redcblt265

Tire Information

Vehicle: 2006 Cobalt
Tire Brand/Type: Hankook Ventus Z214
Size: 225/45/17
Cost: 199 ea.
Purchased from: TireRack
Current Tire Millage: 10 Events

Ratings: scale of 1 to 10
(1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)

BASED ON SLICKS

Dry Traction: 9.5
Wet Traction: n/a
Snow Traction:n/a
Cornering/Steering Response: 9
Ride Comfort: 3
Road Noise: 3
Wear Rating: 3

Would you Recommend: Yes

Additional Comments/Review: Great tire for autocrossers, wears a bit better than the Hoosier, but lacks the stick that the Hoosier has. Similar to the V710

tglems

iTrader: (3)

Tire Information
Vehicle: 2009 SS/TC Sedan
Tire Brand/Type: Triangle TR968 (also known as Diamondback Tires)
Size: 245/40 18
Cost: $70/tire
Purchased from: Craigslist Special
Current Tire Millage: Couple Hundred Miles or so

Ratings: scale of 1 to 10
(1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)
Dry Traction: 7
Wet Traction: 6 (Fairly average, but I did feel safe in the rain)
Snow Traction: N/A (I live in AZ)
Cornering/Steering Response: 2
Ride Comfort: 6
Road Noise: 3
Wear Rating: 360AA (This is what they are rated, but I don't have enough miles on them yet to say much about how they wear)

Would you Recommend: No

Additional Comments/Review: Yup, I'm that guy. The guy who cheaps out on tires. But, I've learned my lesson and will never do it again. So, to review, if you want a tire that makes your 'balt handle like a truck, that makes you feel like you are riding on marshmallows every time you corner, makes your car list side to side like a boat when changing direction, and that starts humming at anything >30mph, then this is the tire for you. Seriously, I made a mistake by going cheap after having Nitto Invo's and I'm paying for it by feeling completely unconnected to the road. When you turn, it just feels like your car is swaying, not like you are actually cutting into a turn. I even have Pedders and it still feels like garbage. I'm going to do as many burnouts as I can in these to wear them down as fast as possible so I can get new tires. Ugh.

Best thing about these tires? With the aggressive tread it looks badass on the car.
Worst thing about these tires? Everything else.





Tire Information
Vehicle: 2009 SS/TC Sedan
Tire Brand/Type: Nitto Invo
Size: 235/40 18
Cost: (bought with rims from ss.net)
Purchased from: Came with rims.
Current Tire Millage: 15,000 miles + However much was on them when I bought them used

Ratings: scale of 1 to 10
(1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)
Dry Traction: 9
Wet Traction: 7.5 (when new, when bald and old then 1)
Snow Traction: N/A (I live in AZ)
Cornering/Steering Response: 9
Ride Comfort: 9
Road Noise: 9
Wear Rating: 260A

Would you Recommend: Absolutely

Additional Comments/Review: Great tire. Cornering was responsive and you could feel the road, launching from a dig they give decent traction, quiet on the road and a high enough treadwear rating that they can be used in daily driving. I dragged and autoX'd with these tires and was happy all around. I only wish that I had gotten a second set of these after wearing out the first. Be warned though, once they get worn out, dry performance in okay but wet performance goes down to zero. The day before getting new tires I was in a rainstorm and was hydroplaning at 40mph. Badly.

Best thing about these tires? Everything.
Worst thing about these tires? I wore them out and they aren't still on my car.

Slobalt lt

Anyone know anything about the new nitto notivo?

vic_red_06

Anyone heard of full way tires? For $105 mounted and balanced is a nice price with this damn recession going on.

colodude18

iTrader: (4)

Fullway tires are made in China. I don't know about everyone else, but I try to avoid buying anything made in China whenever I can. An increasing number of products are only made there already. Support your local economy and the free world and buy a tire made in a country where human rights mean something. Same reason I never buy stuff at Walmart. But that's just me ;-)

Baron7700

check my sig thread.

Also, some of the people here are rating tires are the nitto Invo's as a 9 dry rating. We need to have some sort of standard, like say r888's would be a 10 traction or something. Because if a tire such as an invo is a 9, there are many tires that are a 12-14 haha. Your experience with high performance tires and higher end tires do make a difference, if you are riding on a decent tire for the first time your getting think they are awesome (or if you dont push the car) trust me, some tires that are pretty good pale in comparison to others.

Ive had a few sets of PS2,s DW, NT05, Potenza's, Pirelli's, and even those nankang NS-II's at one point which sucked something fierce.

Trent1080

Tire Information
Vehicle: 2006 Cobalt SS Sedan
Tire Brand/Type: Nokian Hakkapeliitta 6
Size: 205 50 R17
Cost: My dad bought them at the time. (I want to say $150-170 each)
Purchased from: Vermont Tire
Current Tire Millage: 20,000+

Ratings: scale of 1 to 10
(1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)
Dry Traction: 6

They are studded snows; you have to remember that. If you are driving corners at the speed limit you will be fine. I got in an accident with them when I took a large sweeping corner, with 250 lbs of stuff in the trunk, and lost the rear end at about 80mph. If they break loose you can control them if you know what you are doing. They will warn you if you are hitting the limit. I can break them loose if I mash the gas going straight. I can't do that with the Pirelli P6's I used to run.

