What are most responsive tires in either the stock 225/45/18 size or (preferably) the 245/40/18 size? (going over the stock wheels)

I'm looking for the quickest possible response, maximum tightness--i.e. best "fun steering" feel (for the twisties). I don't care if it's not the best dry grip possible, not going to track/autox the car. A little more wet grip is better than a little more dry grip.

Getting Koni SAs and Tein S-Techs soon, and new tires a few months after.

Price should be less than $200...


Some thoughts I had:

I was all gung-ho about Falken RT615's in 245/40/18 (great dry grip, wider looks), but I've been reading about the soft sidewall from some members here (advertised as stiff sidewall online though??)

Then I read that going wider (245) on a stock rim is not better for responsiveness, so there go my hopes of having a nicer-looking wider tire. Does this effect hold equally for all the tires? Or are some maybe very similar in feel in 245/40/18 vs in 225/45/18?

I forget the exact reasoning that I read about, but current candidate is Toyo Proxes T1R... better in wet than RT615s and apparently more responsive.

Would love to hear more opinions though.

 

I just put 225-45-18 RE050A Pole Position tires on mine and they are awesome in terms of grip (wet and dry) and razor sharp response. They are reasonably quiet but do transmit road irregularities through the stiff sidewalls. Nothing unpleasant IMO
Paid under $700 for four at tirerack.com.

 

Well, if you want a little wider i'd suggest the 235/40-18 Azenis RT615s. I just ordered a set of 225/45-18 Advan Neova AD07s so I'll give my impressions after I get them mounted. However, they are a bit over your budget of $200 per tire.

 

I won't claim to be a know it all - I have 245/40/18 Toyo T1R's, just broken in,- and they grip like a *****. No issues in the wet. Ran them at 41 psi for an autox and they really showed up. I run them at normal psi for daily, and pump them up to 36 when I want to do a country run.
You'll get better advice from someone who has run different types, but I don't have a bad thing to say about Toyo.

 

I just bought the RE-01R in 245/40 - impressions to come after Saturdays installation. $217/tire though.

 

I have the toyo t1r in 225/45 and its a wonderful tire. Extremely responsive if that's what you're looking for. I got mine for $166/tire installed

 

Whatever tire you get, you're going to love the Koni's & S-Techs. I just got 'em and the handling is scary-good.

 

I have the T1R's also, in 245/40/18. They are a wicked step up from the stock RE050A's. They grip harder, less flex, silent when sliding. Good in the wet and even a dusting of snow.

 

i like kumhos and i believed they have saved my life

 

can I ask where you guys bought the toyo's from? also, if I got them in the stock size, anyone think there would be a large difference from the reviews you have made of them.

 

Reconsider the RT-615 ! I love mine and they have great dry performance and are ok in the wet as well. I just ran a track day in the rain with them and they worked great. To be honest I was surprised at how well they actually did.

 

stock are RE040's... I have RE050A's and they have all the reflexes of the 40's with improved grip and less noise

 

I have the RT-615 in 225/45-18 and have had 4 very fast laps on the Nurburgring (about 13 miles each lap) and they have held up fine for that and daily driving.

My previous Bridgestones had 8 laps of the Nurburgring and I was sliding around everywhere with those. The falkens seemed like they stuck to the track better.

 

Indeed seems that the RT-615s have awesome grip. I am looking for top responsiveness, rather than top grip, though.

 

running the 225/45/18 RT-615, there is nothing soft about the sidewall at all... its probably the stiffest sidewall compared to the toyo's or the Kumho's.. or the horrible KDW.. potenza has a decently stiff sidewall.

Ive had mine for a few months now, and im totally addicted to them. I track the car a few times a year, and i drive the Kanan/Mulholland lookout point drive every sunday.. most of the tuners that stop at lookout point are sporting rt-615 also, (my buddy with an Evo has em so wide one of his is like two of my tires..)

i was nervous about getting the rt-615 at first.. but im totally satisfied.
Quiet, smooth,awesome response, insane grip,great sidewall i can run a lower pressure than normal, wet aint so hot.. but its cali.

even sported em to mammoth!, and went on some backtrail hikes where the drive up was a horrible gravel/pebble road.. thought for sure i was gona pop one.
-and temps in the 20's

 

I just put on my 225/45-18 Advan Neova AD07s on 18x8 WedsSport TC005s last week. I'm still breaking them in, but will have a report once they're good to go and I've had a couple runs with them.

 

Some RT-615s sizes may not be but mine said..."reinforced" written on them and they certainly were stiff sidewalls even thou they were comfortable riding. They were 235/40/18 and fit fine on the stock wheels with excellent results, wet or dry on and off track. I liked them so much I got the 275/35/18 last year on 18x9.5 Enkeis.

The biggest difference was the added handling stability feeling the wider tires gave on track. Plus they look more awesome

 

i've been using Yokohama AD07 for years and they are even better than the RE-01Rs, even in wet conditions

 

can you be more specific? tirerack's test has them very closely matched. i autox'd on the ad07 last season (255/40-17) and this season (265/35-18).

 

the toyo t1r's I had on my car in 225/45 were great tires, excellent responsiveness and they were alot better than the re040's we had from the factory