Am I correct in saying 275/35/18 are the tyre size I need to fit to the rear of my STR.
Thanks Rich.

 

Yes. They're in the handbook - see stickies for free download. Get the right load & speed ratings, of course, and no cheap rubbish.

 

Yes. I have that size memorized as I have replaced the rear set a number of times.

Have a pair on order right now. That STR goes thru some rear tires. I get 15K-20K miles at the most.
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Are you buying tires with a treadwear warranty and therefore getting significant prorated credit towards each new set as the rear tires wear out?

 

Well I know how they get worn out so fast so I can't really blame the tires.

I also run performance tires with a tread wear rating below 300 but I don't go below about 220. I am in a hot and wet part of the world.
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What brand do you prefer? I've been running Nitto Invo 275-35/18 Y's. Tread wear rating of 220. The rears are almost worn out with only 17K miles.
I like how these tires handle, but on cold days they get flat spots that take a while to go away until the tires warms up.

 

like the rest of us STR owners I have been through quite a few sets of tires. I have been all over the map with brands, including Continental.. Non have lasted very long and many are great for half their life.

My last purchase a year ago was Michelin. Can't remember which series. They have a very aggressive tread and are guaranteed for 50 thousand miles.

After a year showing no ware at all, handle great and are much quieter than I expected.
They were around $1400-1500 installed for all four. Much higher than my other purchases
but so far so good.

 

I like and have used Nitto before. NT555's are on my shopping list now. Running Bridgestone RE760 currently but they have a wear rating of 340 so they are a bit hard.

Khumo Ecsta but they keep changing the name so I can't tell if the ASX is close to what I have had in the past or not? Maybe the SPT.

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 are on order now. They are rated at 280 so we will see how they handle.

Looking at Hankook but they seem maybe too cheap?

I go thru the tires pretty fast so stayed away from expensive tires like Michelin and Yokohoma. Also real low rated race tires with wear ratings of 180-200 or less. Man I love them and they are sticky but they just disappear in use. Only did that one time!

I find the high wear tires in the 400 plus wear rating range get noisy after a year or two even though they have plenty of tread left.

Always feels like a new car with fresh rubber. It still amazes me how big a change it is.

As far as brands I have used Nitto and Khumo the most. When I autocrossed in the past a lot of those guys used Khumo's.
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I'm currently running S-04 Pole Positions, they've seen a couple hard road course days and quite a few smokey burnouts, donuts and drag strip action and still seem to have decent life left and good grip.

Be careful about comparing tread wear ratings across brands. A 320 treadwear rating for a Bridgestone tire is not necessarily the same as a 320 tread wear rating for a Michelin or Continental or any other brand other than Bridgestone.

 

Tire Rack has the 275/35ZR-18 Continental ExtremeContact DWS at $213 each, with a wear rating of 540 - that's a high performance all-season tire (at least if you drive like a grandpa, like I do - because I am a .... grandpa).

 

Just smacked the plastic on a new set of Dunlop SP sports for my STR.

 

Yes you are right about the wear ratings. I use them more to indicate stickyness rather than mileage.

Glad to hear the the S-04's have been OK for you. I feel a bit better about trying them now. Just got the call and they are in. Not that common of a tire as they only had 6 in the entire system and had to ship 2 in for me.
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That may mean they are selling a lot of them as well and can't keep them in stock! I know quite a few BMW guys locally that are running them with pleasant reviews.

 

Good to know! Thanks again.
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