Need tire suggestions

[havand]

When I got my e30, the suspension was all worn out and it had screwed up the tires. I fixed most of the suspension issues (well, H&R sport + Bilstein Sport STILL feels too soft and bouncy, but whatever) and now I want to change out the tires to get rid of the crappy ride quality. The current ones (Yoko ES100) keep going out of balance and are cupped. They tramline like crazy. Above 55 on the highway the car darts all over the place.

I was looking at the Dunlop Z1 Star Spec, but I want something that will last a little longer. I figure those might last 12-15k. What would be the next closest and last ~20k. The car is driven on a routine basis, but not daily. I will probably put a bunch of 800 mile trips on it, so I don't really want the tires to be done in 10k.

Next question. After looking at the test results on tirerack, would I be better off just getting a good A/S tire? I live in Sourthern Virginia near the coast, so the weather is reasonably mild, but the A/S tires seem to hold their grip much better in the wet/cold. I don't think in this climate I would NEED the A/S, but I do make trips to PA several times a year during the 3 decent seasons.

Anyway, suggestions would be appreciated. As I said, I would love to get the Dunlops, but I'm afraid they will wear out very quickly.

EDIT: size I think I need is 205/50/16

[daniel]

if you want an all season tire, i highly recommend these pirellis:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=PZero+Nero+M%26S

[Mystikal]

If your driving is mostly done above mid 40s or so, you're better off with summers.

The BFGoodrich G-Force Sport is reasonably priced, and does actually last significantly longer than other tires in the class. I don't see anything else anywhere near its price that I'd recommend for you.

[karpiel]

I went with bridgestone potenza re90as pole position all season or something like that. I would have gotten summer tires but there are only two months of the year with an average low temp higher then 40.

[Brew]

G-Force Sports would definitely fit the bill. Your 'tramlining' sounds like an alignment problem. Make sure you check all your front end balljoints and CABs and rear bushings.

[havand]

Is there going to be a noticeable difference between something like a Z1 Star Spec and the G-Force Sports? I probably won't track the car. Maybe once a year going forward if I get into it. Some autocrosses and tons of spirited street driving.

I recently replaced the CA, CABs, Springs, Shocks, all spring pads. I have new tie rods (complete) but have not installed them yet. I do think the alignment is probably off a bit. Below 50 or 55 it feels great. After that on the highway? Darts everywhere.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. The biggest problem I have with tires is you either get ridiculous performance and ridiculously low life then the next step is blah performance and still pretty crappy life.

I guess I am just concerned that I will go 'ah, for how much I drive the car, I wish I had gotten the best.' or 'Gah. For how much I drive the car, I can't afford tires at this pace and I hardly notice the difference'

*shrug*

How would the G-force Sport compare to something like a Fuzion ZRi?

EDIT:

Jason,

This is more of a general question about sport vs all season. If you believe tirerack's G readings...There is no point in buying summer tires. The moment it gets cold or wet, the AS perform nearly the same while the summer tires fall off fast. Do the numbers lie? Why does everyone scream about how great summer tires are when BY THE NUMBERS they have like 0.01 or 0.02 more G than AS? I don't get it. I think I am missing something about the tires. Enlighten me, please.

[Mystikal]

Which tests are you comparing? It's very difficult to compare numbers from 2 different tests, as the test conditions differ accordingly. If you browse their testing of the same tire on the same car, you'll see differences of up to 0.04g, just because of driving style and/or weather/track conditions.

As for comparing the Z1 to the G-Force, on the street, you will not notice a difference. This is less because of the classes they are in, but rather due to the extremely sporty feeling of the G-Force Sports. In the wet though, the Z1 will be better. The Zri is a great tire, but won't be as responsive as the G-Force.

[nmlss2006]

Two things: 1) A/S tyres are bad to very bad in the wet and positively scary if there's lots of water on the ground. The only situation in which they may be better than a summer tyre is with *ground* temperatures at or below freezing - and even that, I am very skeptical about. Their usefulness if there's actual snow is, of course, fairly proven.
2) H&R sports + blistein sports feel soft, but you complain about ride quality? That doesn't quite parse. Bilsteins have VERY firm rebound settings (arguably to compensate for a relatively high internal stack height I'm told) so yes, they will give you a comparatively poor ride, but OTOH they should not feel soft.
As to tyres: welcome to the delight of owning an E30, the tyres you're looking for exist, just not in the sizes that we run save for 215/40-17.

[havand]

Two things: 1) A/S tyres are bad to very bad in the wet and positively scary if there's lots of water on the ground. The only situation in which they may be better than a summer tyre is with *ground* temperatures at or below freezing - and even that, I am very skeptical about. Their usefulness if there's actual snow is, of course, fairly proven.
2) H&R sports + blistein sports feel soft, but you complain about ride quality? That doesn't quite parse. Bilsteins have VERY firm rebound settings (arguably to compensate for a relatively high internal stack height I'm told) so yes, they will give you a comparatively poor ride, but OTOH they should not feel soft.
As to tyres: welcome to the delight of owning an E30, the tyres you're looking for exist, just not in the sizes that we run save for 215/40-17.

Ok, when I complain about ride quality I am complaining about vibration and thumping from the tires/wheels. I am a bit disappointed in the spring/shock combo, because I can feel subtle bouncing/floating. I wanted it to be pretty firm. I don't mind so much as long as it is either one way or the other. Don't be firm, then floaty/bouncy... if that makes sense. I want a firm impact with little extra bouncing. My biggest gripe is when I hit bridge sections. I can feel the car drop down then the front end float and bounce once or twice.

Oh well. Thank you for the tire suggestions guys. I really appreciate it. I had looked at G-Force Sports before but they got lost in my tire survey. :) Thanks!

[nmlss2006]

What you are desciribing sounds like having insufficiently firm shocks relative to the springs you have, you may want to play with that. Did you say you have H&R sports?

[havand]

I don't know. I thought Bilstein sports were good to ~300lb/in springs. I bought them from TMS so they should be good, unless they're blown already (1k miles).