Kumhos, XGTZ, PS2 swap or sale

[Tom, F&L GoR]

First, apologies if commenting here is the wrong place- I put up an advertisement, it's approved and I can see it via the link from the moderators, but can't see it via the Classifieds? I assume there is another layer of approval since the images are yet to be approved.

I bought a '98 that came with nice, pretty new Kumho Ecsta rear 335/35-17s and original MXX3s in the front. I had a set of Michelin PS2s and put those on the car. In my garage I now have pairs of 335/35-17 Kumhos, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 and bagged/stored Michelin XGTZs and want to make a sell or deal to end up with front 275/40-17s to match some rears. My ideal trade would be to get PS2 fronts for the Kumho rears.

I'm not in a hurry, so can plan ahead to meet you from central New Jersey to Tator's Dodge to Albany to Syracuse. If you're mildly interested, I'm happy to send pictures and date codes.

[Granger73]

There has been a lot said about dependablity of older tires. I don't totally agree. I think there are several factors that determine usability of older tires. I had several Vette's with 30-35 year old NOS tires and never had an issue. Certainly wouldn't use them at the track, but for trips under 50-75 miles no complaints. What's been your experience?

[Tom, F&L GoR]

When I bought my '94 in 1998 the 18" wheels were just coming out. People were dumping their 17"tire/wheels at good prices so they could "upgrade" and I picked up 3 sets of 17" rims and even more sets of tires for good prices. Put them in a plastic bag, keep them in the garage in the shade, pulled them out as needed. They didn't have cracks, didn't seem any harder when cold. Working in a chemical company that develops additives for plastics, rubber, lubricants, etc I see that most aging of polymers is from sunlight or heat cycles, not from age. So my tires were pretty well stored.

My '94 had 146,000 miles before I let it go, so I used up all the tires I got cheap and then some. I simply miscalculated the front to rear wear ratio and ended up with a pair of rear XGTZs left over. For commuting, they were really good.

I also have experience with improperly stored tires. One tire under the back porch was not in a bag and in the sun every midday (for ~12 years). There are cracks through a fairly good tread shoulder and I would not trust it to even hold air.

The other difference that goes unspoken is the construction. XGTZs had very flexible sidewalls and I think you had to get used to throwing it into a turn and waiting for the sidewall to roll and then get traction. Later MXX3 tires had stiff sidewalls and felt much more direct. I think the new PS2s are back to flexi-walls. Consequently, I would not run different "model" tires front and back, which is why I am looking for Kumho fronts to match my Kumho rears or PS2 fronts to match my PS2 rears.

[Tom, F&L GoR]

Bumpity bump. Have deals going to acquire 18" wheels/tires, so the Kumho Ecsta rear 335/35-17s are definitely for sale. Delivery from ~Syracuse to Tator's Dodge to ~Plainfield, NJ possible. In the classifieds.