it really depends on your needs and if you can articulate them.

Examples: Tire weight, grip as they wear, general life, ability to take abuse, noise, grip in different temperatures, at the limit indicator (noise/feeling), cornering recovery, impact response, rim protection, looks...

TL;DR - Check out the Tire Rack comparisons

 

[Old G70 Guy]

while i am a long way from replacing tires on my G70, a great option and good value A/S tire is the Conti ExtremeContact DWS. i think they are on the DWS06 version now, but regardless it is a great tire for the price. you see them on lots of Audi's, etc, as factory fitment. sidewall is a bit softer than a true summer tire like our Michelin SP4's, but it's great for 98% of the action.

i think there are other related threads in the wheels & tires forum...

Thanks!

 

[Adam85]

I have a 3.3t sport model rwd. I just replaced the factory pilot sport 4 with the pilot sport 4s and I definitely notice a significant increase in traction off the line. Factory tires definitely slipped under full throttle acceleration or with launch control. The new tires just bite.

 

[joschneider]

I have a 3.3t sport model rwd. I just replaced the factory pilot sport 4 with the pilot sport 4s and I definitely notice a significant increase in traction off the line. Factory tires definitely slipped under full throttle acceleration or with launch control. The new tires just bite.

Nice! This is the move I’m considering. How does it feel when cornering from a stop or booting it in a turn?

 

[CannonballRun]

Here's a question for you. I've owned my G70 for 3 weeks, and I'm already hating the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S tires that are on this car. What have you used when you replaced them? Pirelli P-Zero, Mich Pilot Sport, Yokohama, Continentals? I'm curious, because the 1st time I drove this car with those tires thru a very heavy rain, it hydroplaned like crazy, ALL OVER the place - and scared the hell outta me!

Now I know lots of people love Michelins, they think they're a great tire, but I'm NOT a fan. I think they're WAY overpriced, you're paying for a name - not necessarily a great tire. And I DO like a high performance A/S tire, especially on an AWD car that I'm going to drive year-round. I was running General G-Max AS-05's on my 2010 Camaro SS and I loved them - relatively quiet, channeled water out of the tread really well (hence, NO pesky hydroplaning) and they stuck like glue in 85-90 MPH sweeping turns, I was never not confident that they would grip on dry pavement - or wet (altho NOT @ 90 MPH wet)! These Mich Primacy's with the rounded outer edges (I like a more square "shoulder" on my tires) give me NO such confidence - 1st time I threw the car into a tight sweeping turn over 60 MPH I thought it was going to fly off the road.

Now granted, my Camaro 2SS with MUCH tighter suspension (and the resulting very harsh "sports car" ride) could take ANY turn tighter and flatter than the G70, but this isn't the softer suspension of the G70 that I'm feeling, I understand there's a big difference there - it's a result of crappy tires. And I've only owned Michelin's once before in my life and I've never had the opportunity to wear out a set, but altho I'm not going to go out of my way to wear THESE Mich Primacy Tour's out prematurely (and I don't even know what that's gonna be, I have no history to compare them to) I also can't wait till they're getting thin (I can't even imagine what the wet handling will be like then!) so I can replace them with something different/better.

The General G-Max was a surprise to me, and the first time I've ever bought General tires, but they were highly-rated by the test guys @ Tire Rack (who said they were in line to challenge the #1 tire in the Ultra High Performance tire class, whatever that was at the time) and had great reviews from performance car owners who had put them on their Mustangs, Beemers, Audis, etc. And they were reasonably-priced! NOT "cheap" (that can never be good) but easily $50-60 a tire cheaper than Mich Pilot Sports and the P-Zero's. And in line with Yokohama, Bridgestone & Hankook price-wise.

So bottom line, I'll gladly sacrifice a little quiet and maybe a tiny bit of comfort for an A/S tire that's going to perform MUCH better grip-wise and (especially) wet than these Michelin's that are on there now...
Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, folks! mw

Right now, TireRack has the Michelin AS3+ on sale for $131.42 in 225-45-18 size. Get them while you can. It's being replaced by the All Season 4.

 

[Adam85]

Nice! This is the move I’m considering. How does it feel when cornering from a stop or booting it in a turn?

Traction is noticeably better, harder to get the tail out even in turns

 

[exbimmer]

Has anyone installed Dunlop?

 

[Aquineas]

Traction is noticeably better, harder to get the tail out even in turns

How is noise and more importantly to me, hydroplaning resistance?

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[joschneider]

How is noise and more importantly to me, hydroplaning resistance?

If you’re worried about that, the PS4S is not the tire for you

 

[Aquineas]

If you’re worried about that, the PS4S is not the tire for you

Screw you for being right

 

[Bill in Alexandria]

I have the continental DWS 06's and have been VERY pleased with them compared with the stock Michelin MXM4s (on a G80). They're quiet and hold their own in dry and rain and snow (although I have yet to see snow...). In my snooping for the BEST tire, I chose ride quality and how quiet they are over sporty performance. Some folks say that the sidewalls of the Conti's are soft and deform when going around a tight turn (compromising performance) and will get flats from minimal sidewall damage. Also, I've heard they don't protect the wheel from curb rash like other tires will.

Currently $163 on Amazon for the 245/45R18s.