goodyear F1. they will last you forever. they are awesome in wet, not so awesome in dry.

the toyo R1R is a soft tire. i think it's like 140 treadwear. won't last you long at all. i would think of it as more of a competition type tire. look at the T1-R instead.

 

i just purchased Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, supposed to be like Falken RT-615s, but more predictable on the track. I went with a 245 width. Will report...

 

I really wanted to get the Z1 star spec, but they were nationally backordered on the size i wanted (255-40-17.) ended up with falken 615 again.. ugh. good street tire, but very little warning when they let go. found this out (again) the hard way this weekend.

 

How so?

 

I recently bough some 245/40/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS that are really nice. Quiet, good grip (granted they're AS), all-season (which is something I wanted), and a nice treadwear rating (I think 340 or 400). Although they did run me $885 on Tirerack.

 

I'm running Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3s right now, and wouldn't hesitate at all at buying them again. Sick looking tread pattern, and their claim to fame is having amazing grip in the wet (something I get to use all the time living in the rainiest city in the U.S.), and stupendous grip in the dry. Going from the stock Dunlops to these allowed me to increase my speed by up to 20mph around some curves as well as being able to completely hold the accelerator through the entire curve. The tread life is about expected, probably 20k miles max. I currently have 15k and they're starting to lose their grip a bit here and there.

 

Yeah, I keep hearing about the backorder from BMW owners. I guess I was lucky with the almost-stock size of 245/40/18 (on stock wheels).

 

Another thing to look at is the ratings:

1. Treadwear, how long the tire will last, higher is better. 140 is about 14K miles, 240 is about 24K miles, etc. Lower profile tend to have lower ratings.

2. Traction, how good it grips in wet conditions, C to A+, A+ is better.

3. Temperature, how hot the tire gets in a long drive, worst to better, C to A or A+

The ratings are somewhere on the tire or on the sticker that come with the tire.


The "feel" of the tire, well one has to just know that or ride on the tires to learn it.
That is not on any rating except that others will tell you like they have been saying on this post.

 

BFG G-Force KDW's work very well in the desert.

 

^ getting mine put on today

 

I've been really happy with the Potenza Pole Position S03's I put on earlier this year, but it looks like Tire Rack is about out of them, since they were closeout.

 

another vote for Falken FK452's here, now with over 20k miles on them and still plenty of treads (well for 20k miles on a 300 rated tire anyway )

 

Goodyear Eagle F1's (they don't come in 225x45, so go 245x40 on stock rims)

-or-

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (they come in 225x45)


jmho

 

Big time +1 on the Dunlop Direzza Z1's

But big time -1 on the DZ 101's no no no ... don't do it!!!!


The z1 's don't break loose .. they just don't. They'll slide a bit .. but very predictable. Best the cars ever felt

 

FK452's here. Love them on the road.
Just a little slippery on hot days on the track. Thinking about the RT-615's.

 

i changed my SPT's for a set of Yokohama s-drive's

the s-drive's seem to have less grip, a better ride, and are better in the rain than the SPT's

 

Mine came with those on it and they aren't bad so far. Didn't do too horribly bad in the snow this year and they are great in the dry.

 

Please do as we have been looking at this tire as the next set

 

I second the vote for the s-drives. I just got these to replace the RE040s that were on the car that had both terrible noise and treadlife. The S-drives don't have quite the grip of say, the RE050As or S-03, but it is still quite predictable at the limit, only slightly less traction than some of the ohers in its class and the treadwear and noise are damn good.

 

I personally would not reccomment the Michelin Pilot sports I see too many of those with broken belts every day.....out of all the tire problems i see in a day those are some of the worst I see....

 

oh I do hear the dunlops's are not bad either

 

So far, on the street, the Z1s have insane grip. Maybe the 615s are like that too, I've never tried those, but compared to regular summers, the Z1s have holy s--t grip. Damn. The wet grip is good too, but hydroplane resistance appears to be not that great. I haven't really got a good handle on the hydroplane resistance yet though.

Haven't gone autocrossing on the Z1s yet, will let you know my impressions vs my prior S-03s.

 

I've heard that about the original Pilot Sport as well, but the PS2 gets excellent reviews.

 

Another fan of the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1's. These things just do not give up (fast, but not ridiculous, speeds on the streets), and even in the wet they perform well. Not overly noisy either.

 

Tire Rack:
Kuhmo's:
Ecsta SPT $109.00 each Summer Tire
Ecsta ASX $128.00 each All season
Ecsta LX Platinum $142.00 each All season
My original tires were Bridgestone Potenzas which were noisy and not that great in the wet.
I have been purchasing Ecsta SPT which is a good tire for South Florida, great in the wet and not near as noisy as the Bridgestones and the wall strength seems great on hard cornering. I am happy with this tire and the price is great. Just keep em balanced, proper pressure and rotate as needed.
Check out owner's comments on Tire Rack and their own critique.