New Tires

[Bookie]

Ready to change out my original 2004 OEM run craps. Went to tirerack.com today and identified two tire choices. The two choices were PS2's and Pilot Sport ZP's. The Pilot Sport ZP tires were listed as the OE tire but I thought that the PS2's currently came on the new cars. What is the current original equipment? What is the difference between the tires? Which tires are better?

Thank you guys for the help.

 

[01sapphirebob]

The PS2's are the CURRENT OEM tire for the vipers. If i'm not mistaken, Pilot sport ZP's are actually the run flats which I believe you can't even get anymore. IMO the PS2's are a far better tire. I put them on my '01 RT/10 this year.

 

[tucker]

Save some money and buy the Invo's. Better tire IMO.

 

[Proshop]

Save some money, get a corvette. lol


Get some tried and true PS2s and be done with it. If you buy the ZPs(run craps) get a life insurance policy too.

 

[jman2]

better in what respects though?
can you please elaborate?

 

[tucker]

better in what respects though?
can you please elaborate?

Traction, noise, longevity. All around better tire. I have run them all, and the Invo is a hard one to beat. I have run a good six sets of PZero's and PS2's, and have to say the Invo for a street car is the better of the three.

 

[ROCKET62]

Seems like people like the Invo for very good straight line acceleration and longevity. Most will agree that the PS2's have better cornering abilities.

Also, on the PS2's there is a Viper Spec (C1) tire and a non-spec tire. I haven't heard an exact difference between the two - but there is a price difference.

 

[rudedawg]

Do yourself a favor, call Jon B at Parts Rack. Super knowledgeable will answer all your questions and give you the best price on the tires you decide. He's one of our site vendors and a great guy to deal with.

 

[MTGTS]

PS2's or Invo's, both are waaay better than the run craps

 

[Slithr]

I've heard the PS2's are much better in the rain, living here on the Texas Gulf Coast, I plan to get a set of PS2's in the very near future. Good advice above - call JonB

 

[Solid Red 98]

I have late set of Pilots that are non runflat (same tread pattern) They have given few surprises and seem to be a decent tire. Does anyone have these, and how would you compare them to the tires mentioned?

 

[Dom426h]

Seems like people like the Invo for very good straight line acceleration and longevity. Most will agree that the PS2's have better cornering abilities.

+1 , i can vouch for that.

The INVO's have soft sidewalls that are OK for normal street driving, but **** at High G cornering that is encountered at performance events. I have run them on Trackdays and Autocrosses with dissappointing results. The fronts scrub a full inch up the sidewalls even with 35psi in em.(which is nearly All of the sidwall on a 19"er)

On straightline traction and low G cornering I was very satisfied and the inside channels work great for anti-hydroplaning in rain. With just over 15K miles on my INVO's(with 2 trackdays & 2 autocrosses) im down to 1/16-1/8th of tread left.

On longevity, all these ~200treadwear tires are in the same boat with reguards to replacing them every few years if your concerned about performance.

My next set of tires will likely be PS2 or KumhoXS.

 

[swexlin]

ZP stands for zero pressure (run flat). When I changed out the original ZP for the PS2s on my 2003 last spring, I couldn't believe the differece.

As for rain, I got caught in a monsoon rains driving 100 miles out the PA Turnpike to Carlisle last July, and they handled very well. Was very impressed.

 

[Malu59RT]

Seems like people like the Invo for very good straight line acceleration and longevity. Most will agree that the PS2's have better cornering abilities.

Also, on the PS2's there is a Viper Spec (C1) tire and a non-spec tire. I haven't heard an exact difference between the two - but there is a price difference.

I drive pretty darn aggresively on the street, and the Invo's haven't let me down yet. Yes, not as great for cornering as a PS2, but if you are changing the run flats on your 2004 Viper, something tells me that you won't need the PS2's. If you are driving it like a racecar on the streets, than go for the PS2.

FYI, the Invo's are $1099 SHIPPED through viperpartsofamerica.com, and all money goes back to the club. I bought a set yesterday, and had the fronts show up today.

I've heard the PS2's are much better in the rain, living here on the Texas Gulf Coast, I plan to get a set of PS2's in the very near future. Good advice above - call JonB

I've daily driven mine in torrential down pours with the Invo's and the PS2's, no issues with either ones.

I know I sound like an Invo nutswinger, but you just can't beat the value of these tires.

