Comfortable commuter tire
 

Hi

I have an '08 RX8 Sport, no options, no DSC. Live and work in Norcal, so no snow, but winters can get rainy.

Here's what I want from my tire, in order of priority (most important to least)

- Quiet ride
- Long tread life - at least 30k miles (hwy)
- Dry weather grip
- Wet weather grip
- Ride quality

I don't care between all-seasons and summer tires, just care about the factors above....

What are the best tire options for me? I'd prefer made in USA (or at least not-made-in-China) if possible.

Thanks for any input




p.s. yes I searched, and was quickly overwhelmed with discussions of 10k mile tread life and super-sticky summer tires... :)

The Tire Rack has a questionnaire that you fill out and will point you to a group of tires that fit your criteria. This only applies to the tires that they sell. There are desirable tires that they don't sell. But it's a starting point. Did you look at the Canadian Tire site? I'd be surprised if they didn't do the same thing. Being in the US, I haven't checked there.

Thanks for the tip, I'll take a look there. I'm actually back in the US now (northern california), so good old Canuck Tire is no longer an option :(

If you're looking for comfort, your best bet will be to step down to a 17" wheel/tire combo. The extra sidewall height will give you more compliance over bumps.

Generally speaking, avoid extreme performance, max performance, and high performance summer tires. The more aggressive the performance profile of the tire, the less comfortable it is. Generally.

If you don't want to get two sets of tires and it gets cold (<45F) when it rains, then just go with all-seasons. The rain will keep summer tires from heating up to a safe temperature.

I've read good things about the Continental DWS and Bridgestone Potenza RE960/970.

my vote is for the Continental DWS

I've used them on two vehicles and they are quiet, last long, and still have great grip in wet (and even snow). Obviously, they won't perform in the dry like summer tires, and some people complain that the sidewalls are too soft, but I really enjoy them.

No need to worry about tire stiffness anymore.

My Hankook Ventus v12's are quieter and softer than SPT's and I went from 45 to 40 profile.

Those continental DWS and DW seem to be a good bet for commuting.

I always buy a tire that's good in bad weather first, and then dry traction.

On tirerack a review said they got 66k miles out of the V12's comuting in the rain in florida, but I'll get about 20k since I track them.

Completely agree. I have about 15,000 miles on these tires now, and love 'em !

i like the yokohama s drives.

As a general purpose tire, I'd suggest the regular (non-runflat) version of Pirelli P-Zero Nero based on the criteria you gave. I use the runflat version and like them immensely; but I am not certain that they would meet your ride quality needs, although I find them quite comfortable. They have a very muted noise level and are a vast improvement over the OEM Bridgestone tires with regard to:
- Quiet ride
- Long tread life (400 tread ware rating versus the 280 of the stock Bridgestone tires)
- Dry weather grip
- Wet weather grip
The run flats in 245/40R18 weigh the same as the OEM Bridgestone tires at 225/45R18, so I didn't have to gain any unsprung weight to get a slightly larger footprint. Despite the larger footprint, the wet weather grip is substantially improved over the OEM Bridgestone tires.

Thanks all, for your replies.

I want to stick to high treadwear rating all-seasons, so I've narrowed it down between the Conti DWS and P zero nero. I'm having trouble picking between them. As I see it, here are the pros and cons:

Conti wins:
- treadwear
- wet traction
- ride comfort

Pirelli wins:
- Dry traction
- Steering response


I guess the tiebreaker here is steering response. One of the reasons I love my rx8 is how it turns in to a corner. So, I feel like there is probably going to be a significant enough difference in this department between the Pirelli and the Conti that I'm going to go with the Pirelli. Also I probably want to do a track day or two per year, so I think biasing slightly towards the performance side of things makes sense for me.

Off to tirerack!

Michelin