redcorvette96

Which tires would last longer on a 1996 Vette auto?
The Good year GS D3s or the Michelin Pilots?
Which is better and has the longest tread life???

Hatepylons

With all due respect, both tires sacrifice treadwear in the name of all out performance..... and if you are solely interested in longevity you might want to look at other tires.

However, of the two my experiences with both show they wear about the same.....

jghmczo6

I have Goodyear Eagle F1 on my car now, and I have always purchased Goodyear during the 17+years of car ownership. If they were not good I would not continue purchasing the same brand year after year.

Goodyear are rated 280 AAA
Michelin's are rated 400 AAA

Based on the infromation provided from the Tire Rack Michelin's should last longer.

Hope this helps

redcorvette96

Someone told me 280 on GoodYear and 220 on Michelin????
Tread Wear????

Hatepylons

The Michelin's Pilot Sport 2's are rated at 220 for treadwear. I believe the Pilot Sport A/S are 400..............

You really can't go wrong with either tire, but again - what is more important? Grip or Longevity?

jghmczo6

Pilot Sport this information is frm their website;

275/40 ZR17
98Y SL 220 AA A
1653 lbs.
51 psi
10/32"
28 lbs. 9-11"
9.5"
11"
NA
25.7"
809

2HIP4U

I too had this dilemma a month or so ago. I selected the GoodYear F1 GS-D3's. Mostly from forum recommendations, but too -- the other tire is FRENCH!

I've got 275/45/17's on 9.5" chrome ZR-1 rims up front, and 315/35/17's on 11" rims back yonder.

The tires are smooth and forgiving on nearly all surfaces. And they're as sticky as an adolescent's palm.

AORoads

I've been blasted in the past for trying to compare the the UTQG ratings within a mfr. let alone from tire mfr. to another company. So....therefore, it can be difficult to say that a tire with a "400" will outlast a tire with a "280". It may or may not be so.

Michelins used to be known for longevity. And then came the Pilot Sport series, and they are not known for longevity. Great handling, yes.

And, oh by the way, if you want to stay away from "French" tires, you'll have to give up on BFG's, too. They're owned by Michelin. And we all know who owns Firestone....

Aurora40

Every time I drive my 'vette in rain, I'm impressed by the F1 GS-D3. They really do well in it. So if you want a grippy dry tire that also is great in rain, even a lot of rain, the GS-D3 is a good choice.

MorpheusGPR

Off topic a bit but I have become fond of Toyo tires.

CentralCoaster

Read further and Tire Rack will tell you that these ratings are meaningless and can't be compared between manufacturers.

My Bridgestones RE050A pole position treadwear rating is 140 AA A.

Thunder Kiss

In the 9 years I've owned my car I've had 2 different sets of Yokahamas, 2 of Michelin, and 1 set of Falkens.
Without doubt, the Michelin Pilot Sports have been the best all round tyre I've had.

dmiz0420

well

I've just switched from NEW GSD3's to USED Toyo t1r's. What a world of difference! The toyo's are much more predictable, feel more firmly planted, ride better, wear better, are quiter. .... the whole 9

I'm sure the gsd3's are awsome in the rain, but it's barely rained in the 6 months I've had them (like my care leaves the garage if its raining).

Overall I'm not impressed w/ the gsd3's and I think it has something to do w/ the tread pattern. Vette's need large continuous outside tread blocks to hold the power an weight. The gsd3's in the stock size (either 245 or 255) fronts just dont hold up. After they wore at Summit Point, they made a wierd humm and the fronts just gave up (pushed horribly) half way through the run.

I would be willing the bet the pilots and PS2's are A LOT better than the GSD3's on the corvettes.

Seriously, Tire rack tests on a bmw 325 are when it comes to useful comparable analysis on a car like a vette.

WTF ? I would have not spent $1000 on the GSD3's had I known used toyo's were 1000x better.

So, I strongly urge you to research more.

Look at Nitto and Toyo (same company) for unbelievable performance at a reasonable price.

dmiz0420

Atok

I've got Pilot A/S on mine. 400 treadwear, not near 1/2 worn out and I've had them on for 4 1/2 years now (15k miles). Excellent grip and awesome in the rain. In my opinion they are worth the extra money if you get the life that I'm getting out of mine.

Atok

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadwear_rating

Yes, I agree. The treadwear numbers are not a purely scientific measurement. I think they can safely be used as a general guide. For example, a 400 tire will more than likely outlast a 200 tire. Then again, if your wheel alignment is not correct you can chew off a 400 in no time at all.

jughead1

My 93 vert has Michelin PSs and my 94 coupe has the F1s. Both sets have about 4k on them so I think my comparison would be relatively fair.

I drove the GYs through heavy rain from Austin to Houston and must say...the F1s are phenomenal at speed in wet conditions. They are without a doubt the finest tire I ever felt for rain driving. I also think they just look better and more aggressive on the car.

The Michelins are quieter and smoother riding. The profile also provides more side coverage for the wheel in case you do...gasp!... have a close encounter with a curb. Since the vert has never been driven in the rain I can't attest to their performance on the Vette but...I do have the PSs on my wife's Accura TLS. Those tires are not any slouch in the rain and would be an extremely very close second to the F1s in the wet conditions.

Since the Michelins are cheaper, generally more available and run flats I plan to put a set of the Michelin PS extended range tires on my C5 shortly. I do hate that they are FRENCH but the C5 will have EMTs and I hate the ride of the GY EMTs.