Michelin Pilot Super Sport and others
 

I recently posted a thread about my anticipation for the Dunlop ZII's that are going to be released in Feb, though i hit a pothole yesterday and need to order new tires now.

Ive been looking at quite a few tires out there and the top list that appeals to me follows:

Bridgestone RE-11-$976-
Advan AD08-$940-Lasts for around 20k miles
Michelin PSS-$872-Lasts for around 30k
BFG KDW2-$656-Lasts for around 30k
Khumo Ecsta XS-$644-
Direzza Z1- tirerack has fewer than 3 available in the size i need
Continental DW-$668
Nitto NT05


Ive read around to get some baselines for how long these tires last, within the past year ive brought my car to do some mountain runs about 10 times. This is something that is important to me. I have all seasons with a 400 treadwear and i hate them so much.

Car is my daily driver with approx 8-10k miles per year.

I have not gotten an alignment yet, but i am shooting for something around this:

Front:
Camber: (-2) - (-2.3)
Caster: (+5.5) - (+5.75) caster as much as possible without losing camber
Toe: 0.0

Rear:
Camber: same as front (-2) - (-2.3)
Toe: (+.17) - (+.20)


What im concerned about, is the fact that the PSS is asymmetrical, and my increased camber will wear it out, id rather spend the few extra dollars for the AD08's. Also Ive heard all over the place including on here, that the PSS barely make any noise when breaking traction. I NEED SOMETHING AUDIBLE, it makes me know the limits of my tire.

The AD08's have a questionable lifespan, i did find a few people who had gotten around 18-25k miles out of them which is nice. They seem to do fine in the wet which is nice, but no big deal to me. Since i can swap them left to right, i might be able to get additional milage out of them compared to the PSS.

The BFG's have a soft sidewall which i dont like the idea of.. My brother has these on his Mini, im not a fan of the tread pattern either.

Im not enthused about the Khumo's being asymmetrical, same with the RE-11.. I might be able to get a set of RE-11s for around 750-800 through a local tire shop promotion though. if im getting a tire with a treadwear that low, i would want it to be able to go from left to right to get some additional miles out of them.

Continentals i heard have a soft sidewall.

Nitto's i heard they are terrible in the wet, and really shouldnt be a tire driven on the street.


SORRY FOR THE NOVEL OF TEXT! Tell me what you guys think of my observations / If you think there is a better tire out there for my situation.

I have been through 3 sets of PSS on about the same set up as you propose and I am getting about 35k miles :) I agree on the audible feedback but you get use to it....the tire is a beast in both the wet and dry!

I have a set of used 245/40-17 DZ1s ($300+ship), a scrubbed-only set of 245/45-17 PSSs ($600+ship), and some used 245/35-17 R1Rs for sale (best offer)


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i dont have 17s:/ But thanks for the offer team

It's probably too late but I would go PSS for a DD, or DW if you want to pay a bit less and have almost the same performance... Either of those will be a massive improvement from the all seasons. You can now order ZII but I expect they will be more of a compromise for daily driving.

i figured since i needed to drive in the snow on some days when i was caught out and it started to snow that i would pick up some all seasons..

then when the summer comes by i will be picking up the ZII, tirerack recently released their test video comparing the z1 with z2 and i got a woodie :D:

I like the Khumo...

Voted the Michelin PSS. Ive had them for almost a year. Got caught in a snow storm and they havent broken taction. They grip beastly and even after "fun nights" in parking lots they still have tons of tread life left.

What about the Federal 595 RS-R? They're less than 125 apiece on onlinetires, and look like a good competitor to the AD08. Not sure about treadlife or strength of the sidewalls.

Another one would be the Cooper Zeon RS3-S. Currently less than $130 each when factoring in the $50 rebate on treaddepot. I hardly ever see this tire mentioned and am curious about it since I saw an article when they debuted basically touting them as a less expensive Pilot Sport II competitor, meaning a great all-around summer tire with not quite the all-out grip of the AD08s.

I have put on quite a few Mich PSS on customers' cars. They have been very happy with them. Those would be at the top of the list for me. Next would be the Conti DW if you don't want to spend the high price for the Mich. The Bridgestone and Yoko are way too over priced.

There are better performing tires for less that aren't even on the list

I suppose that raises the question on what your criteria is since there is a wide range of categories where the tires listed are either strong or weak


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ive looked into the RS-R's before, they grip really well before they get hot, and then they get greasy.. not absolutely a concern for me since i dont think i would ever get them to that on the street. Yes they are cheap which is nice, but id rather pay $300 more for double the milage out of a direzza for example. The RS-R's treadwear blows.

I agree, i just threw the RE11s and AD08s in there as a possible solution to be able to move them left and right.

im open to any and all suggestions, what did i leave out?