I'm still running Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's in stock sizes for the SL. Have yet to let me down in all conditions, dry, wet, or twistees!
Tires...what are you running?
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I've been running Nitto Motivos (rated for around 60,000 miles) on the front for the past 20,000 miles and had a Nitto 555 G2 315/35R17 on a Mustang wheel from American Muscle for 10,000+ miles before I tried an Achilles Sport 2 305/30R18. The Nitto 555 G2 315/35 cost over $200, but was still one of the least expensive tires available in that size and I still have more miles left on it. I've been happy with the 555 G2 and will be putting it back on the rear once I finish the 2 Achilles 305 tires I have. The Achilles 30530R18 tire is mounted on a Circuit Performance CP32 wheel and while the Achilles Sport 2 305 has performed well for its $105 cost, it was a PITA for the tire shops to get it installed and rides hard, both factors probably a result of its 30 series profile.
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You can get the same thing with leaves on the road or gravel and or sand. I have had both to happen while driving on the mountain roads and the rear end of the Sling would just snap out.
I can see wet leaves or sand causing a problem on curves, but I was on a straight bridge when my rear end suddenly shifted and when I turned around and went back to check the road, I couldn't find anything that might have caused problems.
I've experienced pucker riding after a rain and coming around a curve only to see sand, gravel and small limbs that were left in the road when water ran across the road. Luckily, I managed to safely maneuver thru/around the debris each time, but it still caused a very tense pucker!
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Nitto 555... worst tire I've had on my Sling(s). Never again. Not even for a spin free day. Those just don't hold, the only good thing about them is that they look good. My General RS will trash that every day in every type of weather. I'm sure there are better tires than that, but the Nitto sucks the worst of all the tires I've used on my SS.
Never Nitto here.....I'm sooo glad I met you and FunCycle in Huntsville and got that intel. I was ready to buy the Nitto because there are so many positive reviews. I saw that General 275 on your stock rims and said I'm getting that. Totally happy and it's just now getting to that point where it breaks loose at will
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I'm sooo glad I met you and FunCycle in Huntsville and got that intel. I was ready to buy the Nitto because there are so many positive reviews. I saw that General 275 on your stock rims and said I'm getting that. Totally happy and it's just now getting to that point where it breaks loose at will
.My next tires will be the General RS's
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I am liking the Brigstone Potenza S-04 so far so good
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Still enjoying my Cooper Zeon RS. Have about 3K miles on them now, wonderful summer tire, not too bad in the wet (I don't really drive in the rain at all if I can help it.) The tire can be spun, drifts the corners well if I get aggressive behind the wheel. Nice thing is that it is always predictable when it breaks traction, I've had some tires that go from grip to Oh $hit! in a heart beat. Coopers never do that to me - gives me great confidence behind the wheel.
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Still enjoying my Cooper Zeon RS. Have about 3K miles on them now, wonderful summer tire, not too bad in the wet (I don't really drive in the rain at all if I can help it.) The tire can be spun, drifts the corners well if I get aggressive behind the wheel. Nice thing is that it is always predictable when it breaks traction, I've had some tires that go from grip to Oh $hit! in a heart beat. Coopers never do that to me - gives me great confidence behind the wheel.
The Cooper tires are a brand that I have not tried. I need to take a look at that tire and see what I think about the tread pattern. I just looked at the tread pattern and I personally do not like the loos of it, something else that I look for is the physical tread width (WHAT MEETS THE ROAD). I have found 255-35-20 tires from 8 1/2 inches up to a little better than 9 1/2 inches. The stock Kenda physically is a bit more than 9 1/2 inches one of the widest tread widths out there. The old General G-Max AS-03 was close to that with a better tread pattern. I meant to measure Goats_Hogs new Generals when we were in Bristol to see what the tread width actually is. The tread pattern is great
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The Cooper tires are a brand that I have not tried. I need to take a look at that tire and see what I think about the tread pattern.
Here you go.... Kenda vs Cooper. I like the deep grooves, helps in wet conditions. Plenty grippy summer tire, not so much if temps are below 50 F.
Very predictable tire, much more so than the OEM Kendas.
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Cooper Makes a great tire, I use them on all my trucks
Haven't tried them on the sling
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The Cooper tires are a brand that I have not tried.
I meant to measure Goats_Hogs new Generals when we were in Bristol to see what the tread width actually is. The tread pattern is great
Cooper is what I am running on my daily commuter for work. It's a 90k tire, which I have about 35k on so far. Still looks new, rides and handles great and even does well in snow. I wouldn't run this tire on my SS, but I'd not be afraid to try a set of Coopers on it if it were a performance tire and I liked the tread pattern.
