What Do We Think About Achilles Tires?

So, what do we think about Achilles tires? 

I was tire shopping for my e28 as it is due for tires, not looking for super high performance, I don't autocross it or anything. 3 season driving. 

I found this set of 4 on eBay, in 215/50/16, for just $206.79. That's cheap.  Are they any good at all? At that price I wouldn't mind if the lifespan isn't the longest.

Do they have a model called "Heel"?

I know that they seem to make way more smoke than any other tire. 

Probably "fine", like most Chinesium tires sold only through online discount retailers; I've heard complaints that they can be difficult to balance out due to mediocre QC, but aside from that as long as your expectations are low they will probably be alright. The one area of concern I would have is wet performance which seems to be where cheap tires really skimp.

That said the brand name never sat right with me - why name a company after something synonymous with having a fatal flaw?

Yes. What an unfortunate name! 

I just can't see myself buying tires based only on price.  I want a proven track record of grip and durability. 

I guess I end up paying more so that the 0.1% of the time I need my tires to work in an emergency situation they actually work.

If you look closely at my icon you will see its an ancient Greek portrait of Achilles fighting Hector.   

So can we can surmise that Achilles tires are better than Hector tires? 

But then we have to admit that Paris tires would best Achilles tires; albeit in an unfair fight, i.e. a poison arrow to the heel.
 

NickD said:

I know that they seem to make way more smoke than any other tire. 

Oh right, they do sponsor a few FD cars.

I run the ATS Sports (or Sport 2s) on my LS400. Cool chunky tread pattern, quiet enough, mounted and balanced fine. I like them so much that I bought a set for the 19" wheels I'm building.  Partially because they haven't killed me yet and partially because they're CHEAP. Like, $75 a corner for 19s cheap.

Buddy of mine with a C63 AMG is currently running a set based on my recommendations, and he's happy. Then again with that car it doesn't matter what you run, you're not getting a lot of life out of them...

AWSX1686 said:

NickD said:

I know that they seem to make way more smoke than any other tire. 

Oh right, they do sponsor a few FD cars.

Yeah, and the Achilles cars make way more smoke than anyone else. Quinn from Slip Angle Media runs their more performance-oriented tire on his RX-7 and RX-8 and loves them. He says they are grippy enough to be sporty but not so grippy that you can't hoon the cars around on them without major abuse.

What an unfortunate name! 

Poor Achilles! To be a god-like entity remembered primarily for your one imperfection. Reminds me of a C5 Z06 on R-comps I 'beat' at autocross in my stockish Dodge Dynasty because it started raining. I hope they never name anything after a C5 Z06 lest that one Dynasty guy start E36 M3ting on it. 

Seems like they might be the weak point in your build. :/

snailmont5oh said:

Seems like they might be the weak point in your build. :/

I came in here to post this. 

Toyman01 said:

snailmont5oh said:

Seems like they might be the weak point in your build. :/

I came in here to post this. 

 

It's not much of a build at this point. Mostly a Sunday cruiser, not for long trips or high performance. Also, with the current suspension, until I have time to drop the rear subframe to make the alignment adjustable, it's going to wear them faster due to camber. 

I have a 10% back in eBay bucks coupon. I think I'm going to go for them. 

 Have you checked out the price on federal SS595? They are a really good tire for the price, although not all that sporty, but they are definitely better than most Chinese tires. 

pointofdeparture said:

That said the brand name never sat right with me - why name a company after something synonymous with having a fatal flaw?

Near his feet, no less.

In reply to jharry3 :

Exactly. Dry grip and road noise is good and all but I want a tire that bites in the rain and snow like glue on tar. 

MadScientistMatt said:

pointofdeparture said:

That said the brand name never sat right with me - why name a company after something synonymous with having a fatal flaw?

Near his feet, no less.

Feet may not be too bad.  Hemorrhoid Tires seems infinitely worse...

In reply to _ :

For dry grip I like the SS595 but they are not a quiet tire. Similar dry grip to BFG Sport Comp 2. Wet grip has been good but not as good as Sport Comp 2. Wear has been decent for 240tw.

I run Sport2 on my CTS-V; it's the go to tire for most of us on V1 forums. At $230 (eBay coupon) for a set, they've performed very well for daily use thus far. I have about 5K miles on them.

I got some ATR Sports on a parts car and wound up using them on my Forester since they were brand new.

I think they're a good budget tire in today's market, and they probably exceed the performance of a premium brand all season from 20 years ago.

For use as a daily tire, I've got no complaints.

The Achilles tires I linked in the first post will be mounted on my E28 on Thursday.

I also got an e46 recently, and it needed tires so I just ordered a set of the Federal SS595's for that. They'll hopefully go on next week.