Hello,

I have Rota Slipstream wheels (17"x7.5 +45) and need to replace the Falken Ziex 512 (215/40/17) tires I initially mounted on them. Here's what I'm considering:

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position (215/50R17)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....15WR7RE960PPXL

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position (215/45R17)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

General Tire Altimax HP (215/40R17)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....um=14HR7AMAXHP

Continental Tire ContiExtremeContact (215/40ZR17)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....rtnum=14WR7CEC

I realize that the sidewall profile of these four selections are all different. That's part of the fun. I want your opinion on relative merits and demerits of higher/lower profile tires.

I did a lot of research on www.tirerack.com and determined that these were the best overall tires of the bunch for their respective sizes, taking into account traction and tread wear characteristics. I don't want to buy tires too often and I'm not a particularly aggressive driver. I am looking for good safe tires which do well in all weather and maintain grip in the wet (and nastier stuff, like snow preferably.)

Having said all that, I would love your opinions about this. Please also add any opinions about tires I didn't mention. I don't know much about this stuff, and if you have real-world experience with these or other tires you love, I'm particularly interested.

Thanks a bundle.

 

I will say get the brigestones potensa,those ara the tire i always used to buy,but with the way the economy is i went and got a set of falkens and what a mistake,i will never,ever,eeeeever will buy anything else but brigestones,they are expensive but the ride is smooth and quite and very save when is raining,10+

 

Thanks for the advice. Anyone else? It's a big investment...

 

For the price, the Generals are good tires,traction wise. might not last as long as some of the others, though.

 

Out of all of those, I'd do:

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position (215/45R17)

But yeah. I would also suggest you check out the Falken Ziex ZE-912 tire.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...%2FPerformance

Excellent in the wet, but it's not that great in the snow. You basically need snow tires if you plan on driving in snow. Grassroots Motorsports liked the tire a lot in one of their all-weather crappy comparisons. If you know Grassroots Motorsports, then you'll know that's saying a lot. (^_^ )

 

Stick with 215/40s or 205/45s. I've tried 215/45s and they will rub with certain spring/spacer combos in the rear and throw off the speedo readings. It will also change the gearing slightly (less power).

 

I have Altimax HPs on stock 15" steelies. They are *amazing* in the wet, and pretty good in the snow. No idea how ride would be for you with the different wheel size.

 

Thank you all for the great responses. I'm going to order tires TODAY, so if you have any other opinions, chime in! Thanks!

 

...OH! And one more thing...My current Falken Ziex 512s (215/40/17) actually do rub in the front just a hair...when I'm parking and have the wheel slammed all the way over to one side or the other. Do you guys think that mounting 45s or 50s will rub anytime other than parking? Is it really that much of a difference? Thanks for helping me out.

 

If 215/40s rub now, 215/45/17s will rub slightly more and 215/50s will rub really bad and throw the speedo off a bunch.

 

Anybody else before I pull the trigger?

 

I have had Nitto Neo Gen Tires on multiple cars, they handle great, they're quiet, and last a long time if you have no camber problems. IMO, I'd go with these, they're pretty cheap as well. I've driven on Bridgestone's pole position tires and in addition to the noise, they don't last as long as the Nitto's

http://www.discount-tires-2go.com/St...ShowLarge=True