[Rodge]

My tyres are pretty "tyred" sorry couldn't resist the weak pun.
Have been running the factory spec Goodyear F1 Supercar 245/45/R20's and I know these have come in for some criticism but to be honest I haven't found them too bad.

Questions presenting - Sort of leaning towards the devil I know as in 25,000 km's of running they have been good with no surprises which I think for a 220 wear rated tyre on a heavy car is pretty good, well certainly compared to what I'm used too, (lucky to get 20,000 km's from a set of Dunlop sportmax tyres on my previous FPV supercharged GT-P and they were supposed to be a 240 wear rated tyre)

On the other hand the new Michelin Pilot sport 4 s is out and by all reports is supposed to be a last word in handling and grip but only come in 255/45R20 or 245/40/R20.

Tyre guy tells me 245/40/R20 will lower the ride height by 12 mm's which could be an issue on the goat tracks that pass for an excuse for roads around here not to mention all the speed bumps that drive me nuts.

I am leaning this way to be honest but want others thoughts which would be much appreciated.
Option 1 Replace with originals
Option 2 Michelin Pilot sport 4S 255/45/R20 on the back and because they don't make them in 245/45R20 on the front fitting a set of Pirelli P zero's 245/4520's on the front.
Option 3 Michelin Pilot sport 4s 245/40/R20's all round. Lower ride height could be an issue ?

Thoughts / advice / tell me your tyre story - much appreciated.
Only issue with the car has been one piece of carbon fiber trim lifting off, (glued it back down myself with superglue and battery shat itself early, fixed under warranty)

 

[Piggy.]

The Goodyears are ok in the dry, garbage in the wet. pic below is of Michelin PS 4S all round. Obviously 255's. Speed check gps vs speedo..... now both show the same speed +/- 1 kph, which suits me fine. You will get a touch more ground clearance but is barely noticeable. I'd say forget the 245/40.

Expensive tyres the Michelins but chalk and cheese compared to the factory crap.

PS. (Postscript, not Pilot Sport. Sorry I couldn't resist either) I have some only slightly used Goodyear F1's going cheap if you wanna swim over and grab them. Swim back as the Goodyear Man or a floating blimp, the choice is yours.

 

[Rodge]

LOL that's a long swim, not sure I'm quite that fit
No issues whatsoever with fitting the 255 Pilot Sport 4s's on the front ?
(Thanks heaps for the speedo v GPS speed feedback, an accurate speedo, that's handy !
Must say I really love your new ride / color, (jealous much) and I'd has at a guess that you're finding the 8 speed box "just a little" better than the ol 5 speed ! Couple of 2017 SRT8's (both red) on Trade me in N.Z. but they want close to $90,000 Kiwi for them which I think is about $10K too harsh otherwise I'd probably update the car as well as the tyres

 

[MADDOG]

The 255's will fit all around with no problem.

 

[Piggy.]

The 5 speed vs the 8 speed. There's that chalk and cheese thing again.

Yeah 86990 for a demo is steep altho it's a hyperblack with leather but no sunroof. Maybe advertised price and price you can get it for are very much two different things. Hard to get a good price though if you're trading-in.

I'm thinking of doing the staggered Hellcat wheels in chrome so I might have to end up doing tyres again and unfortunately I don't think they do Michelin PS4S in a size that's compatible with the wheel widths.

 

[Rodge]

Thanks Guys. Sounds like Pilot sport 4 S 255/45/R20 all round are definitely the go then ! Interestingly Mercedes-Benz have this brand as factory fit on their new 4WD AMG E63S with 450 kw's and a whopping 850 nm's of torque.

