Thoughts on BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2?

[Raffi]

Anyone tried those tires and want to chime in? I'd use them for my daily tires and they would see lots of spirited driving, though no track time, as I run R-comps at the track. I'm currently running Kumho MXs in 235/40/18 all-around, and would like to move up in size (wider is better :eeps: :p). Unfortunately, Kumho doesn't make 245s or 255s in the right aspect ratio for me. I am also extremly tempted to try the Dunlop SP Super Sport Race in 255s as my daily driver tires - except that I have no clue how long they'll last me in light of their 60 UTQG rating.

I could always try running the Kumhos in 265/35 all around! :eeps:

[Andy]

The KDW2s will most likely be my next set of tires for daily driving (in 245/40/17). I have no experience with them yet, however from what I hear they are an exceptional dry and wet weather performance tire… and if they’re anything like the KDs… well, that would be a good thing. ;)

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

Toyo RA-1s lasted 6,000 miles of street driving, plus 7 track days, plus 6 or so autoxes. They still aren't corded--I could probably get another thousand out of the rears and a bit more from the fronts.

[TeamM3]

:thumbup: :thumbup: by me

the negatives of using R tires on the street is sandblasting your rocker panels and fender splash areas and even the full tread versions don't do well in heavily wet situations, what tread they have diminishes quicker than the usual street tires so you need to stay on top of how they're wearing and drive accordingly, I use to have the dry is everything attitude until losing control of a car just driving straight down the highway and crashing when it hydroplaned unexpectedly and just snapped sideways:eek: , now for me wet performance on the street is my no. 1 priority even if it means less dry performance

I know somebody that has a slightly used set of full tread Kumho 245/40-17 R tires if that's what somebody wants though, actually they're currently mounted on the SSR Comp wheels I want to buy for my M3 street wheels and mount with KDW2's :angel:

[Raffi]

Toyo RA-1s lasted 6,000 miles of street driving, plus 7 track days, plus 6 or so autoxes. They still aren't corded--I could probably get another thousand out of the rears and a bit more from the fronts.
Too bad they don't come in the right sizes - my RA-1s lasted me over a year and still have lots life left in them. The Dunlops are very tempting at that price, but even though I live in L.A., the recent rains got me concerned about wet weather performance.

[elbert]

I have a set of KDW2's but haven't had a chance to lean on them yet (street driving only, no track time yet). My initial opinion while scuffing them up: they were noticeably more stable under hard cornering in comparison to my Pilot Sports (PSOnes :D ). I'm not talking about understeer or initial turn-in, but rather how "squirmy" the car feels while cornering.
However, I'm not sure if this stability is from a larger tread blocks on the KDW2's, or the size difference (245 vs 225). I am thinking more the former than the latter -- my guess is the PSOnes narrow tread pattern deflects under load more than the broad blocks on the KDW2's.

I have a driving school next weekend, I'll have a more complete opinion then; right now it's too early to tell.

[TeamM3]

I have a set of KDW2's

didn't realize you had bought a set :thumbup:

at the track though, try to remember that they are still only a street tire :eek: :angel:

[elbert]

didn't realize you had bought a set :thumbup:

at the track though, try to remember that they are still only a street tire :eek: :angel:

I've never run R-comps... I'm not rich enough :p

Of course, going back and reading the original post did I realize Raffi wanted to know about the KDW's for street driving. I'll have more on that next weekend, too: it's an 8 hour drive to VIR.

So far they seem OK, ride is about the same as the Pilots, and maybe a tad bit louder. It might be a bit premature to say for sure, as they might get louder as they wear down (as anyone unfortunate enough to buy Bridgestone RE730's will tell you).

[TeamM3]

oh you're rich enough, you just blew your wad on the car :p

yeah, they get great rankings on everything except snow and noise :dunno:

what sizes did you get?

[Raffi]

I couldn't care less about the tires being noisy - I just want them to grip ... I've got a much louder noise coming from the lightweight flywheel and the stiff suspension, but I just crank up the radio! :D

[Raffi]

OK, I've narrowed the choice down to the Toyo Proxes T-1S and the BF Goodrich - which would you pick?

[elbert]

oh you're rich enough, you just blew your wad on the car :p

yeah, they get great rankings on everything except snow and noise :dunno:

what sizes did you get?

:lmao:
I got 245/40/18 for the fronts, 255/40/18 for the rears. I would have gone wider (265 and 275), but I found an extra set of OE wheels which aren't quite wide enough for those tires.

