Can anyone recommend tires?
I am going to be replacing my tires in the very near future. Does anyone have any recommendations in the stock size (225/55ZR16)? I would like to be as near as possible to original equipment, although, those tires that were OE are no longer available. Any recommendations?
Comments
Since the OEM tires were Michelin Pilot's prior to them being call Pilot tires that would be my choice for OEM comparablity. The Pilots are good looking tires and actually are a better compound than the OEM XGT tires.
If it was just for pure driving / looks I agree with you on the Goodyear F1's.
Thanks. This agrees with what I have found as I have been researching this. The Pilot XGT Z4 is not quite the same as the XGT Z4 from the early 90's. Another difference is that the current "Pilot" version has a directional tread where the original version did not. It seems like a great tire and I have seen it on some of the finest feature cars so it seems acceptable in terms of preserving originality.
The only problem is that I have been unable to locate them and was told by Michelin that it is currently on "national backorder" and will not be available until the end of the summer.
I have had a couple of recommendations on the Pilot Exalto A/S 225/55HR16 as an alternative. My only concern (valid or not) was with the H rating. My thinking was that tires should always be replaced while keeping the same specs.
The Pilot Sport A/S is available in 225/55ZR16 but it is far more expensive than the Exalto ($190 vs. $120).
When I bought my car it did not have the original tires. But, from what I know, most V8 Mustangs in the early 90's came with the Gatorbacks so it would be a safe assumption. I really think it would be hard to say my car originally did not have Gatorbacks unless, of course, the original tire warranty paperwork was still with the car to prove otherwise.
For these reasons, I feel like I could go with a Gatorback replacement and it is why I also considered Goodyear. But, when I checked their website as well as Tirerack.com it did not seem like there was the right tire in the size I needed. I didn't see the Eagle HP in their Eagle lineup.
All this being said, on Monday I went with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I just picked them up today and they are not on the car yet so I can't tell you how I really feel about them yet. They certainly weren't the cheapest option and I don't do the type of driving for which they are best suited.
To add insult to injury, I just tonight checked back on tirerack.com and now see that the Pilot XGT Z4 225/55ZR16 now shows an "estimated availability" of 6/22/2007 instead of Backorder.