Grippier than stock but not fun killing?[Tires]

[strat61caster]

I have lots of fun on RE71R's and header + tune, indy 500's are like ice skates especially in this week's weather.

https://www.scca.com/pages/starting-line
They should have a driving school out at Crow's Landing within the next 6 months or so.

Or I guess a set of nicer all seasons might land between primacy and indy 500 for grip but I think you'd regret them in a year once you have some learnin.

[jdemm]

Interesting responses so far.

The full story is I owned a 2014 FR-S which I modded and sold a couple of years later.

Now I'm missing the raw fun of the platform and planning to buy another one. I'm reviewing the mods I made and I distinctly remember that the stock tires were fun around town but once I took them to a canyon run that was a slight bit damp I just didn't feel confident in them.

I am not a noob, I've done some track days, gotten instruction a few times and a solo day. I'm no pro but just wanted to let you know my experience. I've owned a bunch of sports cars: mustang, fiesta st, mr2 + 86etc.

my commute is fairly low speed around town and I don't drive many miles ~8k/year. I remember the indys were starting to give a little once I wore them down a bit. I enjoyed the tire because I could corner at higher speeds in the canyons without feeling skittish and they did well on a light track day.

I will consider them again, I was just looking for a slightly less grippy tire to make *low speed* mini drifts a thing again.

[Breadman]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Ill just add to do it in a safe environment.

There are plenty of groups that do skid pad days like Speed SF. If you join the Norcal86 - Bay Area FB you can find more options for drifting and stuff as well to learn at

i actually wasnt trying to. this was during autocross and lead me to a stroll through the infield of pocono

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Breadman

i actually wasnt trying to. this was during autocross and lead me to a stroll through the infield of pocono

Lol. I really was referring to OP since it sounded like it was mostly in the street/canyons

[Clutch Dog]

Originally Posted by jdemm

Interesting responses so far.

The full story is I owned a 2014 FR-S which I modded and sold a couple of years later.

Now I'm missing the raw fun of the platform and planning to buy another one. I'm reviewing the mods I made and I distinctly remember that the stock tires were fun around town but once I took them to a canyon run that was a slight bit damp I just didn't feel confident in them.

I am not a noob, I've done some track days, gotten instruction a few times and a solo day. I'm no pro but just wanted to let you know my experience. I've owned a bunch of sports cars: mustang, fiesta st, mr2 + 86etc.

my commute is fairly low speed around town and I don't drive many miles ~8k/year. I remember the indys were starting to give a little once I wore them down a bit. I enjoyed the tire because I could corner at higher speeds in the canyons without feeling skittish and they did well on a light track day.

I will consider them again, I was just looking for a slightly less grippy tire to make *low speed* mini drifts a thing again.

might try a UHP all season then. Check up on the ecsta PA51 and cooper RS3-G1

they get a little skiddish when overly pushed but have a fine feel to em.



I bought a 2015 frs with Ironman G2 walmart specials and took 2nd in DS during one event. then went back to primacies ( rim and tire combo) and enjoyed the extra grip! haha

You also might try the Dunlop Direzza?
I remember them back in 2011 being a fun mix of grip and all day everyday driver.

Or if they make em the Toyo Proxes T1 sport? I had them in 235s on my 25rs coupe.



also you could try indy's in a smaller size.
alot of what makes the primacies fun is the 215 sizing

[finch1750]

Speaking of Direzzas, theres always the Yoko S.Drives to consider. I havent driven on the new Indy 500 to compare though

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Speaking of Direzzas, theres always the Yoko S.Drives to consider. I havent driven on the new Indy 500 to compare though

I consider the Indy to be 90% of what a PSS was.

[Impureclient]

I bought my car with 3900 miles and it had 225/45 PSS on from the last owner. From the get go they just slide all over the place if I wanted them to.
and a couple times when I didn't. I had the encounter of doing a 360 in two separate occasion in the rain doing a u-turn when barely getting on it.
They barely lasted to 8k miles if the previous owner had put them on the car new and I just didn't want to risk it for what appeared to be a garbage tire
although their reputation is very solid.
Went to Indy 500 and it just sticks unless I yank the wheel and floor it where the PSS was out of control. And when I do, I am in total control. I am
about 12k miles into them now and they look pretty new still. So longer lasting, better grip, less expensive, and when pushed to the edge, better control.

[86MLR]

Hankook RS4

That is all, to your duties, fall out....

[Breadman]

i mean if you dont mind possibly dieing there is always "chinese famous brand" tires https://m.alibaba.com/amp/product/1711446366.html

[DarkSunrise]

One of the most forgiving tires I've had on this car is the Sumitomo HTR Z3. Grip levels are decent (maybe 85 percent of a true 200tw track tire), but what I loved are they squeal (giving you clear feedback when you are approaching and at the tire's limit) and they gently break away when you do reach the limit. Completely non-threatening tire that's also reasonably priced and have good street manners. Only downside is they wear pretty quickly if you overdrive them constantly.

[TommyW]

Grippier tires will just scare you at a higher speed. If you're scared when you lose some grip you should think about doing a car control or drift clinic. It will be the best money you ever spend on your car.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

I bought my car with 3900 miles and it had 225/45 PSS on from the last owner. From the get go they just slide all over the place if I wanted them to.
and a couple times when I didn't. I had the encounter of doing a 360 in two separate occasion in the rain doing a u-turn when barely getting on it.

I bought PSS tires for my FD for street duty. Initially they were fine, even did half a track day on them. But after 18 months or so they exhibited the behavior you describe. AWFUL! It seems like they "aged out", as I don't think it was heat cycles (1/2 track day and ~12k street miles) and there was plenty of tread depth left (~6/32 front and 4/32 rear). Grip was just not there, even at 3/10ths normal driving on city street grid! Worse, when they lost grip they *totally* lost it, zero sliding grip at all.

IMO the PSS were and are highly highly HIGHLY overrated tires. At their BEST they were an ok street/track compromise, not as good as the better Extreme Perf tires at that as far as I'm concerned. At their WORST they were as bad as the ancient dry-rotted Firestone 721s that were on my 240Z when I bought it!

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by TommyW

Grippier tires will just scare you at a higher speed.

Having grip at (say) 80mph is not as scary as not having it at (say) 50...