need tire adive

[cyber_gmc]

Alright, basically I've been doing some research on tires because I figure i only have a few more months on my current tires. I know a decent amount about all the ratings and sizes, but there's a few things that i haven't been able to find/research yet. I also haven't had any other high performance tires other than the fuzions I currently have and the stock Firestone GTA's.

 

I've got a lot to say, because I don't want someone to just throw out the tire they like the most. So i have tried to make this extremely long post as easy to read as possible, so please bear with me.

 

A few things about the Firestone GTA's that came on it.

- replaced them at about 35-40,000 miles don't remember exactly

 

- my mom drove the car for the first 29,000 miles and drove it like a grandma lol

 

- I'd say they had about 15,000 or so miles left on them when i replaced them

 

- the outside tread on both sides of all of the tires were worn a bit more than the centers when i purchased it(i think this was mainly due to the fact that the dealer told my mom that they should have 30psi in them when they were supposed to have closer to 40, max psi was 44)

 

- wore a bit more evenly after I got it because i ran them a little harder(around 42-43psi warm).

 

- they sucked in the snow, but they were also pretty worn when my first winter hit with the car.

 

 

I'm currently running a set of Bridgestone Fuzion ZR-I 205/50/16's. I did a bit of research on them before buying and they seemed like an excellent deal and i didn't plan on them lasting quite as long as normal all-seasons seeing as financially it didn't matter at the time. But I did figure that with a 320 tread wear that they were going to be decent.

 

Here's what I would rate them 0-10 (0 = horrible 5 = average 10 = extraordinary) /w comments on each :

 

dry/warm weather handling 9

- Amazing grip... whether it is a constant corner at high speeds, such as a clover leaf, 90* corners, or quick changes in directions, such as whipping into another lane extremely hard or swerving to avoid an obstacle.

 

wet/warm weather handling 8

- I was totally impressed with the cornering, performed as well in the rain as my stock firestones did in dry weather.

 

dry/warm weather traction 8

- Car is an automatic so spining or lighting these suckers up is almost impossible in dry road conditions.

 

wet/warm weather traction 6

- I would get barely any wheel spin most times, but when they did spin noticably it was nothing too serious

 

dry/cold weather handling 7

- suprisingly good... not as good as dry/warm weather handling, but really good still

 

wet/cold weather handling 5

- decent handling, nothing bad, but nothing good... just average

 

dry/cold weather traction 5

- average traction overall

- rolling traction :

-mashing the gas at 25mph breaks the tires loose 50% of the time(usually when it's colder out) and spins them through the rest of first.

- from a stop

- 55% - a bit of wheel spin off the line

- 35% - spin all the way through first

- 10% - a bit of wheel spin off the line, 4k rpm(powerband really kicks in) tires break loose again and spin the rest of the way through first.

 

wet/cold weather traction 4

- mashing the gas anywhere below 30mph(won't downshift after 30mph) breaks the tires loose almost everytime

- from a stop

- 80% - spin all the way through first

- 15% - a bit of wheel spin off the line, 4k rpm tires break loose again and spin the rest of the way though first

- 5% - a bit of wheel spin off the line

 

snow/ice/slush handling 2

- sh*tty as with any summer tire

 

snow/ice/slush traction 1

- absolutely terrible, on bad days I am only able to get up to 30mph by the end of the on-ramp

 

tread wear 4

- was really disappointed with the tread wear on these considering the 320 tread wear rating... i figured i'd get about 50,000 miles on them... Since I purchased them(about a month before last winter ended) i've lit 3 of the 4 up 1 time each(no lsd lol) and i drive them hard. So I figured I'd get a decent amount of miles out of them seeing as I almost never peel out and if i do it's just a little bit and in the rain. One tire has nearly no tread left, two have decent tread left(probably 5-10,000 miles left) and one is a bit less than those two i just mentioned. I've put under 30,000 miles on them and even for summer tires/with how i drive it seems like they are wearing way too fast.

 

looks 8

- look very good, tread pattern looks pretty good(although not the best i've seen) and the side walls look great(minus the fact that i would like them to be lower profile, but 50's are all i could get at the time)

 

value 7

- Awesome performing tire for the money, but the tread wear sucked.

 

So now that that is over i'll sum it up... overall i was very satisfied with the tires, however the tread wear was WAY below the 50k I had figured on.

 

Anyway, i've been shoppin for new quote for my truck, hopin to be cheaper than my allstate, check yours..