 

[JonB]

Do yourself a favor, call Jon B at Parts Rack. Super knowledgeable will answer all your questions and give you the best price on the tires you decide. He's one of our site vendors and a great guy to deal with.

I've heard the PS2's are much better in the rain, living here on the Texas Gulf Coast, I plan to get a set of PS2's in the very near future. Good advice above - call JonB

Thanks For Your Support!

What Matters Most? : Dollars Cost Per Mile, BEST Cornering/Lateral Gs, Great Watershed, Great traction matter most, then PS2s are for you. They only cost about $200/set more than the off-brand touted above.

if COST matters, then Kumho in my opinion at $100/set more is a much better choice and buy. Im not a fan of the current Pirelli or nitto, but stay tuned on Pirelli....

A word or two about "Viper Spec" tires:

If you drive a Gen 1, will you PARK IT because the Gen 1 Viper Spec tire was discontinued in 1997? What about 99-2002 Viper Owners? Your 'Spec' tire was Gone at end of 2002.
And the entire Gen 3 "spec" tire was great when new, crappy when aged/heated. Now discontinued. Gen 3s parking? NOPE! Now that the G4 is finito, the "Viper Spec" tires will soon be old, or history, open your mind. Porsche and Benz and SOBs require some great "spec" tires too, with the proper speed, load, temp and traction ranges. So dont get too hung up on V-spec, or you'll be PARKING!

 

[Ripper]

You nailed it Jason.


for the price and availability Invo's are hard to beat.

The performance of these tires are also A+++

I have them on my Viper along with running them on the TT Gallardo

Car hooks 1070WHP in second gear

 

[Y2K5SRT]

We have had the Invos on our car for over a year now and they are excellent. We don't track it at all, so the PS2's were overkill for our purposes. Either one is a great tire and a much better ride than the runflats that came on our Gen III's.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

Ready to change out my original 2004 OEM run craps. Went to tirerack.com today and identified two tire choices. The two choices were PS2's and Pilot Sport ZP's. The Pilot Sport ZP tires were listed as the OE tire but I thought that the PS2's currently came on the new cars. What is the current original equipment? What is the difference between the tires? Which tires are better?

Thank you guys for the help.

Sent you a PM............

 

[CHAOS]

I went from stock run flats to Khumos and the Khumos wore out really fast, less than 8K miles, back AND front. I still have the front run flats which look almost new?? The Invos have been on the car for about 5 months and are holding up ok but they squeal like a pig when taking turns if you dont turn right, not slow but turn the wheel early into the turn if that makes any sense. The run flats were silent when doing smokey burnouts and donuts for some reason. I dont remember the Invos smoking, but they sure make noise. I am happy with them overall for the price, about $1100 to the house and a Viper tax of $180 to mount plus I "lost" my pressure sensors. Lesson learned, next time I will watch my tires get mounted, eww.

 

[Hamrhead]

So, it's safe to say the Invo's hook up better than the PS2's?


My '08 has 3.55's, H/F cats, Corsa, and the Mopar PCM. NO traction in 1st and 2nd's not too bad once the PS2's heat up.


I want to hook in 1st, yet still have some decent handling at moderate speeds and straight line confidence at triple digit speeds. Actually I don't push it too hard around turns on the street at all, I just don't want that 'mushy' feeling.

 

[ulllose]

I have the pirelli p-zero in a 20" and can say I think the traction is not great at all. They r much quieter when comparing road noise from a zp tire. I will be trying something else for the next set.

 

[Malu59RT]

Thanks For Your Support!

What Matters Most? : Dollars Cost Per Mile, BEST Cornering/Lateral Gs, Great Watershed, Great traction matter most, then PS2s are for you. They only cost about $200/set more than the off-brand touted above.

Wow, the Invo's win in each of those categories. I wish you sold Invo's, but at least I was able to help out the VPA with my purchase.

You nailed it Jason.


for the price and availability Invo's are hard to beat.

The performance of these tires are also A+++

I have them on my Viper along with running them on the TT Gallardo

Car hooks 1070WHP in second gear

That's a testament if I ever heard one

So, it's safe to say the Invo's hook up better than the PS2's?


My '08 has 3.55's, H/F cats, Corsa, and the Mopar PCM. NO traction in 1st and 2nd's not too bad once the PS2's heat up.


