Inexpensive, but good max performance summer tires.
 

Ok, I'm not ashamed to say it........I'm poor :cry:

Just buying my FR-S is going to be a stretch on my single income. Let's face it, life takes $$$'s. After rent/house payment, insurance, gas, food, utilities, soft toilet paper and the occasional date (If I'm lucky), I'll be lucky to even put tires on my FR-S. But I do plan on immediatly changing the wheels and tires when I get my car. Because the factory wheels are butt ugly and the factory tires are pretty meh.

So, I'm looking around the interwebz at tires and wheels. I've pretty much decided to go with a set of 17" x 7.5" Enkei PF01's, 45mm offset (16.8 lbs.)in bright silver for my future ultramarine FR-S. Now I just need tires.

Here are a few I'm looking at right now. As priced/speced on tirerack.com

All in 215/45/17 fitment.

1) Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110
Weight- 22 lbs.
$101.00 ea.

2) Sumitomo HTR Z III
Weight- 23 lbs.
$95.00 ea.

3) Kumho Ecsta LE Sport
Weight- 21 lbs.
$96.00 ea.

4) Continental ExtremeContact DW
Weight- 20 lbs.
$120.00 ea.

I want to keep the total cost of 4 under $500.00 without falling into the "crappy, cheap tire" grouping. These will be used for spirited road driving only. No track time. I also want to keep the weight down.

Soooo.....Help me out here. Anyone have any experience with any of these tires? Or maybe further suggestions for something better? This would probably help quite a few forum members who want an FR-S/BRZ, but don't have big bucks to buy the good stuff for them.

your OEM tires are more than enough to keep you safe during spirited driving. Won't cost you a penny.


take it from me, ive done track days on winters :burnrubber:

if anything, you learn control a lot better. Tires that are too sticky are generally TOO sticky for the streets, esp in an underpowered car.

^Definitely. You'll be more than fine on the stock set-up.
Why not try it out for 6 months and then decide whether you want to make a change :)

I'm planning to use up my OEM tires before changing them.

Not to sound like an echo here but ...burn up those stockers first!!


Justin

If you cant afford tires, dont buy a brand new car. A used miata and some sways will get you the same pleasure plus you will save thousands. With cars I like to think that if I cant buy two, I shouldn't buy one

some of us are looking for cheap tires because we will be going through them pretty quickly or need multiple sets, i know i was looking for cheap tires because i dont plan on going more than 10k miles on 1 set of tires.. lol

I thought the factory wheels would be ugly too...but they are actually rather nice in person (still a little heavy though). If on a tight budget I would go with just changing out tires once the stockers wear down. The Kumho Ecsta LE Sport would be my choice for a great low price max performance summer tire, have a set I just recently put on my Tacoma (205/55-16 size on 16x7.5 Kosei K-1's) and love them for a daily driver tire - good dry grip levels, extremely impressive wet grip levels - going through standing water at high speed is non-issue as it cuts right through like nothing, a very quiet/subdued tone once you pass the tires grip level, and very nice transitional responsiveness while still giving a comfortably soft ride. They are more grippy than the stock Michelins and definitely have a better tread pattern with larger outside tread blocks and better circumferential grooving - hence the awesome wet handling. They are a better wet tire than the older Hankook RS-2, which was better than its replacement the RS-3. Dry grip not quite on par with the RS-2 but pretty close.

The only tires from that list that i think are pretty good are the Ventus. I work for a tire shop and i am not fond of Extreme Contacts or Ecstas. Personally i'd go for the Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. That's my own personal preference, i'm not trying to say they stomp all other tires. However, they are good tires and they are relatively inexpensive($145 for 215/45/17) for their performance-- they just tend to get sort of greasy at high temperatures. If you're just using them for street use and Auto X i think you'd be well off.

Regarding your stock set-up, i wonder if you would consider buying new wheels & tires, then trying to sell your original wheels & tires on Craigslist. I'm expecting to see a lot of stock wheel & tire ads on craigslist from these cars.

I race an '87 325is in the 24 Hours of LeMons. The most popular tire in the paddock by far are the Star Specs. Easily over half of the teams used 'em. They are AWESOME on the track, and we've had no problems with overheating. I run the DZ101 on my MINI and used them for track work on my now-sold E30 ('91 318is); they did get kind of greasy, so I'll probably use the Star Specs on the BRZ when the time comes.

But for now, I'm going to rock the stock tires to learn my way around this car. :)

I'm glad to hear it-- i'm going to get Enkei RPF1s and Star Specs for my Celica.

The DZ101 is just the "toned down" version of the Star Specs for the street i believe. I sell those at work. I'm glad to hear that the Star Specs did well and didn't suffer from overheating or greasiness.

It's not that I can't afford tires or a new car. I make decent money, but as a single income household I have more responsibilities than just my car. I guess what I'm saying is I don't want to live for just my car. It's not my God and I don't want to worship it in exclusion of everything else.

I just want to find a decent summer tire without breaking the bank. I'll use the factory wheels and all season tires in the winter.

Looks like everyone is big on the Star Specs. A set would be $20.00 to $40.00 over my $500.00 goal, but that's no big deal. I'll be sure to check them out.

the added benefits of star specs far outweighs the $20setback. Just pack lunch one week out ofeach season

1) Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110
Weight- 22 lbs.
$101.00 ea.

