2000 GTS tire options ?????

[Captain50]

My tires are old, flat spotted. Michelins... What options are out there to replace them with? It looks like a slightly taller tire would work? What has been done out there?... Thanks...335/30ZR18 / 275/35ZR18

 

[Steve-Indy]

I got a set of new Pirelli tires for our 2001 GTS last year from JonB at Viper Parts Rack.

 

[Mferg16]

I’m running Toyo R888Rs on mine in that size. Usually you can get them pretty easily from tire rack or discount tire. Not obscenely expensive either.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

I’m running Toyo R888Rs on mine in that size. Usually you can get them pretty easily from tire rack or discount tire. Not obscenely expensive either.

I agree. If you are going to stick with 18/18 and you do not mind an aggressive tire, my favorite tires I ever had on my 98 GTS were the Toyo R888s.

Phoenix

 

[FastEddy]

The BFG Rivals S are a good choice if you want a great auto cross tire with still a nice tread pattern. A lot of guys in the Optima street car challenge run them. And they are priced very reasonably. The Toyo R888R are the best for straight line performance. But lack all weather tread.

 

[97BlueWhite4Sale]

Re the flat spotting. Under each of my tires is a one inch board about two feet square and covered with carpet that I roll my Viper up onto. Magically this prevents flat spotting. The front boards have a two inch high board nailed at the front edge that the front tires roll up next to for the stopping point. Hope this helps.

 

[jrkermode]

I run the BFG Rivals on my street/track car. Nice tire, very similar to Pilot Sports (Michelin owns BFG) except the BFGs don't seem to need as much camber (Stiffer sidewall?).

Note: I run 305's up front. On the track, I find the 305's help turn-in and wear less. On the street, the 305's look better, but, tramline more.

 

[djviper]

I agree. If you are going to stick with 18/18 and you do not mind an aggressive tire, my favorite tires I ever had on my 98 GTS were the Toyo R888s.
Phoenix

Agree, I loved my R888's--the only downside is that they were so soft they would leave black marks when parked on hot pavement.

 

[Tom and Vipers]

Any comments on R888R's?

 

[white out]

I run them on my daily '00 GTS. Transformed the turn-in feel, reduces lock up (non-ABS cars), much quieter than R888 and I get about 10k miles out of the fronts. Although they are directional, they drive fine with reverse mounting.

 

[Frank Parise]

I run them on my 99 RT10 on the factory original wheels. Got a great deal from Jon B. at Parts Rack delivered to my front door. I chose to go with the 295 rather thn the 275 up front. I keep them highly inflated (38 PSI) to help clear the speed humps in my neighborhood. Very good experience so far.

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[Tom and Vipers]

Buddy of mine just started running them on his 8 second VW and raves about them - I like the idea of the extra traction (511 rwhp.)

He did say on the sticker there is a warning about operating them under 50* F. This is even higher than Pirelli's ridiculous 45* F warranty limit which basically says you can't run these tires in the High Sierras where any day of the year you could get far below 45* F at night.

Is cold weather cracking actually a safety issue?

I suspect Tc (cracking temp limit) is inversely proportional to UTOG which leads to this thinking: BFG Rival:

R888R's are 100 while all BFG Rival variants are 200. Original Pilot Sports were 220.
Rival S is only made in 18" Viper sizes 275/335
Rival S 1.5 is made in 18" Viper and other sizes (they have a 315/30 but no 295)

Found an interesting discussion of R888R's on an arch-enemy GT-R site: https://www.gtrlife.com/forums/topic/295658-r888r-in-cool-weather/​