[elbert]

OK, I've narrowed the choice down to the Toyo Proxes T-1S and the BF Goodrich - which would you pick?

If you're car is on a diet, there is one potential downside to the BFG's -- they are f'n heavy (the benefit being stiff sidewalls). The T1's are pretty light iirc.

[TeamM3]

yes, the T1S is a bit lighter, but it has much softer sidewalls

[elbert]

OK, had an interesting weekend on these tires as I got to experience quite a variety of weather conditions in only 4 days.

Friday: drove down to VIR. In the snow, near white out conditions. Fortunately, ODOT laid some salt down (never thought I'd be happy to drive the M3 in salt), and although there was plenty of snow in the grass, thankfully there was no accumulation on the road. I was too busy looking at the surface for snow to notice the tires, but they got me there!

Saturday: first track day of the year. 35°F in the rain in the morning. Since it was the first day in about 5 months, I took it really easy (I was rusty) but hydroplaning wasn't an issue on the fast straights (kept the speed to around 120 mph). Didn't notice any problems in the turns, but again, I wasn't pushing it.

Sunday: sunny, and warmed up to around 60&deg;F by the end of the day. The car still had some understeer in a tight, double apex turn (called "The Bi<sp></sp>tch") which has a severe off-camber exit but otherwise did well (I prefer a tiny bit of understeer). Having wider fronts really helped a lot. Couldn't keep up with a well tuned E36 M3 on R-comps but I am very satisfied with the KDW's ontrack performance.

Monday: drive back home, mostly in sunny weather (temps in the 60's), but there was some rain as well.
For Raffi: they were noticeably loud and had a tendency to tramline. Ride was a bit rougher than the Pilots, as they communicate every pavement ripple. These are, of course, the expected trade-offs.

As long as you keep in mind these are street tires, they had outstanding performance in the conditions tested. Hopefully they will do just as well in July with hot ambient air and track surface temps.

[Raffi]

For Raffi: they were noticeably loud and had a tendency to tramline. Ride was a bit rougher than the Pilots, as they communicate every pavement ripple. These are, of course, the expected trade-offs.

As long as you keep in mind these are street tires, they had outstanding performance in the conditions tested. Hopefully they will do just as well in July with hot ambient air and track surface temps.
Thanks for the update. I'm still debating which tires to buy. :dunno:

[The HACK]

OK, I've narrowed the choice down to the Toyo Proxes T-1S and the BF Goodrich - which would you pick?
T1-S (or T1-R) dood. Support your vendors. Those guys come to every BMWCCA HPDE and has been tremendous in helping each local chapter.

[TeamM3]

Support your vendors..


fyi, The TireRack is a supporting vendor too ;)

[noflash]

Anyone tried those tires and want to chime in? I'd use them for my daily tires and they would see lots of spirited driving, though no track time, as I run R-comps at the track. I'm currently running Kumho MXs in 235/40/18 all-around, and would like to move up in size (wider is better :eeps: :p). Unfortunately, Kumho doesn't make 245s or 255s in the right aspect ratio for me. I am also extremly tempted to try the Dunlop SP Super Sport Race in 255s as my daily driver tires - except that I have no clue how long they'll last me in light of their 60 UTQG rating.

I could always try running the Kumhos in 265/35 all around! :eeps:


I recently asked Gary to compare the Kumho MX and the KDW2s. He said they don't compare b/c the MX is a Max Performance and the KDW2 is an UHPerformance. I.e., the MXs were superior.

Just thought I'd relay that.

[The HACK]

fyi, The TireRack is a supporting vendor too ;)
TireRack does not carry Toyo tires...If they do, I would certainly recommend getting the Toyos from TireRack.

[Raffi]

I recently asked Gary to compare the Kumho MX and the KDW2s. He said they don't compare b/c the MX is a Max Performance and the KDW2 is an UHPerformance. I.e., the MXs were superior.

Just thought I'd relay that.
Thanks!

[TeamM3]

I recently asked Gary to compare the Kumho MX and the KDW2s. He said they don't compare b/c the MX is a Max Performance and the KDW2 is an UHPerformance. I.e., the MXs were superior.

Just thought I'd relay that.


MX's are superior if you shave them new, full tread they are not :thumbdwn:

the comparison he's referring to is the owner feedback on their website, it's separated and scored by category, so there is no direct correlation between the categories

[TeamM3]

If you don't shave the MX's, are they eventually OK, or does the heat cycling mess them up by the time the tread is low enough?


unfortunately not the same thing, you need to shave them new to get the maximum performance