Best light weight performance tire
 

Looking around on tire rack, I'm not finding a performance tire in 245/40/17 (assuming most people want a little wider rubber) to replace the stock tires that is less than 20lbs. Looks like weight savings with wheels and tires is likely to come from wheels rather than tires.

So what is considered the best light weight rubber?

you want/need that much tire? how much power are you making?

Michelin PSS is the lightest tire. I have the Hankook R-S3s, which are ultimately grippier, but abt 3-4 lbs more/tire.

The ContiDW is 22lbs in that size.

This, continental DW are usually the lightest i've seen in our sizes.

Stock tire size but stickier tire

Tire compound matters more than tire width if you want the most grip. I'd suggest oem size 215/45/17 star specs or rs3 tires. Going with 245 contDW won't give you as much grip and you're just adding unnecessary weight. Keep in mind that if you go wih wider tires, you'll need wider rims as well. This all adds up to more weight.

Wider does not equal better.

i agree that compound is more important than width however you dont have to give up weight for width too much.

Continental DW 245/35ZR18 are 20.2lbs or the same as stock. finding any 18" wheel less than 20lbs means overall lighter. i'm ordering 18x8 CE28N (14.7lbs) so combined they save 6.5lbs per corner by my scale.

I'm going 18 because it think it will ultimately look better and 6.5lbs per corner is great when going plus size tire and wheels.

The wider contact patch can mean more grip at launch as well as better cornering potential even with a less grippy tire. DW's aren't terrible and they last a long while, they aren't at the same level as the other two though (almost R compounds) but a 245/40R17 starspec is going to out perform a 215/45R17 most likely as well.

IMHO star specs and RS-3 are great tire options but they wear too fast for a mostly street driven car. (i know ran them on my S2k) PSS are a better option for those who want longer wearing tires with awesome grip, continentals are even longer wearing while not giving up too much grip to the PSS. My choice is either PSS or DW for those reasons. I ran all 4 of these tires on my S2k in the 5 years i had it.

Interesting note.

I installed Weds 17x9" rims w/ 245-17 Hankook R-S3s.

The weight between this setup & the factory setup was within 1/2lb per corner, AND 3.2(!) secs on a ~40+ sec AutoX course, same day, same driver (BRZ was there w/ completely stock & my car just had rims/tires--no alignment mods etc).

I'm going to say that was a fair tradeoff...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8202/8...791e9c3c_c.jpg

Keep in mind that if you go with wider tires, you have to run them harder to reach its optimal operating temperature. In normal day to day driving, you won't reach optimal temps, and that's why going with slimmer tires is sometimes the better option.

Also, a more aggressive alignment can also add more cornering capabilities.

That's good to know. I'm going to put motorcycle tyres on my car now

:slap:

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