Current Tire Thread

[Mystikal]

it's an opinion.. you can take from it what you want. I stated what things I look for in a tire so if somebody has similar tastes maybe they'd like to try some of the tires I liked as well. if you like your tires to do other things then ignore everything I wrote..

although I do agree that opinions alone are not a good way to buy tires. I laugh when people tell me "it got a 9/10 at tirerack.com!" How else do you think I got suckered into ES100s? ;)

I actually noticed you liked the RT-215 wet traction...shocked me. I knew they were awesome in the wet, and ignorant people like Jordan said I was completely off. Then I found this article that proved to me I'm not an idiot.

[RCWells]

Goodyear F1 GS-D3s
215/40-17
Tirerack - special at the time -$380 shipped
Love them. I drive daily, no auto-x, or track, but I do drive hard on the street and these things stick very, very well. Dry traction has been incredible, beyond the limits of the suspension for sure. Wet weather traction has also been excellent. Road noise is a bit more than I would like, but I usually have something going on the Alpine, so it doesn't bother me. It's not loud mind you, just more than what I would like.

The only real question remaining is how will the last. I've only had them for ~3K miles so I can't say yet, but they do seem to be wearing well.

[nando]

it's an opinion.. you can take from it what you want. I stated what things I look for in a tire so if somebody has similar tastes maybe they'd like to try some of the tires I liked as well. if you like your tires to do other things then ignore everything I wrote..

although I do agree that opinions alone are not a good way to buy tires. I laugh when people tell me "it got a 9/10 at tirerack.com!" How else do you think I got suckered into ES100s? ;)

[Mystikal]

Reviews in magazines and such are a lot more useful, reading people's personal opinions is so worthless it's not even funny. Some people will honestly write romantically about 500 treadwear all-seasons, based on their expectations and/or previous experiences. Plus, once you read a trend of reviews online (such as RT-215s suck in the wet, ES100s suck in the dry...), you tend to start thinking that much be true, and due to your own lack of experience you will agree with that statement. Of course, both of the examples I just mentioned are completely untrue, both of those tires are considered at that top of their classes when tested in controlled environments by non-discriminating and knowledgeable testers. Too many variables.


Cliff's notes: Don't listen to people when it comes to tires. Trust magazine articles and other controlled-environment tests only.

[UNHCLL]

205/55/15 BFG G-Force Sports on the e30 325is
Grippy, good wet traction, softer sidewall, but still have high grip in corners. Not nearly as obnoxious over bumps as my old 205/60/14 ES100's

225/50/16 Hankook RS-2's on the M3 & M5.
Fucking love them. Sticky, quiet, fairly cheap, decent sidewall.

Cant list prices, I dont know what they cost... I pay cost, not retail. Sorry.

[nando]

First I should qualify what I look for in a set of tires:
#1 is dry grip of course!
#2 is wet grip, equally as important as dry grip for me because of where I live (PNW)
#3 is hydroplane resistance (also very important, especially at freeway speeds!)
#4 is treadwear (not so important, but I don't want to replace them too often)
#5 is noise (I've never had a tire that I thought was too noisy - doesn't bother me at all)

Currently:
Falken Azenis RT215, 195/60-14:
Unparalleled dry grip, very good wet grip and hydroplane resistance isn't all that bad. I have something like 8 autox's and 7,000 street miles on them and there's still plenty of life. I can't wait to try the RT615 in a wider size!

also:
BFG G-Force KDW-2, 205/55-15:
Pretty good dry grip, great wet grip and they are also good at hydroplane resistance. I don't have a lot of miles on these tires (maybe 2,000), but I expect that they will last a while. I won't be doing any hard driving or autox on them though, they are strictly for street use. Ride quality is also pretty good; overall they seem like a great street tire.

Past tires:
Bridgestone Potenza RE750, 205/55-15:
I liked these tires overall, but I don't think I will buy them again. Dry grip was pretty good, wet grip was good and hydroplane resistance was decent but not the best. I did a couple autox's on them but that is definitely not their strong point - I chewed them up pretty good when they were brand new. They probably would have lasted me a long time but I ran over a nail which punctured the sidewall, and two were half worn so I had to replace them all. :(

Yokohama ES100s:
I was never impressed by the dry grip, wet grip wasn't very good and hydroplane resistance was awful, especially as they wore. by 8,000 miles I had to go 5-10mph under the speed limit to avoid spinning off the freeway. They wore out completely by 10k, and were basically undriveable in the rain at that point. My buddy also had a set that completely fell apart after only 5,000 miles (street driving only). I autox'd a few times on them but I could never recommend them for that.

