DoC-JoneS

Well it's time to get new tires, and alignment. I'm pretty sure of what i'm gonna get but if ya'll have an opinion i might consider it. also what would be a mild camber setting to go to when i get my new alignment. remember, it's a heavy front wheel drive car. i think a camber adjustment would help keep my rear end in place a bit more.

DoC-JoneS

any takers?

ToyotaTechGeek

well, i think it's dependent on what you are going to do with the car.
the question is: what exactly is the rear end doing? is it 'skittering' when you're turning? or is it 'flopping' around? you may consider 'reading' your tires to see what is going on. your car doesn't look to be lowered (when i saw it around campus) so, i assume it's stock suspension. what is the condition of your shocks/struts? it wouldn't be really smart to do all of the adjustments without addressing those things first. you may also want to consider inspecting your suspension bushings as a custom alignment will be dependent on those things being 100% in order to achieve the proper alignment settings.
as for the tires, the BFG's probably have the stiffest sidewalls along with the bridgestones, but the BFG's are pretty soft, yeah? the bridgestones are probably pretty pricey. as for the others: the Yoko's are an all season tire, right? the dunlops, well, haven't had any of those on any of my cars for awhile (80's), and the nitto's used to market to the drag racing guys, but i really don't know about those much either. i guess, like the alignment, it all depends on what your main goal is. how about the new kumho ecsta mx? or a falken tire? a pirelli? just thought i'd throw those out there, cause there are plenty of tire choices you could/would/should consider.

DoC-JoneS

didn't really look at the falkens or kuhmos, the pirellis haven't thrilled me (the ones i could afford anyways). The suspension is a stock setup, for the moment. The struts are shot to hell (i can take a speed bump at 25mph with no problem) the strut rod bushings are either fine or fucked, i haven't been able to get under there yet. prolly gonna replace them anyways. The rear end is skittering a bit. i can actually get some oversteer in the rain and on a FWD car that's sad. that's why i was looking to change up the camber situation. The BFG's are rated at 300 AA A ($98.00) and the Bridgestones are 400 A A. ($108.90) But the bridgestones from everything i've read are the better tire. I'm not terribly worried about ride comfort if i an gain some steering response and agility. Struts and springs will be the first mods this summer (besides motor mounts). This help any?

ToyotaTechGeek

well, as far as the skittering, as long as your oversteer was controlled, then oversteer in a FWD car is excellent. it's actually preferential. i've had to dial-in oversteer in a few FWD cars cause the handling is much more predictable than pushing. now, if it's a true skitter, then you've got a few things happening. a. your tires are at total loss of traction b. the shocks are tired as hell. your bushings will play a major role in your alignment as i said before. and, your struts and shocks should be replaced also.
the BFG KDWS tires kinda suck. they don't do what they're supposed to claim to do. the KDW's are better, but much softer ( = faster wear). Bridgestones are a helluva tire regardless, but again, they tend to be soft. both have excellent sidewall stiffness. steering response will be affected by the increase in sidewall stiffness as well as from a bit of toe-in and a bit of camber. i know many people absolute hate Bert's alignment, but he's good. his brother, Larry, also does alignments in chesapeake (Larry's alignment). give them a try. but, whatever you do, address the shocks/struts/bushings first!

Egz

I'd second looking at Falken. I have a set of FK-451s on my car, and they have amazing dry and wet traction. Only thing is they are bad when its really cold. (<40*F).

Still a great deal for 80 bucks a tire (205/50-16)

ToyotaTechGeek

i had a few sets of the Ziex 502's. i like them. i wouldn't say that they 'shed' water (relatively deep at speed) but they recovered well. they have a pretty cool look, too.