Im shopping for some for my formula. i want to go with the bridgestone potenza RE950's. the look like what ill be getting but i just want to see what everyone else has.
I'm running an older set (3 years?) of Dunlop D60's They are OK, but I've seen better. My parents just got a set of new Dunlops for their Audi A6- cool tire, but pretty spendy. I'll have to go pricing to see what I can find!
------------------ Medium Metallic Green 87 GT 3.1L High Output 4 Spd OD Tranny Open (read: Loud) Exhaust and More! -Rob Bartlett
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05:50 PM
mrfiero Member
Posts: 8996 From: Colorful Colorado Registered: Mar 99
I'm running Goodyear Eagle HP's on my '88 GT (stock sizes). They are decent tires and have a nice tread design. They are H speed rated (hence 'HP' in the name), so they suit the Fiero just fine.
They aren't the stickiest tire out there, but they're also not hard as rocks. I think it's a good compromise.....a good all season performance tire.
It doesn't rain much in Colorado, but I did drive through a rain storm a few weeks ago and not a hint of hydroplaning. I also got the GT up past 120MPH on my way home from California last month......I was flying down the mountain on my way into Denver (I-70) and the needle was buried. It was very stable at that speed too.
That's my recommendation.....I can't comment on how they do in the snow and judging by our recent weather it might be January before we see any (in the upper 80's right now), but so far I am pleased.
It's too bad Bridgestone quit making the Potenza RE-71......they sold stock Fiero sizes at a nice price. Talk about super sticky tires! I LOVED them! They were cheaper than buying stock all season tires too (about $75 each). Oh well.
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06:03 PM
stimpy Member
Posts: 8197 From: Salinas, CA Registered: Jan 2000
I'm very happy so far with my Bridgestones. I have Turanza Revo H on my car. More of a sport touring then pure performance like the RE90s. But I do think they provide good grip, especially in rain, and they have good treadwear.
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06:07 PM
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15810 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock: I was looking today at some Pirelli P6000. I want 215/60/15 in front and 215/65/15 at back. Anyone have any experience with the Pirelli's?
I'm not sure how much they have changed over the years, but I had a used set of P6000's about 9 years ago. For what was left of them they did pretty good. I wound up driving them until they completely wore out. I mean that literally......I wore through the cords and steel belts until one day I was driving and heard a "phhft....phhft....phhft" noise. I drove them until I wore a hole clean through!
Those were the "good old days" of being a broke Navy puke.
At any rate, they did handle pretty good for the 5-6 months that they were on my car.
BTW.....why run a taller tire of the same size as the fronts in the rear? I would put the stock 205/60's up front and 215/60's in the rear or keep the 215/60's up front and put 225/60's out back. Just curious.
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08:31 PM
mrfiero Member
Posts: 8996 From: Colorful Colorado Registered: Mar 99
Originally posted by Dumba$$: im running cheetah 215-60-15's there big there a verry sticky tire and there unbelivably awsome in snow
Generally speaking a "sticky" tire sucks in the snow. I think you misunderstood me......a "sticky" tire (at least to me) is one with a soft compound (and consequently a short life span) that is normally a summer only tire......no bad weather.
The soft compound gets harder as the temperature drops and makes them "less grippy"......most all season tires don't do this, they stay softer and more compliant which aids in getting traction on the snow & ice.
The RE-71's I used had a treadwear of 160......compare that to my Eagle HP's with a 380. The RE-71's wore almost 2.5 times as fast as the HP's and were very grippy on dry and moderately rain soaked roads. In the snow they were a handful.
The RE-71's would barely make 15K miles, so if you put a lot of miles on your car it sucked......I replaced mine every year. I did make 20K miles on one set, but that was unusual.
At any rate, I hope this helps explain myself a little better.
BTW.....who makes the Cheetah? I have never heard of them. Just curious.
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08:39 PM
Oreif Member
Posts: 16460 From: Schaumburg, IL Registered: Jan 2000
What are the largest possible size of tires that you can fit on a stock 15" honeycomb rim (86 GT Style)? I'm going to be tire shopping next week. Thanks, Mike S
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12:13 AM
Wolfhound Member
Posts: 5317 From: Opelika , Alabama, USA Registered: Oct 1999
Mike I have Delta Road Max P265/55R15 rear and Goodyear Eagle GPS P215/50r15 front. the 265,s have 1/8 inch clearance with the strut assembly. Another slightly differently configured tire of the same size might not work. Coy
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05:28 AM
Oreif Member
Posts: 16460 From: Schaumburg, IL Registered: Jan 2000
Originally posted by MikeSchaefer: What are the largest possible size of tires that you can fit on a stock 15" honeycomb rim (86 GT Style)? I'm going to be tire shopping next week. Thanks, Mike S
The stock wheels are 7" wide. The max width is 235. Anything wider would leave too much unsupported sidewall and affect handling.
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08:10 AM
Wolfhound Member
Posts: 5317 From: Opelika , Alabama, USA Registered: Oct 1999
Orief, That was my understanding also. I came by these tires somewhat accidently (there was an error when I ordered them)and they work fine. Just did the Run for the hills with them and they handled great. They are a little touchy in the rain. They are the Absolute Maximum. Coy
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08:20 AM
CoolBlue87GT Member
Posts: 8404 From: Punta Gorda, Florida, USA Registered: Apr 2001
Originally posted by KissMySSFiero: Im shopping for some for my formula. I just want to see what everyone else has.
Gee, my original Goodyear Eagle GT's are doing just fine !! Lets see, their 15 years new ! I hope they will make it to 2000 miles ! That should be in a few years. LOL
Good luck with your choice.