Toyo Proxies FZ4:
These tires came with my car when I bought it and had approximately 20,000 miles on them. The dry grip was pretty decent for an all season, the wet grip was good, but they were excellent at hydroplate resistance - the only tires I've had that even come close are my snow tires and the BFG's, but they are a distant second. They lasted a long time - I put 15,000 miles on them before giving them to a friend who put on another 7,000 miles. They were so so in the snow/ice, but I've definitely had worse (ES100s through a 3 week snow storm anyone?).

Snow tires:
Yokohama something or others, 195/60-14:
Great snow and ice grip (to be expected). Excellent hydroplane resistance, even in deep slush. But HORRIBLE wet grip, doing a 180 from a dead stop is no problem (even with an auto and my heavy ix), and I broke all 4 tires loose more than once during heavy acceleration. Dry grip also sucked, but that's to be expected from a snow tire. I'm definitely going to get something different next time, probably a 205 width and a taller profile.

I'm pretty much a tire junkie. Your tires are the only thing that is contacting the road and affect handling more than anything - which is why I keep trying new tires to find better ones than what I've already had. I'd like to try the RS2s next and of course the RT615s, but first I have to wear out the two sets I already have..

[e30sd]

Yokohama AVS ES-100
205/50ZR16
Came on the wheels when i bought 'em.



The SSR's i picked up had these on them. I had always heard es-100s suck this and that, but after two auto-x's, a DE, a couple of canyon runs, and 7k street mileage (rotated front to back after events), i would disagree. on the 318is, they seem to be holding up quite fine, and have a pretty stiff sidewall. i don't know if i'll buy them again, but they were decent.

[Dave]

IS300
Bridgestone RE950 Potenzas - z rated version
215/45/17
Used 'em on the track last fall and they screamed and got greasy. Good street performance tire. Work decently in the snow - awesome in the rain.

E30
Kelly Charger something or other POS
195/65-14 on bottlecaps
Bricks - they work, ok in the snow.

also

Falken Azenis RT-215 195/60-14 on steelies

My Koseis are waiting to be shod with something grippy.

[Old'n'Slow]

Michelin Exalto PE 2
205/55/15
@$150/tire mounted and balanced at local tire shop.

Daily spirited driver. Over 10K on these. Dry traction outstanding. Wet traction and resistance to hydroplaning-best tire I've ever used. Still inaudible despite lowering and 2.5 degrees of neg rear camber. Tread design promotes excellent steering feel due to the longitudinal ribs. I'll get these again because I hate noisy tires...

Had: BridgeStone RE750, same size. Grew noisy in 2 weeks. Got money back through 30 day ride guarantee program and bought Michelins.

Before that, Dunlop SP5000, same size. As good as all season gets. Long wearing, drivable in light snow, quiet, never needed touch-up balancing.

[rwh11385]

ES100s blow big monkey balls

[redcarbon]

I am running the 205/50ZR16 hankook rs-2s on my 16x7 SSR comps. They have a pretty soft side wall but some great grip. I've only done one autocross with them and it was the day after I had them mounted, so they weren't their grippiest.

But now with a thousand miles on them they have great grip all around, and wet performance is pretty good as well. I can't complain for the price, like $80 each. I was hoping to get 215/45ZR16 rt-615s but that size still has not come out. I've never used azenis so I can't give a back to back comparison. I would recommend them.

[vt.bimmer]

http://www.hankooktireusa.com/pdf/up...-S2%20Z212.pdf

205/45ZR16 83W 7.0 6.5-7.5 51 1,074 23.2 8.1 7.2 8.5 895 DSB
215/45ZR16 86W 7.0 7.0-8.0 51 1,168 23.6 8.4 7.6 8.5 880 DSB
205/50ZR16 87W 6.5 5.5-7.5 51 1,201 24.1 8.3 7.2 8.5 862 DSB

http://www.thetireshoppe.com/default...ta=tires&nav=9
^^Thats a good price^^
I wonder which is better for the price, Yokohama AVS 100 or the Ventus? (for street use)

[Low Level E30]

not personally. search for recent posts from IS... in the "help me pick my Kosei size" started by Permit.

he gave mad props to them, and i'm picking 'em up after i kill my azenis

Excellent. Thanks!

[rwh11385]

not personally. search for recent posts from IS... in the "help me pick my Kosei size" started by Permit.

he gave mad props to them, and i'm picking 'em up after i kill my azenis

[Low Level E30]

http://www.hankooktireusa.com/pdf/up...-S2%20Z212.pdf

205/45ZR16 83W 7.0 6.5-7.5 51 1,074 23.2 8.1 7.2 8.5 895 DSB
215/45ZR16 86W 7.0 7.0-8.0 51 1,168 23.6 8.4 7.6 8.5 880 DSB
205/50ZR16 87W 6.5 5.5-7.5 51 1,201 24.1 8.3 7.2 8.5 862 DSB

Any experience w/ these? I have heard they're a pretty damn good tire for open track days.