[E90ice]

So I was looking on tire rack at several different tires for the 335.

I know the stock runflats are rated "140 A A", which is the treadwear or UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade).

Some of you have the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 which is rated "220 AA A".

Can someone explain that those numbers mean or what to look for when selecting a good performance tire?

Thanks.

[IMJUSS2NASTY]

Cant help you on which tires are better for grip. But keep in mind you have no spare.

[CASHBY]

140 tread wear is pretty sicky...

[E90ice]

Originally Posted by CEA 3

140 tread wear is pretty sicky...

Why do people always complain about our stock RFTs then?

They seem to grip pretty well.

[Terry335]

Originally Posted by E90ice

Why do people always complain about out stock RFTs then?

They seem to grip pretty well.

They do OK, but they are heavy and have stiff sidewalls hurting traction/acceleration from a dig.

[E90ice]

Originally Posted by Terry335

They do OK, but they are heavy and have stiff sidewalls hurting traction/acceleration from a dig.

OK, but for example, the Michelin PS2 are only 12 pounds lighter (all 4 of them together). That really doesn't seem that much heavier.

[bnj]

This thread should be moved but to answer to why people complain about stock RFTs:
Because there are many RFT tires and they all are hugely different. There are excellent RFT tires and bad RFT tires within even a single manufacturer. The worst of all the manufacturers seems to be "Stock".
RFTs are not heavier (compare the same RFT and non-RFT. Differences exist between the brands, not between RFT - nonRFT) RFTs have stiffer sidewalls which means better traction at the dry track in curves.

[NaTuReB0Y]

Treadwear/Traction/Temperature

For treadwear.....I've seen 110 up to 480

Traction/Temperature AA, the best, all the way to C, being the worst.....

Here is the rating for my tires ----

Specifications: Nitto NT555
Treadwear: 300
Traction: A
Temperature: A
Speed Rating: ZR

[chbrules]

So what are the number ranges? Is there a good middle ground RFT?

[NaTuReB0Y]

Originally Posted by chbrules

So what are the number ranges? Is there a good middle ground RFT?

what i was told at a tire store was that the numbers don't really add up to miles........

for example......my treadwear is 300 doesn't mean I'll get 30,000 miles on them......

he told me to look it at this way.....if you buy a set of tires with a treadwear of 130 and a set with 340.......the set with treadwear of 340 will likely last 3 times longer.......pretty much a ratio game.

my nitto nt555 has over 36,000 miles on them.....and the front looks great....probably 60% tread left.....and the rear probably another 15,000 miles left on them. If my car wasn't lowered.....the rear would still be 60% tread left too......but with the negative camber.....I had to rotate the tires inside out.....

[bnj]

The specs do not tell much. Its the traction on wet in one test. In reality there are many aspects to traction in wet such as acceleration, braking, skid pad... And you might be interested to know the traction in dry... The classification scale is wide. A and A can be quite different... The classification shows some direction if you don't know anything about the tires in question.

[ward]

there are tires with 140 as a treadwear number with less grip than others with higher numbers

as a general rule the faster they wear out, the stickier they are but it's not always true

certainly don't go much above 200 if you want a sticky tire

[sflgator]

My Mich. PS2s are great; even with PROcede, my car hardly spins the wheels/tires now; the PS2s are very sticky (for launch traction), they handle very well, and they're great in the rain.

The other non-RFTs I considered (which were less expensive than the Mich. PS2s) were the Falken FK-452s...a few ppl on here have them and like them.

[OpenFlash]

FWIW, those treadwear ratings are meaningless when you are comparing different brands of tires. This is because each tire manufacture calculates these numbers differently. And even when comparing tires from the same manufacturer, these rates can also be misleading. Only way to compare grip or longevity is to test them yourselves or read reviews from people you trust. Tire Rack has a good review/testing section for instance.

Shiv

[bnj]

Originally Posted by ward

there are tires with 140 as a treadwear number with less grip than others with higher numbers

as a general rule the faster they wear out, the stickier they are but it's not always true

certainly don't go much above 200 if you want a sticky tire

It is traction on WET. Typically UHP extreme racing whatever slicks wear out fast and the traction in wet is extremely poor. So low WET traction and low treadwear.

[bnj]

Originally Posted by sflgator

My Mich. PS2s are great; even with PROcede, my car hardly spins the wheels/tires now; the PS2s are very sticky (for launch traction), they handle very well, and they're great in the rain.

The other non-RFTs I considered (which were less expensive than the Mich. PS2s) were the Falken FK-452s...a few ppl on here have them and like them.

There are far better tires.

[bnj]

Originally Posted by shiv@vishnu

FWIW, those treadwear ratings are meaningless when you are comparing different brands of tires. This is because each tire manufacture calculates these numbers differently. And even when comparing tires from the same manufacturer, these rates can also be misleading. Only way to compare grip or longevity is to test them yourselves or read reviews from people you trust. Tire Rack has a good review/testing section for instance.

Shiv

+1

[ward]

Originally Posted by bnj

It is traction on WET. Typically UHP extreme racing whatever slicks wear out fast and the traction in wet is extremely poor. So low WET traction and low treadwear.

the wet traction letters range from AA to c

many high performance summer tires carry an AA or the best possible wet traction rating


many summer tires are the best possible choice in the wet

the michelin PS2 (max performance summer)is rated AA for wet traction
the michelin exalto A/S is an all season tire with only A for wet traction

if you need good wet weather traction, max performance summer tires can be a very wise choice

[bnj]

I was talking about sticky tires at a vastly higher dry grip performance level than PS2. E.g.
BF Goodrich 0(=zero!)-B-C
Hoosier 40-C-A
i.e. low traction rating and low treadwear.

A good example of how misleading the ratings are is Michelin Pilot Sport Club, which nobody would want to drive on wet.
80-AA-A