'03 Azure Blue Mach with 10.5" AFS Wheels and Vredestein Tires

[Hicompression]

Well...I was finally back in town to where I had enough time to install my new AFS "Grey" Mach 1 10.5" wheels today. I've been sitting on them since I received them in early June.

I found a local distributor of Vredestein tires and picked up two 315/35/R17 Sessantas. Lemme know whatcha think!

[alsmith]

Interesting tread design.

[SchwermoRacing]

Looks good, just put 2 17x10.5 on my rear. GOD I love them. Should have been my first mod. What I like about them is that they look so stock I almost forget I have them till I downshift and don't spin like I used to.

[Hicompression]

Originally Posted by alsmith

Interesting tread design.

Yes, yes it is. The pattern is non-directional so there is no left or right. As long as the "water groove" is on the inside of the tire you've installed them correctly.

I did quite a bit of research on tires in general before I bought the Vredesteins. I didn't want a drag radial...I wanted a street tire. Most reviews about Sumitomos were fair to poor. Nitto seemed to be ok with mixed reviews. With Vredestein, I read nothing but good comments from the people that run these tires on their cars. Vredesteins are made in Holland and are supposed to be really good in the wet. They are also known (because of the tread pattern) to be really quiet.

This is my first set and I will provide a review once I have some miles on them.

[alsmith]

Sounds good! I would be interested in your opinion concerning the tires. It seems to be wet in my area all the time, I could benefit from some wet tire advice. I'm primarily interested in the cornering performance, wet and dry.

[amanth]

Looks good to me!

[MustangJoe]

That was the second purchase after I bought my newly acquired white 04. The first thing was mach floor mats.

I absolutely love the look!!

[mach1mustangman]

Love the wheels...I want to do those on my car too. No $$$ at this time, maybe later in year (early Christmas!!). :-)

[WalkrTexasRngr]

Older thread but is your car sitting on stock springs? Looks pretty good if it is. I was planniing on going Eibach pros with the AFS meat in the rear. Just wondering if I should get the springs or the wheels first.

[Schmokn]

So what is your opinion on the tires?

[hurststang]

Originally Posted by Schmokn

So what is your opinion on the tires?

I have the same tires on my 04 Mach here in Germany. I have them on all 4 corners and I love them. I have had NT555's,NT05's, and the cheap HTZ all on different Mustangs over here and these are the best tires I have EVER run in the rain. I'm putting down 316rwhp with 430 gears and have no problems driving in the rain.

[Hicompression]

Originally Posted by WalkrTexasRngr

Older thread but is your car sitting on stock springs? Looks pretty good if it is. I was planniing on going Eibach pros with the AFS meat in the rear. Just wondering if I should get the springs or the wheels first.

Yes, my car is sitting on the stock springs. I think it looks pretty good too...no need to lower.

Originally Posted by Schmokn

So what is your opinion on the tires?

They're awesome. Haven't had much rain in TX, so not much testing in the wet. No road noise with these tires. Absolutely no vibe either.

[WalkrTexasRngr]

I wonder how well these tires wear/mileage. Looks alright stock but I wanna go around an inch lower with about he same ride. Im thinking Eibach Pros....

[Jagplay]

They really dont wear to great. Drive normal not to bad of a tire, drive it like ya own it they wear out quick. Great for traction and wet roads and I love the cut of the tire, but when they wear down they split easy. Trying out the g-Force T/A KDWS now. Let ya know how that goes.lol

[WalkrTexasRngr]

I had G-force Sports on my Cougar..They wore very well. I hear good things about the KDW's as well. Kinda pricey in that width though?

[Jagplay]

Ya never said nothing about price....lol

[4valve 4tw?]

Cant get into the 315s. Dont take this the wrong way, but to me they are posser-ish most of the time. Do you really make the kinda power to deem that size tire needed? I see close to stock GT's with 315's all the time. All its doin is adding tons of rotational weight and not adding any sort of performance. "Tire per hp" ratio is way off.

[DarkMach1]

Car looks great, op. My opinion on the tire, their wear is great, had mine for about 35k miles and still had plenty of thread left (about half) with almost all being highway miles and plenty of track/racing. My only concern is that this tire might be kinda of like a run flat( this is my theory). I was driving one morning to work(about 5am, no one on the road), heard a very loud pop/air blowing out. The car wasn't driving any different so I just passed it off as maybe a supermarket bag or something like that. On the way back from work, the rear passenger tire's ( same location of the pop sound) thread became separated from each sidewalk all the way around, luckily I was driving at or below the speed limit and was able to pull over. The tire shop owner said the failure was likely a result of driving around with very low tire pressure and a fresh nail was found. Even though no serious accident didn't happen it could've been bad, where as if the tore was an average run of the mill tire I wouldve immediately noticed the flat and pulled over.

[JPJNTX]

Originally Posted by Jagplay

They really dont wear to great. Drive normal not to bad of a tire, drive it like ya own it they wear out quick. Great for traction and wet roads and I love the cut of the tire, but when they wear down they split easy. Trying out the g-Force T/A KDWS now. Let ya know how that goes.lol

Wifey's ride has KDWs on the rear. Great under normal driving conditions, SUCK under hard acceleration! Wear seems okay. They're 275/40s. She's putting down 437 to the tires. The tires and rims were on the car when we bought it. I think we're going to have to find the same rim in a 10.5".

[vrthomas]

Originally Posted by DarkMach1

Car looks great, op. My opinion on the tire, their wear is great, had mine for about 35k miles and still had plenty of thread left (about half) with almost all being highway miles and plenty of track/racing. My only concern is that this tire might be kinda of like a run flat( this is my theory). I was driving one morning to work(about 5am, no one on the road), heard a very loud pop/air blowing out. The car wasn't driving any different so I just passed it off as maybe a supermarket bag or something like that. On the way back from work, the rear passenger tire's ( same location of the pop sound) thread became separated from each sidewalk all the way around, luckily I was driving at or below the speed limit and was able to pull over. The tire shop owner said the failure was likely a result of driving around with very low tire pressure and a fresh nail was found. Even though no serious accident didn't happen it could've been bad, where as if the tore was an average run of the mill tire I wouldve immediately noticed the flat and pulled over.

Hate to bring up an older thread but I'm doing the research on Vredestein's now and looking for a supplier. I'm having a hard time finding a dealer in NC, so any help would be appreciated.

I just wanted to comment real quick to say they do make a run-flat version of the Sessanta. I'm not sure if you bought them by accident or the wrong thing was ordered for you, but it may be the case. This is the only story I've heard about the tire coming apart though, should I be worried about buying them?

[XSELLR8]

How do the tires hook up?