Only 11K miles. They weren't totally bald at that point, but they wouldn't pass inspection either.

Nah. PITA, so if I'm good enough running one more season, that's fine by me.

 

Mike, by squarer profile you mean the actual profile of the tread (less of a radius than the re050a's?)

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...ot_ss_1000.jpg

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...e050a_1000.jpg

I see what you mean.. I think.

So given this, you're saying the steering response is no worse than the RE050A's, even in stock size? Last time I bought a tire based on tire rack reviews, I shot myself in the foot sort a speak. I went with the eagle f1 gs d3, which received rave reviews everywhere. What was not mentioned was the tire sizes. Imagine my shock when I installed this to the car (245/50/16), only to find the steering response had gone to crap. This tire replaced an all season pirelli p5000 in the same size. The pirelli's felt like they drove on rails, while with the goodyear, it was more like quicksand

After doing more research and getting more information from the forum members who gave such great reviews to this tire, it turns out they were running them on 17" wheels, in the more common 275/40/17 size (or something similar like that).

 

nope it doesn't. 15k for staggered IIRC. good question

 

I have PSS on my G and on my e92, which both ironically had bridgestones on them from the factory. I do not find turn in to be a problem at all. Is it softer? maybe... but it means so little to the driving dynamics that I don't really think about it while driving. If anything, I see it as a good thing- I'd rather have a tire that has immense grip and transmits less impulse to the chassis when you change direction. Less snap breakaway and more controllability, IMO.

These kinds of things are personal preference, so take it with a grain of sea salt.

 

Was the wear uniform, or concentrated to a specific part of the tire? Might be something to adjust (alignment or pressure) so the same doesn't happen to your tasty PSS's.

 

IIRC, the wear was more pronounced in the center, more so than the outside. Which implies over-inflation, although I routinely checked and maintained the pressure exactly to spec @33 psi. I've got a quality gauge, and an air pump in the garage.

 

That's good because it's easier to address. Also, I think the PSS take a significantly higher pressure than the stones.

Here's a trick I learned from the BMW forum- look for litttttle tiiiiiny triangles on the outside sidewall area where the sidewall meets the tread. Rub some wax right there and drive around for a bit. if the wax wears off above the tip of the triangle and still covers it, you are over inflated. If the wax wears off the triangle completely, you need more pressure. This is what the triangle is for and it's a great way to dial in the pressures!!

 

I have PS2's in oem sizes on my oem wheels. I have has zero issues with them. I'm running -2.3 camber in the frint and -2.4 in the back. Had them on for around 15k miles so far and they are wearing even and have tons if meat left on them. I usually run them at around 36.5 psi, but never lower than 34. Usually check them once a month.

Rochester....if you have wear in the middle I would normally assume tire over inflation as you stated, but if you say you monitor pressure closely probably isn't. BUT...how's your alignment? Maybe the culprit.

Softer sidewalls? Maybe...but you'd never guess it from driving my car. The tires are pretty stiff.

 

12,000 miles on an unmodified suspension, so I've never had the alignment checked. Although 2 years old now, the low mileage and condition make for what could still be considered a brand new car. Oddly enough, that's still how I look at it.

I was considering an alignment check this summer, although sways and a FSTB shouldn't affect that, AFAIK.

 

Those shouldn't affect your alignment, however...I check my alignment every 6 months or so. When I bought the car 2 years ago I had the alignment checked and it was so off, I had to replace the bridgestones. What I was told was that these cars suck at holding alignments.

Might wanna go and get it checked out. I use Firestone for their lifetime alignment. The one near my house does a really good job on my G. And for the money it costs, it pays for itself after the second alignment. And the fact that I'm lowered, makes it a good idea to check it that often

 

That's good to know. Those good year tires were so soft, there was minimal feedback in the steering wheel. I realize we're comparing apples/oranges here. Late 90's camaro suspension is way different than the G, and also larger wheel. When i refer to turn in, it's the effect of turning the steering wheel, but tire is slow to respond. I did play with pressures too, but could never find the sweet spot. Too much pressure resulted in a really rough ride with some improvement in steering responsiveness.

A huge selling for for me on the mitchelins is that I ran many sets of their pilot road 2 tires (sport touring version of the pilot sport) motorcycle tires across 2 bikes for over 70K miles with excellent results. Beat out the bridgestone and pirelli tires of similar class in terms of handling over time and longevity (11-12K miles on a performance mcy tire is nearly unheard of).

 

You guys really take driving feedback analysis to a high level of detail. Wow.

Here's some completely subjective and unscientific information. In my neighborhood, there's a long, sweeping, two-lane, merging ramp between two highways, and a speed reduction sign recommending 45 mph.

With the OEM Bridgestone RE050A's on the car, I was never really comfortable pretending to go more than 70 mph. Maybe 75 mph, if I were to push it (in my head). And this past winter, with the Bridgestone LM-60's on the car, I really couldn't pretend to take it over 60 mph. However, with the PSS on the rear and the RE050A in the front, I can easily imagine sweeping through there at 80 mph with total confidence. I'm sure I could pretend to go faster, but I've no deathwish, and the opportunities to play like that without any other traffic around are rare... which is why I'm completely making all this up.

Like I said, purely unscientific evidence. And a total fabrication, because responsible people don't drive like that on the highway. Particularly with their spouse in the car.

 

The install was effortless for two skilled mechanics, a garage with a lift, and the right tools. The front bar came right off, and then on. The rear is a small puzzle of rotating the bar around as you thread the bends up and over things. That, and he dropped the rear exhaust about 6" for the job. We used yellow Teflon tape on the bars, and a generous amount of ES Pre-lube in the bushings. The end-links and frame-connectors were all torqued to spec. My mechanic asked for $90, and I think that's very fair. I was at the shop for two hours, although there was a lot of just hanging out and catching up.

So here are my first impressions:
All together, these upgrades (tires, FSTB, swaybars) are all working together for one amazingly well-handled sport sedan. So far, I'm extremely content.

Ash, if you're reading this, thank you for the deal on these parts.

 

Dude, awesome I'm so glad to hear it, and my reaction to those parts was pretty much dead on to what you said there. Just imagine what the turn in will be like when you get the front tires!

Which settings did you end up going with?

 

Did you put the Teflon tape on before or after the grease?

Ifyaknowwhatimean.