Dwindling Rear Tire Options

[OscarAH1W]

Has anyone noticed the dwindling options for the 295-30-18 Rear Tire on our Turbos (and GT3s)?  It is getting almost ridiculous that the choice is now PS2, Bridgestone, or P Zero.  Hankook made the Ventus V12 Evo in that size then discontinued it with the Evo2.  I found some Falken FK453s (which are great tires) but hear they are discontinuing that size.  Pilot SuperSport:  Nope.  Sumitomo Makes the HTR ZIII in our size but is it any good How about the Kumho Ecsta SPT?  Not many options, I am interested in others' experiences since it seems ridiculous to hang $2K worth of tires when you can get similar performance for half the price...

[mat59]

If you have GT2 315/30/18 sizes it's even worse. I have just put my original Turbo wheels back on for more choice in 295/30/18. Went for Pirelli as that was all that was available. Seem good but loud and can get flat spotted if left parked up for a few days. Takes a few miles at high speeds for the flat spots to come out. 

[Highlander]

Has anyone noticed the dwindling options for the 295-30-18 Rear Tire on our Turbos (and GT3s)?  It is getting almost ridiculous that the choice is now PS2, Bridgestone, or P Zero.  Hankook made the Ventus V12 Evo in that size then discontinued it with the Evo2.  I found some Falken FK453s (which are great tires) but hear they are discontinuing that size.  Pilot SuperSport:  Nope.  Sumitomo Makes the HTR ZIII in our size but is it any good How about the Kumho Ecsta SPT?  Not many options, I am interested in others' experiences since it seems ridiculous to hang $2K worth of tires when you can get similar performance for half the price...

 

I used the HTR ZIII on my Boxster as a street tire when my car was a track rat.  Ate through street tires in ~3k miles with the aggressive alignment.  Best thing I can say about those is they stopped the *** of the car dragging on the ground.  Not much grip, not much feel.  Noisy after they were worn.  Can't recommend them.

[nmlss2006]

Oh, that is outstanding. I just bought those - the Sumitomos.

 

Reviews on tirerack don't seem that negative.

[Highlander]

Oh, that is outstanding. I just bought those - the Sumitomos.

 

Reviews on tirerack don't seem that negative.

 

Once they warm up they are not too bad - i guess

Did I mention they flat spot easily?  Even just sitting overnight the first mile or so was a bit lumpy.

 

In the Sumi's favour, they are cheap.  Performance/$$ is OK, they are just not a good performance tire IMHO.

 

I'm very interested to hear your opinion though, maybe I'm just too picky about how I want my tires to perform. 

[nmlss2006]

Well, tires are on and we're taking the car out for it's annual ride, it seems, this weekend (sigh - it just doesn't get used that often).

 

I'll report back Sunday night. Truth be told, on the roads we have here in the NE, I could be driving on 15 year old all seasons and notice little difference, I'm afraid.

 

I'm also reasonably confident there will be an improvement compared to the Pilot Sports that were on there: they are OK when they're new, in the dry, if you are willing to accept poor (i.e. sudden) breakaway feel. Otherwise... I guess they feel precise. But that's it, and you better never get them wet.

 

But I am also reminiscent of when, at a friend's encouragement, I installed Falken 452s on my M5. The short review for that is: "don't".

 

More Sunday.

[nmlss2006]

Well.

 

First opinion: not too bad.

 

No, they are not very precise - the Yokos I had on the other TT were significantly better. Naturally you can't get those any more.

 

Shoulder is... OK.

 

Noise is there, but is acceptable. The old S02s, if anyone still remembers those, were infinitely worse. Ride quality is what it is. Better than the Pilot Sports but that's not saying much.

 

Tramlining is noticeable and given the state of the roads here it's possibly the worst feature so far.

 

A good compromise for daily use stateside. If I were to use the car aggressively like you (used to) be able to do in Europe, I'd choose something different. I would not take these to the track, but I don't do that any more either. The only thing is, I haven't tried them in the wet and I don't think that's going to happen until spring.

[vglnte1]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR6.TRC1.A0.H0.X295+30+18.TRS0&_nkw=295+30+18&_sacat=0

[DaveCarrera4S]

"The old S02s, if anyone still remembers those, were infinitely worse. Ride quality is what it is. Better than the Pilot Sports but that's not saying much."

 

Huh??

 

A.  I am really liking my Bridge S04's, are they that much better than the S02's you reference?

B.  Most people think the PS's are fantastic -

 

??

[Danyol]

Guys, there is another option that may fit some, this is listed as a "race" tire but I understand from a couple of local turbo guys it is good in the wet and wearing very well (combination of road and many track days, still lots of tread), the Federal 595 RS Racing tire,

 

Although the largest rear tire is a 285/30-18, with many tires the actual physical size is often different between manufacturers I can confirm having seen the tire, even though it's listed as a "285",  it is closer in size to a 305 in Hankook (prob. around 300). They are available online but usually on back order, you need to plan ahead. A a full set < price of 2 PS2s

Edited December 16, 2015 by Danyol

[laalves]

I have been using the PS2 N3 for the last 7 years/80000 kms and am a happy bunny with them. May be expensive but I believe they're worth the money. When I bought the car in 2008 it came with PZero Rosso that were too old/hard to wear but had no grip. When I changed all four to my first PS2 set it was night and day.

 

I believe I'm currently in my 2nd front set and 4th rear set (these almost brand new).

[Jimstav]

I'm running the Sumitomos and have about 5000 miles on them so far. I'm impressed by the performance per dollar ratio.  Plenty sticky on the off ramps for me, wet or dry.  I don't track the car, though.