Thanks for the information. It's nice to know there are much better ones out
there. But then I've always believed you *typically* get more by paying more
:)
The reason I chose the Firehawks is the balance of "long wear" and "wet &
dry stickiness" and price.
On the web site you sent me (thank you) I see:
Both for 96 GT Convertible stock 17" rims and picked to show only high perf
tires (V, W, Y, Z) and Extreme Perf Summer, Max Perf Summer, Ultra Perf
Summer, High Perf Summer, Grand Tour Summer, Track & Comp DOT, Ultra High
Perf All-Season, High Perf All-Season, and Perf All-Season:
PZeroNero Rosso cost $182 per tire.
PZeroNero M&S cost $154 per tire
The Firehawk Wide Oval are $144 per tire.
Here are the ratings:
Would buy again. Firehawk: 8.5, Nero: 5.6, M&S: 8.3
Hydroplaning Resistance. Firehawk: 8.4, Nero: 7.3, M&S: 8.6
Wet Traction. Firehawk: 8.5, Nero: 7.5, M&S: 8.6
Cornering Stability. Firehawk: 8.5, Nero: 8.5, M&S: 8.7
Dry Traction. Firehawk: 8.8, Nero: 8.8, M&S: 9.0
Steering Response. Firehawk: 8.6, Nero: 8.4, M&S: 8.7
Ride Comfort. Firehawk: 8.4, Nero: 7.2, M&S: 8.6
Noise Comfort. Firehawk: 8.2, Nero: 7.1, M&S: 8.6
Treadwear. Firehawk: 8.5, Nero: 4.9, M&S: 8.2
So... I'm seeing the PZero M&S is indeed a great tire for the money! Only
$10 more than the Firehawk. BUT three things: (a) I can get the FireHawk's
local so I don't have to pay for shipping; (b) As you mentioned, treadwear
is superior in the FireHawks; and finally (c) The M&S only beat the Firehawk
each time by like .1 or .2 and once by .4.
So if you add up all these factors, to me, they are pretty equal tires...
except.. well.. shipping cost definitely puts those out of my budget. I
*will* look around, though, to see if any local guys sell those. Even then I
don't think I'd buy those tires because of treadwear factor (I like my tires
to last longer and please consider that if you re-tested the Firehawks 9,000
miles into use against the M&S 9,000 miles into use, because of tirewear, I
think you would then find the Firehawks, at that mileage, to have much more
grip... probably be superior then in every category to the M&S... so yeah,
when they are brand new, you have a better tire but they obviously wear
quicker.
Finally, I'll admit one thing: Those PZero's *look* much nicer; they seem to
be lower profile. But I'm not as concerned about looks as I am with the
price/performance index.
Thanks for stimulating me to do this research so I am even more sure now
that I dig the tires I purchased :)

