1999 Vette

have the Firestone firehawks...was about $1500 or so for a set of 4 installed a couple yrs ago. I was told....at the time, for runflats...they were the best...as of today, any suggestions or stick with the Firehawks?

Thanks!

nmbis2k

I am happy with my Michelin Pilot Zero Pressure tires.

Bob Chapman

Me too.

PierEagle

Good tires and a pretty good warranty by Michelin. You can go to their site to check out. Check around on pricing. Some of the independents and Costco have a $60 off on 4 tires. And, as I've stated on other posts, when you get the new tires, get a 4 wheel alignment whether you think you need it or not.

Cheers

NocarbutaVetteforme

You'll love them. Smoother and quieter ride. They will last a bit longer too. If you look at the UTQG rating, you will see why.

Firestone RF: 340
Michelin RF: 400
Goodyear RF: 300

And as was stated, they come with a pretty good warranty. If you buy from Tirerack I can personally say I have used the warranty. No problems whatsoever.

nwdanner

Another option: If you have any inclination for a new set of wheels, now is the time -- you could upgrade to the C6 wheels (18"/19") and use the newer Goodyear runflats. Just a thought for you!

TheLegacy81

I just went to the tiretrack website and searched MIchelin Pilot Zero tires. It seems that they are about 400-500 dollars less in the total price.

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S ZP:

Front: 245/45ZR17 RunFlat Price: $218.00 (each)= $436
Rear: 275/40ZR18 RunFlat Price: $296.00 (each)= $592 TOTAL:$1028!!

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS EMT:

Front: 245/45ZR17 RunFlat Price: $338.00 (each)= $676
Rear: 275/40ZR18 RunFlat Price: $409.00 (each)= $818
TOTAL: $1494!!

BowTieRocket

I wish I'd had good results with the Michelin Pilot Sport P/S ZP tires. They cost enough... My results were that, for the last half or so of tire life, they were noisy and rode rough (with FE1 suspension). Tramlined ferociously. My wife hated the car, and a friend with old Chevy performance cars asked what was wrong with it - it was louder than anything he had, and all of it was tire noise.

Normal middle-aged guy driving, lasted about 25k miles. But at least all four wore out at the same time. But the rears had to be run low on pressure - they wanted to wear worse in the centers. This with an average speed, per the trip computer, of about 37 MPH and a few 70 MPH freeway runs.

Switched to non run-flat Avon Tech M550 all season tires, which cut the noise and ride severity substantially. But they were non run-flat, so I carried a set of tire plugs and a compressor.

Changed cars, and have the Goodyear F1 EMT tires. Not as nice as the Avons in ride quality, but handle much better. Far less noise and ride harshness than the Michelins. A little tramlining, but these F1 EMTs are probably down to 20% tread at this point (about 32k miles). Should go close to 40K if I run 'em to the wear bars (or something close). My wife would still rather ride in her big Pontiac, but says she'll ride the 4000+ miles round trip from NorCal to Bowling Green.

A friend with a similar car really likes his Firestone run-flats. But I also looked at the tread widths. The Goodyears have the widest contact patch of the lot for run-flats. Kumho and Michelin don't publish theirs, but I know from looking at both tires on my car that the Michelins follow the euro tradition of wide cross-section and narrower tread. This could account for the tendancy to wear in the center. The Goodyears have 10.3 inche tread width on the rears, and the Firestones have 8.6 inch. PM me if you'd like a copy of the spreadsheet I put together when I was comparing tires.

Tire Rack has Goodyears for about $1500, Firestones for about $1360, and Michelins for about $1030 before shipping and so on. Even at 2/3 the price, I don't think I'd buy the Michelins again. Even with the much lower prices than last time around (I think they were about $1800 for the set, installed).

Disclosure - the Michelins were on a 65k mile 1999 coupe, as were the Avons. FE1 suspension. No suspension mods. The Goodyears are on a 32k mile convertible with FE1/F45 suspension, no suspension mods.

32meyer32

I like my Michelins Z.P.

HUMVET51

If youre considering runflats or nonrunflats, I would give the Ecsta Kumhos a look. Im on my second set of non rfs and their great. My buddy went with the Ecsta MX runflats and hes happy with them. He says that they are a lot quieter than the Goodyear F1 runflats that he had before. (and the Kumhos are $100-200 cheaper at Discount Tire.):thumbs

Point & Shoot

Another vote for the Michelins - have had mine for 20K miles now and looks like they'll easily go 40K. Most I could get out of the Goodyears was about 25K.

RED95CONVLUVER

love my michelin ZPs !! Quiet, handle great..

c5_droptop

I had heard some comments previously about the profile of the tire not being quite as nice -- not a low-profile look to things.

Thanks,
Dave