lookin for some hi-pro wheels on a budget. wanted the g-force but tirerack is "back order" on them...
the protenza R730 compare well to them, better than the Goodyear GSC's...

any personal experiences with them?

thanks

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ARREST-ME RED 96 Z-28, M6...stock for now...but i've only had it three days...1st mod on day 4! TB airfoil...NOW...G2 CAI(modified), K&N, MagnaFlow w/ cutout(closed of course), maf ends, ?cags?, UD pulley, TB bypass, 160stat, SLP fan switch, SLP air temp module, Hypertech PTM, MSD 6A, Hurst(SS donation) with a Lou's SStick and Proform Shiftlight, BMR lca, phb and stb, 32/21mm sway bars w/ poly bushings and endlinks, ES poly TA mount, air silencer???

Waiting to go on: 1LE springs, SLP afpr

For Sale: stock exhaust+ sq. tips, 30/19mm sway bars w/ stock bushings

 

Yep, get em, they're greeat tires

 

I have them. They're a really good, not great, performance tire. If you can't afford the really good stuff, these will still make you happy. Good in the wet and dry.

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Pat Newton
'97 Formula - unstock
'85 BMW 524 turbodiesel - stock and stinky
http://home.attbi.com/~patricknewton/f-body/formula.htm

 

The Firehawk SZ50 is a really good all-around three season tire too, and fairly reasonably priced - I used them on my last car. I now have the newer SZ50EP. I only have a few months wear and 1 autocross on them, but so far I like them.

 

I have 'em and love them!! The first 1k, they hooked great in wet and dry. After that, grip went down a little in the dry but wet traction is always excellent with these tires, no more spin outs and car feels sure-footed. I got a 2.0 60' out of them(only mod was intake and cutout). They're "ok" in the dry, they're no drag radials though.

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93 Z28 M6
"Nuh true dready, yeeaaaahhh"

 

I'm running 245 50 16 RE730s now. they are good, but not as good as the Firestone SZ50s (220 treadwear) i had in 2000.

these RE730s with 300 treadwear are lasting longer though. Wet traction pretty damn good, but not as good as the SZ50s.

i'm curious, how are the 300 treadwear SZ50s?

 

The original SZ50 was 220 and the new SZ50EP is 340. I had the SZ50 245/50 on my last car, and recently put a set of SZ50EP 255/50 on my 2001.

I was very pleased with the original. The only "complaints" I had were that they seem to run a little narrow and that they suck on ice. The ice is just a known tradeoff for this kind of tire, and I addressed the narrow complaint by getting one size wider this time. All in all, I'm not convinced they needed to change anything.

That said, so far, I don't have any complaints with the new tires either. I found that both versions respond well to slightly lower than typical air pressure.

As an extreme example, I ran Eagle GA 235/55 in one autox (ugh!) and had to run them at 44f/36r, and I wasn't even driving the car very hard ("Sunday drive" was mentioned...)

I've also run the SZ50EP 255/50 in one autox. They were brand new at the time - they had one evening of scuffing in and short highway driving, all in the rain, followed by 36 hours curing time for any possible heat-cycling to happen. Even with the wider tire on the same size rim, and more aggressive driving, I ended up dropping the hot pressure to 40LF,39RF, 29LR, 28LR. They just kept getting stickier as the pressure dropped, and I think I could have run about 38 in the front with smoother driving. The difference in grip at the rear from 32 to 28 was dramatic. After the tires cooled down I ADDED some air to all four corners for the ride home.

They held up quite well. The tread blocks on the rear are beveled slightly on the leading edges from over use of the loud pedal, but there's no feathering front or rear.

On the street, I run (cold) 38 front, 30 rear, and that's probably higher than needed with only me in the car.

 

well guys, thanks for all the input.

i broke down...well kindda...decided to sell my body on the street corner and bought 4 SZ50's...

i figure for $120 or so more for all 4 over the protenza's...to hell with it...

so i look forward to trying them out. what is this that i read about "heat cycling" or was it "curing"....huh...please enlighten...

------------------
ARREST-ME RED 96 Z-28, M6...stock for now...but i've only had it three days...1st mod on day 4! TB airfoil...NOW...G2 CAI(modified), K&N, MagnaFlow w/ cutout(closed of course), maf ends, ?cags?, UD pulley, TB bypass, 160stat, SLP fan switch, SLP air temp module, Hypertech PTM, MSD 6A, Hurst(SS donation) with a Lou's SStick and Proform Shiftlight, BMR lca, phb and stb, 32/21mm sway bars w/ poly bushings and endlinks, ES poly TA mount, air silencer???

Waiting to go on: 1LE springs, SLP afpr

For Sale: stock exhaust+ sq. tips, 30/19mm sway bars w/ stock bushings

 

You won't regret the purchase. I had old-style SZ50s on my car before I got the RE-730s, and I wish I wouldn't have been so cheap and just ponied up for the Firehawks again. They are a great tire if you can afford them.

------------------
Pat Newton
'97 Formula - unstock
'85 BMW 524 turbodiesel - stock and stinky
'90 Mazda Miata - Spec Miata race car "in progress"
http://home.attbi.com/~patricknewton/f-body/formula.htm