Quote:
Originally Posted by Vracer111
Did you match tire tread width to wheel rim width? Reasons I went with a 205/45-17 tire are manyfold - low cost, lighter than stock, gearing/acceleration advantage, drop in CG, and direct match in tread width for a 7.5" wheel. Match the tread width to wheel width, especially on a softer sidewall tire, and you maximize its responsiveness, minimizing the input lag.
The DW rides much better than the Kumho XS, and as previously post mentioned, is a much more planted tire in all situations. I only ran the XS once on track when first got the FR-S in 2012 (one month after getting the car) and it felt good with them on track. Have not tracked or autocrossed since, but did run the XS on the street for daily driver tire until they needed to be replaced with about 8-9k miles on them...down to the wear bars and basically slicks with 2 small grooves at that point. Went back to the stock Primacy HP tires, which I also liked better than the XS for daily driving, wore them down to slicks in about 20k miles. Going from stock to DW was yet another upgrade - dry grip level like the XS, but with better ride quality than the Primacy HP, and wet grip and performance beyond what both could ever do. For a daily driver summer tire, the Maximum Performance Summer category is where it's at, and the DW should be the comparison benchmark. Just make sure to match the tread width with the rim width.
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A 7"rim is right in the middle of the recommended range for a 225/50 tire, and the sized used for advertised mounted dimensions. Given this and my own experience with the combo, I'm quite comfortable with this size pairing with the XS. The tire doesn't fall over on the sidewall, even when autocrossed/tracked and at the lower starting pressures those environments typically require. The tradeoff is harsher ride and more noise than the DW, but using 16s the taller sidewall also lessens some of the harshness, so it seems like a bit of a wash there...
Again, my experience with the DW was with a different car so I can't give firsthand experience when comparing with the XS on the FRS. The DW were 255/40s on a 9" rim, so a bit more aggressively paired than my current setup. I did autocross a few times with the DW and while they performed admirably for what they are, I have a hard time believing they have the same dry grip as the XS (340 TW versus 180), if the same sizes were compared. They ARE a lightweight tire (usually the lightest in a given size) and do have a softer sidewall, so even with the more aggressive wheel sizing, I still needed more pressure to keep the tire from rolling over as much. I'm not knocking the DW at all - I think they're a great street tire (especially in the wet), quiet and comfortable with admirable dry grip, and a great value, but ultimate performance is definitely a step down from the XS, by design.
I love the combination of durability and grip of the XS on track, and so I'd originally planned on replacing the XS with the new V720, but after hearing reports of tearing/chunking I'm considering other options.