Tires alone as upgrade, how big is the difference?

[Dake]

It sounds like you have some track/AutoX experience already, so it may not be as big of a deal. But I'd recommend driving on the factory tires for a bit because they let you really learn the car; I think going straight to stickier tires means skipping over some of the finer points of handling (and they're perfectly capable tires for daily driving).

I drove the Michelins for almost two years. I found by the last few months I was very consistent on my times and got to the point where I was able to keep the car steady at the limits of traction. At that point I went up a wheel and width size (though still a high tread wear street tire), and was able to manage a good jump in times because it was a natural progression.

At any given AutoX, I am consistently Top-of-the-middle of the pack and I'm now ready to move to stickier, 200 TW tires. I'm confident I should be able to jump that regular two second gap into at least the bottom-of-the-top.

Most of the time doing a u turn on the the stock tires resulted in tire squeal which made it seem I was going faster than I really was.

That was my biggest complaint about the Michelins - a sure-fire way to get the cops to pull you over speeding or not is to let them hear a squeal, and those things made noise at the drop of a hat!

[TheAsianRacer]

From stock tires to going to BFG rivals, I shaved off 7 seconds from going to the track once in one year. Tires is the best upgrade you can do as a first upgrade. I'll also add that the 2nd time at the track I had also added some racing pads on the front of the car. Those were my first upgrades but I've been to a few track hpde events over the past few years and am now in the intermediate/advanced run group in a relatively stock FRS if that helps anyone's opinion.

[D88]

I was almost going to say to drive your car through one winter in the snow and ice and you'll learn tons about how it handles in slick conditions but then I saw you live in Tulsa. That argument was opposing sticking with the stock summer tires to get a feel for the car's capabilities. So, in that case, I would agree with the general consensus that you should at least run the stock tires for a while before upgrading. You'll appreciate it more when you upgrade later.

[Dake]

Tulsa gets snow and even more ice.

[JazzleSAURUS]

I am a huge proponent of wearing out the primacy's and buying what you want next. Want a little more? S-04's or PSS. Want lots more? RS3, ZII, Rival, or RE71r.

I am really happy with 225/45 S-04's, and swift springs. It seems to be a well matched combo that stiffens just enough, gives just enough extra grip, but not so much I can't get some tail action on demand.

[Keenercarguy]

Upgrading to a real dedicated performance street tire (like a pilot super sport) is the first thing I'd suggest doing after buying this car. I spent 5 months frowning on the stock primacy's, they're expensive and horrible. Get a better tire, any better tire, and you'll notice an obvious improvement. I didn't even really *notice* more body roll. I did, however, notice a much improved balance.