Re: tires

[Sargent Schutt <sargent@novagate.com>]

Ed,

I put Pirelli 7000 Supersports on my 91 200q a few months back. 225/50/ZR16.
~$126 ea +install. 

Report: (on a 10 scale, 10 being best)

DRY: 8 - They have crisp turn in. Car felt sloppy when new, after a few k
miles they've firmed up a bit, and I've adjust to them a bit as well. Still,
turn in is not crisp. They are very comfortable for a Z-rater, though. Not
much noise (far less than the BFG Comp TA VR4's they replaced.

WET: 10 - Excellent. Great tread design for wet, great compound for
cooler/rainy weather. Can drive faster than most everyone else w/o
hydroplaning. Always feel in control. No problems braking or turning. 75+ MPH
in absolute torrential downpours (others going ~45). Good wet tread design,
and b/c of the compound, they still grip well in cooler (rainy) weather.
Better than sticky warm weather stuff.

SNOW: 6 - They did well, but they are not Hakka's (Hakkas = 10). No surprise
there. The only snow I had them in was pretty cold, no slush. Did better than
Toyo all season Z tires from my 90 90q 20v and the Comp TA VR4's I had on
previously. Again, no comparison to proper snows, but for all season's they
did very well. Sipes on the outer tread block, good cold weather compound, but
the tread design is better suited to rain.

To do this over today I personally would prolly buy the SP 8000's for
spring/summer/fall and the SP4000 for winter (I live in San Diego - must drive
2-400 miles for snow). The SP4k has a bit more aggressive tread design for
snow, even if the compound is old-school. And the SP8k beats them both in the
dry, possibly equalling the Pirelli P7k Supersport in the wet. 

My .02 in the tire dept.

HTH

Sarge

91 200q TAP, Bilstein/Eibach, Stebro, etc..