Signature
Scotter
96 GT vert
-
>> I've been very happy with Firestone's Firehawks and now Firestone "Blue
>> Ovals" because they really stick well in the wet and dry and last a long
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Cheers,
Dana Bush - 27 Jun 2006 01:33 GMT
> Thanks for the information. It's nice to know there are much better ones out
> there. But then I've always believed you *typically* get more by paying more
> :)
I'm assuming you are being a mite bit sarcastic here :)
FWIW, I have found you get more by looking and learning from others
mistakes.
> The reason I chose the Firehawks is the balance of "long wear" and "wet &
> dry stickiness" and price.
Me 2 and I have used them on my Impala SS (spec calls for Eagle GTs).
Also used them on my 94 Camaro, again GTs are spec.
> Finally, I'll admit one thing: Those PZero's *look* much nicer; they seem to
> be lower profile. But I'm not as concerned about looks as I am with the
> price/performance index.
>
> Thanks for stimulating me to do this research so I am even more sure now
> that I dig the tires I purchased :)
I know this is goig to be unpopular, the "Emperor's New Clothes" and all
that kind of stuff, but the absolute WORST OVERALL tires I have ever owned
have been Pirelli tires.
I had them on an Audi A6 and a VW GTI (P6 and P7s) and also a set of P77s
on a Ford T-bird I had (don't ask) and they all wore out REAL FAST and
about the only thing good I could say about them is that they were dead
a.s quiet and extremely smooth riding.
Handling was decent, but the rubber is so soft you can sink your
fingernail into it with no problem.
God help you if you have even the silghtest little front end alignment
problem.
You will destroy Pirelli tires, at least the ones I used, in short order.
If you don't mind replacing your tires every 15/20k or so go for it...
These days I buy Firehawks, or Cooper GTs (my Impala SS) and AFAIK they
perform as well or better than anything I have ever used from Goodyear,
GoodRich or God help us Pirelli.
Yea they ain't got the name, and they ain't got the status but they last
FOREVER and have very good handling as well.
The Coopers are slightly skittish in wet weather, but you get used to it.
Real fat tires and heavy rain are usually a bad combo anyhow.
Put a Vette motor in a 4500+ lb RWD car and things get a bit *unusual*
with just about any tire.
FWIW my Impala SS has 370,000 miles on it and it's all original motor and
tranny.
I easily get 60k miles out of the Coopers.
Ritz - 27 Jun 2006 01:40 GMT
> I know this is goig to be unpopular, the "Emperor's New Clothes" and all
> that kind of stuff, but the absolute WORST OVERALL tires I have ever owned
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> If you don't mind replacing your tires every 15/20k or so go for it...
I use the Pzero Nero M+S on both an Audi A4 and an A6. These don't
suffer any of those problems you describe. The P6 was indeed a lower
quality tire. The Pzero Nero M+S is hands and shoulders better. I've
got about 5k miles on one set (A4) and almost 20K on the A6 without any
sign of wear.
One thing is for sure, if your alignment is out, softer tires will
suffer the consequences faster than harder tires. So keep your car
properly aligned (which you should do anyway).
Cheers,
Dana Bush - 27 Jun 2006 01:53 GMT
> I use the Pzero Nero M+S on both an Audi A4 and an A6. These don't
> suffer any of those problems you describe. The P6 was indeed a lower
> quality tire. The Pzero Nero M+S is hands and shoulders better. I've
> got about 5k miles on one set (A4) and almost 20K on the A6 without any
> sign of wear.
Fair enough, I'm speaking from my somewhat dated experience and it's good
to know that Pirelli has improved!!
My philosophy is more or less anything but Goodyear because IMHO they make
the absolute worst tires (quality control wise) of any of the major
companies.
> One thing is for sure, if your alignment is out, softer tires will
> suffer the consequences faster than harder tires. So keep your car
> properly aligned (which you should do anyway).
Oh yea!
My cars are always aligned well, but I have a few horror stories from
folks in my Audi club.
Yikes!!
And you know the routine: The dealer blames the tires, your driving etc.
The tire company blames the car, your driving etc.
A nightmare!!
> Cheers,
Right back at ya!!!!!
Dana
Scotter - 27 Jun 2006 02:34 GMT
BTW I was not being sarcastic.
The kudos I gave Ritz was honest.

Signature
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
4 gig Corsair XMS DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig Hitachi SATA 300
160 gig Seagate SATA 150
Dual Dell 24" wide aspect LCDs
550W Antec power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
-
>
>> Thanks for the information. It's nice to know there are much better ones
[quoted text clipped - 51 lines]
> tranny.
> I easily get 60k miles out of the Coopers.
Dana Bush - 27 Jun 2006 14:37 GMT
> BTW I was not being sarcastic.
> The kudos I gave Ritz was honest.
My bad...
I read the first line wrong.
Sorry!!
Scotter - 27 Jun 2006 15:29 GMT
:)

Signature
Scotter
-
>
>> BTW I was not being sarcastic.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> I read the first line wrong.
> Sorry!!
Ritz - 27 Jun 2006 01:36 GMT
> Thanks for the information. It's nice to know there are much better ones out
> there. But then I've always believed you *typically* get more by paying more
> :)
Another thing to consider...the Pzero Nero M+S are actually all season
performance tires. They do quite well in the snow (although I use them
on an AWD Audi). If you can deal with the lower treadware rating, I'd
consider it a much better tire in general, noticibly grippier in the dry
and vastly superior in the rain/snow.
Cheers,
Scotter - 27 Jun 2006 02:34 GMT
Yeah, I saw that the M&S were rated for snow & ice where the other tires
were not.
But I live in central Texas so that is one thing I don't worry about :)

Signature
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
4 gig Corsair XMS DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig Hitachi SATA 300
160 gig Seagate SATA 150
Dual Dell 24" wide aspect LCDs
550W Antec power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
-
>> Thanks for the information. It's nice to know there are much better ones
>> out there. But then I've always believed you *typically* get more by
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Cheers,
Ritz - 27 Jun 2006 03:28 GMT
> Yeah, I saw that the M&S were rated for snow & ice where the other tires
> were not.
> But I live in central Texas so that is one thing I don't worry about :)
Heh. If I was in that situation, I'd probably get something even
stickier like Goodyear F1's or Bridgestone Potenza S03 Pole Positions
(the only Firestone/Bridgestone tire worth buying and a pretty good one
at that).
BTW, I also use a rack full of machines with K8WE's and dual Opteron
275's....mostly for video editing and rendering. :-)
Cheers,