I don't know anything about any rumors, but I've got these on mine in 275/35/18 rear, something a little smaller on the front, and I don't like them at all.

The only thing I have to compare them with are Toyo Proxies I had before (which I think are really kick ***), but they don't grip nearly as well, don't seem any more resistant to hydroplaning or any better in the wet, and they squeeel, which is what I really hate about them. They do tend to 'track' on the hiway, and under braking I get random pulls to the left or right.. not sure if this is just the tires though. I've got 14k miles on them and they are done.

If I go with a 'cheap' tire again, I may try the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712. Tirerack shows them in the size I need, and very cheap, and can't be any worse then the p7000 can they?

 

I found nothing incredibly wrong with the ones I recently owned. Whether it was in deed the tire or not, I did notice the pulling effect occasionally you guys are talking about, especially when breaking. I also know that mine were worn quit a bit, but I don't think they gave the traction I would have prefered out of a high price high performance tire, but oh well.

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-93 Touring
-Black/Red Leather
-Just bought, so no money for mods.....yet.

 

Hmmmmmmmm....... sounds interesting. Bridgestone RE70's are another choice right now. Have a good treadwear 300 and traction at AA and not that expensive.......

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I bought rims recently and mounting tires on them soon.

Tire of choice is the P7000 Super Sport 235/40/17 front
275/40/17 rear

I have heard of rumors about the P7000. That there are a few out there with defects with something called "radial pull" where the tire will start to pull the car to one direction.

Is there any truth in that?

I hate defective tires. I am running on a defective set of NITTO's that are pissing me off right now.

 

Get Bridgestone S02 Pole Position, they are the No.1 tire !

 

The P7000 SS is an all season tire. If that's what you're looking for then you could try Toyo Proxes FZ4. I have them and I like them.

 

I think so. I'm having trouble with my brand new Pirelli P6000s. I bought five, and rotated in the spare and kep rotating until the pull (which goes to the left) was diminished. There's definitely something to this radial tire pull. BTW, I had the car aligned TWICE, and the tech blames the tires. The specs are damned near perfect. FWIW, the P6000s are 255/40-17, and were priced @ $100 each. I guess there was a reason they were so cheap LOL

 

I have had ALOT of experience with tires and I have to say it never pays to go cheap. If your ONLY cruising on the tires and dont need to ever really use them to "hook up" just use something with the proper speed rating. You can tell alot from looking at the tread. Big tread blocks will have less tread squirm and with the right compound, sidewall will equate to a very great handling tire on dry, It will also be noisy. A tire with "siping" (the little slits in the tread blocks that are semi plyable and go against the direction of rotation) will provide wet/ snow traction but less tread stability and be a quieter tire as well. Tires with a directional tread pattern are typically good in the wet as far as anti-hydroplaning by evacuating the water out from under the tire. The tread is very important when trying to decide what you will be using it for. Then we come to the treadwear numbering system. The number is not controlled by the government so a 300 treadwear Dunlop is not the same thing as a 300 treadwear Bridgestone. The treadwear # is used to compare tires within a particular tire manufactuers tire lines. Not to eachother! Now the traction and temp ratings are government ratings to they are comparable. Its still not an exact science. You cannot have a long wearing performance tire. Thats a myth. Technoledgy has not made it possible yet. What has been done is making a tire with several different compounds. Michelin has a tire in its Pilot line thats doing that now. As far as my experience is that you get what you pay for. I own both the Bridestone S-02's and the S-03's. I like the grip of the S-02 a bit better but of course thier treadwear is 140. They wont last but maybe 16-20k at best. the S-03 is probably the best tire for the money. The silica based tread compound drives well in the rain. It actually gets stickier in the wet. I would buy them again. Mich pilot sports are good and so are Bridestone S-03's, and Pirelli P zeros are also top notch. Those 3 tires would be my top 3. For performance that is.

 

If you ever watch them spin balance those tires watch how the tread goes. You may see the "Radial run out" The tread does not always get bonded to the tires carcass perfectly and it can cause a pull. Mark the inside of that tire and make sure it stays on the rear as long as you want to avoid the pull.

