Traction control... need some opinions!

[skatershawn]

Ok so i didn't see much on this, and figured id start this up due to a few reasons.
Ill start by saying this, Im in the market for new tires and there isn't much out there or on here that i could find, about good tires to select for our dsm's!
Im looking for something not too crazy in price and im looking for them to still work on the street in all weather!!

Not some drag radials that i cant use as DD tires!

Ok so ill state that im only running 12psi right now and cant, for the life of me, keep the tires down!
My goal is to get around 375-400hp and maybe more (can look at my mods IF YOUD LIKE, but as for now its not complete to get 400hp yet; but im here for tires now) running 20+psi.
I know i have a FWD and I will please ask to leave out the comments telling me to get a AWD... yes i know i wouldn't run into this problem if i had AWD but i dont, and i cant find a shell that is ANYWHERE as nice as my FWD!!

Price IS a factor... but i will take any advice on a good set of tires, as i can work the money thing out if its close to my budget!

Soo now thats said.... PLEASE Shoot me some facts!!

Thanks and have a great day!!

 

[hubz91talontsi]

A lsd insert may help you a little. I am in pretty much the same boat as you. My car is uncontrolable in 3rd with my 6152e at 17psi. Things you may want to consider.. Lift the rear of the car to get as much traction as possible. I know it looks stupid but it will help a great deal. Im at the point of either just selling my car or getting an awd shell. A good set of tires are toyo proxies r888's.

 

[MrBoxx]

Okay, here's the short list of my recommendations, and I sell tires for a living, so...

1. Price is a slight factor, but daily driving and traction capability is a huge factor:

The Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star-spec

They're a great tire, are built for competition, but I have a friend with a 700+awhp Evo who weekend-drives with them, plus another friend who has a 500+awhp Evo who recently got a set for his car, also daily driven. They're pricey, but not as much as something like a Bridgestone or Pirelli.

2. When price is a definite factor, and you don't need enough grip to change the rotation of Earth:

The General Exclaim UHP

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Very popular tire where I live. I've put dozens of these on Ford Mustangs, Chevy Camaros, etc. In other words, medium-power sports cars that might not see a whole lot of snow. Wet traction on these tires is awesome, and dry traction is also pretty good. The price is pretty sweet too.

I told you it was a short list. Those are just my favorites. There's probably a few other tires out there I could recommend, but tell us a little more what you plan on doing with your car.

 

[KazooGS-T]

I say go with a couple Nitto 555r's.

Awesome wet handling, and superb dry handling (they are a drag radial) and they get good mileage, usually around 20k miles.

 

[MrBoxx]

I have 555R's. They're absolutely amazing on dry pavement (moreso when they're hot and sticky), but they get slippery in the rain. With only 6/32" of tread out of the box, that's not a lot of room for water to squish around in. OP lives in Texas, which if I remember right, is dry most of the time, but is partial to flash-flood rains, and hurricane/tornado weather. I'd like to see him get something with a little bit deeper tread, unless he has a back-up car. If not, then by all means, the 555R is the way to go, however, the smallest they make is a 245/45/17, which barely fits, unless you have a 9" wide wheel and a little more offset. They are also prohibitively expensive.

Edit: It looks like the smallest tire they make that will FIT is a 245/45. They make a few 16" sizes, but they're in the 245/50 size. That might not work on a stock-ish wheel. I couldn't fit a 225/50 on the stock GSX swirlie.

 

[KazooGS-T]

I have 555R's. They're absolutely amazing on dry pavement (moreso when they're hot and sticky), but they get slippery in the rain. With only 6/32" of tread out of the box, that's not a lot of room for water to squish around in. OP lives in Texas, which if I remember right, is dry most of the time, but is partial to flash-flood rains, and hurricane/tornado weather. I'd like to see him get something with a little bit deeper tread, unless he has a back-up car. If not, then by all means, the 555R is the way to go, however, the smallest they make is a 245/45/17, which barely fits, unless you have a 9" wide wheel and a little more offset. They are also prohibitively expensive.

Edit: It looks like the smallest tire they make that will FIT is a 245/45. They make a few 16" sizes, but they're in the 245/50 size. That might not work on a stock-ish wheel. I couldn't fit a 225/50 on the stock GSX swirlie.

I have 555r's on my DD cobra and don't have any problem in the rain, can go 70mph on the interstate without worry.

The nitto's are infamous for running small, so a 245 is more like a 215-225. I had 275's on my 9'' factory wheels and it was almost too small, I have 315's on the back now and everything is good.

 

[dirtbike_79]

I have had the same battle as you ever since I started modding my fwd. As of this past summer I could sometimes get traction in 2nd gear. I had a Quaife lsd installed when my transmission was built, and that helped a lot for torque steer and helped a little for traction. Next on my journey to get more traction, I bought a set of Evo Enkei's with 255/40r17 Falken 452 tires. The tires came with the rims and I did not like them very much. The wider tires helped my traction a bit, but not quite as much as I was expecting, but I would expect more traction from better tires like Star Spec or Kumho XS. After taking these steps to improve traction, I believe that one of the best things to help a fwd with traction is some good suspension. My car has so much weight transfer that under hard acceleration it feels like you are getting ready to take off in a space shuttle. So the next thing on my journey for traction with definitely be a set of coils or Koni's. Hope this helps you out, pm me if you have any questions.

 

[skatershawn]

Ya... i would like to drive safe, i live in austin altho its not like corpus (where i grew up) and houston where it gets hit by every hurricane but we do get tons of waves of thunderstorms and tornado watches.. and plenty of flash floods haha!
and for SOME reason these austin folks get scared in the rain and cant drive worth sh**!

As for the Exclaims.. i saw them on a site for damn cheap and they read performance tires, are they even any good??

and i was thinking (more of a GOING TO) of getting a Insert from SBR when i rebuild the tranny since its getting to the time... my second gear grinds a bit when i try and shift... sounds like an animal is dying under my car :/ (oook not THAT bad)

Plans with the car... well im looking at getting a h1c holset (t3 twin scroll it)with 950cc's but im completely scared to see what that will do with FWD if my 14b is killing me now.
Plan on getting some head work (already got the bottom end ready) and not sure if i was going to get 272 cams but those are a thought crossing the mind! HP goals i set first where 375-400 with a evo 16g but ive already changed that... im looking for an easy 450... maybe 475-500 MAYBE and i know the h1c will get me there in no time!!! Just cant use it if i cant transfer it to the pavement!!

but thanks for the help... and i think i posted this in the wrong section SINCE the main topic of the thread was tires!! SORRY people!

 

[MrBoxx]

The Exclaim UHP is a great tire for the every day medium-powered car. Like I said, I put them on Mustangs and Camaros all day long and have never had a complaint that they wouldn't hold the road. Of course, they are a far cry from a 250hp or even a 400hp FWD DSM, but I think with an LSD upgrade and some decent motor mounts, you shouldn't have any problem keeping dry traction with them, provided you go with a big enough footprint.