I can measure the tread if you want, but I went to a 275 on the rear. I've been pleased with it, and it is predictable and rather sticky. I have somewhere around 7-8k on it, with about 30% use left. Thing is, it appears to be like the old one we were using. Great until 50% tread, then it started to spin easier. Towards the end of it's life, it seems like it's harder, so less traction. -
Thanks Goats_Hogs it will be a while before I am ready for another set of tires. I am trying to finish off two sets of Kenda's and I have a new set of the Riken Raptor ZR's which is another great tire but they are no longer making.
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Thanks Goats_Hogs it will be a while before I am ready for another set of tires. I am trying to finish off two sets of Kenda's and I have a new set of the Riken Raptor ZR's which is another great tire but they are no longer making.
Right now I have the Nitto 555 on the SLR rim in back, with the stock SL rims in front with the General RS's on them. I have the SLR fronts, but they just have an all season radial on them (that's the way I acquired them). I have a 315 Nitto for the SLR rim that's new (unmounted) that will replace the Nitto before riding season. I have a General RS 275 with about 35% or so mounted on stock SL rim, and also a new one mounted on a stock SL rim. Even boosted, I should be set for rear tires for this summer!
I like the General RS's well enough that next spring I will (if needing tires at that point) buy two fronts and two rears (I have the rims). -
I know theres threads about this guys but wanted to ask here. Whats the safest widest tire one can go on the SLR rear? 315?
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IIRC, the SLR rear wheel is 11" wide. just check the website for your preferred tire model and they should have a chart showing the minimum, recommended and maximum wheel widths on which that particular size tire can be mounted. Based on the info below, I doubt a 345 would fit on an 11" wide wheel, but I'd guess a 325 should fit, maybe even a 335. Again, this is just a guesstimate.
Here's the 20" 555 G2 tires Nitto lists for an 11" wide 20" wheel -
285/35ZR20 104W XL 9.5-(10.0)-11.0
295/35ZR20 105W XL 10.0-(10.5)-11.5
295/40ZR20 110W XL 10.0-(10.5)-11.5
305/30ZR20 103W XL 10.5-(11.0)-11.5
305/35ZR20 107W XL 10.0-(11.0)-12.0
315/30ZR20 104W XL 10.5-(11.0)-11.5
315/35ZR20 110W XL 10.5-(11.0)-12.5
The charts also typically show the tire's tread width, diameter, etc., but entering the tire & wheel info on http://www.willtheyfit.com will provide a visualization comparing two different tire/wheel combos to give a decent idea on fitment. WillTheyFit's speedometer calculation is not accurate, so I recommend using https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-size-calculator for an accurate speedometer impact number.
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I am still loving my Nitto Motivo's especially on the front - I think they do very well in both wet and dry conditions - - I cant think of any reason why I would want to change the front to a different tire, but I might switch the rear to something with a symmetrical tread pattern was thinking about the 555, but with the bad reviews that I am hearing now I am not sure - -
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Some folks don't like running an asymmetrical tire on the Slingshot's rear, but I had a Sumitomo HTR Z III 295/30ZR18 tire which is mildly asymmetric on the rear for around 7,000 miles w/o problems. My only complaint was the short treadlife.
I've considered a Motivo 315/35ZR17 on the rear since it's rated for a pretty long tread-life which should hopefully last around 30K miles), but I'm a little concerned the harder compound may not produce enough traction.
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Some folks don't like running an asymmetrical tire on the Slingshot's rear, but I had a Sumitomo HTR Z III 295/30ZR18 tire which is mildly asymmetric on the rear for around 7,000 miles w/o problems. My only complaint was the short treadlife.
I've considered a Motivo 315/35ZR17 on the rear since it's rated for a pretty long tread-life which should hopefully last around 30K miles), but I'm a little concerned the harder compound may not produce enough traction.
I don't know how you drive, but my back Motivo will probably make it to about 20k at most. stock Kenda was only good for 9k so I am more than happy with the Motivo. As to traction I have been happy, for the way I drive they seem to hold better than the kendas did - with the kenda in the back if there was any water in an intersection when I was turning the back would kick out way too easily, with the Motivo I can still make it kick out, but its much better at holding when I want it to
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Thanks for the info. Generally, a tire warranted for rotated operation is still expected to last about half the normal tread-life when used in a non-rotated situation. I got around 10-11K out of my two Kendas on the rear and got around 35K on the original Kenda fronts. Since the Kendas lasted so long on the front, I expect the Motivos to last even longer. I had hoped to get more than 20K from the Motivo on the rear, though.
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Being non directional you can rotate the front motivos if you like
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