To start, let me just say that to be fair, the old Michelins were mis-matched from the previous owner (PS1's in the rear, PS2's up front) and they were getting to be pretty ragged. In fact, upon removal, the rears were practically slick up to an inch from each shoulder. So, a replacement was overdue. I went with 225/40/18 up front, and 285/30/19 in the rear.

I do 95% of my driving on the interstate... in all types of weather, five days a week, and the car is subjected to some pretty harsh expansion joints along the way (unavoidable in any lane).

The purist in me hated to slap all-seasons on the car, but the sensible man inside said it was a must.

And guys... I'm NOT disappointed.

Rear grip on this car is now instant. Release clutch, mash, GO. There is a slight increase in sidewall flex, which was expected. So, slalom maneuvers reveal a tad bit more compliance than what I was used to. No huge deal to me, and I think a slight bump in pressure will alleviate that. Tires CAN be rotated side-to-side, which is a plus.

Front grip is roughly the same as the old PS2's... key-word, OLD PS2's... they had seen their better day.

Having said that, I'm impressed. I'm going easy on the tires for the first few days and heat-cycling them before I take the car back through the hills and really lean on the rubber.

First and most dramatic improvement I noticed was the noise: it's gone.

The radio that used to have to stay at around 14 can be reduced to 7, and that's with talk radio. Instead of the roar of tires, I now hear the purr of the engine clearly at any speed.

And the ride... OMG. Literally went from a 4/10 to a 10/10. Barely feel anything at 80 mph, it's the smoothest ride I've ever felt.

So, here are some pics. Oh yeah... she's lowered now.

 

why did you go with 285/30/19 instead of 285/35/19 in the rear?

i have read a lot of good reviews on those, they seem to be good daily driver tires.

 

Those should last a long time.....don't they have like 560 rating?

 

These are within .2" overall diameter of my OEM tires... OEM is 26" OD and these are 25.8"... So, I figured that was pretty doggone close.

The sidewall height looks visually identical to the front's sidewall height. So, aesthetically at least, it's spot-on.

I'm also running a one-dot pad in the rear with cut SRT springs... so it's already low and I had detected a hint of rubbing in the fenderwell with the OEM tires. That was also prior to the camber bar installation, however... the C-bars really seemed to help, and I still have yet to do the laser alignment. So, it will only get better.

And I agree with your observations. The reviews I have seen have been raving. Literally gets an 8.8 rating in light snow; higher than most devoted summer tires get for dry traction rating.

I was scared that I would lose a lot of feel and dry-pavement response with these tires... but I didn't. I'm thrilled.

Granted, these aren't going to give the grip of something like a dedicated "summer-only" tire. But, my car doesn't see "summer-only" duty... it has to tough it out when the roads are wet, dry, slushy, and everything in between. So, this was the most sensible route for me.

To wit, I have driven this car more times in the snow, than I have had the opportunity to do 10/10ths cornering. Sad, but true. And living in Tennessee, that's saying something.

Last February was downright SCARY in the Michelins. With body parts being so hard to come by, I figured this was a very reasonable and worthy compromise.

Chris L : Yes, these have a treadwear rating above 500. Guaranteed for 50,000 miles, and they're pro-rated if you happen to chew through them faster. They're also advertised to yield a few extra MPG, although that's a claim I'm not worried about observing in the slightest. Even if they DID, my foot is too heavy

 

That thing is looking good, John. Glad you are happy with the tires, they sound like good ones....

 

oh i did not know you were lowered, that makes a lot of sense you could not go with a slightly taller profile.

yeah with the price and treadwear rating and reviews those seem to be a hard to beat tire deal. i read a lot on them, i am a tire nerd and like to read tire reviews lol.

 

Thanks so much for publishing on these John. These were the ones I was planning on getting too. Any issues at all on the 285-30-s in the rear, for fitment, or did they just go right on. BTW, where did you get them and at what pricing? They look good. When it comes time, you and I will have matching white coupes as i'll be adding the SRT wing too. Your car is SO sharp looking. Mark

 

As of right now, I've observed no rubbing issues whatsoever. I have roughly 1/2" between the upper part of the fender arch (the back side, rolled edge), and the sidewall of the tire. Absolutely perfect in my opinion. You can see the snug fit in my pics, but there is still ample room for suspension articulation. I drove my usual route to work this morning, hitting fairly substantial bridge expansion joints and didn't feel anything abnormal. The tire fits the rim perfectly... BETTER, in my opinion, than the factory size.

Keep in mind, mine is lowered. Stock suspensions will have absolutely no issues whatsoever.

Out the door, mine ran $1,000 from Discount Tire outlet. That includes a full Road Hazard plan on each tire... instant new replacement, no questions asked, should anything happen to the tires at all. It covers blowouts, psycho co-workers, the whole nine.

We also have a 9.75% sales tax in TN, and I had to order the rear size specially, so there wasn't much leverage to bargain with them. You can't order a specially cooked steak and ask for the burger discount, LOL

Thank you for the compliment bro. It's starting to come along...