Wet Traction: 7

They perform excellent in wet conditions! They are resistant to hydroplaning and do a great job of shedding water.

Snow Traction: 11

I live on a dirt road in the middle of Vermont. These tires make this car unstoppable! I have plowed snow up to the top of my license plate traveling up a hill and made it back home. These things make a 2wd car run with the fwd's. I can't say enough on how well these grip snow, ice, and slush. I came back from Canada with 2-7 inches of snow on the interstate going 65mph the whole way; I must have saw at least 5 suv's in the ditch on the way back. I dare you to find a better winter tire!


Cornering/Steering Response: 6

These corner great. They drive the same in terms of response as a Pirelli P6. It just has less grip on dry pavement. That's all you need to remember.

Ride Comfort: 8

I would say the sidewalls are a little softer than a Pirelli P6. Overall, they are comfortable as they can be considering the profile. On snow they only get better. (Definitely a 10)

Road Noise: 2

They are studded winter tires. These things are NOISY. You get used to it during the winter, but when the summers go on you will know they are on. If you are driving 25mph you can hear the tires about 50 ft away.

Wear Rating: 8

I've ran these tires 6 winters and they still have plenty of life, including the studs.

Would you Recommend: Absolutely, if you are looking for the craziest winter tire on the market and you live on top of Mt. Everest buy these tires. You will get where you need to go every time. I will never buy a winter tire that isn't Hakkapeliitta.

Additional Comments/Review: Keep in mind that I bought 4 of these tires and run all of them. Some people only run studs on the driving tires; in the case of cobalts the front. I run them on all the wheels. The cobalt is prone to loosing the rear end in the snow. Some seasons I also put 2 40lb concrete bags in the back for added traction.

Blitzfergie

Question.. I have a 2007 SS SC on Sportlines, stock 18" wheels, I want to change tires and wondered what will fit without rubbing besides the stock 215/45/18?

Thanks

colodude18

iTrader: (4)

Tire Information
Vehicle: 2010 Cobalt SS/TC
Tire Brand/Type: Nitto NT-05
Size: 225/40x18
Cost: ~$160 each
Purchased from: Discounttire
Current Tire Millage: done after ~9K miles including track use



Ratings: scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)
Dry Traction: 8
Pretty sticky tire and IMO a great compromise between grip and tread life for street use.
Wet Traction: 8
These tires do very well in the rain thanks to the big tracks along the middle of the tread. Lateral grip is very good for a performance summer tire.
Snow Traction: 3
These tires are dangerous on snow, and should be used with caution at outside temps under 50 degrees.
Cornering/Steering Response: 8
Great tire for winding mountain roads. Very predictable at the limit. Lacking enough grip as a (road) track tire.
Ride Comfort: 5
As with most low profile high performance summer tires, comfort is not great but certainly not worse than stock tires on the Cobalt SS.
Road Noise: 5
Not the quietest tire but given what it is, acceptable IMO
Wear Rating: 3
With a tread wear rating of 200, this tire won’t last like an A/S does. Still I found it to be a good balance between grip and life span. Had I not taken this tire to the track I would probably have gotten 10-12K miles out of them.
Would you Recommend: Yes!
Additional Comments/Review:
I have just purchase a second set of these to serve as my summer street tires. They look good, are plenty sticky for driving on public roads and they will probably last me two summers. Make sure to rotate these tires frequently. They are directional so can only be "rotated" on the same side of the car!


Tire Information
Vehicle: 2010 Cobalt SS/TC
Tire Brand/Type: Nitto NT-01
Size: 225/40x18
Cost: ~$200 each
Purchased from: Discounttiredirect through Ebay
Current Tire Millage: done after ~6K miles including track use



Ratings: scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)
Dry Traction: 9
The NT-01 was designed for the (road) track, but has some tread which enables it to be DOT street legal as well. This allows you to drive your car to the track as long as there is tread left. When the tread is gone, the tires are about half worn down. There are little wear indicators that tell you when they are finished. Dry traction is incredible for the money, much better than the NT05. The only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because I believe that is reserved to a full slick.
Wet Traction: 6
I do not recommend this tire during (heavy) rain. It works as long as there is tread left, but after that it will soon become treacherous.
Snow Traction: 1
These tires should NOT be driven in the snow, or at outside temps under 50 degrees. They need heat and become dangerous without it!
Cornering/Steering Response: 9
Excellent cornering tire for track use. Very predictable at the limit and forgiving when it does loose grip.
Ride Comfort: 3
As with most low profile high performance summer tires, comfort is not great. About comparable with the NT-05.
Road Noise: 2
Due to the lateral tread lines this tire is very noisy at speeds >40mph on a smooth road surface. Make sure the engine noise drowns out the tire noise
Wear Rating: 2
I used these tires during the summer of 2012 for track and street use. With a tread wear rating of 100, I went through this first set in only 6,000 miles including two track days.
Would you Recommend: Absolutely!
Additional Comments/Review: This is an excellent track tire and a great cheaper alternative to full slicks. At the track these tires don’t chirp or squeal as opposed to the NT05’s. Very hard to break them loose, even in second gear with 360hp (track). At about 200 bucks they are priced very well especially when compared to a Hoosier R6 which in this size is about $320.
I just purchased my second set of these tires and had them put on their own set of wheels for track use only, I hope to get about 5 track days out of them. I do recommend heat cycling these tires properly. There are how-to’s available online on how to best do this yourself. It really improves the life span of the tires and the grip as they wear down. Another great thing about these tires is that they are NOT directional; they can we rotated front to back and left to right to get the most out of them!
General Tips: Consider ordering this and other tires online from Discounttiredirect.com or their Ebay store. They offer free shipping and depending on which state you’re in you could save paying sales tax versus getting them at your local store. The store will charge the same price for mounting and balancing ($64 for all 4).