I want to hook in 1st, yet still have some decent handling at moderate speeds and straight line confidence at triple digit speeds. Actually I don't push it too hard around turns on the street at all, I just don't want that 'mushy' feeling.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet a new set of Invo's, that they hook better in a straight line than the PS2's. I would spin my PS2's even when it was 80F some times, and could hook my Invo's when it was 50F outside. The only thing I can't comment on is the 3.55's, but you should definitely notice an improvement with the Invo's!

 

[JonB]

................

My '08 has 3.55's, H/F cats, Corsa, and the Mopar PCM. NO traction in 1st and 2nd's not too bad once the PS2's heat up...I want to hook in 1st, yet still have some decent handling at moderate speeds and straight line confidence at triple digit speeds. Actually I don't push it too hard around turns on the street at all, I just don't want that 'mushy' feeling.

KUMHOS are stickier than PS2 on launch. They are grippier than either PS2 or nitto, Speed-rated, and corner fantasticlly well.....

 

[JonB]

Wow, the Invo's win in each of those categories. ......If I was a betting man, I'd bet a new set of Invo's, that they hook better in a straight line than the PS2's........

Not true, Malu..... while nittos are better than old-hard-anything, making buyers feel an improvement, you are leaving REAL performance on the table by not selecting Kumho or PS2. Dont take my word for it, how about Car and Driver, Summer 2009?

Both PS2 and Kumho XS exceed the dry performance of all others! And as I noted, the Kumho is a better traction choice for track-autocross. Here is some objective proof.

___________________________________________

The test covered several different areas of performance. AutoX , skid pad , braking , price and ride quality. I am not going to reproduce the entire article without permission, but here are some of the numbers :

AutoX times wet/dry

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 60.7 / 60.1

BF Goodrich G-Force T/A KDW2 61.3 / 59.6
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport 62.5 / 60.1
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 60.8 / 59.3
Falken Azenis RT-615 64.2 / 59.8
Hankook Ventus V12 EVO 61.0 / 59.8
Kumho Ecsta XS 65.4 / 59.0
Ling Long L688 61.1 / 65.8
Nitto Invo 61.9 / 60.5
Yokohama S-Drive 61.5 / 60.3

SKIDPAD, g's wet / dry

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 0.88 / 0.92

BF Goodrich G-Force T/A KDW2 0.85 / 0.91
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport 0.80 / 0.90
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 0.86 / 0.92
Falken Azenis RT-615 0.80 / 0.91
Hankook Ventus V12 EVO 0.87 / 0.93
Kumho Ecsta XS 0.77 / 0.94
Ling Long L688 0.73 / 0.88
Nitto Invo 0.82 / 0.91
Yokohama S-Drive 0.84 / 0.88

after the testing the Car and Driver test drivers and staffers still consider the Pilot Sport PS2 the top summer performance tire. {VIPER models in BLUE}

Final Results for the challengers

#1 Dunlop Star Spec
#2 Hankook V12 EVO
#3 Kumho Ecsta XS
#4 Bridgestone RE760
#5 BF Goodrich KDW2
#6 Yokohama S-Drive
#7 Falken Azenis
#8 Nitto Invo
#9 Lin Long L688
__________________________________________

End result, in the opinion of Car and Driver, only Lin-Long tires (!) performed worse than nitto. Buy them for low initial price, but NOT for performance......and if you DRIVE your Viper 8-10k/year+, in cost per mile, it is still PS2 that is the best value.

 

[Malu59RT]

What Matters Most? : Dollars Cost Per Mile, BEST Cornering/Lateral Gs, Great Watershed, Great traction matter most, then PS2s are for you. They only cost about $200/set more than the off-brand touted above.

I said they are the best value (dollars cost per mile), have great watershed (not the best), and great traction (straight line is better than PS2's, never had an XS to compare). I didn't say they were better in cornerling/lateral G's. I was only referring to those items I had placed in bold, in the previous post.

Not true, Malu..... while nittos are better than old-hard-anything, making buyers feel an improvement, you are leaving REAL performance on the table by not selecting Kumho or PS2. Dont take my word for it, how about Car and Driver, Summ,er 2009?

Both PS2 and Kumho XS exceed the dry performance of all others! And as I noted, the Kumho is a better traction choice for track-autocross. Here is some objective proof.

