I am going to be fitting 17" wheels and tyres on my 9000 and was looking for some input on good performance tyres. I am not a crazy driver but am a bit spirited (also fitting the car with lower and stiffer springs and Konis). I live in California 8) , so I dont have to worry much about weather. We do get a little rain now and again, but I am form Colorado and know how to drive in any weather unlike most Californians.

I want the tyre to run quietly, give good grip, have a good tread life, and I dont want to pay $200(320 pounds) per tyre if i dont have to.

I would appreciate as much info. as I can get. How long they have lasted you with your driving style would also be great.

Thanks for the help

Trey

Elmo,

Billj has a good review of tyre types for the 9000 on his website http://www.saab9000.com/ .Unfortunately I don't know if they'll be available in the US.

Thank you for the quick response.

I have been to his site already but would like some more info such as tread life. Im looking for suggestions from anyone who likes the tyres they are running on.

There is some quite useful tyre test information here...

http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/tyretest/tests.asp

Simon.

tirerack.com is also something of a goldmine, and the various ratings will be applicable given that you're in the US.

Sorry I have nothing specific...

Thanks for the advice all.

So far i think i am going to go with Pirelli p7000s
They have a good high treadwear & have read great things on preformance, and I have a great price quote on them form tirerack.com ($108, 67 pounds). Unfortunately i have hears that they can be a bit noisy, but from others heard they were quiet. Im not too sure who to believe.

none the less, i think I will try them.

Elmo, I think your exchange rates are the wrong way round, $108 = approx £67.50.....

Very true. Ill fix that.

My mistake :oops:

Just as a matter of interest I run Toyo Proxes and find them excellent although they wear quite rapidly if you use them on fast very twisty roads. But they grip like smelly stuff to a shovel! YMMV They are also cheaper than the Pirelli's, well, over heare they are!

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, the muts nuts. Last forever and won outright against stiff opposition in 'evo' magazines test last year (215/45/ZR17).

The only major manufacturer missing from the test was Yokohama.

The test was blind, the drivers were unaware of the brand of tyre fitted.

Driving blind is never a good thing :lol:

Thanks, I will take a look at them. Do you know about road noise and grip?

Driver comments were that the tyre was 'quiet with excellent grip'.

Measured lateral dry grip was within 0.03g of the best and mid table overall those tested.

Wet lateral grip was equal top of the table.

In dry and wet braking it came top of the table as well.

HTH

Nick.

Are you using these, Nick? I've just got a set of 17" wheels and I'm considering trying something other than Bridgestones next time. After some real punishment at Goodwood on Friday, one of my two-week-old S-03s is bordering on illegal. Given that they took most of the day to come to life, perhaps they don't represent the best value for money for track use.

I know new tyres don't give their best with all that deep trad, but perhaps there are tyres that have stiffer tread?

Bill,

It looks like you should be aiming for something like the P-Zero Nero or other grooved slick type tyre. They come sizes suitable for the Mitsu Evo so should have something that suits the Saab.