stock tires

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by chulooz

Hi, I have had seat time in a BRZ with stock miches. Having been on real rubber before I felt this was the least inspiring component of the car, honest. My experience is hardly unique.

Have you driven on any max performance summer tires?

Well, since my FR-S has only 5,500 miles, this is its first set of tires. However, I've given them a pretty good workout by driving the coast (route 1/101) from Seattle down southern California this summer.

My last car was a 2006 Mazda, miata which I had mounted three sets of some pretty good summer hi-performance tires, that I drove for a bit over 88,000 miles, all through the Rockies from Alberta, Canada down to New Mexico.

So, what I look for in a set of tires for a miata or FR-S is more of a "touring" tire that still allows me to stick on the curves on mountain roads, while giving me decent tread mileage.

Different tires for different uses .... right ..

humfrz

[Wolfking]

Originally Posted by KevinBRZ

These tires are not junk. They are a grand touring tire. If you don't know what that means, and that different tires have different purposes, please don't post your opinions as fact.

They are very good tires for non-track driving. If you want to set lap times, then get a tire made for that purpose.

Since when is an opinion a fact?

The (FRS) OEM Michelins are a horrible tire for a street FR car...period! I will never drive my car on a track. That's what my R1 is for!

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Well, since my FR-S has only 5,500 miles, this is its first set of tires. However, I've given them a pretty good workout by driving the coast (route 1/101) from Seattle down southern California this summer.

My last car was a 2006 Mazda, miata which I had mounted three sets of some pretty good summer hi-performance tires, that I drove for a bit over 88,000 miles, all through the Rockies from Alberta, Canada down to New Mexico.

So, what I look for in a set of tires for a miata or FR-S is more of a "touring" tire that still allows me to stick on the curves on mountain roads, while giving me decent tread mileage.

Different tires for different uses .... right ..

humfrz

I imagine someone would say if you can drive 3 sets of tires 90 THOUSAND miles you aren't driving them very hard are you

[DarkSunrise]

I prefer max-performance summer tires vs. stock on my FR-S, but I can see the arguments on both sides. This video probably hits the nail on the head for the less-is-more group:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY"]The Mercedes C63 AMG Experiment - /CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - YouTube[/ame]

[jdcorbitt3]

I took the Bob Bondurant course that had the hydraulic outriggers. They were used to improve driving skills in reduced traction like on ice. Oversteer is getting a car out of shape. Drifting is a new style of driving and can be done with a Suburban. This car was engineered to be an economical performance car. The designer in the video on this site talked about keeping the cg low since, except for lowering the car the aftermarket can't do. They kept it economical in that the aftermarket could improve handling and power. I was disappointed when I got oversteer at such a low power setting and speed, but understand it is my job to put better traction on the car with better tires. You will not see anyone in IMSA, or F1 intentionally looking for lower traction to oversteer. On the street, oversteer is dangerous. A track day cost less than one speeding ticket.

I bought this car to be able to track. I think there are a lot of guys on this forum with the same idea and we are the ones that want as much traction as possible.
That being said, this car was also designed for another group that likes drifting, and it is a great platform for that as well.

I have not had this car to Sebring yet, but am looking forward to seeing what kind of lap I can do with it. My best times were in a Jim Cope Corvette at 2'41", nothing like the 1'46" that the Audi P1s have been doing.


John

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by chulooz

Swap them out for some good performance summer rubber if your weather permits and prepare to be impressed. The average driver may not notice how uninspiring these tires are until theyve tried something worth while.

Well the occasional FRS driver not not realize how good the stockers are unless they have lots of seat time with them.
My last 2 rides , C6 and M3 had Michelin pilot sports. Great tires with reasonable wear and good grip. The benchmark of street performance tires..
While the FRS does exhibit some tire squeal on accel during tight turns.. They do very well in the twistes , And on those long curved entrance on-ramps..
I'm actually quite impressed with their grip .. I can take some of these sweeping curves just as well as those pilot sports.. Which surprised me!
I also have some track time on the stockers... Lots of squirm mainly due to too much tread.. Not the best for the track by any means.. But better than expected.. People right away think Prius tires and close their minds... But in reality.. These tires do quite well performance wise.. A good compromise between grip and wear..