 

Thanks John. I'll be doing it on stock suspension so then based on your observation there should be no issues. After all the research I've done on tires These have been the best overall that I've concluded. I'll be doing A/S too because of my driving habits. I think I can get these up here for about 200 a tire on average.

 

That's pretty close to what mine averaged out for...

$830 for tires, ~$80 for tax, $85 for road-hazard protection on all four corners.

 

Guess that makes me a nerd too LOL

John: I am going to PM you, hopefully within the next few weeks. I need some measurements on how yours is sitting, I have the SRT springs in my garage and I need to figure out how much I can cut and not have the 20's rubbing

 

Update...

After a few weeks of driving, I can say with complete confidence that these are some of the best tires I have ever owned.

I have used everyting from Michelin, to Pirelli, to BF-Goodrich, to Nitto... and these are simply the best all-around, bang-for-buck tires you can purchase.

Whisper quiet while cruising on the interstate, but rock-solid in the corners.

Steve (32krazy), Nick (thirteendog) and I took a detour on Peytonsville road on July 3 (en route to Cars N Coffee)... warm pavement and a super pitchy, twisty little road.

We exceeded speeds that I won't even admit to... we definitely had more ***** than sense. Even my other buddy, not too terribly far behind us in his modded Jetta turbo (who also has YEARS of motorcycle racing experience) told us we were maniacs, LOL... STILL, the Contis impressed. The only time I was ever more than a car-length behind Nick was when the straightaways opened up... once we got in the corners, I was within 10 yards at all times... often riding the brakes to stay off him.

With the combination of the lowered SRT springs and the Contis, I was truly happy with the newfound tenacity of my ride. Not once did the tires seem unsettled. In fact, only a few times did I hear any howling. They simply hush, bite, and propel.

Hyrdo-resistance is astonishing. Again, at speeds that were higher than the momentary wisdom, I plodded along the relatively empty interstate during an all-out downpour. The nose of the car never so much as lifted, skittered, or became bogged down with the water.

As expected, I can feel a marginal room for improvement on transitional response... expected given the cut of the tread and the class the tire is in.

But... history has shown me that Pirellis stick like glue, but ride like logs.

Michelins grip like velcro, but wear quickly (12,000 miles) and are boomers once tread gets below 50%.

These Contis, however, do so many things so well, that the shortcoming or two is quickly forgotten.

If you drive your car more than 5,000 miles a year, consider these. There's no sense putting up with the fussy ride or the pedigree pricetag of the "max performance" tires, when these are mere fractions behind in performance yet offer superb driving comfort, safety in the rain, and costco-level pricing.

In short, get them. And if your Crossfire is a daily, don't even wait. Order them.

These ain't the old Contis, that's for sure. These are the real deal. And, a real deal.

 

i wanted these when my rears wore out last month but they were on national backorder until July and i was down to the belts. i had to go with the michelins. i waiting for fronts because they weren't as bad and i will be puutting these tires on when she's ready.

 

interesting thread. after my experience with the oem contis on my graphite srt-6, i decided i'd get ps2's as quickly as i could find a good reason. you can hardly tell the difference from new ps2's as from 5 year old oem ps2's. but, hey i'm in sunny californ-i-yea. the only tire i like better than the ps2's are the pirellis. like what ferraris come new with.

 

Well, seeing that your 5-year-old PS2s only have <700 miles on them, they SHOULD look like new ones.

Pirelli tires come on Ferrari vehicles, but so do Bosch windshield wipers.

I've driven a set of Pirellis down to the belts, and loved the grip but hated the flat-spotting, the rough riding, and the telegraphing of ALL road irregularities to my steering wheel. Responsiveness was great, but the abuse was not.

Also not a fan of paying an additional $600 just to gain an additional .01g in the skidpad.

 

sorry to hear about your abuse. at the end of the day, your wallet can either handle it or not. imho.

 

More like, at the end of the day, common sense will govern me in spite of an abundance of cash.

If you'll re-read, you'll note that I never said these tires were superior to the outstanding dry traction of a dedicated summer tire.

Rather, I have made a case that these are superior to dedicated summer tires in all other aspects, based on my driving/racing experience. In California, you never experience snow/slush/sleet. So, a compromise is not needed.

By buying these, I forfeited the absolute last fringe of pure all-out performance for a nice trade; being able to drive in all conditions, at all speeds, in every month of the year, and not clinch my teeth (and other areas) due to a fear of sliding off the road.

Important when you're on a budget, have ONE Crossfire, and no garage.

I'm happy for you that you're willing and able to pay the Pirelli tax.

Some folks, despite wealth, prefer catfish over caviar based on mere principle alone.

If something leaves a better taste in your mouth, for less cash... well that's how you get wealthy in the first place, right?

 

Well John, it looks like you may have found the fabled unicorn, an all season tire worth a $hit LOL.

I will wait for the winter review though, after seeing how my all seasons did in the winter vs. the blizzaks, I was amazed....

 

got these and they are gr8.. like em so much i put them on the wife's hyundai sonata also

 

They will be going on the (future) wife's Accord once her crummy Bridgestones wear out...