Yes I've had a chat with both dealers here regarding their 2017 SRT8's. Both want bang on $50K for the changeover which makes my 2014 black one only done 25,000 km's worth only $36K as a trade I know the new 8 speed box is a beauty, (not sure they calibrated it quite as well as the BMW 750 M Sport I was very fortunate to have for a weekend) but 50 kg's is a lot of freight for a facelifted model and the Mrs is bleating louder than a lamb lost from its mother about a changeover involving that much damage and i'm not sure I can be bothered swimming upstream against the current against her barrage of negativism on this. Not really convinced in my own mind the changeover is worth anything like $50K. (Offered $40K but neither dealer was interested).

BTW speaking of hellcat's what's the latest gossip of when / if we get that "puppy" ?

 

[Koooop]

Staggering tires on this car would probably just make the understeer even more pronounced than it already is. The Pilot sport is probably the best on the market, but since I don't ever get this train anywhere close to the 95% on the street I just run the Hankook Ventus V12, they get the job done quite competently and don't break the bank.

 

[Koooop]

Thanks Guys. Sounds like Pilot sport 4 S 255/45/R20 all round are definitely the go then ! Interestingly Mercedes-Benz have this brand as factory fit on their new 4WD AMG E63S with 450 kw's and a whopping 850 nm's of torque.

Yes I've had a chat with both dealers here regarding their 2017 SRT8's. Both want bang on $50K for the changeover which makes my 2014 black one only done 25,000 km's worth only $36K as a trade I know the new 8 speed box is a beauty, (not sure they calibrated it quite as well as the BMW 750 M Sport I was very fortunate to have for a weekend) but 50 kg's is a lot of freight for a facelifted model and the Mrs is bleating louder than a lamb lost from its mother about a changeover involving that much damage and i'm not sure I can be bothered swimming upstream against the current against her barrage of negativism on this. Not really convinced in my own mind the changeover is worth anything like $50K. (Offered $40K but neither dealer was interested).

BTW speaking of hellcat's what's the latest gossip of when / if we get that "puppy" ?

I have a plan, I'm just not going to drive one with an 8 speed so I'll never know the difference and will live fat dumb and happily ever after.

 

[Rodge]

I have a plan, I'm just not going to drive one with an 8 speed so I'll never know the difference and will live fat dumb and happily ever after.

LOL sounds like a good plan mate, (Ignorance is bliss). My thinking is they're a bloody good car with the 5 speed (albeit with a few quality control issues) for the money but getting properly "reamed" on your trade in and paying close to full retail for an 8 speed version doesn't make a compelling case for itself unless..... it has the Hellcat motor and then all bets are off...or should that be ON ::wink::

Nothing much wrong with the Hankook Ventus V12's evo2's, 2 K120's they're known as, awaiting a price on those and advice received so far is there's none in the country. They've got good solid reviews on the U.K. tyre website I use as a first point of reference.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V12-evo2.htm

I should add though that the new Pilot Sport 4 S is getting absolute rave reviews no matter which tyre review website you read so I'm leaning that way, (don't want to outlay $50 Kilos of freight for a new 8 speed... might as well have the very best tyres is my line of thinking)

 

[Piggy.]

The only Hellcat we're likely to see is the trackhawk. Someone said $au154k plus on roads. Out of my price range but I don't want an SUV anyway.

 

[Piggy.]

Staggering tires on this car would probably just make the understeer even more pronounced than it already is.

True, but no track work for me. Mostly just pose with the occasional digging it out of the hole so the staggers would be ok for my usage.

 

[Rodge]

The only Hellcat we're likely to see is the trackhawk. Someone said $au154k plus on roads. Out of my price range but I don't want an SUV anyway.

Yeah I'm not holding my breath either and like you mate I have no interest in the SUV. Mate has a Grand Cherokee SRT8 and the extra weight, top heavy nature of the vehicle and the ladder frame chassis really suck the joy out of it I reckon. Handles like a dog too and you can really feel the extra weight blunt the performance of the Hemi.

Aside from that, $A154K would probably mean dealers in N.Z. would want to rort us for close to $200K here which is never going to happen as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Koooop]

True, but no track work for me. Mostly just pose with the occasional digging it out of the hole so the staggers would be ok for my usage.

