Tires for my Cobra

ArkansasMystic

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I'm about to need some new tires for my Cobra. When I got it about a year ago it had 245/45/17 Nitto 555's. I liked them, but I wish they'd hook just a little better. Also, it seemed to like to hydroplane at times. I now have 17x9 wheels, so I'm looking at 275/40/17 tires. The ones I got with the wheels are Hankook all season's. They actually do pretty well. They hook worse on dry and about the same on wet as the 555's. I'm from Arkansas and will be using these year round. I made it through this past winter with 555's just fine. We get 2-3 snow/ice storms a year, but I just won't drive then. However, cold weather will be a problem. The 555's did well in 20-30 degree weather. My main concern is longevity. I want drag radials, but since the car is my daily driver I need tires that will go for 30k+ miles. With the 275's up front, the car likes to wander the road and I'm having trouble with bumpsteer. I'm considering 275/40/17 555's. Also, I've been wanting to try some BFG KDW2's. They only come in a 255/40/17, but I think that would help my wandering and bumpsteer problems a little. Which of these would you all suggest, or do you have other suggestions? Thank you !
 

CanaryGT

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Well if you get all the same tire size you can rotate. That will save a little life. But besides that, a lot of my friends run those 555R's or the KDW2. The Vredestein Sessanta is also one that is used.
 

Win

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For the Size why not go with a 255/45/17.... Pretty common and also not that expensive. I had some Toyo Proxes on one of my cars and they handled exceptional in all conditions. You could also see if you could find some Take off tires from a GTO or something can't remember the size but i think it's a 17 " rim someone correct me if i am wrong.
 

OnyxCobra

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I don't like the 555s, their performance is only good for a year and they start dry rotting, i had horrible luck with them as did a few people i know. The Nitto DR actually lasts pretty nicely, 15k or so if you're nice to them and they are cheap in 17" size, I'd highly recommend them. Otherwise yeah the BFG KDW is a great tire also, and i've also heard good things about the Kumho Ecsta MX. Honestly you won't get 30k out of any of these tires, or probably any performance tire for that matter. Look at good touring all seasons if you want higher mileage out of them.
 

Magic

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You (the OP) mentioned the need for an all season tire...

I did a quick search on TireRack.com, for an all season ultra high performance tire in the 275-40-17 size. The following tires were the result (from the brands that they carry):

Avon Tech M550 A/S
BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S
Continental ContiExtremeContact
Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season
Kumho Ecsta ASX
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus
Pirelli PZero Nero M&S
Sumitomo HTR+

Now from what I noticed by doing a quick comparison glance between these tires, the Continential tires seemed to stand out better (based on the ratings/score) for all seasons.
 

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