Which budget tire would you pick?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by malubawla

Send the little extra and get the Indy 500

I'm not nice to my daily tires and I can't keep buying others' hand-me-down wheels. Would you still suggest the same for me?

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I'm not nice to my daily tires and I can't keep buying others' hand-me-down wheels. Would you still suggest the same for me?

idk based on that TireRack test and your location (wet) I'd be looking at the Falkens or Conti's, both a touch cheaper than the Firestone, both supposedly better in the wet, only marginally behind in the dry.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=235
Edit: linked wrong test, fixed

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

idk based on that TireRack test and your location (wet) I'd be looking at the Falkens or Conti's, both a touch cheaper than the Firestone, both supposedly better in the wet, only marginally behind in the dry.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=235

I'm probably putting WAY too much thought into it. I bet I'd be happy with any of them.


edit: fixed quoted link because I care that much.

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

idk based on that TireRack test and your location (wet) I'd be looking at the Falkens or Conti's, both a touch cheaper than the Firestone, both supposedly better in the wet, only marginally behind in the dry.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=234

Did you mean to link the EXTREME performance summer tires?

[Bonburner]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I'm probably putting WAY too much thought into it. I bet I'd be happy with any of them.

well you never know when you need that emergency braking in the wet.
plus higher grip theshold just means easier time driving in various conditions.

But I do find DarkPira7e's post interesting to read:

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

Vehicle was a 1993 325i, climate was Vermont summer into fall, so temps between 80 and 30, a lot of rain. Winters go on before snow hits.

I found that the Fallen tires had a very hard time remaining compliant on adverse road conditions much more so than the Hankooks tires. On damp roads with a bit of dirt strewn across (an intersection for example) the Falkens gave way under acceleration while turning marginally sooner than the Hankooks tires did. The compound might be harder, my tire pressures were consistent (I tend to run 30psi rear, 32 front until I have time to test different pressures) but I can say in all wet conditions, the Hankooks was more trustworthy. I'm not talking about me trying to drift or autocross; just driving spirited to find the thresholds of the tires.

I'm not at all claiming to be a scientist, but I have been running the Hankooks on my wife's car and enjoy that same safe feeling in the rain. They're far more tolerant of cold pavement as well than the Falkens. The Falkens didn't seem to have much more dry grip to offer, certainly not enough to warrant the purchase on a car that would not see autocross or track duty.

Edit: had the Falkens on for about 5 months, maybe 4800 miles. I bought the Hankooks the following spring and gave the Falkens to a friend who needed them. Ran the Hankooks off and on for a couple years, I swapped wheels/tires for when I wanted grip. For what it's worth, neither tire held a candle to the Dunlop Direzza StarSpec Z1.. this was also around 2011. Last 4 years on Hankooks on my wife's car have been great, so that experience is relevant

It really throws a screw in the picture

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by Bonburner

well you never know when you need that emergency braking in the wet.
plus higher grip theshold just means easier time driving in various conditions.

But I do find DarkPira7e's post interesting to read:


It really throws a screw in the picture

If it makes you feel any better, my account is fairly old. For daily driving tires, I think any of them would be great. It's not like they'd still be around if they actually were " terrible". Make sure to keep your intended use in mind. nobody should expect flesh tearing lateral G on any surface other than on ice with ice racing tires, or on pure pavement with dedicated track tires.

tl;dr, any of these would be great in my opinion. Use them for what you're buying them for and none of them will let you down.

[malubawla]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I'm not nice to my daily tires and I can't keep buying others' hand-me-down wheels. Would you still suggest the same for me?

Sure. I'm boosted with over 400whp and still have enough grip.

[Impureclient]

I echo going for the Firehawk Indy 500s. I'm barely getting into the tread at 1.5 years later and I do not go easy on my tires at all. To be fair,
I only roughly put on 4k miles on the car a year but at 2 years in(My 8k for 2 years + prior owner 4k, so 12k total) with the MPSS they were toast and sliding all over.
At the rate the Indy 500s are going, I think they'll outlast those prior tires I had by triple and probably much more. And they'll do so with providing better
grip by far in both dry and wet. They were a steal at the price we all got them for months ago and now that they increased the prices about 20% more, they're still a bargain for what they are.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by malubawla

Sure. I'm boosted with over 400whp and still have enough grip.

I'm NA with 245 RE71R Bridgestones and it's not enough grip...

[Bonburner]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I'm NA with 245 RE71R Bridgestones and it's not enough grip...

wow, how fast are you trying to go around corners?

[86MLR]

Tyre size and camber are things you need to consider.

To much camber is a big issue.

You need to look at how your car is using the contact patch.

They little triangle wear indicators are there for a resson.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Bonburner

wow, how fast are you trying to go around corners?

As fast as physically possible*, if I didn't want to do that I wouldn't have bought a sports car or good tires.

*Not on public roads of course

Originally Posted by 86MLR

Tyre size and camber are things you need to consider.

To much camber is a big issue.

You need to look at how your car is using the contact patch.

They little triangle wear indicators are there for a resson.

I was still getting noticeable outer edge wear at -4 degrees up front, the cars faster than me are in the -3.5 to -4.5 range, but I'm being silly, it's not the tires fault, it's the stupid driver/mechanic and I'll be changing my suspension setup soon to improve the situation.

And that is not the purpose of the triangles, those exist to indicate where the wear bars are.
https://www.yokohama-online.com/Tyre...Tyre-Knowledge

But we're way off topic now, my apologies for being snarky.

[86MLR]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

As fast as physically possible*, if I didn't want to do that I wouldn't have bought a sports car or good tires.

*Not on public roads of course



I was still getting noticeable outer edge wear at -4 degrees up front, the cars faster than me are in the -3.5 to -4.5 range, but I'm being silly, it's not the tires fault, it's the stupid driver/mechanic and I'll be changing my suspension setup soon to improve the situation.

And that is not the purpose of the triangles, those exist to indicate where the wear bars are.
https://www.yokohama-online.com/Tyre...Tyre-Knowledge

But we're way off topic now, my apologies for being snarky.

I have been told to use them for not only tread depth but also as an indicator IRT setting camber and tyre pressures

If you have wear on or past the triangle add camber/psi

If your rear is not near the triangle remove camber/psi.

From talking to some tyre guys at the track and tech nights, you want your tyres to show signs of wear close to or at the tip of the triangle.

This is a rule of thumb guide if you don't have a pyro gauge.

It has been working well for me for years

Found a linky with pics that describes it better.

http://www.trackdayguru.com/tyre-management.html