I LOVED THESE TIRES when I had them on my Euro Accord in the UK.

I'm a huge fan of Hankook Tires. I've bought a couple sets as have my friends. They're great performing tires for the money, and they support tons of motorsports venues across the globe. I also think you should burn the stock tires off first, though.

STOCK TIRES :slap:

they are good

seriously, please explain to me your reasoning for why you feel a need to upgrade your tires given the above constraints.

Nice choice of wheels for your new car (PF01's). I have them on my NSX.

Regarding your tire choices, I really like the Continental DW's. I have them on my M3. They are a great tire.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...SX22/029-3.jpg

I agree stay with stock. I'm not sure everyone is going around changing suspension and tires when a lot of R & D was out into this car. This is supposed to be one of the best if not the best handling car out of the box.

Falken FK452 is pretty cheap if I remember correctly. Tread wear is pretty good as well for performance tires

Falken 452 is $105 bucks each on america tires in the size you want, 300 tread wear is pretty good for performance tires.

IF you want to upgrade the tire or go to a max performace tire, the best cost effective option is the Conti DW, period. It is a top level performing tire that is very competitively priced. Even against some of the cheaper/budget brands.

I agree with most here, keep your OEMs, learn the car and you can change them in the future. An FRS was already tested on track, last weekend, Michelin PSS's vs stock - they were over 5 seconds faster around PBIR with a Pro Grand Am driver behind the wheel. There is no doubt the OEM tires can be improved on.

I was in the same boat as you, wanted to stay around $500 and wanted great tires. I decided to run 225 star specs on my Miata and they are amazing. I drive very spiritedly to say the least have have put around 6-7k miles on them and they are going strong.

One thing though, if you can wait a little while they usually have rebates once or twice a year. This saved me around 75$ and put them under the cost of many that you posted. Run the stocks for awhile and wait for a good deal on great tires!

In regards to your wheels, i would go for the +38 offset as opposed to the +45, so they stick out a little more (less of that tucked in look)

I second this! Had these tires on my BMW 335i and was amazed how hard it was to spin them,,, even after chipping my car... 390 tq on a dyno.

Yes everyone, sell your stock tires to me....for cheap! :)
Once I burn off the OEM tires, I am getting another set, and another set, and another...you get the picture.

The manufacturer placed these tires on this car for a reason. All the media rave reviews and accolades were based on the OEM tires and OEM suspension....the way the car came from the factory. Remember when you test drove the car and love it - eventually brought the car, perhaps because of that test drive?? Yes, those were the OEM tires!

225 star specs on a 94? what size rim are you running? last time i checked if you wanted 225 your only choice was rs3

I'm running the Hankooks on my mustang and I agree... very sticky tires, and for performance tires, they're quiet on the road. Softer sidewall means not as sharp turn-in compared to other tires I've run, so on the FRS idk how much I'd enjoy these.

If I were the OP I'd cruise the Prius tires for a while and make the decision if I really wanted something stickier. Go find a canyon, mountain, any road with some twists - and really push it before making a decision.

just like to say that this threads been really useful ~

+1 for the Hankook rs-3s, cheaper than star specs and if you arent really racing for place/trophy, relatively same tire, ymmv.

+1 for HRZIIIs from Sumitomo, really the best tire for the buck if you don't want the tip tier stickies.

Nitto Invos are nice too, a bit more expensive than the group but completely swappable in every corner, unidirectional.

Used on 350z, 240z, MR2 lemons racer, older supra over several years. I was thinking about RS3s or Invos for this same question.

Eric G

If you're poor, keep the OEM tires till it needs replacing. That should last a year or two right?

One thing - on hot days the RS3s actually grip MORE than the Star Specs. On a cold or wet day though, Star Specs are better by far..

From your original list, the Hankooks. I use these on my 240 for driving around/drifting, and they are pretty good. Star Specs are kind of a waste if you're not racing.

I would also say to wear out the stock tires first though...that's $500 in your pocket, and you get to feel out the car's limit and behaviour without going stupid fast.

I'm looking at the top 3 tires on your list (all 3 are on the best tires thread on NASIOC fwiw). I ran the Sumitomos on my STi and really liked them. I never really liked Ecstas since I had them on a Mini once and they weren't that great, but the LEs seem to be pretty legit. I am personally leaning towards the Hankooks for my new wheels. They seem to be great tires and have a pretty good lifespan to boot.

Yokohama S-Drive are also a good choice if on a budget.

Advan AD08 if you're not.. ;)

test results from tirerack.com:
Testing Value-Priced Max Performance Summer Tires

this test includes the Continental ExtremeContact DW

Focus on Slalom Time, Lap Time, Stopping Distance, and Average Cornering for objective comparison between the tires

Does this help?

http://i.imgur.com/3klh8.png


I think I'm going to go for the Continental DW's next summer.

Ventus were recommended to me, as well.

I have flares.

im not doubting the width. i just dont know what size tire that is. the only 225 i knew of was the rs3 for the miata unless you are running a huge 17s or something

Sorry to throw another option in the mix but i would suggest cheaper wheels, stock tires, and Visconti tune.