Old Veteran Car Dude

Tire Information

Vehicle: 2010 Chevy Cobalt SS Red Coup 28,000 original miles

Tire Brand/Type: Delinte D7 Thunder

Size: 225/40/18

Cost: $260.00 for four new tires, $310.00 total out the door mounted and balanced.

Purchased from: Pioneer Tire & Wheel, 11210 4th St., Pomona, CA 916-233-6767

Current Tire Millage: 100 miles

Ratings: scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)

Dry Traction: 9

Wet Traction: ?? No rain

Snow Traction: Kidding right? I would never drive my SS in the snow for any reason. That is what trucks are made for.

Cornering/Steering Response: 9

Ride Comfort: 10

Road Noise: 7

Wear Rating: Don't know yet. I will keep you informed......

Would you Recommend: Absolutely

Additional Comments/Review: I finally got rid of the horrific factory Continentals. The car always pulled to the left, even with two alignments. These Delinte D7's have completely changed the way my Cobalt drives. No more pull, the car goes straight down the road. These tire are a lot more quiet than the Continentals. The Delinte D7's track a lot better as well. They are a little jittery on rain-groove cut concrete highways, but that's about it.

I realize these are cheap Chinese tires, but they are rated much better than most, and I am n a serious budget right now. It was either the Delinte's or the Lexani LX-Sevens.

So far I am extremely happy with these tires. The car is so much quieter, and goes in a straight line. Also another thing I noticed is that the car is easier to steer? Weird....but nice!

Peace.....Old Veteran Car Dude

droponikz

iTrader: (4)

I also have a pair of these. Mine are worn smooth now after only 14-20k miles. For paying $800 for tires and install I expected much longer life. So that disappoints me, however the tires are mostly worn on the inside suggesting an alignment/camber issue. These tires do grip well in dry/wet and decent in the snow until they begin to wear then they just spin everywhere. Great cornering ability and handling though.

exninja

iTrader: (1)

I had the same experience and I agree. The original Conti's were a better deal than these. Lasted longer and performance was as good or better.

Grave

iTrader: (7)

Most of these reviews are hilariously inaccurate.

andrewcarr1993

iTrader: (5)

Agreed, but can't really expect much else, everyone thinks their new set of tires is great and no technical data for the 1-10 system.

colodude18

iTrader: (4)

Agreed

yellow_cobalt

Tire Information
Vehicle: 2010 Cobalt SS
Tire Brand/Type: Bridgestone Potenza S04
Size: 235/40/18
Cost: unknown
Purchased from: unknown
Current Tire Mileage: 1,000 (total is unkown)

Ratings: scale of 1 to 10
(1 being very poor, 10 being very excellent)
Dry Traction: 8
Wet Traction: N/A
Snow Traction: N/A
Cornering/Steering Response: 9/10
Ride Comfort: 6
Road Noise: 6
Wear Rating: 3

Would you Recommend: I can't say yes or no. For handling, yes! Ride comfort, no. Gas mileage, definitely no.


Additional Comments/Review: The tires came on the car when I bought it. They seem to ride far more harsh when tire pressure is lower. Pumped up to 40psi, and feels pretty typical. The response of these tires were pretty crazy, actually giving a sense of oversteer with initial turn in. I didn't get much time pushing them nor did I really get to drive in the rain. The tires are very quiet for what they are, depending on road surface (then again, some road surfaces I drive on can make any tire sound as loud as stones rolling in a steel drum). But with the normal driving I was doing, the wear was pretty evident.


I replaced the tires with Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 in stock size and will review once I get more miles on them. So far, I can say they the Hankooks are far better. Maybe not as good on response or at least gives me a feeling that it isn't but they are wonderful!

63 Nova SS

iTrader: (3)

Funny I did the opposite. Went from 225 v12's to pole position s04's. Still have them on the back and yoko tires up front. The 2 other s04's in the attic are almost brand new. They aren't bad tires but my advan neova ad08r's on the front, are way better than the other 2 I've had prior. V12's aren't too bad.