Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

Well, Jerky, I actually did search a bit, and did see your negative posts about the KDWs. Your's seemed to be the only negative among many positive posts though so I took the chance.

Thanks for input, guys, I'm going to do some thinking and see if I can't find another tire to replace them with.

BlueRenesis82

well, the TW thing is subjective, I just found out that all the manufactures use different standards for measuring that

Red_X8

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=UHP

Ranked #3 on tirerack, how can so many people be wrong? I think the KDW-2's are the ****, and I will probably buy another set when these wear out.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

Tirerack surveys can be a bit misleading, I believe. Seems like every time you go to their site there is a different #1 tire. Not only that, but they are surveying all kinds of drivers. A lot of people would probably like these KDWs, they do have grip, and they are more quiet and comfortable than the OEM Dunlops (at least towards the end). I've just pored over all the comments and a lot are positive overall, but mention soft sidewalls.

I've been talking to a friend of mine who is a serious driving enthusiast and he put Fuzion ZRis on his Porsche and swears they are very very responsive. I've read all the reviews at Tirerack for them also, and I've decided to go with them. Many reviews point to how responsive they are and that they have a firm sidewall. America's Tire said they could get them for me. I'll be sure and post the results up in a few days.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

If you aren't familiar with Fuzion, they are a Bridgestone tire. Link:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....&tireModel=ZRi

BlueRenesis82

I was thinking about a set of RE050 Pole Positions. Those seem to be very well rated.

deamicls

iTrader: (1)

I've been wanting to try the Fuzion tires ever since I stumbled upon them but I already bought some Bridgestones RE050s.

They might be a good track tire since they grip and are cheap.

shaunv74

I've had the KDW's for about a year now and have been happy with them performance wise and tread wear wise. I admit I don't race at the track but I haven't noticed any degredation in the road handling on the street. They are loud but I knew that when I bought them. Most wide short sidewall performance tires are. You have to trade off something. I've been very happy with the wet performance. I have some much more confidence on these tires than any other tire I've owned when it is raining out. When other cars are hydroplaning all over the place my car plows straight through.

I'd probably get them again unless they can figure out how to make a tire that performs, lasts more than 20K miles and is quite too!

deamicls

iTrader: (1)

The RE050s are supposed to do just that. Last about 20k (driven hard) grip well in the wet/dry and low noise. That's why I got them.


Currently I have the Khumo MXs and they freaking rock except that they are wearing out fast and I only have 13k miles on them. I think that I only have 3k miles left on them maybe 5k. BTW, the road noise on these tires is awesome in my opinion. Especially when you compare them directly to the stock re040s the car came with.

shaunv74

I've heard good things about the Kumho's. I've shy'd away from Bridgestones because I've had two different sets on different cars and not been happy with either and they were more expensive. I had a set on my old GTI and they were terrible in the wet or snow. The stock set on the 8 was fine until it started to wear down at 15K miles and then got really loud. So I decided to look at other brands. I liked the reviews and ratings on tire rack for the KDWs so I picked them up. Been happy ever since.

CarAndDriver

I'm going to get the Kumhos next. The KDW2's seem to be just too noisy.

L8APEX

I have some of the S-03 Pole Positions now. I got them for a good deal, used with only 3000 miles on them, they looked barely driven. They are ok, a little loud, due to the Potenza blood line they come from. But they are ok with me.

I have found, that choosing tires, is like choosing a wife. Not everyone is gonna like your choice, and different things make different people happy. As shown, by a few people in this thread alone that like the KDW 2's. I hated mine, others love them, and want to buy more. It is subjective.

shaunv74

Amen!

JeRKy 8 Owner

I just bought a set of slightly used S-03 Pole Positions too! They are friggin phenomenal handlers. But holy **** L8APEX, what a ****** coincidence. I remember back when you bought KDW 2s around the same time that I had, and now we both are running on S-03 PPs. That's twice in a row.

L8APEX

you have a better memory than me my friend. I have killed a few too many brain cells along the way.

As fas as the S-03's, I have not really beat on them at all. Don't plan to. I need them to last. I have had my car for 30 months, 53,000 miles, and I am now on my fourth set of street tires. This set needs to last a while. Or the wife might really start to get tired of this odd obsession of mine.

JeRKy 8 Owner

You have gone through four sets of tires in 2 and a half years? Jesus..I hope that is due to all the tracking you've been doing. I am not sure why you would buy S-03s when looking for long lasting rubber though. If you don't track them or drive them hard you can probably get at least 20k out them. Good luck with that

L8APEX

Well, the S-03's were a special deal, one of our locals was selling them, had no need for them anymore. I got the 4 of them for less than the price of one brand new. I could not pass them up. And they are just a daily use tire, no track or anything on them. And rated at a longer treadwear than the stock Bridgestones, which seem to get between 18k-20k miles, I think I shoudl be good to go. So if I can get 16K-20K miles out of them, I will be happy.

And yeah, I go through tires, becuase until recently, I tracked my street tires, which makes them not last long. My stock Dunlops, lasted 22k miles. In the 29K miles since, I have killed 2 sets of street tires. I got 17K or so out of the KDW's, and the other 12K out of the Azenis. So being on my fourth set now, I hope I can set my own personal best on mileage. Right now, the car is not moving, so I am getting good time out of them right now. All in good fun.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

The Fuzions are on and what a difference. I've only driven from the tire shop back to work, so not really a full review, but they are much more responsive than the KDWs. The sidewall is definitely stiffer and closer to what I'm used to with the stock Dunlops. They were $150 cheaper also.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

I just autox'd a stock class RX-8 (Koni DA shocks, adj. front swaybar, JIC Ti exhaust, trick alignment, etc.) on full tread 245/40-18 KDW2s. IMO the people here who say the handling sucks are mistaken. I would put them within 1/2 sec of RT-615 Azenis on a 60 sec autox course, which is pretty dang decent for what they are. The sidewalls are very soft. For max dry performance the pressures must be jacked up, at least 45 - 47 psig in the front tires, maybe more with an OE alignment (low front camber). The soft sidewalls with regular pressures coupled with the tread design is why they kick major @ss in the wet. You don't want super-responsive in low traction conditions.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

Team, I know that you are one of the people on this forum that knows their sh*t when it comes to the track, but I gotta disagree here. I was able to put some miles on the KDWs over the weekend because the Fuzions were on order and the soft sidewall makes the twisties downright scary. They do have a lot of grip and on sweeping corners they were OK, but anything with a quick turn in and it felt like I was driving an SUV. You can feel the car jiggling back and forth like you have tires made out of Jello. I did increase the psi to 45 and no difference.

I know this sounds cheesey, but with the OEM Dunlops I felt like I was one with the car. I could feel the road, I knew exactly how the car was going to react to my steering inputs, and that inspired confidence. The KDWs muted that completely. I'm sure this has a lot to do with driving style and car setup (mine's pretty much stock at the moment), but with the Fuzions I feel confident like I did with the Dunlops.

I can see how the KDWs would be better in wet conditions, but I'm willing to drive more conservatively in the rain if I can have a nice responsive tire for the dry days.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

different tires require different pressures, if that's the case you obviously had your KDW2s set too low I raced hard on them, that's not what I experienced

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

Well, I actually took them up to 50psi for a while thinking that my gauge was off, but they still felt pretty much the same. The suspension probably has a lot to do with it. My soft stock suspension with tons of body roll probably exaggerates the sidewall flex. I don't know, I'm no race engineer.