Favorite Tires!

[WE3RX7]

I just ordered my second set of Falken Ziex-512s. The first set was used on my GSL-SE and to this day I believe the current owner of the car still has them on and is enjoying them.

I picked up 245/40/18s for the RX8 today. I didnt want an all-out winter tire since the car really SHOULDNT be driven in deep snow, so I feel that the all-weather characteristics of this tire should do just fine. I still plan on swapping out to Azenis or RE-01s in the summer on a different set of wheels.

This got me to thinking though. If you have to pick one brand of tire to use for the rest of your car days, what would it be???

[WE3RX7]

Oh - this is full any purpose, not just track tires. I prefer Falken overall, but like Bridgestone and Toyo for track tires!

[djmtsu]

I have had fantastic luck with my cheap Kuhmo tires!

[Rogue_Wulff]

I've got 205/50-15 Kumho Ecsta SPT's on my 12A car, and 205/60-14 Falken Ziex ZE-512's on the SE.
The Kumho's still have over 50% tread after two years, and two full autocross seasons. I'm looking to step up to Azenis for next year, but Hankook is the only manufacturer offering a 225/45-15 in a true street tire. More tread width, without taller OD.

[Brent]

cheap kumho's and cheap falken's(I'm really liking the new Azenis RT-615) for street use. I think Bridgestone has some pretty good tires too, but I no longer get them at a discounted price(friend no longer works for them).

[Rogue_Wulff]

cheap kumho's and cheap falken's(I'm really liking the new Azenis RT-615) for street use. I think Bridgestone has some pretty good tires too, but I no longer get them at a discounted price(friend no longer works for them).
WERD! It's hard to beat the price of Kumho or Falken, and the RT-615 is supposed to be about as good as a street tire can get, especially at the price.
Bridgestone has some good offerings, but size limitations and high price make them less attractive to most people.

[SpooledupRacing]

I ran sumitumo on my fc love them..

kumhos I have ripped the tread right off of during an auyto X (kumho ecsta supra)

hancooks I have seen do very well.

BFG t/a sports a re nice a grippy

[WE3RX7]

The Kumho V710 slicks were good, but their street tires fall apart IMHO after about 5-10K of hard driving. They lose their wet traction too after little driving, I'm not sure if its the compound or what, but for the price - cant beat 'em. I've probably used the Ecsta Supras at least twice in the past on other cars.

I just feel that Falkens provide better overall grip (wet and dry) for the same amount of $.

Neither Falken or Kumho are known to be long lasting tires in the "high performance" category when dealing w/ sidewalls below 55.

[Whizbang]

you spelled Hankook wrong BTW.

as far as tires go it depends on what im doing. Michelin makes a much better rally tire. But i have most of the street tires.

I have had good luck with Kumho for both a street and performance tire.

Hankook is generally junk

[WE3RX7]

Lol, so it appears I did. Shows how much I use them :)

[SpooledupRacing]

I have overpowered falkins no problem in the pass, torn through kumhos. but both bfg's and sumitumoms can take the abuse

I dont mind paying extra coin for a better tire.

[josh18_2k]

pretty sure it all depends on teh tire model.
Kumho MX's are supposedly a very good tire, esp considering the price.
RT-615's are better
Dunlop Direzza Star-something is better yet.
and all 3 of those companies make junk tires..

[JL1RX7]

I used to use dunlop d60 a2's. Loved those tires, they were cheap and easy to get. Not bad wet and dry. But they quit selling them so I moved to the bridgestone pole position all weather ones. I could not get them to break loose. Added a few MPH in the dragon with them. I will switch to them on my vert here before I go on cruise.

[eprx7]

I use Kumho Mx's 205/50-15 as my street, track day , autox rain tire. they have decent grip and shed the rain really well. They are slippery on track when cold and need a lap or two to warm up. I use Hoosier cantilevered slicks 20x9.5-13 for my dry autox tires. I like the 13's for the lower gearing and less rotational mass.

[BLKTOPTRVL]

Sumitomo!!!

The best tire for the price - by far. Quiet, Smooth, Great Summer Grip, Great Water Sheding, Great in light snow. CHEAP!!! About $79 for the last ones I purchased. You guys don't know what you are missing.:driving: Forgot to add - they last forever.

[MaczPayne]

I had some Sumitomo HTRz's, didn't work so well at the auto-x.

The new kid on the block is the Direzza Z1 Star Spec's. I've heard nothing but great things than them.

