Tires for MSP - Admiral 712

So I've had BFG KDW2 tires on my MSP for almost three years now, and just over 30k miles.

Fantastic tires. Just about the perfect combination of treadlife and grip for a daily driven MSP. Great response, very predictable and controllable break away. I've been very happy with them.

However, they are pretty damn expensive now. I don't remember paying $140+ for a tire back in 2006.

So I was looking on discount tire and the first tire listed is a 280AA tire called the Admiral 712 for $78 a pop.

This would save me about $300 over the KDW's. I mean I am sure there is a trade off somewhere, but the tire has a slightly less tread wear as the KDW so it should be as grippy, and it costs about half the price.

I just can't find any reviews except the one kid who gave it a thumbs up on the website, after switching from Falkens, and we all know what Falkens are capable.

Anyone here have any experience with this tire?
 
... Don't buy cheapo tires, I spent 260$ each for my Bridgestone RE50A Pole Positions like a year ago, and they are GREAT tires, best handling all weather tires you can get!
 
We don't have weather here in Phoenix, just varying degrees of hot and dry.

$260 a tire is a ton of cash to be spending on a tire in this size.
Not sure if their is a difference between the pole position's and the RE50, but the majority of these owners were not pleased:
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/readReviewsTire.do?pagerOffset=20&fcpr=&c=2&rcz=85286&ar=45&fcsr=&rf=true&fcs=false&rd=17&ct=null&rc=AZEINT&cs=215&dVeh=dVeh&ra=filterTireProducts.do&yr=2003&pc=25392&fclr=&cf=false&vid=008078&fcb=&sw=false

I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", but at over 3x the price, it simply isn't possible for the Bridgestone's to offer 3x the grip, response, or life of the Admirals. Same goes for 2x for the KDW's.

I think for $300 for a set, it's probably worth checking out. All brands start as no-name brands.
 
im on my second set of nangtang NS1's i picked up for 260 a set

the first set being on when i bought the car almost 2 years ago and i have been nothing short of pleased with this tire
 
We don't have weather here in Phoenix, just varying degrees of hot and dry.

$260 a tire is a ton of cash to be spending on a tire in this size.
Not sure if their is a difference between the pole position's and the RE50, but the majority of these owners were not pleased:
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/readReviewsTire.do?pagerOffset=20&fcpr=&c=2&rcz=85286&ar=45&fcsr=&rf=true&fcs=false&rd=17&ct=null&rc=AZEINT&cs=215&dVeh=dVeh&ra=filterTireProducts.do&yr=2003&pc=25392&fclr=&cf=false&vid=008078&fcb=&sw=false

I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", but at over 3x the price, it simply isn't possible for the Bridgestone's to offer 3x the grip, response, or life of the Admirals. Same goes for 2x for the KDW's.

I think for $300 for a set, it's probably worth checking out. All brands start as no-name brands.
those arnt pole postion ones....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE050A+Pole+Position
 
dont get the 712's they are just a renamed Supra 712 from years ago, which were crap.

BFG Gforce sports. great for the price and go to discount tire and get a 70 dollar mail in rebate =]
 
So I had the admirals put on today.

At first I was a little scared since the steering response seemed drastically reduced. But it was too hot out to really have any fun on the way back.

Then this afternoon I took a melow highway trip to the airport, and the road noise and comfort level was vastly improved. The car is much more settled over the expansion joints on the interchanges, and less disrupted by reflectors and cracks.

I took it out tonight after it cooled down to have some fun, and no complaints. The tires have plenty of grip, they break away very gradually, and although they emit a much lower pitch squeal than I am used to, they give plenty of warning. The car remained very neutral during hard turns.

The steering response may be a little worse than the KDW's, but IIRC I felt the same way when I put on the KDW's four years ago. This makes sense with new tires because now you have a lot more tread to squirm around.

Zack, why were they crap? Can you be more specific?

So far, so good. I have a feeling these tires will become a lot more popular very soon; they seem to be an incredible bargain. Time will tell.
 
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I just bought a set of Ling Longs... Bad choice??

ling long and wanlis are bad. We dont even service them because any time Ive seen a set, even if almost new they are cracking around the entire sidewall.
 
I just bought a set of Ling Longs... Bad choice??

This calls for a ^WOW^. Well there not the greatest. I've had a set of Toyo Proxes4 on my car for at least 2 years and they still have plenty of life. Great tire for the price and performance to back it.

You'll find out in less than a year from now that thoughs Admiral 712 tires won't last that long. Especially in that nice Arizona sun.
 
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Going through some of my old posts, and just wanted to say that rally2003 had a perfect prediction. Exactly one year after I had them put on, I had them replaced. The grip had all but disappeared, and the tread was pretty much gone too. The KDW2's lasted 30k, the admirals lasted less than 10k.
Once again, you always get what you pay for.
I probably wasted about $100 over getting decent tires from the get go, so not a completely terrible experiment. This time I went with the RE760. I don't think they are quite as grippy as the KDW2's, but they are much much quieter on the freeway.
 
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