Need tire help! And how bad are old tires….

[Rda316]

My rear tires are from 2007 and my front tires are from 2010……how bad is it that I’ve been driving on them??…. I don’t see any visible cracks.

Now for new tires. No pilots are available. Should I get the toyo 888 (Which on some posts here people have said these are more track tires)? Or should I get Nittos (but won’t match as they have motivos for the front and 555’s for the rear)? Any help is appreciated as I want to be ready for the spring.

 

[SA HEAT]

Old tires are dangerous, especially if you are doing anything north of cruising around town. Get new tires!

Have you considered the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02? You would need to go to a 355/30 on the rear but the difference is minimal. The 355 will make your car sit only ~2/10 of an inch higher in the rear....also, the 355s actually fit the 13" wide wheel a little better than the stock 345s. I have the previous generation of these tires on my ACR and I've pushed them pretty hard in the Texas Hill Country and they are wonderful....they grip with no drama. They also ride great and are quiet. I've never had them in the rain, but they are supposedly very good there too. The R888R is a great tire, but probably a little extreme for a street only. They're rough and noisy, they sling rocks and gravel like crazy, and you don't want to drive them in the wet but they do grip like hell on dry pavement. Had R888s previously and liked them, but the R888Rs weren't available in Viper sizes when I was looking for new tires last (pandemic shortages). I've been pleasantly surprised by how good the Contis have been and the new 02 version is supposedly even better. They do well in the tests too.

 

[99RT10GTS]

I have bought 4 wrecks from guys driving on 10+ year old tires. It is stupid. You own a Viper, step up and get a decent set. Conti Extremes are a great all around tire. R888Rs are awesome for the curvy roads

 

[Rda316]

Thank you both, and yes completely agree it’s not good to be driving on old tires. I just got the car a few months ago and have been waiting to see if I can get the pilots but they still don’t have a date on when they would be making them. I called the rep at tirerack and he said they might be making them for this May but Michelin always pushes back the actual date so could be another month or two after, if at all.

I ended up going with the continental extremecontact force, even though the rears are also out of the stock, the rep said it should be a 1-2 month wait time until they have them available.

I looked at the nittos but they didn’t have a matching set. And the toyos for me didn’t make sense as they are track tires. I’m going to wait the 1-2 months and I can always cancel the order and end up going with the toyos if absolutely nothing else is available.

By the way, is there any value in saving the old tires? Do collectors look for these at all?

 

[nicholas8]

Another thumbs up for Contintental Extreme Sports. I just had them installed a few weeks ago. I had a really good experience with Jon at Viper Rack Parts. He had the tires shipped to me super fast. As SA Heat mentioned, I think the 355 fit the rear wheel better.

Plus, it was the least expensive out of all the tire options buying them from Jon.

They are quiet and a huge improvement over the old tires I had on.

 

[nicholas8]

Also, just wanted to clarify because it took me a moment to realize it. Jon with Viper Parts Rack is not same as Tire Rack. All the company names run together to me. If you do get a quote from him my experience is it best to call versus trying to navigate his website which may up to date. Not sure if he has them in stock or not but may be worth a call.

 

[pokeyl]

Tire Rack Cont tires $220 rebait

 

[99RT10GTS]

By the way, is there any value in saving the old tires? Do collectors look for these at all?

No, toss them. Or use them on your Oak tree as a swing..........

 

[99RT10GTS]

Tire Rack Cont tires $220 rebait

For 2 tires? Link?

 

[pokeyl]

4 tires, info at Tire Rack if the special is still on.

 

[Rda316]

Awesome, thank you @nicholas8 , I just reached out to him and hoping he has some in stock.

 

[TexasViper35]

I just bought 2 rear 345 Super Sports from Discount Tire in Dallas. No sign of any shortage. They ship if you don’t have a store.

Its been a year but I bought my new front 275’s from Pep Boys in Tampa, and I had one replaced under Road Hazard in Dallas. For the front I went with Pilot Sport 4S. Very similar tread design so it is a nice fitting and I get to stay with the correct size.

 

[Loren jones]

I went with the Conti extremecontact sport 02's as well, have about 1,500 miles on them, very pleased and a world of difference from the original 14 year old tires....

 

[Jim Myke]

Did you check with discount tire? I got a set of pilots for my 98 last year, if not maybe try nitto invo's had them on my scat pack 275 front 315 rear 20 inch worked well.

 

[Rda316]

Thank you all. I ended up going with Jon from viper parts rack and the help he gave me was incredible. The tires I placed an order for on tire rack were track tires and Jon helped me cancel that order and got me the right set of continentals THE NEXT DAY! I literally placed an order with him and the next day they were at my door. He knows his stuff and appreciate the help I got from you guys and him in this process. This is a great community and look forward to all future recommendations.

 

[Siciliano15]

when you were looking for the michelins, i know the ps2s have been discontinued a while but what about the ps4s? did you see any of those available? i was thinking about going with those in 355 width for the back and 285 width for the front. not sure how those compare in performance to the continentals though

 

[BoremViper97]

My tires are date code 2016 and 2017, and I don’t find them to be terribly bad.
They slip nicely for burnouts and donuts but otherwise they are confidence inspiring.
I do take it very easy if the roads are wet but otherwise I just drive it like I want and have no concerns.

