GT Channel SCION FR-S Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada Interview
 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHVhaTNRk8E"]2013 Scion FR-S Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada Interview - YouTube[/ame]

according to tada, he wanted to build a car that didn't rely on the performance of the tires, so he picked the prius tires because they're very balanced.

and since the car only has 200hp, the prius tires were more than enough to handle this type of car.

someone want to elaborate on this more?

Still trying to wrap my head around the whole Prius tire thing, but I think I'm slowly beginning to understand it. Thanks for the video Ichi!

never thought about the brz suspension tuning and how subaru customers are accustomed to the awd feel.

My take from the prius tires is this.

If you can make a car handle well on eco tires, then it will handle better on any sport tires you put on it. Most sports cars today have tires made specifically for the car and they also tend to be expensive compared to other tires of the exact same brand and type. Sooooo, wtf is the point of this?

That is what he was saying to me.

Yeah, that's something I didn't know. I own Subie and when I drove FR-S, I didn't really feel uncomfy cuz of their suspension setup is more oversteer... maybe I driven & raced S2k & Miata before so maybe that's why? lol

i think you nailed the basic idea. if it handles well on eco tires, then it can only get better on tires with more grip.

Love what he said about the tires. To give people the chance to change to whatever tires they want and not make the car worse haha. Coming from BMW I can tell you that happens a lot when a tire is developed for a specific car and there's nowhere to go but down LOL

Michelin makes great tires. And those particular tires are the lightest I know of in that size. That amplifies the responsive handling. Also with the relatively lower grip, they can slide a bit under power making the car seem more powerful. And they are probably fairly quiet and comfortable so that people can't complain about that.

Although I am OK keeping these tires until they wear out, I will definitely be getting some Michelin Pilot Super Sports the next time around (thank God they make them in this size). They are basically the same price, with much higher performance, and should last even longer! The original prototypes had the Super Sports on it.

Our Evo X had custom Yokohamas and those were trash. They had slightly better steering response than the Pilot Super Sports we put on it but were otherwise worse in every way.

the link is dead?

I think this video will show what they mean.

The pertinent part is from 16:41 to 20:55

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndaUTJUEzDg"]Civic Type R Returns (FD2) - CTR MEGA TEST & BATTLE - Best Motoring International - YouTube[/ame]

Boy does this make me miss my dc2 and dc5. And the k20 will still go down as one of the all time greats.

Not the first time the oem tires have proven to be a better match. Similar tests have been done with the s2k and miata.

Not saying it's ALWAYS the case but most people seldom have the knowledge or money necessary to pick a better tire than what's on their car from the factory. Especially the big hitters (gtr, BMW M cars, ferrari, corvette etc....)

awww the video is gone ; ;

When is this civic type r coming to the states?