 

I wouldn't narrow down a radial pull to the manufacterer. I think it happens with all of them. My last set of Falkens had a radial pull but since they also cracked, I won't buy them again. My current P6000 (HP's) don't have any radial pulls. Hmm, if P7000-SS is all season then Pirelli is confusing and hard to shop for because the P7000's are UHP's. Some store can be real jerks though on exchanging them without the insurance thing but they should still exchange if under 30 days.

 

i have yoko a520 and like them a lot. it offers exceptional handling and the wear isn't too bad. after 20k of normal driving, they are about 20% worn and it's wearing very evenly. they are louder than most tire but i think it's better than kumho 712. i've heard they are just crap, kinda like a sedan car tire made for 18 incher on a budget. A520 is supposed to be really soft compound so it grips well. if you drive aggressively, you probly get the same mileage as S02 or S03 (15-20k mi)

 

What's the radial run out? Is the tire safe eventhough it might cause a pull to either side?

 

Zoom, the Pirelli P6000s are 94Y rated (up to 186 mph), A Traction, A Temp, 180 UTQG ultra high performance tires. They were priced at $100 for 255/40-17 size because Discount Tire was clearing them out of their inventory. Pirelli P6000s are a discontinued model, but were OE on Mercedes Benz C Class, Audi S4, BMW 3 series, and Jaguar S-Type. The P6000s are supposed deliver performance along with quiet smoothness. The 255/40-17 is the best performing because it's a 40-series and 10-inches wide (mounted on 9-inch rim widths). It's the largest the P6000s come in.

My philosophy is to go cheap, but to never compromise quality or performance. I drive my car hard on the track 10 to 15 times per year, and only get 10,000 to 13,000 miles from a set of FIVE tires. Invariably I end up buying a set of new tires once per calendar year. It's been this way with my Rx7 for seven-plus years. Tires are my most expensive yearly purchase so I try to minimize the financial hit, by purchasing closeout tires.

There's nothing wrong with closeout tires, just that they're discontinued tire models. Interestingly, this is the second time I've had trouble with Pirelli. The first time was with the P-Zeros. I had a vibration that would not go away, regardless of balance. This time out, I had the P6000s road forced. They're outstandingly smooth and quiet. Just have to replace the tire with the radial pull.

 

I worked at a high end tire/weel shop that did about 3 million a year and we serviced all the Audis, bmws and mercedes. I have to say these companies run tires that are all season and quiet. They are not as concerned with all out performance. Even though they do use H or higher speedratings from the factory. Also most of the owners of these cars never replace the original equipment and that says alot too me. Almost always they went to Michelins. I have seen all lines of tires in used condition and get a pretty good idea of the wear charecteristics of most lines and models. Mainly a manufacturer doesnt mean as much as what tire in thier line you go with. Many tires are introduced with "New" technoledgy that has not been proven in the real world. Once they prove to be less desirable they are discontinued. A tire that proves to be a top performer stayes around for a long long time. Look at the S-02. Its been around for like 8 years now? I usually see most tires go away within 2 to 3 years. Not that they are terrible but they dont prove to be as cutting edge as the engineers had hoped and the experiement ends and they move on. But when a tire does break out you will see that after a couple years all manufactures will be stealing the design. Again the S-02 has been copied more than any other tire. The Mich pilot sport and the Toyo T1S as well as many many low end tire manufactures have been producing the same tread pattern in thier line tryin to score some business from the crowd trying to get a knock off. Even though the compounds are not the same they tire still looks identical to the S-02 and will sell. I think you will find different manufacturing processes will help keep noise and vibration down making the tire more "true" You can look at a tire and see how its been made. Basically the old tech way of making a tire is by using a 2 pieces "clam shell" type mold. They bond the tire from 2 parts and you will see the seam going down the middle of the tire. This method does not provide as round of a tire as multi piece design. Michelin for example makes thier tires rounder by having several pieces bonded together by sections. The seams will go across the tire is several points. The benefit is obvious when you balance the tire and it always takes less weight. This equates to less vibration/ noise and better wear. You can always get a bad tire from any line. Usually you will notice it right away if it needs alot of weight. Also you can see the tread wandering when its on the spin balancer. Thats raidal run out. Its more of an annoyance than a safety issue. thats why most tire shops wont want to do anything about it.

 

Isn't Michelin a French company? I won't spend my American dollars on anything French!!