Daily Driver Tire Recommendation

[TikiGuy]

Just bought a babied 2014 BRZ, 46k miles, manual, barely ever been driven above 4000rpm. Former, original owner was an accountant and it was his second car that he garaged and had the local dealer maintain.

He put on a set of Sumitomo HTR A/S P02’s about 10k miles ago. I drive much more “spiritedly” than him; the current tires break loose fairly easily.

I’m old - have experience with MR2’s and Eclipse’s in the 80’s and 90’s, used to run Yokohama AVS Intermediates back then.

Would like to hear your recommendations on tires that are better than stock, better than common, better than what I have. This is my daily driver. Not planning any track days. Also would like to note that I live in the Los Angeles area, pretty dry here all year round.


Thanks!

[tyler_win_photo]

Any summer tire with a good treadwear. Michelin PS4S, Michelin AS3, Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, Continental DW to name a few.

Depends on your budget.

[DarkPira7e]

This is discussed endlessly honestly. Budget needs to be discussed, trade-offs need to be discussed. Generally, I'd say pick a 250-350 treadwear summer tire and you'll be happy. Once you've found a few you think fit your budget, research what people say about them.

Michelin, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Hankook, all deliver stellar tires in this category.

[Mr.ac]

All depends how much you want to spend.
How much of a chump you are?

If you are a chump get Michelin PS4S or PSS pay more than $170 per tire. Don't be sad a $130 tire out performs it. If you can get them for under $130 then it's a deal. But I'll still get something else.

[TikiGuy]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

This is discussed endlessly honestly. Budget needs to be discussed, trade-offs need to be discussed. Generally, I'd say pick a 250-350 treadwear summer tire and you'll be happy. Once you've found a few you think fit your budget, research what people say about them.

Michelin, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Hankook, all deliver stellar tires in this category.

Roughly $600 for the set, give or take. I have a wholesale account at a large local shop as well.

[HaXx]

BFG sport comp 2

[jflogerzi]

Like my Indy Firehawks. Got them for under 400$ after rebate for a set! 225 45 17's

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

If you are a chump get Michelin PS4S or PSS pay more than $170 per tire. Don't be sad a $130 tire out performs it.

Please don't spread misinformation. The PS4s is unrivaled in the max summer category. They're expensive, and the Hankooks , Pirellis, and Continentals get close, but none outperform them.

Tirerack.com has performance tests and comparisons. It's a great place to figure out which tire will suit you and your budget.

[soundman98]

The tire i refuse to buy is GoodYear. And that has everything to do with their cover up of the g159 scandal.

https://jalopnik.com/how-goodyear-hi...his-1822200424

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by soundman98

The tire i refuse to buy is Michelin. And that has everything to do with their cover up of the g159 scandal.

https://jalopnik.com/how-goodyear-hi...his-1822200424

That was Goodyear. Typo?

[Pat]

I've got to think the best high performance tire value out there is the GT Radial SX2. I was skeptical at first, but they are legit. There are certainly better performing tires, and cheaper tires, but if you're looking for the best value in summer tires, they are damn hard to beat.

Disclaimer: they sponsor 86CUP so I'm rooting for them.

[EAGLE5]

For sticky daily driving, Michelin super sport of one kind or another. They drive well cold and warm but not hot, and since you're never at the track, they'll never get hot.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by TikiGuy

Just bought a babied 2014 BRZ, 46k miles, manual,

Congrats! You got the right car

He put on a set of Sumitomo HTR A/S P02’s about 10k miles ago. I drive much more “spiritedly” than him; the current tires break loose fairly easily.
...
Would like to hear your recommendations on tires that are better than stock, better than common, better than what I have. This is my daily driver. Not planning any track days. Also would like to note that I live in the Los Angeles area, pretty dry here all year round.

What is "better"/"best" for you is going to be a compromise between responsive handling and ride quality (stiffer vs. more compliant) and ultimate grip vs. tire life.

You should go to the Tire Rack website and look at Max Performance Summer tire and Ultra High Performance Summer tire categories. If ultimate handling feel and responsiveness are more important than ride quality and noise, also consider the "Extreme Performance" category. Scrutinize test results and the customer surveys. Pick tire you think will give you:
1) responsiveness you want
2) noise and ride characteristics you can live with
3) reasonable tire life based on your mileage/year
4) very good tested wet grip

Even if you don't get much rain, best to avoid tires that suck in the rain... Tires with great wet grip will almost always have excellent dry grip as well, at least for street driving.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...ay.jsp?type=EP
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...ry#ratingsSort
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...jsp?type=UHPAS

If there is even a chance that you might need to drive in cold/snow/ice, look into the Ultra High Performance All Season category.

[ZDan]

I would add that you do NOT have to spend a lot of money to get VERY good tires!
AND, you can spend a LOT on tires that aren't that good!

You have to invest a little time/energy into researching test results for objective performance data and professional subjective impressions, and customer surveys can highlight big negatives that the tests might not pick up on (i.e. extremely short life or tires get very very loud after some miles).