Need new tires

[JDG]

SSStealth,

Good advice on the Fix Flat stuff.

I've got 5,000 miles on the Yokohama's now. I've been very happy with them. I live in Chicago and drive back and forth to Detroit just about every week and they performed very well in the recent snow's in Feb/Mar. Much better than I expected. Good traction in all conditions; including one storm when I detoured off the interstate onto local roads with 3 inches of snow - bad move but the tires got me through and back to the interstate without getting stuck.

They don't seem to have any road noise or ride problems and the wear so far seems appropriate. So I have to say I'm satisfied.

What is interesting is that they are much stickier than the Pirelli's - particularly in the rears. Its quite a bit harder to get them to break free than the Pirelli's were which means that when they do, I'm typically carrying much more speed and much more torque. Has been a little scary in a few circumstances.

I'm happy with the set (and the price I paid versus the run flat Pirelli's) however and I would get another set when these wear out. I'm a little nervous about the lack of a spare/run-flat but life is full of little risks. Worst thing is that I'd have to rent a car while waiting for replacement tires.

[ssstealth]

My girlfriend noticed a flat on her 03 CTS when she got to work a few months ago. She hit the OnStar button and they came to her. When they found a nail in the sidewall, they took the whole thing with them, replaced the tire, and brought it back to her office and mounted it. Total downtime was less than 2 hours.

I would concede that the 17" Eagle RSA's are probably going to be found on more racks than the V tires, but it does appear that Cadillac will do what is needed to get you going quickly.

Interestingly enough, every Cadillac rep I have talked to about this tells me that the Pirelli's are junk. Hmmm.

[Kadonny]

Originally Posted by ssstealth

My girlfriend noticed a flat on her 03 CTS when she got to work a few months ago. She hit the OnStar button and they came to her. When they found a nail in the sidewall, they took the whole thing with them, replaced the tire, and brought it back to her office and mounted it. Total downtime was less than 2 hours.

I would concede that the 17" Eagle RSA's are probably going to be found on more racks than the V tires, but it does appear that Cadillac will do what is needed to get you going quickly.

Interestingly enough, every Cadillac rep I have talked to about this tells me that the Pirelli's are junk. Hmmm.

I have no problem switching from the Pirellis, but I would rather stay run flat than not. That means finding an alternative in a run flat, if it is even made.

[CadV]

Originally Posted by Kadonny

I have no problem switching from the Pirellis, but I would rather stay run flat than not. That means finding an alternative in a run flat, if it is even made.

I never could find a suitable replacement I carry a air compressor and I have a kit to plug holes. If I get something on the sidewall I will call onstar.

[z06bigbird]

The General tires on my Cutlass Ciera or Buick Century used to cost me $40 (14"). The problem is I was never able to locate a $300 or $400 tire for those cars. MSRP on the 96 car was about $16k fully loaded. Extremely reliable, very safe and comfortable. 0 to 60 in 4 to 5 (minutes).

Now, with the advances in auto technology, I get to spend $60k + for a car and almost as much for the tires. That is progress.

Ed

[ssstealth]

OK, now that I am closing in on 25,000 miles, I am in need of tires. Like most of you, I am completely disgusted with the Pirelli tires and want something different.

What are your experiences with the Yokohama Advan A4's and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's?

What others have been tried?

[JDG]

I have 11k on the ADVN S4's and have been very pleased with them. They were stable in the snow and wet of a Midwest winter and provide a great deal more stability in normal conditions than I ever had with the Pirelli's. I'm a pretty aggressive driver and I haven't broken the back end out in a long time - which was a common problem with the Pirelli's. You can get the back end to break free if you want - you just need to work at it - which is much safer. Tread wear has been good so far. I'm pretty certain that I'll get 20-25k+ out of them. Most of my miles are high speed highway. They aren't run-flats but they were a lot cheaper than the Pirelli's - I think I paid $1,100 for the set.

[ssstealth]

Thanks for the update JDG,

I have 25K on the Pirelli's right now and they are only an issue because of extremely UNEVEN wear. The rears are worn down the center even though the pressures are low in my opinion. They are set at the door specs. The front right is worn down on the outside only indicating an alignment problem. The dealer said it was within spec but they still went ahead and adjusted it to perfection.