[BLKTOPTRVL]

I run the HTR+, but I am posting it as a great street tire.

[Kwerks]

PLease redo the POLL so we can have accurate results

[N3philum]

i have tried tons of different "junk" tires and a few very good summer performance tires. all these tires have been driven on rims on my FD save for the rt615's (read below). the kdw-2s were on my FC in the USofA and on my FD here in Japanland.

the track events i go to are similar to Autox, but our average lap times are around 1 minute give or take and we do at least 2 laps, sometimes 3. tires get heated up much more than at a typical 1 lap 45 second autox.

Neova AD07 -- awesome tire. Great dry grip, good wet grip. they wear evenly. they dont get greasy after getting heated up. only problem i have is that they are QUIET!!!! at their limit. I like noise from my tires so that i know when to back off. BONUS -- they smell good when the tires are spinning and the smoke is billowing.

Potenza RE01-r's -- another amazing tire. awesome dry grip (MINUTELY) less than the ad07's. wet grip is a bit better (IMO). a bit noisy during normal driving. they love to talk to you at the limit. they dont smell as good as the neovas. they dont get greasy after getting heated up. BONUS -- tread pattern is wicked !! :)

Dunlop Z1 Star Specs -- Favorite tire so far. grip as good or better than the above. both wet and dry. they talk at the limit, which i like. they dont get greasy after getting heated up. BONUS -- MUCH cheaper than the ad07s or RE01-rs. i paid 136ish for 245 45 17 and 165 ish for 255 40 17. compare that to over 200 dollars per tire for both the neovas and the potenzas. i have 5 track days and 5 or 6 months of daily driving on them and they still have excellent tread.

RT615 -- i havnt driven on them, but everyone i know says that they get real greasy when heated up. they also have a shitty treadwear rating.

BF Goodrich KDW-2. I dont like these tires at all. i had them in 18s on my FC and then on my FD. they are decent for the rain, and provide a good amount of grip dry but they are JUNK compared to the first 3 tires i described above. when heated up they get real greasy and they chunk very very badly. the entire center ripped out of a set of tires i had and there was plenty of tread left. i will NEVER buy these tires again.

you didnt have my favorite (Dunlop Z1 Star Specs) so i voted for number 2 -- bridgestone potenza RE01-r

[Fidelity101]

Avon

[dfoster154]

I am going to buy Dunlop Star Specs for my FD. I have heard and read nothing but rave reviews on these tires. I hear they heat up quick and stay sticky.

[MotoTek]

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2= Street
Toyo Proxes r888 = Track


:icon_tup: I don't have much experience trying different tires, but both of the aforementioned do exactly what they were made to.


The Toyo's don't give you that screech that I'm used to when cornering hard, but that's why they are track tires.

[albertomg]

pretty sure it all depends on teh tire model.
Kumho MX's are supposedly a very good tire, esp considering the price.
RT-615's are better
Dunlop Direzza Star-something is better yet.
and all 3 of those companies make junk tires..

What he said. No point in picking a tire by the brand. Pick it by the performance of the particular model.

[RotorDad]

i have always used Kuhmo and Yokohama tires, but must say i honestly like the Kuhmos the best, but either brand is better than the the others in my opinion

[staticpat]

I am going to buy Dunlop Star Specs for my FD. I have heard and read nothing but rave reviews on these tires. I hear they heat up quick and stay sticky.

I love my star specs. First auto-x on them I won my class (that never happens) and I could not break them loose on US-129 no matter how I tried.

[Turbo II]

Wynstar Phaser R21 tires that I think came from Pep Boys back in the year of the big snow..... Came on my Vert when I got it. I drove the piss out of the car trying to kill them so I could get some new "good" tires. I did Deals Gap on them, VIR, back roads, aggressive here, there and everywhere... I never rotated, checked air pressure or anything on them. Almost 5 years later and I finally need to change the fronts now since the inner/outer tread is kaput. The rear tires look like they'll go for another 3 or 4 years. Go figure. Other than the sidewall being a little soft these things have been great. If I could find them I swear I'd put them back on the car.

Now on the Turbo, I killed a set of Pirelli Pzero or whatever they were that was on the car when I got it in less than a year. Do not want. Put some TOYO T1Rs on it and really liked them. I thought they were a great tire for street and did well on track. Right now I have some Falken RT615s which have been on it about 5 months that I'm still trying to figure out if I like or not. I haven't really been able to try them on the track other than in a monsoon where surprisingly they did extremely well.