Time to start thinking about tires.
 

Since my income is currently at 0. I have to start thinking about what tires I am going to be running with next season. (I need tires more than coilovers, so I may have to delay the coils.) I am really liking the Falken Azeni RT-615, Kuhmo Ecsta MX, Dunlop Direzza Z1, and BF Goodrich g-Force. I know most of the members on here are autocrossers and have experience with different high performance tires. Does anyone have some good recommendations for me, or testimonials about some great tires for daily driving and autocross?

My concerns ranked 1-5 (5 being most important) are:

Dry Traction - 5
Wet Traction - 2
Steering Response - 4
Road Noise - 1
Treadwear - 3


Thanks in advance for all replies,
--Chris

Go with the Dunlops. They might not quite be on par with the Bridgestones, but they're cheaper. Those are the two I would focus on.

Thanks for the quick reply Kevin. I forgot to mention the price factor... That would be pretty high on my list too.

I'm definitely a Dunlop backer now. They're less expensive as mentioned, and they wore REALLY well for me, even daily driving them pretty much all season, with my relatively aggressive alignment. Plus they're easily as grippy, if not more so, compared to the Azenis.

I heard the new Kumho XS is good too. You can test it out and let us know.

I had a great experience with the Azenis 615's , great sizes and prices availble from edgeracing.com
they had maybe 3% less traction than the RE01R and about 40% cheaper. If the Dunlop Direzza Z1 is the same grip or higher of the 615, and or cheaper. it would have to be a crazy deal. I was super stoked on the 615's when i had them. (ran 255/40/17 versus 245/40/17) grip feels the same but my tire is a tiny bit skinner.

I think Cory has raced on both tires, so he's the expert!

I've always loved the 615's too. But I haven't raced the Dunlops or RE01R's yet. The only thing that sucks about the 615's is their wet traction is mediocre vs. something like the Hankook Ventus, and when the 615's have seen a bunch of heat cycles, they really fall off on grip unless you go to the track and really heat them up.

I like the Kumho's I have been on. Of course I don't really have anything to compare them to. I think when they burn up I am going to try Azenis but the Kumho's definitely haven't let me down.

After seeing the performance of the dunlops, I'd say they're the new bang-for-the-buck champs...I love my RE-01R's, but their certainly not cheap.

Dunlops Z1s, make sure they are teh "Star" Specs!!!!

Have not driven them, but plan to. 615s second due to low price, RE-01s third due to high price, but more tread life.

MXs are crap for anything but maybe a STS Honda and then have to be shaved to almost unusable on the street depth.

^ Hmmmm, I drove with the MX's for the season that I didnt autox, and I liked them, but that is before i actually knew what to look for.

Yea I went from RE92's to MX's so to me they are incredible. lol. Think I am going to have to try some real tires after I toast these.

My comment on the MXs was relative to the other listed choices.

They are very good tires, just not top of the heap performnce wise any more.

Take off RE-070s are also a great option. Watch craigslist. STI buyers who want winter/AS tires dump them with very low miles regularly!!! Should go for $200 or so...

Depending on what kind of deals they have this spring, my list goes
1. dz101 star spec
2. re01r
3. wagon wheels?

How cheap are the Kuhmo tires?

the Kuhmo Ecsta EX are slightly cheapper then the D1 stars (save $7 on 225/50/16)

180 tread wear vs 200 (not the same tire company so not very valid comparison)

But I'de keep them in consideration.

I've been running a set of Kuhmo ASX's on my rally car for DD usage. and i've been very very amazed with this tire. They have great dry grip, awesome wet , snow, mud, and dirt traction as well.

I've been very amazed with their sidewall , and overall tire quality. If they can make a super cheap all season tire with such puncture resistance , and strong side walls. i would figure that their tire aimed at street touring would be top notch as well.

my bridgestone RE01Rs took a lot of abuse too with out issue. (rocks, ruts, jumped once) :D

Thanks for all the info guys. I think I'm going to get the Dunlops, because Tirerack's close, and cheap, since I can use shop discounts to get them wholesale. I also would like to try something other than the MX's. They were really loud.

Damn, those Dunlops look pretty doable...but so do those new Kumho's. Huh, guess I will decide when summer rolls around and when my old Kumho's are toast. So, can I cram 245/40/17 on my WRX? My wheels are 17x8 and +48...

Yes. Be glad you have a sedan.

Dude, if I put that EXACT same setup on my RS, you can put it on your WRX... Just depends on how much you're willing to spend to make them fit! :lol:

Really, they should fit. Only problem you *might* have is tire-strut body clearance.

Easiest trick is to measure the clearance you have now and see how much room is left.

Otherwise, borrow a rim with a tire and try it... I have 255/40-17s on 8" RPF1s lying around. And a bunch of other people have their winter rubber on, so Solo wheels/tires are sitting around...

Dean, I might swing by and snag those RPF-1s from you to test fit on my lil red wagon at some point. Still up in the air over what I'll be driving this season.

Should I be worried about going 245/40/18? is the strut clearance problem width or height? If that doesn't work I will just go for the 235s

Usually rubbing the strut happens due to excessive width but I'd imagine excessive height could cause it as well. 245/35/18 is going to be much closer to stock OD regardless. You shouldn't have any rubbing issues and even if you did, a 3mm spacer would probably fix it.

Hey that's something that I wanted to ask. Cody do you know of some good spacers?

I don't but just check on Nabisco. The "Hella Flush" threads are always talking about using them.