Review wanted - Nitto / BF Goodrich / Pirelli

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I am looking for a straight forward, real world, honest review of the three tires listed below:

BF Goodrich KDW 2 (New tread)

Nitto Neogen

Pirelli P-Zero M+S

Although I have sufficient tread depth left to last the summer, due to the cost of replacement tires, I am researching early. I am currently running Goodyear Eagle F1's in a 225-45-17 94W. I will hold my opinions of these unless asked. I also understand that I have crossed several performance lines. I am not interested in any other brands,just those listed. Thank you in advance for your comments.
 
Check the Avon tires shown on Tirerack. I am well pleased with the 550 A/Ss I purchased for our 2003 GT. They will tend to flatspot if the vehicle sets a couple of days. However, they smooth out after a few miles. You didn't say what your application is, but the Avons are definately worth checking out. They "stick like glue"!
 
I absolutely love my M550s in P275/40R17 around my camaro. For the money, the treadlife is good, but the dry/rain traction is phenomenal. I think they ride better than my yokohama ES100s and have the same amount of stick.

Out of those tires that you're looking at though, my fav is the Pirelli Pzero. I haven't personally had them on my car, but they do have a good reputation for being a good dry/wet tire and lasting more than 15K miles on a sportscar
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Let us know what you get!
 
For an ultra high performance season, the Pirelli P-Zero M+S is the very best rated by many including Subaru owners/BMW owners boards. Interestingly enough it is mid range in price.

I own a set on my Suabru WRX and am beyond happy with dry/wet performance and noise level. They are not that great in snow (eg biased towards non-winter conditions) which I presume is either a rare or non-issue in SC.
 
I have the KDW from BFG on my Camaro. I'm about to replace them but they've lasted 24K so far. They corner pretty well and you can't feel the sidewall flex like you can on a cheaper tire ( i was broke and had to buy crappy tires last time.) They don't grip so hot in a straight line I.E at the dragstrip. You will spin if you aren't careful with your right foot.
 
Nittos suck. Pirelli will be the grippest of those three but will probably last the shortest. BFG I heard are horrible in the wet weather. That was the old pattern thou.
 
Thanks so far guys. I am now leaning away from the TDK 2's which leaves the F1's again, the Pirelli, and the Nitto's. A friend of mine just got the Nitto's and I want to see how they do before I commit. I definitely see a replacement before winter or just shortly after. We don't get alot of snow here so my main concern is wet and dry traction. I have a truck to use if it snows too much.

I will be replacing the tires on it shortly as well. Looking at the Dunlop RVXT's or the Firestone AT's, both in a 205-75-15. With gas prices going through the roof, I want to stick with the OEM size and try to preserve as many MPG as I can.
 
i have the kdw-2's on my 04 STi, and i find them to be excellent tires. they will loose traction in the wet if you gun it enough, but that's with pretty much any tire. they do well in the wet as far as i can tell, and are quite superb in the dry. they are a bit on the noisy side though, mine resonate at around 45-50 and again at around 90-100. i haven't tried the next harmonic. i've heard that they become progressively louder and louder, though i haven't experienced it much yet. it is difficult for me to break traction in the dry, but that's also due to the awd.

on a completely cosmetic side - i really like the tread design of the tire.

as far as performance, they are a better value money-wise than the F1's you have. the F1's will outperform it in pretty much every category except for sidewall strength and the consequences of the F1 having a weak sidewall. plus the KDW-2's are significantly cheaper than the same sized/spec'd F1, also with a longer tread life.

i currently have 10k on my set, and have seen little wear. i drive mostly highway miles - albeit somewhat spirited most of the time.

i hope this helps you with your decision!
 
doubleclutch or Domonic;

How are the Avon 550s in cold,DRY weather like we usually get here in the late fall, early spring?? I'm not talking about snow, I have snow tires/wheels for the Z28. I'm just looking for maximum stick in <30 degree, dry weather when UHP summer tires turn to useless "blocks of ice"!!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Dominic:
My Avons are fine in cold weather, I live in Philly and drive them just past the first snow. I think they're better on cold pavement than the Yokohama ES100s I had, and they're definitely great in the rain. I also have snow tires for my camaro
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They should beat the Yoks in those conditions, since they are compounded for lower temps, and the ES100s are a summer only tire. I'm wondering if they are the best available tire for these conditions, in my given stock size of 245/50-16??

[ May 10, 2006, 03:14 PM: Message edited by: dailydriver ]
 
My Avons are fine in cold weather, I live in Philly and drive them just past the first snow. I think they're better on cold pavement than the Yokohama ES100s I had, and they're definitely great in the rain. I also have snow tires for my camaro
smile.gif
 
I would hope you'd expand your mind on other tires. Falken Azenis RT-615, the copy of Sports Compact car ranked them as very grippy, and my friend that runs them loves them more than any tires he has had on his car.check them out, they are not expensive either.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Louis Zerr:
I would hope you'd expand your mind on other tires. Falken Azenis RT-615, the copy of Sports Compact car ranked them as very grippy, and my friend that runs them loves them more than any tires he has had on his car.check them out, they are not expensive either.

If he needed something all season, these are not for him. They are one of the best dry weather max performance summer tires, they don't look like they'd be too great in standing water though. I would expect them to beat many (if not most/all) max perf. summer tires in ultimate dry traction, for up to 40% less $$. Main problem is very limited size selection.
 
quote:

Originally posted by RH+G:
Nittos suck.

I beg to differ; I run Neogens on my Contour in 205/40/17 and they are a very solid tire. Loads of lateral grip in sweeping high speed turns and very quick turn in response in sharp cornering. I could chirp my previous tires (yoko paradas) in second, but can't chirp the nitto's even with a bigger (numerically) final drive in my upgraded gear box. They ride very nicely and aren't very noisy, and get great wet traction.
 
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