I finally did something about the tires on the '89 Ebay rat and went with the BFG G-Force KDWs (the Continental Extreme Contacts that came with the car were fine, but the previous owner told me one tire had to be returned because of balance problems, and they started acting up again recently and refused to be fixed; at least I got a good 11,000 miles out of them). TireRack finally had the BFGs on sale, and a local Discount Tire would match that price plus $10/tire and mount and balance for $10/tire. I know people raved about the Goodyear GS-D3s, but you have to set a limit on creeping upward prices at some point and I just cringed at the price without a satisfaction guarantee, and while I liked the tread pattern, I didn't like the sidewalls and shoulders (too busy/rounded). Also, Goodyears, for me, have had a spotty track record. I've either liked them (the old Gatorbacks on my IROC Z) or been very disappointed (the GSCs on my old IROC). I went with the BFGs since, technically, they reminded me of some old BFG-forces I had on the IROC which were just terrific---neither twitchy or mushy, with good wet traction. These KDWs felt exactly the same as those earlier BFGS as I pulled away from the store in the rat into Houston freeway traffic and a driving rain (your immediate impression of a tire tends to be the one which actually sticks with you), and they look terrific, too, on the black AFS ZR1-style wheels---sort of brawny American. We'll see, but so far so good, and the rat seems pleased and we can use the money saved for something else.
/s/ Chris Kennedy
Houston, Texas