I find the understeer annoying on the street. I haven't bothered with a track day with this car for that reason.

 

[Rodge]

Gosh that reminds me the other thing to remind you guys to check is if you curb one of your mags, don't forget to get the wheel alignment done again straight away. I thought I had another 2,000 km's of wear left in the old Goody's but today when parked and my tyres turned hard I noticed the inside edge of the left front tyre had worn down to the point where the canvas was just starting to show. Scared the crap out of me to think I have been driving on a left front tyre like that for the last few weeks !
Gotta get a new set this week !

P.S. I e.mailed a couple of Hankook dealers about trying to get some of the new 245/45R20 K120's, one didn't bother to e.mail me back and the other advised Hankook weren't prepared to import 4 of them for me even as part of their next general tyre shipment. WOW...that's service for ya ! (NOT)

Got to decide this week.

 

[Piggy.]

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

If you put the two tyre sizes in this calculator it shows 1% difference between the 245 and 255.

2k for P Zero's...hmm. My michelins cost me $1640. But if I'd paid the price the michelin site has them listed for it would have cost me $2116. So you have to work a bit for the best price. All tyre mobs will come down but you have to play one against the other.

 

[Rodge]

Thanks Piggy, yeah I got myself horribly confused, hence the big edit to my earlier post and then found a different calculator. The tyre guy has it all wrong and wasn't accounting for the 20 inch size of the wheel when telling me there was a 9% difference in rolling circumference.
The calculator I found also suggested only a 1% change in rolling circumference so the gearing change is minimal.
$634 Kiwi is the very best I can come up with per tyre for the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S including fitting balancing e.t.c. $459 for the Goodyear F1 Supercar 245/45R20's
$484 for the 255/45R20 Kumho K117's wear rating 280 so should last better than goodyears which have a wear rating of 220
$519 for the P Zero's.

What's the wear rating on your Pilot Sport 4S mate ?, will be stated on the side of the tyre.

 

[Piggy.]

300 from memory

Edit: But that's a ridiculous price you've been given. At $410 each for mine that should be around $450 for you... tops. oh well.

Look at them on TireRack lol $263. That's gotta piss you off... and me.

 

[Rodge]

Yeah probably is 300 because the original Pilot super sports are 300. I hear what you're saying, the 10% extra exchange rate and even taking into account our 15% GST vs your 10% that should in theory work out to around your price plus 15% = $472.
Had quotes from the discount tyre dealers in Auckland of $720, $678 and $634. Hassled the cheapest guy a couple of times already for a better price and he didn't even bother replying WTF ?..probably has my e.mail on block now lol.

 

[Koooop]

Gosh that reminds me the other thing to remind you guys to check is if you curb one of your mags, don't forget to get the wheel alignment done again straight away. I thought I had another 2,000 km's of wear left in the old Goody's but today when parked and my tyres turned hard I noticed the inside edge of the left front tyre had worn down to the point where the canvas was just starting to show. Scared the crap out of me to think I have been driving on a left front tyre like that for the last few weeks !
Gotta get a new set this week !

P.S. I e.mailed a couple of Hankook dealers about trying to get some of the new 245/45R20 K120's, one didn't bother to e.mail me back and the other advised Hankook weren't prepared to import 4 of them for me even as part of their next general tyre shipment. WOW...that's service for ya ! (NOT)

Got to decide this week.

I run the Hankook in 275/35, they fit perfect with zero clearance issues at about $1,000 US out the door. My tire guy says I could fit 295/35's if I want. The 275 offers better hook up, better in corners and gives more protection from curb rash when the wife gets her hands on my SRT.

I'm never going back to 245's.

 

[Piggy.]

Trouble with that is the sizing is a bit further out. 275/40's would be ideal. Gotta love how Michelin don't import that size to Australia in the Pilot Sport 4S. I'm happy with the 255's though.