gs568

I am seriously contemplating the purchase of a 1991 Z with 30k miles that will need tires because of the old date code on the current set. Having taken a look at tirerack, the only choices seem to be Goodyear, Sumitomo and Kumho tires. Most seem to be on backorder. Are you guys concerned that Goodyear will eventually discontinue production of their tires in this size??? If I purchase this car, it will be driven on a weekly basis.

TIA,

Dave

Dynomite

Tires and Other Modifications

Discount Tire

FRONT........................................ ..............................REAR
Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance..................................Nitto NT 555R Drag Radial
P275/40ZR-17 98W........................................ .............315/35R-17 102V B
........................................ .........

1. Total for ALL four tires (two FRONT and two REAR) $704 with free shipping.
2. Tires arrived 3 days after ordered from Discount Tire
3. Took new tires and rims with old tires to local Discount Tire.
4. Discount Tire removed old tires and installed new tires on rims (Left and Right).
5. Cost to install two front and two rear new tires including balancing was $15 each tire.
6. Confirmed tire balance at 120 mph with zero vibration at any speed 0 - 120 mph.
7. Absolutely the best balanced tires I have ever had.

8. Tires (some helpful hints from Marc Haibeck)
a. There are four or more brands available for the ZR-1. Sumitomo, Kumho, Nitto, Vredestein, etc.
b. Sumitomo's may flat spot when cold because there is one nylon cord. They will thump for about the first five miles when cold.
c. Kumho's racing tires are excellent.
d. The Nitto NT 555 provides 95% of the performance of the Goodyear D3 at about 60% of the price. The soft thread on the NT 555R wears out in about 20k miles.
e. The Tire Rack does not sell Nitto. Discount Tire has them Discount Tire.
f. AFS Wheels sells Vredestein tires Vredestein. AFS Wheels are the same as "Cleanin-out-the-garage" on Ebay. Cleanin-out-the-garage has Lots of information on Vredestein Sessanta tires on Ebay Vredestein Tires.

Zrxmax

Been running Nitto 555s for a couple years and really like them! Grippy tire that looks good and appears to last pretty good so far. Best price I have seen is $808 at Walmart. When I bought mine at Americas Tire they were $952 with a road hazard warranty and a $100 kick back through the mail. I will be running them until something better comes along.

XLR8TIN

Goodyear, GS D3, but Nitto is good choice, a lesser speed rating

gs568

Did you have any trouble getting the Goodyears???

DRM500RUBYZR-1

It has been said before that Goodyear does not continuously
Manufacture the 315 size.
They seem to make a bunch, let the inventory run out, then make another batch, and repeat.
Someone will likely always make a tire in that size,
Far more obscure tires than the 315's are made for cars dating back to the early 1900's.
That causes me to lose absolutely no sleep worrying about future replacements.
Don't worry.
Go ahead and get it.
Drive it and be very happy!

Marty
1FUNZR1
NCRSZR1

Geof180

I have Michelin Pilot Sports on mine.

275s up front and 335s out back

I picked them up, or should I say ordered, from TireRack.com

ghlkal

Dynomite has it covered, as usual.

You'll find many running Nittos. As mentioned, I wouldn't worry about availability.

The next time I need tires, I am seriously considering the Vredesteins.

I do have Pilot Sport AS3's on my DD (GXP) and those are very nice tires.

USAZR1

That is correct,Marty. The Goodyear plant in Lawton,OK (about 50 miles north of me) makes most if not all their high performance tires. I know some of their employees and have been told the same thing,,that certain tires and sizes are only scheduled at certain times of the year.

The last time I bought some Michelin Pilots,I was told back then that they were only manufactured in the month of February.

Anyone know how the Nitto 555's and Invo's compare?

WydGlydJim

I'm going with Nittos next time, because I need the stickiest tire I can get.


But I doubt you are serious......Joe said so.

FU

Nitto's on ZO6 rims next time around for me.

gs568

You're funny. Funny looking. Joe doesn't know. I guess I could say a bunch of stuff about him and he won't know to look here. But, but you have 18's.

Tomcat74

I Run 285 front 335 Back Pirelli PZero's

Tomcat 74
91 ZR1 #906

DanielRicany

I just purchased these two sets for my replica ZR1 rims from AFS.

The total was $722 and change, this included the heat cycling from discount tire, free shipping also. I didn't get the valve stems because $12 for 4 seemed kind of high.

Anyway, my old Auto Tech instructor has these on his 1991 Corvette and says they are great all around, very sticky, and decent in the rain.

They are probably going to be here this week or next week.

edram454

the best tire for the money is the Vredestein Y rated tires. excellent quality and performance. they have gone up in price every year. I feel they are undervalued and will eventually creep up to goodyear and michelin levels. I just bought a set of four for my z at 950.00. Great performing and looking tire.

HAWAIIZR-1

On my OEM wheels I run the Nitto NT555s and on my Dymags I run Nitto NT05Rs. Hands down the best sets of tires I have had experience with and love them both for different reasons. I almost went with Vredesteins, but I wanted something easily available no matter where I live in the event of replacement for blowout, damage, etc.

USAFPILOT

Nitto NT-05's They are Bad ***.

Paul Workman

Another vote for Nitto 555s and 555r (drag radials) here. I've limited experience far as rain or road handling goes, but compared to the GY D3s, they are much stickier on the strip.

That said, I found the D3s to be excellent, especially in wet conditions (and even saved my bacon on a wet hairpin curve when a PU truck was taking his half out of the middle).

I've nothing but good to say about the GY D3s except they don't work as well as a drag radial, and I can't speak to road course performance, aside from spirited driving in the twisties. But except for drag racing, the D3s are almost as good on wet as they are on dry, and on dry they would hold .9x Gs on a skid pad (according to a R&T comparison some years ago). I know the Nittos will be better on the drag strip, and apparently are OK in the rain, if one is reasonably responsible. And, the Nittos are more reasonably priced - which is nice, but all-round performance was the primary consideration when I bought them.

IAFF alumni

Mine is not a Z, but I do run Nitto NT05 ZR1 spec tires on polished a-molds.
275-40's on the front and 315-35's on the rear.

Love the Nittos.

TA

Those are my next tires for sure