Othan than that, it appears that there could easily be another 10-15K left in these things. I have Goodyear Eagle RSA's on my Fleetwood at 255 widths and they wear perfectly and go 50,000+ miles every time.

Has anybody tried the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's yet? There is some little part of me that thinks Yokahamas belong on Nissans. That is probably the same part that made me buy GM over BMW.

[riche]

I can tell you about my GS-D3`s. have them on my 93GT mustang. Great in water and dry roads, not worth crap on ice or packed snow, it`s a performance tire, side-walls are hard for road-coarse driving, not too good on drag-racing, side-walls will not flax as much as some folks want them to for drag-racing. My 2cents....riche

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Pirelli tires have always been know to have ultra soft rubber and that causes them to wear out quicker. I have never liked Pirelli tires and have always enjoyed Michelins.

When my Pirelli tires wear out, I am going to look into getting Michelin Pilot PS2 tires all around. While they aren't a run-flat tire, they offer some of the best handling and ride quality I have ever experienced in a tire and I have had BFGs, Goodyears, Yokohamas, Bridgestones, Continentals and any other tire brand out there. The Michelins are pricey, but well worth every penny.

At 1600 miles, I did have a flat with one of the rear Pirelli tires and it drove fine with almost no air to a tire place where they charged me only $15.00 to patch it and send me on my way. The run-flats are a great convenience, but that was my second flat tire in my entire life so I would go with a non run-flat tire not only because it's cheaper, but because the ride quality is much better and the handling is just amazing.

My advice would be to look into getting the Michelin Pilot PS2 tires. You will be glad you did!

SG

[ssstealth]

I was actually looking at the Michelin Pilot Primacy but quickly got concerned. Both Tirerack.com and Michelin.com show that the tire is available in sizes that match the V. Both sites also do NOT show the tire as being a valid selection for the V. huh?

I would love to have some Michelins for it. I ran a set of XH4's on my Fleetwood for 126,000 miles. Of course they quickly discontinued that tire.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Originally Posted by ssstealth

I was actually looking at the Michelin Pilot Primacy but quickly got concerned. Both Tirerack.com and Michelin.com show that the tire is available in sizes that match the V. Both sites also do NOT show the tire as being a valid selection for the V. huh?

I would love to have some Michelins for it. I ran a set of XH4's on my Fleetwood for 126,000 miles. Of course they quickly discontinued that tire.

It doesn't matter what they show being valid or not for the STS-V. Get the same exact tire size as the stock Pirelli tires and you will be fine. Go Michelin and enjoy!

SG

[SRT8/BMW]

I highly recommend the Toyo Proxes t1r.

I ran them as a replacement on my srt8, and now on my highly modded C. I like them so much more than these pirellis on my V.

They hold the road great, are good in rain, and will lay rubber when asked. Overall great tire..

The only thing I noticed is that you may have to change the profile from a 275-40-19 in the back to a 275-35-19, which should be no big deal and would not even require a change to the speed calibration.

http://www.tiredeals4less.com/TOYO_P..._99Y_P1886.cfm

[Lifer]

Originally Posted by ssstealth

The STS-V does not require a PCM change for tire size. The re-calibration can be done with the NAV system using GPS data.

Check your manual... there is a procedure for calibrating new tires and the speedometer.

I have reviewed my owners manual (I RTFM!) and can not find reference to your comment.

I did find this cool comment in my manual, although I have 18", NOT 17" : Vehicles equipped with performance tires
P235/50R17 95V (front axle) and P255/45R17 98V (rear
axle) are mounted on wheels with different rim widths.
The front axle tires are mounted on rims 7.5 inches
(19.05 cm) wide and the rear axle tires require wheels
with a minimum rim width of 8 inches (20.32 cm).
The original equipment wheels designed for
P255/45R17 98V size tires are etched with the words
REAR ONLY. When replacing P255/45R17 98V
size tires have them mounted on wheels with a minimum
width of 8 inches (20.32 cm) and marked REAR
ONLY.

Please advise where in the manual I can find re-calibration can be done with the NAV system using GPS data.

[RedGalant2k1]

I would recommend against lowering the profile too much. ESPECIALLY if you decide on going with a non-runflat at the risk of your wheels.

Stay with the original size or run a 265/40-18 front and 285/35-19 rear.