Try these at the Tire Rack in a 235/50-ZR18, which is original size for 08 GT. $89 each is not bad and they rate a 400 as well.
The number to look for is a UTQG number. Higher is better. BFG's I bought are a 400. Pirelli PZero has a 140, but the stock Mustang PZero has a 400. Ever wonder why an OEM tire lasts so much longer than the replacement tires on vehicles? It is usually this number. Below is the explanation from Tire Rack about it.
Treadwear Grades
UTQG Treadwear Grades are based on actual road use in which the test tire is run in a vehicle convoy along with standardized Course Monitoring Tires. The vehicle repeatedly runs a prescribed 400-mile test loop in West Texas for a total of 7,200 miles. The vehicle can have its alignment set, air pressure checked and tires rotated every 800 miles. The test tire's and the Monitoring Tire's wear are measured during and at the conclusion of the test. The tire manufacturers then assign a Treadwear Grade based on the observed wear rates. The Course Monitoring Tire is assigned a grade and the test tire receives a grade indicating its relative treadwear. A grade of 100 would indicate that the tire tread would last as long as the test tire, 200 would indicate the tread would last twice as long, 300 would indicate three times as long, etc.
The problem with UTQG Treadwear Grades is that they are open to some interpretation on the part of the tire manufacturer because they are assigned after the tire has only experienced a little treadwear as it runs the 7,200 miles. This means that the tire manufacturers need to extrapolate their raw wear data when they are assigning Treadwear Grades, and that their grades can to some extent reflect how conservative or optimistic their marketing department is. Typically, comparing the Treadwear Grades of tire lines within a single brand is somewhat helpful, while attempting to compare the grades between different brands is not as helpful.
Last edited by a_manifestation; 12-14-2008 at 10:38 AM.
Reason: Forgot to mention the tires.
Brent (from Cape Coral)...you see, in the state of Virginia you have an annual safety inspection and one of the checks is your tread on the tires...anything at 2/32 or less and you have to replace the tires...or no ride. I'm assuming that Florida does not have an annual safety inspection of their vehicles (which they should...with all those retirees down there)...after all, low tread can really add to hydroplaning, blowouts, etc.,...you should know better, after all you're an engineer!
As far as my original Pirelli tires on my '06 GT...I have about 18K miles on them and still getting a read of 8/32 all around...darn good tire in my opinion.
Brent (from Cape Coral)...you see, in the state of Virginia you have an annual safety inspection and one of the checks is your tread on the tires...anything at 2/32 or less and you have to replace the tires...or no ride. I'm assuming that Florida does not have an annual safety inspection of their vehicles (which they should...with all those retirees down there)...after all, low tread can really add to hydroplaning, blowouts, etc.,...you should know better, after all you're an engineer!
As far as my original Pirelli tires on my '06 GT...I have about 18K miles on them and still getting a read of 8/32 all around...darn good tire in my opinion.
I have 26,000+ on my original Pirellis on my '06 GT (8/10/06) . I just measured the tread on the front passenger's tire- I got a reading of 4/32. Maybe that's my problem--it's just time for a new set! I hadn't measured the tread until just a few minutes ago. From a short distance, I thought the tread looked fine. So much for that. Just off the top of my head and not based on any experience I can recall, I would expect a decent set of tires to last longer than 26,000 miles.
Kimberly, strange that you're already @ 4/32 on your front tires...usually your rear ones will have less tread than the front on a rear-drive car...of course a lot depends on what kind of roads you're driving on (rough surfaces, stop and go, etc.)...for me, it's mainly smooth highway driving...so the 8/32 after 18K miles is great.
Kimberly, strange that you're already @ 4/32 on your front tires...usually your rear ones will have less tread than the front on a rear-drive car...of course a lot depends on what kind of roads you're driving on (rough surfaces, stop and go, etc.)...for me, it's mainly smooth highway driving...so the 8/32 after 18K miles is great.
It occurred to me this morning that if I have 4/32 on the front, we know I have far less on the rear!
I only measured the one tire b/c it was so freaking cold in the garage last night when I was doing it! I did read on Tire Rack how you're supposed to measure each tire, etc.
I'd say the majority of my driving is interstate, some stop and go five days per week. I live and work in the city.
Brent (from Cape Coral)...you see, in the state of Virginia you have an annual safety inspection and one of the checks is your tread on the tires...anything at 2/32 or less and you have to replace the tires...or no ride. I'm assuming that Florida does not have an annual safety inspection of their vehicles (which they should...with all those retirees down there)...after all, low tread can really add to hydroplaning, blowouts, etc.,...you should know better, after all you're an engineer!
As far as my original Pirelli tires on my '06 GT...I have about 18K miles on them and still getting a read of 8/32 all around...darn good tire in my opinion.
Believe me, I know all to well about annual inspections. I moved to Florida from the Dallas/Fort Worth metorplex and they have one of the strictest inspections in the country. Right behind California and Colorado.
lets just say, I had to do my fare share of bribing to get one of my cars to pass inspection.
but, you are correct. Florida has no safety inspection. heck, they don't have any sort of required annual inspection. and I see some cars on the road that have no business being driven. not even as a junk yard truck.
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2005 Mustang GT M5 -I reject your reality and substitute my own-
S197's have negative camber designed into the front alignment specs, so the inner treads on the front tires should normally have less depth than either the middle or the outside treads, assuming all of the tires are properly aligned to spec.
A few months I replaced my tires from BFG KDWs which were severely worn on the inside edge, Alignment was WAY off.
Anyway, I replaced the tires with Nitto 555s and noticed a huge difference in the ride immediately. Not to mention the worn tires were creating a lot more road noise.
