Pontiac GTO Tires and Wheels

mitsurob

My only complaint with the GTO is the rough ride quality. I know it's a "sports" car, but I miss having a nice smooth ride. Thought about getting alternate tires to see if this would help, but hate to invest the extra dollars not knowing it this would help. Any ideas or has anyone else improved the ride by trying different tires? If so would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on brands, etc.

lovegto

I have 17" wheels; purchased Dunlop M3 winter tires a year ago and the difference was like night and day. Not only was the traction better in snow as expected, the overall traction was improved significantly over the all season OEM Tires and the quietness and ride quality both improved dramatically. I switched back to the OEM in the spring since the OEM tires only had 7,000 miles and I was not sure if the ride quality was all in my mind. The change in the tires brought back the harsh ride, the noise and the reduced traction.
The two front tires wore out this summer, alignment issue, and I purchased two cheap tires not even the correct speed rating and they also are much better performers than the OEM tires. I will replace the tires with the winter tires in about two weeks. Next Spring I will not be cheap but buy four new summer tires, definitely not the OEM Goodrich tires. Hope this helps.

b4z

mitsurob,

How long have you had your GTO?
Any chance it still has 55lbs of air in the tires?

I had a different reaction than you.
The GTO rides great compared to all the Camaros I have had.

I have switched the 17s for 18s and it still rides good IMHO.

Also the stock 17" tires are bad. Poor traction in the rain and under power.

mitsurob

I've had the GTO for over 1 year. Know about the air pressure, that's not the problem. I keep them at 32-35psi. My prior ride was a bonneville, so I was spoiled by that ride. I've heard the GTO has a much better ride quality than a camaro. I guess it's all what you are used to! Just seems sometimes like the ride is kindof jarring. Maybe I'm just getting old!!!
Thanks for your thoughts.

mick1

We're all getting older. I switch betw driving my GTO and Olds Intrigue. Although the olds with goodyear eagle RSA's gives a comfortable and quiet ride with competent handling, it doesn't come close to the fun I'm having driving the GTO.

mitsurob

Thanks for the info lovegto. That is encouraging to know that the tires could improve the ride quality. I have initially looked at Continental ContiProContact as a possible replacement tire. They are an H rated tire, so not a high performance. THey are rated pretty high on Tire Rack's web site with regard to being a smooth and quiet ride. Have several others I want to look at before making a final decision on tires.

06gto

Good evening. I have an '06 and live in CT. Right now it seems I will be using the GTO as my daily driver during the winter months (darn). The car has OEM performance tires, 18". I am looking for winter tire suggestions. I was weened on RWD cars and have no issues driving one in the winter. I realize there will be a need for snow tires (rear) and an all weather type for the front. I saw in one of the posts someone ran a Dunlop,?? M3 and had good success.
Thanks, J

elkiii

Last winter I had a hard time finding snow tires for the 18" wheels so I bought a set of 17" wheels and tires. Now there seem to be more 18's available. Some thoughts though.

If you like the 18" wheels I would consider buying another (cheaper) set for winter.

Put the same type/size of tire on all four wheels. Do not mix and match. It will cause unsettling handing.

The 18's are much lower profile. I don't know how well the snow versions will perform. The 17 in wheel/tire combo w/Blizzaks do pretty good for me with a bit more sidewall to absorb the various highway junk of winter.

06gto

Thanks for the info. I will look further into the 17" wheels and tires. Fortunately I only drive a short distance too and from work about 4 miles round trip. Although the town is quite hilly getting home!
Blizzaks eh? Never heard of them.
How do you like your car? Any issues, mechanical, fit & finish?
Chat soon, thanks again

deputy9112

The Sheriff Dept. purched a 2006 GTO for my patrol car,we traded in a Mach1.First it was the brakes and rotors,then the struts are rubbing,the battery has to be replaced and the coating on the "BRIGHT FINISH SPOKE ALUMINUM WHEELS"hand to be redone,this is on a $35,000.00 vehicle with 26,000 miles on it now.It had 5 miles on it when i got it.With all these problems i went to the dealer,all it was was a waste of time.I was very unhappy about the rims because i was told there was a defect in the rims and there was someone just ahead of me that got four new rims.I had to wait on the Pont. Rep. before they could do anything.He had the dealership do them which took my car off the road for 5 days.I went on vacation and when i returned my left front tire was a little low,i know no one drove it why i was gone, so i went to the repair shop to get it fixed and after they took it off there was a large crack in the rim where the bead meets rim and there was a good size piece of metal missing. So if i was a owner of a 2006 GTO with the same kind of rims check the inside of the rims for your own safety.

ourgoat

After looking at the messages under tires and wheels I was surprised to see that there was no mention of the problems that I have experienced with my 04 GTO. The original tires were 17 inch, approximately 9 inch wide and after only 6,000 miles, one of the tires on the front was worn out completely on the inside of the tire from rubbing on the strut. I noticed that there was very little cleareance between the tire and the strut, one could barely get their little finger between the two. I had the wheel looked at and the dealer informed me that the rim was bent, causing the rubbing. I had the rim replaced and rotated the new tire and the old tire on the front to the back, but the tires that were moved to the front continued to rub against the strut and wore out on the inside of the tire, long before the tread was gone. Needless to say, the dealer played dumb to all of this. I have since replaced the wider tires with ones that are only 8 inches wide. I am curious if anybody has had a similar experience and received any satisfaction from a dealer in dealing with the problem?

Claires

I am curious if anybody has had a similar experience and received any satisfaction from a dealer in dealing with the problem?

Enough people had this problem that we dedicated a separate topic to it:

Pontiac GTO Strut Issues

06thelastgoatt

I own a 06 goat with 18' wheels, I ordered my 1st new tires from "tire rack" seeking a better preforming tire and each time i did i received a call from tire rack stating that there might be tire rubbing problems with the new tires and they will accept them being returned other than me paying for the freight back the mounting fees,,, hmmm so i asked what tire do you assure no rubbing and there answer was using only origional tires "bridgestone's",,,,,,I took the gamble and ordered better tires anyway ,,,wish ,me luck,

cappgoat

Has anyone tried putting wider tires on their 2006 GTO? I want to put slightly wider tires on mine but am concerned about clearances, especially on the front. Anyone have any advice on this?

06thelastgoatt

You can not put wider tires on the front of 06 gto's only dealer factory brigestones fit perfectly, you can on the back but you will have some rubbing with the extra weight of carring passenagers ,,,the car has the power with not enough bite from a dead stop, the only way to fix this problem is to modify the rear wheel wells and maybe a slight lfit kit,,,,, then of course with different front and rear tires you no longer can rotate them-------- or else buy special soft racing tires that has maybe 1 quarter of the tread life---only for racing ---- decisions decisions,,,just have fun and "light um up"

catpaverman

I just put Blizzaks on my 06, 235 40R 18's. They are great in the snow but really squirmish on dry pavement. Takes the fun out of driving the GTO, except when it snows, then its amazing.

catpaverman

I hope to put a set of 10 Rims with 265 R35-18's on my 06 GTO. I assume I will need new A arms on the rear to allow clearance. Does anyone have experience with this, recommendation on rims, offsets required etc. I plan to stay with the stock size on the front but hope to add tires and rims to the rear with out modifying the wheel fender openings.

capriracer

According to Tire Rack, 265/35R18's will only fit on the rear. They specify 235/40R18's on the front. But you will need to buy new rims for the rear as the stock rims are too narrow. Be careful to get the right offset.