Suggestion for new tires

[Js440]

I know there was another thread on tire upgrades for the stock 18's on the 300c. My question is different, but may still have some relevancy for 300c owners - so hope ya'll don't mind this being posted here

I've got a 300m currently, 17's, and i need new shoes pretty bad. I've been holding off a bit, trying to decide on what to get. I autocross occasionally, so higher performance summer tire is very important to me. On my last car (sebring coupe) i put a set of Yokohama ES100's on it's 17's and i was blown away at how well they performed, especially for the money. I beleive the size i was running was 225/45/17, and i paid 125 a tire from Discount Tire. I thought it was a pretty good deal, and was more than happy with the tire... except they didn't have a terribly long life. Figured that'd happen though so it's not a real big concern of mine this time around.

I'm currently trying to decide between 2 tires. The ES100's i purchased before and was quite happy with, or the Toyo Proxies 4. Both in 235/45/17. I know, OE on the car was 225/55, and this'll effect my speedometer, but i'm ok with that as well. The ES100's offer a reinforced sidewall, so cornering is supreme. The Folks at Les Schwab tell me the Toyo's also have a reinforced sidewall, but their website only describes it as a slighting reinforced shoulder, not a full sidewall protection like the ES100's. The upside to the Toyo's is that they have a treadwear rating of 300-320, whereas the ES100's are only 280. Both are AA/A traction tires, so i expect their grip to be similar.

So suggestions and help on choosing? Price is similar, Should i go sidewall/handling over treadwear? Anyone else out there have suggestions on a good affordable (sub 140 per tire) ultra high performance tire? Michellin i hear makes a great one, but run about 200 a tire, and frankly i run through em too fast to spend that much.

Thank in advance!

[E55 KEV]

The Toyo Proxes 4 is an Ultra High Performance All-Season Tire.



The Toyo T1-S is their Summer Tire and is a Maximum Performance tire while the Yokohama ES100 is a step down beina an Ultra High Performance tire:

[Js440]

I think both the Toyo's look great, as well as the ES100's from Yokohama. I don't have a way to post the ES100 pic, but here's the link to Yokohama's site.

http://www.yokohamatire.com/TireIntro.asp?TireID=9

They list the ES100 as part of their AVS series, ultra high performance tires. The T1-S's were a good runner, but i decided against them because of their high price to performance.

Toyo T1-S: 280/AA/A Local cost: $180
Toyo Proxes4: 300/AA/A Local cost: $140
Yokohama ES100: 280/AA/A Local cost: $135

I think maybe the better comparison would be the T1-S to the ES100... but cost wise... bleh, i can't spend 800 bucks on a set of tires i'll run through in a year.
E55, it seems you favor the Toyo's, do you have experience with them? What is your preference on tires overall? I'm simply looking for options, even if i discount most of them, i like to think i've covered most bases. I had purchasing something like this, then coming to regret it later because i didn't think about it enough.

Anyone else able to compare experience with Yokohama vs. Toyo? or any other brand really

[E55 KEV]

Here is a pic of the ES100:



I don't have any personal experience with any of the tires mentioned. I have read great reports about the T1-S. Remember, the T1-S is priced higher because it is a Maximum Performance tire and the ES100 is a Ultra-High Performance tire which is a step down in Summer Tires category. The Proxes 4 is an all season.

[james jefferson]

i contacted DC about tire size changes, they advised that 300c was designed to operate with oem tires and they do not advise changing to larger size. what to do?

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by james jefferson

i contacted DC about tire size changes, they advised that 300c was designed to operate with oem tires and they do not advise changing to larger size. what to do?

What did you expect them to say?!

You buy the tires you want! DCX and dealers are not going to recommend a tire or part other than OEM.

[Js440]

well, as i mentioned above this was for my 300m, not a C. I ended up going with the Yokohama ES100's because they were much cheaper, in the order of 140 bucks less. The tire size i went with was smaller than OEM, and so if my speedometer says 60, i'm doing bout 58.5 or so, better to be lower than high.

The tires themselves are performing great, i'm noticing an incredible difference in noise, comfort and handling.

Another reason i went with the Yokohama is they have a fully reinforced sidwall, whereas the Toyo's do not. The Proxes 4 have a reinforced shoulder, the T1-S have a fully reinforced sidewall, but are much much more expensive.

I'd recommend to anyone that you go to the companies website to check out their tires before buying, no matter what the guys at the store say, they can be wrong. The Les Schwab here told me all the Toyo's have fully reinforced sidwalls.... in fact my dad chose a set of Toyo's over Michellin's because of that. He was pretty upset to find out that his tires are not reinforced at all, on his suburban it's kind of important.

[LWOOD]

I have TOYO Proxes 4 on my Protege and they stick like F$%^&'n glue. They were such a huge improvement over the dunlop ST 5000 that were on it (not a bad tire either) I couldn't believe it. Also had a set on my old Grand Marquis...even with as heavy and uncontrolled as this car was they took a good set and really stuck. I would think these are great tires for the occasional autocrosser.

[james jefferson]

hmm. E55 KEV, will changing to larger tire change my speedo accuracy? and is that all its going to do? no hurry about changing tires now, but of course i will later. also, since i will actively pursue eliminating top speed limiting i will be looking for zr rating or close to it, but no "all weather", i will not run car in snow or ice conditions. on my old lexus sc400 coupe i used firestone firehawk z rated ep's they were superb.

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by james jefferson

hmm. E55 KEV, will changing to larger tire change my speedo accuracy? and is that all its going to do? no hurry about changing tires now, but of course i will later. also, since i will actively pursue eliminating top speed limiting i will be looking for zr rating or close to it, but no "all weather", i will not run car in snow or ice conditions. on my old lexus sc400 coupe i used firestone firehawk z rated ep's they were superb.

Actually, what you will be upgrading to is a 'wider' tire rather than a "larger tire". When upgrading to larger rims or a wider tire you are to keep the tire height the same or very close to it. Using a tire that is too tall or too short will give you a speedometer error. The speedo will state 60 but you are actually doing 65 (taller tire) or 55 (shorter tire).

The height of the 300C OEM tire is 28.6 inches. If using the OEM rims you want a tire that is very close to that.

225/60/18 - 28.6"
245/55/18 - 28.6"
245/50/18 - 28.6"
245/45/20 - 28.7"

The selection of tires is very limited right now.