Well, I've posted about it in other threads so let me dedicate a thread to this.

I've got the Eneki 18" rims with the Pirelli tires.

Now the rant, the Pirelli's don't have the lip that helps prevent curb rash if you brush up againt one. You'd think they would but noooooooo.

But, I do have things I like about the tire, handles well, is fairily quiet, treadwear seems to be good, and handles well in the rain.

but, ungh, one of those lips could have saved me from buying two new rims.

Yes, I should be more careful around curbs but, sometimes stuff happens.

When it comes time to replace the Pirelli's I'm going to have to consider an alternate tire that has the lip.

Rant off.

 

The lips come on the Potenza RE92 with 17" stock rims... don't buy into the hype, they do nothing really to save your rims and they easily tear /rip when coming in contact with a curb.

 

Good to know. This is my first car with low profile tires. My last car was a 2003 4Runner Sport with the 17" wheels and a whole lotta sidewall tires. Only had to worry about the tires. And the car before that was a 1997 4Runner.

Must.... break..... habit....... of....... not..... worrying...... about....... curbs.....

 

what is this lip you talk about?

 

Did you get the P Zero M+S or just the plain P Zeros? I'm planning on getting the M+S, thanks for the tip on the lip. I never knew there was such a thing in the first place.

 

You could get some boat bumpers for the side of your car if you have a problem with curbs.

 

They came with the M+S installed and I'm thankful for those when I take trips to Tahoe.

 

Honestly, if you just brush a curb, the tires might save you a little bit, but odds are if you're that close you're going to scrape up your tire and your wheels. I've been driving this car for almost 5 months and I've scraped it just a little once. You just have to be careful - it's not impossible. The tires won't save you. The Pirelli's are good at what tires do - holding onto the road.

 

Or some old school "Curb Feelers"

Seriously though, the lip does nothing for you. I have scuffed a rim on mine and it has the Potenzas with the lip. It is a tiny scuff... not really noticeable, but a scuff none the less

 

Well, I looked up both the Potenzas and the PZeros on Tirerack and the PZero's won out in every category, including tread rating, and were less expensive. Go figure. I'm getting em when I go for 18s.

 

The PZeros are good, but what I think you're really saying is that the RE92s are widely acnowledged to be complete crap. I've got the Continental ContiExtremeContacts and they were significantly cheaper than the PZeros. I love them. With an 18, you're going to have a pretty darn low profile tire on there - may I suggest you at least plus zero size it, if not plus 1...

 

I dont' understand. plus zero? The PZeros are sized for 18s.

 

I had 215 x 30 x 18 Purehellis on my last wheel set. The handled like Nascar, but rode like ____. After 50 miles you ____ blood, they are a major bastard to mount, and they got NO F**KING rim saver!!

When I went to 20's, I decided on 225x35x20 Nitto 555's. I praise the rim saver. It's saved my rims twice. Whats nice is the rim saver is on both sides of the tire so when you mung one side up you flip it over & reverse sides and voila, a new looking tire with rim saver.

I try not to curb the rims (no ____)

 

I have the BFG KDW (new tread) 2153518 the rim protector isn't as much for curb as it is to protect when you hit a pothole or something such as that. it gives a bit more protection.

My advice would be to try to drive on the road and stay away from those nasty curbs . lol

 

dude .. you read my mind .. i have had snows on the car for the winter .. i took off the stock potenzas (only 2 months old) and im buyin 17" Pirelli PZero Nero M+S tires ... i read so much about the quality and performance of those compared to the bridgestones it made me buy new tires when i dont really need to ... ill be gettin them in a week .. can not wait .. by the way if you bring a print out of the price on tirerack.com usually a tire place would match the price ... im personally saving myself like 30 bucks a tire ... FYI ...

 

Might be common knowledge but, from the factory with 18" the tire size is P225/40/ZR18. Just in case the question comes up or people are wondering.

Looks like little rubber bands compared to what I had on my SUV's, 265/70/17.

 

P225/40-18 is a little lower profile than stock, but that's a wider tire than the 215 that ships on the car. I've got a 225 on mine and I like the wider contact patch. But I've got the 45-17 on it and I'm glad it's not any lower profile. I don't want to shake the fillings out of my teeth or bend a rim hitting a little bump. It's not a show car - it's a daily driver and I don't have money to spend fixing stupid stuff.

 

At my dealership if I go to them for all my maintenance I get free tires and batteries for life! So im stickin with the Pirellis as long as they will keep throwin um on my car for free ;)!

 

I have a set of Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires. They are a performance all-season tire (M&S rated) and they have the rim protection ridge around them. I'm very happy with the tires. The have great traction in dry, rain, and snow. Plus they're quieter than the stock tires were. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

Correct. There's really nothing you can do with such low profile tires. Just stay away from curbs.