The 17" tire options in our sizes are getting slim! Neither TireRack.com or onlinetires.com show any 335/35/17 tires. The Kumho ecsta XS is, depending who you talk to, either discontinued or "on back order". They had a 315/35/17 (with a matching 235/40/17) tire that I was planning on getting but haven't been able to find any. It is rumored that they are being replaced with the new v720 model (due out this month) but the current V700 and V710 are track tires, so who knows, and in what sizes they'll be available.
So I started looking for options. The only other non competition option in those sizes (or any other for that matter with a 315/35/17 rear) are the Nitto N05 and they aren't that far from being a competition tire and terrible in the wet.
So, looking for other options I started with 285/40/17 with a matching set of fronts (245 or 235/40/17 or 225 or 215/45/17). There are not a whole lot of choices there either. But there is a good one: Continental ExtremeContact DW which gets great reviews from the Porsche, Corvette, and BMW crowd, and TireRack and Car and Driver. A friend with a chevy (600+ HP) powered Porsche has the 285/40/17s on the rear and thinks they are great. I've heard that Mad Dog has them in the 285/40/18 size on his Pantera and really likes them. The Conti's come in 245/40(24.7") , and 225/45(25"), 215/45(24.6") and 205/45 (24.3" but they are recommended for max 7.5" wheels) sizes. While not a primary concern, the cost of the Conti's are pretty reasonable at about $175 and $120 (for the 225/45). A complete set at TireRack is $586 +~$70 shipping(no tax), online tires $664.57 w tx+shipping (local warehouse $11 shipping). Our local America's Tire store is $727.18 "out the door" which includes instal & lifetime balance and a prorated road hazard guarantee.
While I want a tire that handles well, I'm not looking for ultimate performance, and dry/wet balance and ride/noise quality are important to me. I'm coming off MICHELIN Pilot SX MXX3 in the 335/35 and 235/40/17 sizes. Given that the MXX3 design is close to 20 years old, I wouldn't be surprised if the Conti's are close to their equal in dry performance and much better in wet and ride quality.
Any thoughts, opinions, or options are welcome.
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