How to choose a tire?

[mikejungle]

MEASUREMENTS:
Front: 205/50 R15 86V
Back: 195/50 R15 82 H

Here's my tire size...can you suggest anything based on that now? And are those small? Big? Just right? Thanks

And shouldn't the wider wheel e on the back of the car? Or is it possible for the wheels to be the same width, but have different sized tires?

Mystikal:

Response
Dry Traction
Wet Traction
Treadwear
Hydroplaning resistance
Ride (doesn't need to be that comfortable)
Noise (loud doesn't matter)

is that even plausible? thanks

[Molbius]

tires can be sized differently on same size rim. there's a range of tire sizes that will fit. those widths are appropriate but yes, typically you would see the wider tire on the drive end of the vehicle.

[Mystikal]

MEASUREMENTS:
Front: 205/50 R15 86V
Back: 195/50 R15 82 H

Here's my tire size...can you suggest anything based on that now? And are those small? Big? Just right? Thanks

And shouldn't the wider wheel e on the back of the car? Or is it possible for the wheels to be the same width, but have different sized tires?

Mystikal:

Response
Dry Traction
Wet Traction
Treadwear
Hydroplaning resistance
Ride (doesn't need to be that comfortable)
Noise (loud doesn't matter)

is that even plausible? thanks

It is plausible, but tires in that group are expensive. You basically put the most performance oriented aspects up top and followed them with treadwear...pretty tough to pull off. The only tires that successfully match what you want in my opinion are the BFGoodrich KDW2, Michelin Pilot Exalto...and that's about it; both are expensive. Everything else can do up to 3 of your top 4, but not all of them.

Here's some good cheap choices, but you have to compromise...

If you're willing to give up treadwear for the first three: Falken RT-615

If you're willing to give up response for the other three: Kumho SPT, Fuzion ZRi, Falken FK-452, Falken ZE-912

Probably a couple others too, but I generally recommend all of the above tires.

[e34john]

The BFG KDW2 looks awesome. One of my favorite tread patterns But they are pretty expensive because I don't really care about wet traction at all.

I have the Falken 452 on my E30 and E34. They aren't the best but really good in my opinion and they are cheap plus they last forever. Not TR1s but I didn't want tires that cost more than the car.

[Mystikal]

The FK452 is basically the same as the T1-R, and better in some respects. Ignore the fan boys of the Toyo, it's really not a great tire.

[mikejungle]

i've already got quite a bit of negative camber...it's probably a better idea to go with a more durable tire...right?

[Mystikal]

Camber doesn't kill tires nearly as much as toe does.

[JuanPabloBongto]

First, size?
Then, rank these:

I will be needing to buy a set of four 205/55/15's.

my own priorities, from high to low:
Dry traction
Ride
Response
Noise
Wet traction
Hydroplaning Resistance
Treadwear


**I have a gift card for Sears, so what's your take on the best 3 of...**
BFG g-Force Sport
Dunlop Direzza (I've heard bad things)
Falken ZE-912
Goodyear Eagle GT-HR
Hankook RADIAL K106
Cont. ContiExtremeContact (pricey)

.... plus, what are your thoughts on Yokohama S.drive, as they would compare to the above? I have yet to hear one negative comment.

thanks again.

[Mystikal]

I will be needing to buy a set of four 205/55/15's.

my own priorities, from high to low:
Dry traction
Ride
Response
Noise
Wet traction
Hydroplaning Resistance
Treadwear


**I have a gift card for Sears, so what's your take on the best 3 of...**
BFG g-Force Sport
Dunlop Direzza (I've heard bad things)
Falken ZE-912
Goodyear Eagle GT-HR
Hankook RADIAL K106
Cont. ContiExtremeContact (pricey)

.... plus, what are your thoughts on Yokohama S.drive, as they would compare to the above? I have yet to hear one negative comment.

thanks again.

With your priorities and that list, the G-Force Sport is definitely the choice for you. It's a great dry tire that can even take extended track driving and even lasts a long time. It's weak point is the wet, it's not as good as the best. But, it fits what you want perfectly.

I'm not a huge fan of the S.Drive, to be honest they let me down a bit. They're not as much of a jump over the ES100 as they should have been, given what Yokohama knows it can do (like with the AD07 Neova). In the wet they are a bit lacking, and in the dry they're not as good as the best in the class (and are actually not as responsive as the tires they replaced, which was the ES100's strongest point). Should have been more.

[DarkWing6]

I have the BFG KDW2s on my car. I have tracked the car with them and do street driving. Great tires both wet and dry. Worth the $$ IMO. I have been very impressed with them. I also know a few other people with them that really like them.


The tread pattern kicks ass too!



And Jay, seriously, do you go through tires like crazy or just read a lot?

[JuanPabloBongto]

I will be needing to buy a set of four 205/55/15's.

my own priorities, from high to low:
Dry traction
Ride
Response
Noise
Wet traction
Hydroplaning Resistance
Treadwear

**I have a gift card for Sears, so what's your take on the best 3 of...**
BFG g-Force Sport
Dunlop Direzza (I've heard bad things)
Falken ZE-912
Goodyear Eagle GT-HR
Hankook RADIAL K106
Cont. ContiExtremeContact (pricey)

With your priorities and that list, the G-Force Sport is definitely the choice for you. It's a great dry tire that can even take extended track driving and even lasts a long time. It's weak point is the wet, it's not as good as the best. But, it fits what you want perfectly.

... if I promoted wet surface driving slightly, what would be my next choice? The Falkens?

Thanks again for your help, Jay.

[Mystikal]

And Jay, seriously, do you go through tires like crazy or just read a lot?

Both. I read constantly, and so far for this year I have driven on:

BFG KDW2
Hankook R-S2
Falken ZE-512
Falken ZE-912
Federal 595
Kumho SPT
Toyo Proxes 4
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S
Yokohama Parada 2
etc, etc...

I have some weird fascination with tires.

[Mystikal]

... if I promoted wet surface driving slightly, what would be my next choice? The Falkens?

Thanks again for your help, Jay.

If you put wet traction ahead of response, maybe. The 912 is mainly a semi-soft street tire, it doesn't really feel comfortable at 10/10ths driving (I'm actually running these right now on my M3). It's a very very very very very good daily driving tire, but with dry and response up there for you, you'll want something more aggressive.

[idanity]

i've heard of shoe fettish, and now tire fettish...lol

well, if i can add anything, it would be the side wall strength, as i like drifting and cornering.
then
i prefer softer rubber tires that wear out faster then the type that last forever and get hard, and lose all grip...(love grip)

also, i balance, and rotate on a 3 month rotation...(no wiggles allowed on the steering).

i saw a big discount on discount tires (50 bucks) and they have a lot of tires on the cheap. (like Nittos)and another 50dollar rebate w/Dunlops now
but im runnin falken ziexs 512s and will run the Falken Azenis RT-615's in my 225/45/17's

hope that helps

[idanity]

Nitto NT NeoGen ZR have a very good reputation (even w/heavier cars) and will be on the choice of my next set too...but i have a good trust w/falkens already...

i burn em up, and they do last nicely, keep their shape and i only drive it on weekends and nice days...so rain is not an issue, just grip and sidewall strenght.