[Dave's V]

I just had the run craps replaced with the Avon 551 A/S tires today. The dealer took 2 1/2 hours but my rims didn't suffer any damage and it only cost $40 to have 5 tires mounted/balanced.

The ride is different as night is to day. No jarring impact when you go over anything resembling a bump. Yes, you lose some initial turn in and they feel a little more lose. I had to go the A/S route because I live in Utah and the white stuff will start falling in about a month. The V is my daily driver.

Florian,
Thanks for the great advice!! The tires are fantastic.

Dreamin,
Thanks for your post about the stock jack equipment.

When it all comes down to the cost, I bought 5 new tires, 1 OEM rim, 1 TPS and mounted them for around $1250 or around $150 cheaper than replacing with OEM tires. I also heard these tires last 2x as long, which sadly to say isn't that hard to do.

Time for a small road trip in the mountains tomorrow to see how the new tires handle. I have to make it up there before the white stuff starts to fall anyway (you can't say that word around here otherwise you'll wake up with 6-8 inches of that stuff).

 

[rand49er]

... the Avon 551 A/S tires ...QUOTE]
I just bought Avon 550 A/S tires and didn't see 551s at Tirerack ... what's the difference? :hmm: (just curious)

 

[Florian]

Daves V = Enjoy. I have 22K miles on the Avons and it looks like another 15K is possible. The V is going to sleep for the winter though.


F

 

[thebigjimsho]

On the tire-life tip, I've got about 8k miles on the Dunlops and have used maybe 20% of the tread, tops.

 

[DrivingAmericanNow]

I'm running Yokohama ES100. Right now, they've got 10,000 miles on them and I've still got at least 60% of the tread left. I'd guess I'll get 18-20k on them before I need to buy more. No complaints about handling or traction. They're a bit loud, but they were super cheap compared to the runcraps. I just wish I had a cheap six-lug steel wheel for the spare (the thin type).

 

[Dave's V]

... the Avon 551 A/S tires ...QUOTE]
I just bought Avon 550 A/S tires and didn't see 551s at Tirerack ... what's the difference? :hmm: (just curious)

Oops! I meant 550!

 

[Ryan's '05-V]

You got it, right when I had them installed you can really tell the difference as they take bumps much smoother and get noticeably less traction and handling but that is required for us who use it as our daily drivers.
Enjoy!
I'm just curious if GM will care if I turn in my lease with the 550s which are not runflats? I doubt it. They should just want tires with tread.

 

[trukk]

I changed to GSD3's 245 front 275 rear on stock rims.

They are certainly more 'comfortable', but i really miss the perfrmance of the EMT's. The car handled a LOT better in my estimation. Before it was on rails. Now it is still very good, but not great. I'm not sure if it it the GSD3's, going with such a wide tire on a small rear rim, or both.

Anyway, I'll probabaly reassess by tire options whe I need new rears.

Good luck,

Chris

 

[Staxxin]

Are any of you guys with Avons running 275's on the rear? I'm curious how they handle and if there's been any issues.