Street tires

[stevensonjr]

I need some advice on tires. I want to buy the softest best riding tires for my 05 Vert. Tired of being thumped by every crack or tar strip I drive over. I don’t do track days, only an occasional hard run thru the gears. I’m approaching 80 years old and I’d like to soften the ride a bit. I don’t care about wear or 150 mph capability, just the best ride at normal Highway speeds.
Suggestions of brands and specific tires would be appreciated. Thanks, Bill

 

[KC4SSD]

I run Nitto Invos on my ACR and love them, run Toyo proxes s/t and like them too on my Viper truck

 

[kssssnake]

Call Tirerack in South Bend Indiana and ask for Luke. He's the goto viper guy. They can actually heat treat tires to soften the compound. Amazing company. Ship anywhere.

 

[TexasViper35]

Are you still riding on the OEM Michelin Run Flats? My ‘04 came with them and I put a replacement set on at 15K miles. Those were very practical if you had a flat tire obviously, and they were lots of fun because you could easily make the rear end slide in 90° corners and marvel as the car straighten out as it recovered; I loved that!!! But eventually they were NLA and I switched to Michelin Pilot Super Sports, they are a much much nicer ride, I’ll be buying my 3rd set very soon.

Both Michelin products lasted an incredible 15K miles. I came from Porsche cars and I always ran Pirelli P Zero Rossos, lucky to get 8K miles out of them. Pirelli makes the correct tire for the front and a 355, instead of a 345, for the rear that I know some folks run, that may be an even nicer ride, but it’s just an assumption based on their tread wear.

 

[MoparMap]

Can't necessarily comment on ride as I haven't had many to compare, but can confirm that the Pilot Super Sports are a great tire. My dad had some Nitto Invos on an 03 he had for a while that did seem to ride pretty nice and were maybe a touch softer, but that was a while back and I don't know that I ever really drove the cars back to back with that in mind.

 

[littlecaars]

I am on my fourth Viper and I will say Nittos are the best.

 

[Twinturbosd]

Just put replacement Michelin super sports on my 04’
Glad I did, their also in stock at cost o with great pricing and rebates....however bring a low profile jack or boards to drive up on as their lift is not equipped for low profile....

balanced perfectly...also order black 1/4oz weights on line as you dont want the whites or greys on your wheels prob...

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[steel snake]

Goodrich puts out some pretty nice grippy, quiet autocross tires. G-Force Rival S. A kick on mountain roads and general driving too. Wear? Donno.

 

[steve e]

Just a warning I put Goodyear tires on my car and now it steers hard to the left.

 

[steel snake]

Well........you shoulda put Goodrich tires on. I hate getting new tires. No matter how much you plead and fuss the tire guys always beat the wheels up. The Rivals have a soft tread compound and really give confidence on the curves. But that probably means I'll have to get new tires sooner. Can't win.

 

[jmyke]

I have a new set of Michelin pilot's on my 98 viper, but on my 17 hellcat charger I put nitto invo's on, 275 on the front 315 on the back and it has a great ride and handles very well

 

[David McSeveny]

I have just replaced mine with Michelin pilot sport and love them
Had Pirelli Zero before and love the Michelins better and they grip

 

[Tom and Vipers]

What about rain and cold weather?

Some of the tires mentioned will crack in cold weather - even if just rolling car in cold garage. Pirelli voids warranty if some of their tires are driven under 45*F. GM has TSB warning use under 25*F. I revel in a bitter cold, sunny winter day when the car makes lots of HP.

And then there is rain performance. And even possible snow which I have got caught in when trying to make a mountain pass.

The original Pilot Sport on a 2000 GTS was capable of 30-40k under normal use. I know this first hand because I bot a new 2k GTS.

For rain, cold, wear, I would get a tire with a mileage warranty.

For soft ride, you don't want stiff sidewalls so a drag radial would be a better solution. Tire pressure is another variable that can soften ride - but not too low obviously.

 

[MoparMap]

I know my Pilot Supersports have been fine in both the rain and cold, to a degree. They put up extremely well with rain, until the tread starts getting thin, which really isn't a surprise. I have driven my car into the single digits when I used to daily commute with it and never had any issues with them. Traction was fine for daily driving activities and I never noticed any cracking. Snow is the one thing that 100% keeps my car in the garage though. I once thought I could make it through the 1/8" dusting of snow to the main roads from my house and I couldn't even let the clutch out without spinning tires. Could barely even get the car back in the garage because I couldn't get over the bump at the entrance.

I agree on mileage though. I can usually get around 25,000 miles on the back tires at least, nearly double that on the fronts with my regular driving.

 

[Tom and Vipers]

I know my Pilot Supersports have been fine in both the rain and cold, to a degree. They put up extremely well with rain, until the tread starts getting thin, which really isn't a surprise. I have driven my car into the single digits when I used to daily commute with it and never had any issues with them. Traction was fine for daily driving activities and I never noticed any cracking. Snow is the one thing that 100% keeps my car in the garage though. I once thought I could make it through the 1/8" dusting of snow to the main roads from my house and I couldn't even let the clutch out without spinning tires. Could barely even get the car back in the garage because I couldn't get over the bump at the entrance.

I agree on mileage though. I can usually get around 25,000 miles on the back tires at least, nearly double that on the fronts with my regular driving.

To me, mileage tells the whole story. If you get that kind of miles, it is a "passenger car tire" and not a "race tire" that gets 9000 to 12000 and may come new with 5 or 7/32nds tread depth instead of the usual 11/32nds. I think the Mich PS2's had a strong mileage warranty (another indicator.)

Michelin Treadwear Warranties

20k: PS2
30k: SS, PS S​

 

[TexasViper35]

To me, mileage tells the whole story. If you get that kind of miles, it is a "passenger car tire" and not a "race tire" that gets 9000 to 12000 and may come new with 5 or 7/32nds tread depth instead of the usual 11/32nds. I think the Mich PS2's had a strong mileage warranty (another indicator.)

Michelin Treadwear Warranties

20k: PS2
30k: SS, PS S​

Just to clarify, those mileage warranties are accurate, but they only apply to cars that wear four of the same size tires and they must be rotated on a specific schedule and have it documented. For staggered applications, as in the Viper, that warranty is cut by half.

Not sure what you mean by “race tire.” Drag racing? Track days? Two very different animals. The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is one track tire choice, but it won’t last very long at all (4K miles?) and you don’t want to get caught out in the rain with them on your car. A Nitto or a Toyo drag tire are other choices. None of those tires are OEM for a Viper. It depends on the owner’s personal preference. But the OEM tire for Vipers was a Michelin Zero Pressure, then a Pilot Sport, and more recently a Pirelli (not completely sure of all of the OEM tires for all years :lol); but none of them came with 4-7 32nd of an inch tread, they all came with 9/32”. But importantly, they all are Y speed rated (the highest available) and perform wonderfully, wet or dry. OEM tires are chosen very carefully by manufacturers.

 

[MoparMap]

... OEM tires are chosen very carefully by manufacturers.

A lot of times they are actually even specifically designed for a particular vehicle. Even among the Michelin Pilot line of tires (Sport, Supersport, Cup, etc.) not every one is created equal. You can get a Pilot Supersport in zero pressure (I believe Vettes spec these) and I think there are some that are specifically formulated for Porsches where it's the same tread pattern and everything, but a different compound. Long story short, not every tire in the same model is even comparable.

 

[George Farris]

Just stay away from run-flats ...