 

[dino]

Interesting forum here. I guess I'm not alone. Any issues with the speedo when using the 355s?

Cheers

 

[dino]

Another question here, If I go to a 355 for the rear, does it make sense to go to a 285 instead of a 275 for the fronts?

 

[Steve M]

Interesting forum here. I guess I'm not alone. Any issues with the speedo when using the 355s?

Cheers

Gen 3+ (2003-2017) Viper speedos reference the ABS sensors - tire sizes and gear ratios don't matter much. It's always a good practice, though, to see how your speedo compares to GPS in case John Law wants to have a chat.

Another question here, If I go to a 355 for the rear, does it make sense to go to a 285 instead of a 275 for the fronts?

Personal preference here. 285/35-18 front has a taller sidewall, so it'll fill up the front wheel well a little better and give you a little bump in ride height. The downsides are that they are usually more expensive than a 275/35-18, and they'll also weigh a little more.

The difference between the 345 and 355/30-19 rears is really negligible. Just get whatever is available and move on. Cars and Coffee bragging rights would favor the 355 if that matters to you.

 

[2004Fangs]

So was going to ship a 2004 SRT-10 from Northern NJ to RI, but now thinking of driving. Is that a no-no with 20-year-old tires with less than 10K miles? Swear I'm not going to go over 70

 

[BoondocSaint]

Like 4-5 hrs of driving? If the tires aren't dry rotted, and are in generally good condition they should be fine. ***Understand that you're driving on bricks, many many Vipers wrecked when the owner F-ed around and found out on old tires. ALL of their capabilities will be greatly diminished including handling, traction, wet weather stability, cold weather stability, etc. Considering you will absolutely have to replace those tires, best if done before the trip.

 

[MoparMap]

Like 4-5 hrs of driving? If the tires aren't dry rotted, and are in generally good condition they should be fine. ***Understand that you're driving on bricks, many many Vipers wrecked when the owner F-ed around and found out on old tires. ALL of their capabilities will be greatly diminished including handling, traction, wet weather stability, cold weather stability, etc. Considering you will absolutely have to replace those tires, best if done before the trip.

Agreed. It's an unpopular opinion around here, but the most important thing is just understanding what you have and driving to it. I bought some takeoffs from another local owner (not directly from them, but from the guy that took them off their car). They were older, but still had plenty of tread and I knew how the guy treated his car (very nicely). I fully understand their limitations though and it's very obvious the difference between them and brand new tires. However, 90% of the driving I do or more is just your typical commute where I'm not trying to set lap records or push the limits of the car. I might do the occasional quick takeoff or faster turn, but I'm still driving on public roads with traffic, so I'm not doing anything stupid. As I tell a lot of people, if you drive it like a normal car, it drives like a normal car. Be mindful that the car is going to have a much higher performance envelope that is going to be limited by the weakest component (traction), and you will likely be just fine to get it back home. Alternatively, you might see if you can do a short test drive to understand what you'd be getting into. Do some mildly quick turns or avoidance maneuvers like a quick lane change or hard braking (in an open space) to see just how bad it may be. If the car will barely drive in a straight line because the tires are so slippery then for sure get a new set, but if you are comfortable with their capability (or lack thereof), then drive it home where you can get new ones at your preferred shop.

 

[GTS Dean]

^What he said!^

 

[2004Fangs]

Thanks for the input. Will give it a test drive before driving up 95N. I've gotten dozens of inexpensive shipping charges, but what better way to promote the Vipe with a cruise through the tri-state. I have no illusions of stressing the car during the ride, planning on nice easy cruise in the right lane. My main fear is still that I'll be distracting other drivers while heading into slowing down summer traffic.

 

[GTS Dean]

Just make sure the tires are properly inflated and not showing obvious signs of suspension maladies.

 

[BoondocSaint]

Sounds like the plan is to deal with the tires after the trip. Like others have pointed out, drive her like a normal car and enjoy the trip. If overall condition doesn't throw any red flags and tire pressure is good, then turn your focus to other parts of your trip. Never hurts to take a can of fix a flat to get you over to the next convenient stop.

 

[Old School]

25 years ago I had a nine year old tires’ belts delaminate and beat up the fender. It had just a few thousand miles on it with most of its tread left. I won’t drive on old tires anymore.

 

[2004Fangs]

Well someone just made an offer on the car, looks like I won't be able to take it up to RI anyway.

 

[Rda316]

***** you didn’t get the car but yep same feeling as a few others said before. You CAN drive on old tires carefully. But then again why take the chance? Just get the newer ones and have that peace of mind. Sooner or later you’re going to push it a little and better to be in a better spot with newer tires. Also, after I switched to my new tires I could feel the difference in grip and not as bumpy. Let’s be honest we’re driving a Viper and it will be pushed more than a Camry lol