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08:38 AM
montage Member
Posts: 164 From: Pelkie, Mi, 49958 Registered: Nov 2000
On my 88 Formula I have Dunlop SP8000 225/50/15 front and 245/50/15 rear. Manufacturer specifications state that the stock wheel widths on both the front (6") and rear (7") are within recommendations. More importantly, the widths on both wheels are the widths used by the Dunlop for tire measurements given in their specifications. However, the rears seem to wear a bit fast but I'm very hard on them. They are fairly cheap just over $400 for all four at tire rack. They are great tires and sidewalls being 50 series don't give much at all. Considering the cost of 17" wheels, added weight if you don't go to racing wheels, and the loss of road input with a 40 series tire I couldn't justify the cost/performance. Actually, I don't think there was a performance benefit unless you went to a light weight racing wheel and super sticky tires. Here are skid pad test results from the same car: Street compound: Pirelli PZero 1.05g Potenza S-02 1.03g Dunlop SP8000 1.01g Pirelli P700Z 0.98g Yokohama AVS-II 0.95g Potenza RE71 0.92g Goodyear ZR50 0.91g Goodyear GT+4 0.90g (not bad for an OEM tire eh?) Pirelli P210 Snow 0.80g
My previous set were Dunlop D60 A2's. I liked them a lot because they great dry traction IMO and some of the best wet traction I have ever experienced (much better than the old Goodyear GT+4's!)
Unfortunately they are discontinued... or so I thought. I bought their replacement... Dunlop SP Sport A2's. These tires are about 10 times better than the D60's!! I've only had them about 3 months so I do not know about longevity, but I am extremely pleased with them so far!
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10:15 AM
PFF
System Bot
RRobinson Member
Posts: 398 From: Calgary, Alberta Registered: Dec 2000
I also run original Eagle GTs like coolblue on my 18K Blue 87 GT, GT+4s on both 88 GTs and one 87 GT, and Eagle RS-As on the 86 GT. I like the OEM look and the Goodyears have always performed well. RR
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10:29 AM
KissMySSFiero Member
Posts: 5541 From: Tarpon Springs, FL USA Registered: Nov 2000
Originally posted by montage: Here are skid pad test results from the same car: Street compound: Pirelli PZero 1.05g Potenza S-02 1.03g Dunlop SP8000 1.01g Pirelli P700Z 0.98g Yokohama AVS-II 0.95g Potenza RE71 0.92g Goodyear ZR50 0.91g Goodyear GT+4 0.90g (not bad for an OEM tire eh?) Pirelli P210 Snow 0.80g
are these tires here all the same sizes? i was hoping someone was running the sizes you are. my other choice was to go with the 225/50 front and 245/50 rears but didnt know if that was too much. do you have any pics of yoru car? and what other susp mods do you have? with the price of just over $400 its not much more than the RE950's.
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01:48 PM
montage Member
Posts: 164 From: Pelkie, Mi, 49958 Registered: Nov 2000
I don't have a digital pic of my car with the wheels on it. I could take one and try to post it if you want (I've never posted a pic yet). The tire diameter is about 2% smaller not much, but the way I look at it the smaller tires give a higher effective gear ratio 3.6 to almost 3.7, and lower the car a little bit. The tires fit great no problems there.
I have not done any suspension mods but I have replaced all the ball joints, outer tie rod ends (wish I did inner), rack bushing, upper rubber bushings, and KYB shocks and struts.
I checked the price at tire rack and it looks like $450 plus shipping. I think I paid $28, get second day fed X it was just as cheap as ground UPS.
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03:23 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
Originally posted by KissMySSFiero: Im shopping for some for my formula. i want to go with the bridgestone potenza RE950's. the look like what ill be getting but i just want to see what everyone else has.
Gee, I just happen to have Bridgestone Potenza RE950's on my 88 Formula. They ROCK!
LZeitgeist has CompTA HR4's on his Formula, and they're pretty awesome too. I'd give the RE950's an edge (cuz I bought them! ) but they are a bit more expensive. You can get the CompTA's for about $55 each, but the RE950's are about $80 each.
Personally, I'm sticking with the RE950's for stock size tires. I seriously considered Dunlop SP8000's in a 245/50-15 rear and 225/50-15 front, but people on here talked me out of it. I kinda regret not trying it, but they were almost $100/set more expensive, so I'm not complaining. Also, the RE950 has a 45K mile treadwear warranty, and it does look good on those Formula rims!
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04:00 PM
Kwez Member
Posts: 201 From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Registered: May 2001
I have stock size Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce (the all season ver of the P6000) I kind of regret not paying more for better summer tires ...
I'm still 'learning' the car, but in one case I tried taking a small 'access ramp/curve' (?) onto a blvd @ around 50kmh & the car understeered way more than I expected. (w. some nice tire screeching too ;-)
I have brand new KYB gas-a-justs front, gr2s rear on a 88GT. (freshly aligned too)
I'm used to Toyo Proxes T1-S on my Impreza RS (w. a Prodrive P1 susp) & I know 50kmh would've been a piece o' cake w. that car ...
Im wondering how much it has to do w. the driver & much w. the tires / car. I noticed the car understeers alot at low speeds. Heck the tires chirp a bit when I park at work ... turning at VERY low speed, almost stopped !?
It was very stable at that speed too.
) but they are a bit more expensive. You can get the CompTA's for about $55 each, but the RE950's are about $80 each. 
Do you know why America picked the eagle as it's national bird? It's because its the only bird that isn't afraid of the storm.
