RX8Club.com - Falken FK-452, VS. Azenis VS Kumho SPT

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoLaK

The RT615 and the 452 are in a different class, they are barely comparable.
At the current I’ve had 3 sets of non-oem tires on the Rx-8:

GoodYear Eagle F1 GSD3's on 8.5'' wheels in 245/40/18
Azenis RT615 on 9.5" wheels in 275/35/18
Michelin Pilot Sport 2's on 8'' wheels in 245/40/18

I'll start with the Pilot Sports, these would be comparable to the 452, they are a luxury oriented sport tire. I hated them, sidewalls folded like butter under hard cornering, sidewalls were generally weak as they bubbled on me after a few potholes, and even when I decided to be rid of them they couldn't even hold out for more the 30sec burnout before they "belted" see attached picture. :spank:

The RT615 I put on my car with a friends set of wheels and tires, I like the set up so much that I purchased 9.5'' wheels and 275/35/18 over Christmas. I think your getting the 10k number from Goodwin? Well its a little bit over the top, realistically you should get 15k, see tirerack or other sites and you'll see the customers "miles driven" go over 10k. However, I understand your concern 15k still sux, this is pretty much a 4 month tire for me when im in NewJersey for autox season before I go back to New Orleans for school where I equip the below:

I have another set of 8.5" wheels wraped with 245/40/18 GoodYear Eagle F1 GSD3's, even with the smaller wheel width+tire, and much higher treadware ratting, these grip in the same league as the RT615. I like to think of it as UCLA(Gsd3) vs. USC(RT615), UCLA should lose, but at least they have a upset shot. While the 452 is more like Stanford vs. USC, :Freak_ani.

Anyway before I finish I think you should look at is the Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212, they just released this tire in 18'' sizes, I would have bought them over the GSD3's just because they are cheaper, but they didn't have 18" sizes when I was looking at the GSD3's, but I don't have any first hand experience with them, like the RT615 lots of AutoX guys use it.

And a little plug for myself I have a spare set of 245/40/18 GSD3's, never used, bought as spare set for when the current set wears out, I'm looking to get rid of them since the current set will not wear out very quickly because of the new RT615s, PM/IM me.

I can comment on these tires on a WRX setup (which I just came from). They compare closely to the RT-615. The Z212 will have a slightly softer sidewall than the RT-615 but equal or better overall grip. I did two track days on the Kooks coming from Potenza RE011's and I thought the Z212 was much better at turn-in, had equal or more grip, and was communicative both in feel and in sound as to what was coming, but their limit, once reached was quick to reveal itself (I had to react quickly to catch the car on a couple long sweepers from wanting to come around on me as the tires got greasy). For the price, a great tire. Took heat cycling well. Good in the wet also.