I bought my '04 Limited about a month ago and have put about 2500 miles on it. It came with these Kumho Ecsta SPT's on the rear, and they are the noisiest tires I have ever heard (aside from monster truck mud tires.) I knew this when I bought the car, and have been reading the forum for suggestions ever since. I am so concerned about ending up with another set of noisy tires, that I have not made the decision yet.

Here are pics of what I would NOT recommend:





My Crossfire is a daily commuter car in southern Texas, so 50 miles a day on mostly interstate, 70 mph, very little wet weather driving and absolutely zero snow. I think my demands in a tire are low noise, tread life, comfort. Based on that, here is what I have gathered from the forum as likely candidates for rear tire replacements:

Toyo Proxes
General G-Max

 

I run Kumho ecsta le sport tires front and rear.They are very quiet and smooth running. You might look at cont. DW which are priced a little higher but are rated alittle higher for comfort and noise by Tire Rack. Good luck.

 

2005 coupe na - average driving (for a xf...)

Recently retired the rears:
* Continential ExtremeContact DSW
* 255/35/19
* 26600 miles
* Remaining tread (32s): approx. 3 outside, 1 center, 2 inside

Kept the fronts for now:
* Continential ExtremeContact DSW
* 255/35/19
* 26600 miles
* Remaining tread (32s): approx. 4.5 outside, 3 center, 4 inside

Overall the Contis satisfied my expectations. For comparison, previously I had Michelin PS2s. They held like glue on turns but on any bumps it was like driving a Flintstone-mobile. The rears were also pretty slick at 15000 miles. I would have kept the fronts, which had decent tread, but a catastrophic blowout took care of that and I got the Contis all around.

As expected the Contis had a significantly softer side wall which made the ride more comfortable (at least for my wife) but I could immediately feel them give on hard cornering, like on acceleration ramps. The rear end always seemed on the verge of losing traction and the front end plowed with understeer. I never had the trust in these tires like I had with the PS2s - truly those were like driving "on rails". In wet weather the loss of rear end traction was pronounced, especially after the first 10000 miles. Nevertheless the Contis lasted twice as long as the PS2s which was also one of my reasons for getting them. Only tried them once in light snow and decided to head back home.

Anyway, based on other reviews on the forum (thanks, great help) and diminished trust in the Contis, I replaced the rears with General G-Max AS-03 275/35/19 hoping that the extra width will help with traction while providing a decent ride and good wear. Will report back when I get significant mileage. Hope this helps.

 

Quick 500 mile update on the Nitto Invo's. Very VERY quiet tires! After burning through the shipping coating and the initial layer of rubber, these things are starting to stick really well. Wet cornering seems quite confidence inspiring although I was able to break them loose accelerating wet fairly easily (no dumping of the clutch either). In the dry they hold quite well in cornering and acceleration. When they do break free, they break free quickly. I did a quick cookie in my work parking lot and as soon as peak torque came up in the revs, they let go and it was pretty wild. Definitely need to play with them some more and get limits established.

Overall, still quite pleased with every aspect of these. Will update after more miles.

 

Well, my Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110's are finally retired. They served me well but did get worn on the inside edges a bit (downfall of a sports car with staggered set). I figure I put well over 30k on those puppies before they were wearing bad enough to warrant replacement.

I am now running new Kumho Ecsta LE Sport tires. Very nice so far. Quiet and grip pretty well now that I've worn off the release agent.

The sizes are the same as my regular setup for the last five plus years...

Fronts: 245/35 ZR18 XL (92Y rated tires)
Rears: 295/30 ZR19 XL (100Y rated tires)

And to answer ahead of time... YES, I am running wider than stock rims. (See my signature)

Pictures for your entertainment.

FYI, if you can, get the lifetime alignment at Firestone. EVERY time you are there for tires you can get a free alignment for the LIFE of the car. Gotta love it for less than $100.

 

That is great advice, unless you live in Boise Idaho. The Firestone store here hires only below minimum wage grade techs that can't even handle studding and mounting a set of Winterforce tires in a 205/65-15 size, which has to be one of the most common sizes anywhere. I wouldn't trust them anywhere near my Crossfire, even if they were the last tire store on the planet!

 

I just love those sumitomo tires just bought some for the stang 245/35-19 4 / $660 mounted & bal at tire rack !!! Crossfire will be next !!!

 

I have two reviews...

I recently replaced my front tires (I had the Hankooks which were shot) with the Firestone Firehawk Wide Ovals before the Dragon. I was very impressed with these tires (about $120 each or so). They gripped well on the curves of the Dragon.