[track junkie]

Originally Posted by Mikem53

Well the occasional FRS driver not not realize how good the stockers are unless they have lots of seat time with them.
My last 2 rides , C6 and M3 had Michelin pilot sports. Great tires with reasonable wear and good grip. The benchmark of street performance tires..
While the FRS does exhibit some tire squeal on accel during tight turns.. They do very well in the twistes , And on those long curved entrance on-ramps..
I'm actually quite impressed with their grip .. I can take some of these sweeping curves just as well as those pilot sports.. Which surprised me!
I also have some track time on the stockers... Lots of squirm mainly due to too much tread.. Not the best for the track by any means.. But better than expected.. People right away think Prius tires and close their minds... But in reality.. These tires do quite well performance wise.. A good compromise between grip and wear..

I estimate the majority of sport car owners want high performance tires that make their car "corner like it's on rails" when driving on the street. I don't unless I am driving a high horsepower, high torque car on the street, which certainly isn't the FRS/BRZ.

The difference in lap time for Pro Randy Probst is only 2.5 seconds. 1:33.6 for the stock Michelin Primacy vs 1:31.1 for the Bridgestone RE-11A.
The Primacy looks more than adequate for street use if you are comfortable with them. I can understand how many are not.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSqWD5BSeoY"]v=FSqWD5BSeoY[/ame]

[ZionsWrath]

lol in that video the Mustang looks like a fuking hundfull to say the least

[chulooz]

Originally Posted by track junkie

I estimate the majority of sport car owners want high performance tires that make their car "corner like it's on rails" when driving on the street. I don't unless I am driving a high horsepower, high torque car on the street, which certainly isn't the FRS/BRZ.

The difference in lap time for Pro Randy Probst is only 2.5 seconds. 1:33.6 for the stock Michelin Primacy vs 1:31.1 for the Bridgestone RE-11A.
The Primacy looks more than adequate for street use if you are comfortable with them. I can understand how many are not.
]

Only 2.5 seconds? For the money there is no other upgrade that even comes close to that improvement. If you want better acceleration, braking, and cornering ability nothing will beat $600 for the sticky stuff. But if you want milage and longevity I guess you should look elsewhere.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I imagine someone would say if you can drive 3 sets of tires 90 THOUSAND miles you aren't driving them very hard are you

Well, I reckon not .....

The car was never tracked or autoX-ed, so all of those miles were street/highway driving. My objective was not to wear out tires, but yet to have some fun in the twisties.

Hey, I learned to drive in a 1937 chevy pickup truck, with drum brakes, solid axle type suspension, bias plied re-capped, narrow tires and a 85 HP engine, on gravel roads ..... and it was uphill both ways ....

So, coming from that, back in the day, driving the FR-S with OEM tires seems like a piece of cake ....

However, this thread has given me some food for thought for my next set of tires ....

humfrz

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by humfrz

So, coming from that, back in the day, driving the FR-S with OEM tires seems like a piece of cake ....

However, this thread has given me some food for thought for my next set of tires ....

humfrz

Does quite well out of the box as is... But my next set will have a softer compound.. Willing to sacrifice some tread life for a tad more grip and compliance over bumps.. But surprised at how well these tires do hold on..

[track junkie]

Originally Posted by chulooz

Only 2.5 seconds? For the money there is no other upgrade that even comes close to that improvement. If you want better acceleration, braking, and cornering ability nothing will beat $600 for the sticky stuff. But if you want milage and longevity I guess you should look elsewhere.

The best upgrade is driver improvement.

[PabloN]

My dilemma is that (like humfrz) all my driving is on streets, no racing or autoX. Mainly I don't want the back end sliding out so grippier tires would be a good thing. But I do have one set of roads with tight corners, 1/2 mile visibility in all directions, & lots of runoff room, so I turn traction control/VSC off and begin to break the back end loose, which is enormous fun. Going to grippier tires would take this away.

[chulooz]

Originally Posted by track junkie

The best upgrade is driver improvement.

touche!