___________________________________________

AutoX times wet/dry

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 60.7 / 60.1
Kumho Ecsta XS 65.4 / 59.0
Nitto Invo 61.9 / 60.5

SKIDPAD, g's wet / dry

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 0.88 / 0.92
Kumho Ecsta XS 0.77 / 0.94
Nitto Invo 0.82 / 0.91
__________________________________________

End result, in the opinion of Car and Driver, only Lin-Long tires (!) performed worse than nitto. Buy them for price, but NOT for performance......

Car and Driver also considers the Corvette a better car than the Viper, so they have already lost my respect, but that's not the point of this.

The key factor to remember here is that I'm NOT recommending this tire for the weekend auto-x warrior, but for someone that wants to drive their car daily, not spend more money than they have to, and be able to put their power down in a straight line. Why recommend them an XS that is great for dry weather, last's less than 10,000 miles, and doesn't do well in the wet (4 sec. slower in the wet, and .05g less than the Invo's)?

Don't forget that I've taken both the PS2's and the Invo's on a ride to hell and back, as a tire for every day use. Occasional track excursions, driving in heavy rain, street racing, and the Invo's at the track. Not to mention, they ride smoother with the slightly softer sidewall. I'm not talking out of my @$$, I'm just giving my (informed) opinion about the capabilities of the PS2/Invo for the OP.

 

[tpduke112]

Bump this thread because I'm doing my research for tires I'm going to buy in the Spring. I've narrowed it down to 4 choices- PS2, Ecsta XS, KDW2, and Invos. I probably drive between 7 and 9 K per year. I will be doing a few autocrosses this year. How many miles can I get out of each option and who had the best priced for each?

 

[JonB]

Bump this thread because I'm doing my research for tires I'm going to buy in the Spring. I've narrowed it down to 4 choices- PS2, Ecsta XS, KDW2, and Invos. I probably drive between 7 and 9 K per year. I will be doing a few autocrosses this year. How many miles can I get out of each option and who had the best priced for each?

As an autoXr, If you re-read the above first-hand experiences, as well as objective tests, you will ELIMINATE the KDWs and invos from your plans..unless you plan to go SLOWER in your autocrossing. The Kumhos will corner fastest, the PS2s last longest.

The price now, and the price in the Spring WILL be different. Besides, forum rules prevent vendors from posting prices in all but 2 Vendor areas.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I have had the Kumho XSs for about a year and commute 102 miles/day. I'm guessing they have ~100 trips, so 10,000 miles on them and they'll go close to that again. No events or AX on them, though.

When I bought them from JonB, they were barely more than half the price of the then current Michelin tires. I have a tire changer, so it's a no-brainer to buy two sets of sticky tires for the price of one set that lasts longer...

On my 17" OEM wheels, around 32 psi rubs crayon off up to the marker on the tread shoulder for "spirited parkway commuting" conditions. I've had the V700s and they were pumped up close to 40 psi for AX and these seem like they would need more pressure also.

 

[Black Moon]

Final Results for the challengers

#1 Dunlop Star Spec
#2 Hankook V12 EVO
#3 Kumho Ecsta XS
#4 Bridgestone RE760
#5 BF Goodrich KDW2
#6 Yokohama S-Drive
#7 Falken Azenis
#8 Nitto Invo
#9 Lin Long L688
__________________________________________

End result, in the opinion of Car and Driver, only Lin-Long tires (!) performed worse than nitto. Buy them for low initial price, but NOT for performance......and if you DRIVE your Viper 8-10k/year+, in cost per mile, it is still PS2 that is the best value.

The PS2's didn't make the final 9???? Where did they place in the finals?

 

[mattdillon]

I went from stock run flats to Khumos and the Khumos wore out really fast, less than 8K miles, back AND front. I still have the front run flats which look almost new?? The Invos have been on the car for about 5 months and are holding up ok but they squeal like a pig when taking turns if you dont turn right, not slow but turn the wheel early into the turn if that makes any sense. The run flats were silent when doing smokey burnouts and donuts for some reason. I dont remember the Invos smoking, but they sure make noise. I am happy with them overall for the price, about $1100 to the house and a Viper tax of $180 to mount plus I "lost" my pressure sensors. Lesson learned, next time I will watch my tires get mounted, eww.

Don't tell me that, I just bought a brand new set about a month ago. I didn't think much at first, thought you probably kept your foot in it, (then you said fronts too) so now I'm really worried.
where's JonB, is this the norm!