I currently have 285/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZPs on the rear. They are "run-flats". They have great traction for all season tires, but do ride a bit rough. I balked at the price of these tires when I bought them last year, but the run-flat technology was well worth the price as I had experienced a flat tire on the way back from the Dragon and didn't even notice that the tire had gone flat. They made it through two Dragons (about 3300 miles round trip for me), a run to Texas, and numerous runs in the mountains of Colorado.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+A%2FS+Plus+ZP

 

Crossfire: SRT-6
Brand: Michelin
Model: Pilot Sport A/S Plus
Treadwear: 500 AA A
Size: 225/40R18 Front, 255/35ZR19XL Rear

These were on the SRT when I bought it at slightly less than 23k miles. They look fairly new, but I have no clue how many miles are on them already.

Picked the car up in rain and then had to drive to the motel in a torrential downpour. They worked great and never made me doubt the handling of the car.

I have only put close to 1k miles on the car since, and it is a playtoy, so they will probably last many years. But I have no desire to immediately replace them.

pilotsport.jpg

 

Crossfire limited
Kumho ECSTA 4X all season
stock size front & rear

These were good street tires for me, quiet with good ride. No snow here in south Alabama, but more than enough rain at times. The fronts always felt firm and solid with predictable control. On the rear they would slide out from under me when cornering fast, but never without control. I could always feel them starting to go and would be able to keep from breaking loose. Because the alignment was a little off in the front (the drivers side wore out too fast on the inside) I got 19877 miles out of them before I replaced them with Kumho ECSTA LX platinuims. Today I replaced the rears with Michelin Pilot Sports A/S 3 285/30 R19 Y99. The rear Kumhos had 29900 miles on them.

 

I recently bought the Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position from tirerack. I went with 235/40R 18 ($156 ea.) in the front and 275/35R 19 ($212 ea.) in the back. Haven't got a chance to test them out yet being I'm still in Afghanistan but will update when I get back.

 

I've had Bridgestone Potenza All Seasons now for several months and have been happy with them. $971 for the set, stock size, not including mounting, so I have not disabled traction control as the temptation might get the better of me and I don't care to replace them any time soon. My biggest problem was channels of water and they do pretty well in the rain, but it's snowing here in N.C. and she is parked in the garage for the time being. Wishing you safely home, BTsnipes and safe travels when you get back.

 

Found these for $538.10 per set (OEM sizes) at OnlineTires.com. Add S&H plus mount/balance and total price might still be a bargain.

 

Thinking of trying a set of Sumitomo HTRZ III's. Found them for $540 & change on a couple of tire websites (Tire Rack & OnlineTires).

2007 Limited Coupe will need a set probably this year.

 

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tires:

I started reading this sticky from the first post. One of the first posts was regarding Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tires. One other individual said they were good tires, then they were never mentioned again. I'm aware the post was made in 2010 but both the looks of these tires along with the comment as to how quiet they are really caught my eye.

So no one else has installed them? I'm mostly interested in how well they would handle SoCal's poorly patched freeways. I definitely don't need all weather tires nor will I be using them at 'the drags'.

Night and day comment, but I install Vredistein Classics on all of my client's '57 to '66 Alfa's. The client's love them.

Biba

 

We have a set of those installed on the rear of the convertible in a 275 35 19 and as for performance not too impressed, they're OK for the daily driving or women driver who doesn't stomp on it but traction isn't as good as say the ps2 or nt05

 

Vehicle: SRT-6 (stock)
Brand: Continental
Model: ExtremeContact DWS

Would buy again: Stock, yes.

My impression of these tires should carry the consideration that this is the first Crossfire I've driven. That said I have lot of wheel time on street, racing tires.

For everyday driving, treadwear is acceptable for a rear drive car that's driven "spiritedly" while the front wear is slightly less than expected for their rating.

Handling and response are better than average as compared to average passenger tire. However, when compared to a tire more suited for racing, (such as the Nitto NT05) the Conti falls short. Primarily, transitional loads are a challenge, resulting in reduced driver confidence in the twisties.

In the 1320, holeshot is exceptional. With decent prep, a 1.89 sixty-foot can be had relatively easily.

All-in-all, for a stock SRT-6, or base/limited XF, this is a great tire. I would go so far as to call it a gateway drug.

 

cjw, thanks for replying. I am not a driver who stomps on it, so that is not a problem.

However, how do the rears both feel and sound when going over a pothole or the opposite, poorly filled potholes?

Biba

 

Feel and sound great over crappy roads, and these roads down here are just as bad as California.

 

What do y'all think about DunlopDirezza DZ101 for the fronts?
$115 each from Discount Tire. I want something quiet and around this price range...