Cant find a 295/35, any tire suggestions?

For everyday street driving the Continental Sport Contact DW has good wet and dry grip and is comfortable and quiet as performance tires go. For more aggressive driving the Nitto NT05 holds up pretty well on the track for a street tire. Both are available in 295/35-18. I have two sets of the Nittos for my 348 (17s & 18s) which probably cost less in combination than one set of Michelins that would not hold up nearly as well on the track. Hankook and Dunlop both build some great tires that might be available in 295 as well.

There are plenty of sources for tires other than Tire Rack.

 

Like mink said...i have been very impressed with the contis dw. Great street tire for the maranello. For dotR tire hoosier A7 but not for street at all.

 

I am running SS's now but I enjoyed the Continentals too. I'd buy them again.

 

What is wrong with Bridgestone S04s?

 

There are 295/30 18 MPS available if you would be willing to go to lower aspect ratio. I just put a set on my Porsche TT two weeks ago. I must say it took Discount Tire two weeks to access them from CA and send them to my local store here in NC. They were fresh having been made in the French factory two months ago. They were also the slightly more expensive Porsche N3 Spec tires but they did say the non N spec were available as well.

 

+1
I've loved the S line for years. To this day the S-02 is still my fav tire of all time... but they were from the 17" era and were never made in larger sizes that we need today.

I currently run S-04s on all 4 corners of both my cars. Love them.

 

Michlens last too long for the amount on miles I put on them. They time out before wearing out
I will go sticky from now on

5000 a set of tires is perfect for my use

 

Two comments.
First tire selection should not be based on how they look on the car unless spinners are required.

Second tire size on the sidewall is not true to size. The manufacturer has the actual size. Sometimes a 295 will fit fine from one maker but rub your fender from another.

 

295/35 to 285/35 is only like a 3.5mm shorter sidewall. Also, what's the minimum wheel width for a 295/35 tire according the each manufacturer?

 

I'm on my second set of these and luv them.

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2

 

Bridgestone REO5OA. I have these on my F355 and my Sl55.

 

I hated these so much I took them off with only 1,000 miles on them and went back to S-04s. No traction, especially bad on the tracks.

 

Nitto builds outstanding tires-- IMO, the quality equals the other brands mentioned here.

The NT01 is probably the best true track tire on the market that can still be driven back and forth to the track. It's quite a bit heavier than a Hoosier and not as sticky initially, but it's less prone to damage/flat spotting and it lasts far longer than Hoosiers (with less drop-off in grip due to heat cycles). However, its wet and cold weather grip make it unsuitable for use on the street except on dedicated track cars. I run them on my ///M3, but that car is not driven in the rain and is seldom driven on the street other than to and from the track. For that purpose the NT01 is ideal, but it's not the best choice even for a car that is tracked, but primarily driven on the street.

For street cars that see a little track time, or for track tires for less experienced or less aggressive drivers, there are a few good choices available in the US: the NT05, the Bridgestone RE71R, the Hankook Ventus R-S3, and the Dunlop Star Specs are all excellent tires in what I call the "cheater autocross" category. All of those tires hold up better to the heat generated on the track than do most any other street tire, and they offer more grip as well. Not sure how many are available in the sizes you want though.

I chose the NT05s for my 348 because I wanted 245/295s that would be predictable on the track as I start setting up the suspension, and also because they're cheap. When you go through as many tires as I do, you don't want to pay $400 each for them, especially when better tires are available for less $.

Now, if you're not doing any track stuff at all even those listed above are pretty much overkill. As someone who has been teaching high performance driving for twenty years, I can tell you that most people don't use the full capabilities of the tires on the track, let alone on the street. I drive hard on both the track and the street, but I still don't push my street car hard enough to need or want the dry grip advantage offered by the stickiest tires.

For what it's worth, my tire selection criteria for street tires are as follows: wet grip (particularly braking), price, longevity, comfort, noise. For a car that is not driven very often, longevity becomes less of an issue, since you'll likely have to replace the tires due to age instead of wear. And if you studiously avoid driving your car in the rain, you can push wet weather traction down the list, although I still think it's important in case you happen to get caught in an unexpected shower. Build quality is also important, but not really a factor since all of the brands under discussion are excellent tire makers.

I'm not in the tire biz and I don't have any particular axe to grind, but I do have above average experience with various brands of tires, especially on the track. My experiences have shown that in almost no case is it necessary to buy at the top end of the price range unless you are competing at a fairly high level, and certainly not on the street. An expensive tire does not necessarily offer more grip, and the vast majority of street drivers (myself included) don't need max dry weather grip anyway. If you drive aggressively, you're going to be replacing tires often enough that you can try lots of different brands (and you won't want to spend any more than you have to). If you drive normally, you may very well wind up replacing the tires due to age alone.

One final bit of advice: if you're undecided between two different tires in the same performance class, choose the lightest one. Unsprung weight makes a huge difference in the way a car rides/handles, and rotating weight makes a big difference in the way a car accelerates/brakes/changes direction. Lighter is better, but not at the expensive of fragility. Otherwise, we'd be having this discussion on Lotustalk.

HTH,

///Mike

 

One more freebie tip: if you buy tires from Discount Tire Direct and you're not in a big hurry, keep your eye on eBay because they often offer rebate cards with the purchase of two or four tires from DDT. And sign up for the DDT emails as well, for the same reason. I think I got $100 back on one set of NT05s for my 348, and $75 back on the next set. DDT was already offering the best price after shipping, so the rebates were just icing on the cake.

 

I like them on the street. I never track my car.

 

Bridgestone S04's are a good tire. I have those on my 993S. On the street I don't notice a big between the RE050A and the S04's. Of course these tires are on 3 different cars so it is not easy to make a direct comparison.

 

cool. thanks for the update