Summer Tire Recommendation
 

Hello everybody.

I soon will be changing my stock wheels out for a different set of wheels and plan to wrap the new ones in a summer (performance?) tire and keep the stockers for winter wear. I have been looking through other recommendation threads and am still not sure what tires I should get for my situation.

I don't track or autocross my car. It's my DD and occasional mountain road enjoyment car. My priorities are, in no particular order:

Cost: both in up front purchase and in how often I would need to replace the tires. (I've noticed some Michelin performance tires are cheaper in stock or comparable size than the Primacies... what the hell?)

Efficiency: This is a big one. I am maintaining a 7"-8" width wheel partially for this and cost. I don't want something so sticky or heavy that my running cost of owning the car (i.e. gas money) is significantly increased.

Performance: The stock tires chatter a lot as I make runs up the mountain and I feel as if I have reached the limit for many corners up there. A little more grip - wet or dry - would be welcome. Hell, why else am I buying a performance tire?

Noise: I'd like something actually quieter than the stock tires, not a quiet high-performance tire that is overall louder.

Safety: As I said, my BRZ is not a track car. The vast majority of the miles I put on it are at 30-70mph for 10-30 minutes at a time... normal DD situations. It doesn't make much sense for me to have a tire that needs legitimate track conditions to warm up to operating temperature. That just seems unsafe.

Essentially I want the biggest compromise I can get. The BRZ is, after all, an affordable sports car. I don't drive a Lamborghini or nothin'... But the question is, where do I even start? My friend has owned Contisports and Potenzas and says they're both good but the Continentals have some soft sidewalls. I always read good things about MPSS except the noise level. I am a little overwhelmed!

Go to tire rack read reviews. I have Conti DW and they are a great tire but you lose some turn in with the softer side all. MPSS are great as well, but some people wear them fast.

For cheaper look at BFG.

Continental recently released the ExtremeContact Sport, which supposedly addresses the soft sidewall issue of the DW and is comparable to the MPSS. I just bought a set to replace my MPSS, but haven't mounted them yet so I can't provide a personal review. MotoIQ did a pretty thorough review though:

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...act-Sport.aspx

Readjust your expectations. It is highly doubtful you will find summer performance tires that are quieter than the stock tires. Also, summer performance tires will kill your gas mileage. The stock tires are designed to get better gas mileage.

Firestone's new tire is getting a ton of great reviews. It is a Bridgestone design they do not sell here.

I have a 8.5" rim and I use MPSS. Fuel consumption barely went up, like unnoticeably so. I'm not even sure if it's cause of my lead foot. Grip is amazing, wet weather stability even more so. I have no reason to switch to another tire. Got a $80 rebate in the mail too.

Toyo T1 Sport is worth a look.

Unless you increase the power drastically, be wary of adding too much grip. For me at least, approachable limits are what make this car fun to drive.

As mentioned, Tire Rack gets many reviews from consumers, and their comparison tests are pretty good. Im in the same boat as you in that I want a dedicated summer set (and have wanted them for years now). Id recommend looking for a tire that his a high tread wear rating and is reported to have good responsiveness. You are going to have a trade off in sound and MPG as that is what the Primacies were specifically designed for.

When I was looking last winter, the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 wound up at the top of my list.

You probably would be happy with the Michelin A/S 3

Really? I'm surprised to hear that about the noise; I thought I remembered reading that the Primacies were a rather noisy tire.

Thanks for the reality check though. I'll do my best to mitigate the fuel consumption and purchase cost by sticking with a narrow wheel/tire combo but won't keep my hopes up too much.

I didn't realize they had comparisons on there, I'll have to read into their site some more. I appreciate it!

What does BFG stand for?

MPSS was one tire I worry about using as a DD because it might not heat up under normal conditions. Am I overthinking this? Is it just as safe and operable on the road as it would be under more performance-oriented conditions?

If you don't have some crazy wide tires for looks, you should be fine with getting stock sized MPSS up to temps.
P.S.
I'd rather use stock 17" wheels for summer, and get set of 16" for winter.

I can tell you the new Continental ExtremeContact Sport is excellent, better than the DW in many ways, about 300 miles in.
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Edit: Now 500 miles. Compared to DW: ECSport is quieter, sharper on turn in, excellent dry grip, sharp bumps are better attenuated (I have a specific jarring bump on my freeway commute so I can gauge well).

Traction seems reliable in terms of progression at the limits.

Steering feels lighter which is noticeable (not necessarily better or worse, just different).

No notable wear issues so far. Tracking mileage over time and will report back. Previous average was 28.7 MPG over 5K miles.

Noisy compared to the stock Prius tires. They are still summer tires, so comparing them to grand touring tires they are going to appear noisy and bad for comfort and nvh, but compared to other summer tires they are much better in those categories.

People go for MPSS because they are great for street driving, just expensive which is why people try other things.