Need to get some input please from people who have purchased their next set of tires. I`m about to throw my Bridgestones into the sub division dumpster in disgust (but thats another tale).

I`m looking for a tire that lasts perhaps 20K miles or more, runs smoothly and relatively quietly. Anything is better than the Jamican steel band that the Potenzas sound like.

Importantly, i`m seeking advice from people who have put perhaps 5K miles or more onto their new tires...so they have settled down, worn a bit and are really working..

Any thoughts?

Thanks - Tom

 

Toyo T1R: Cheap, smooth ride, poor to medium wear, no noise problems, feels a little 'soft' on dry roads, rules in the rain: best value, imho.

Conti SpoCo2: Pricy, Very good on dry roads, high wear, very quiet, wet-handling is good but they start hydroplaning early on (Same as Michelin). Road-feel could be better.

Bridgestone RE040 (Nissan): There's a highly modified version of the RE040 available made for the front wheels of the 'beloved' Z that should eliminate noise problems. Still a crappy tire, though.

Michelin PS2: (Only in 245/40R18 at the moment) Insanely expensive, simply the best on dry roads, quiet, very responsive, great performance but somewhat tricky on wet roads, starts hydroplaning at relatively low speeds, lasts long. **My choice**.

Pirelli PZero Rosso/Nero: Haven't tried them on my 8 but I didn't like them on my BMW (r.i.p.). Very poor feedback. High steering angles.

I have a second set of wheels with Toyos for long distance autobahn-trips in bad weather, though- Sometimes its an advantage to own a garage, I guess.

 

Do a search on Pirelli PZero Nero MS. It seems like many members speak highly of these tires. The tire size is also changed to 245/40/18.

 

yes, try the pirelli pzero nero m and s. thread, just got mine...much better than the oem tires. Quiet and no front end wandering like the original tires.

 

I would add the Falken Azenis ST115's to the list. They work like a charm. They're a fairly quiet tire (Previously had extremely noisy Dunlops) and have excellent dry weather grip. I havent driven on mine long enough to say how long they will last though. Wet weather traction is also respectable for the stickiness of this type of tire.

I've also heard good things about BF Goodrich G-force T/A KD's, but have yet to ride in them

 

Thanks everyone for responding - very much appreciated. I`ll take a good look at the tires you have all recommended and try to make some objective choice based on data...may come back to one or two of you soon to see how your choice is doing.

Incidentally, I checked all my lug nuts with a torque wrench when I got the car back from my Mazda dealer (after summer tire fitment) and was a bit horrified to find that the torques varied between 5 ft*lb (worst) to 80 Ft*lb (best). I carefully re-torqued all to 120 Ft*lb, tightening in a "star" pattern and it made a significant difference to the smoothness of the car and the noise coming from the rear tires. It also eliminated the rear brake vibration i`d been experiencing. I guess i wont take it for granted ever again that my Mazda dealer is neccessarily competant as one would expect.

Regards

Tom

 

ive got goodyear eagle f1 gsd3s on and im loving em and their treadwear rating is 280 not bad for a max performance summer tire.

 

I doubt you'll find a better tire than the S03. They last awhile...and perform VERY well. :D

 

With a regular rotation schedule I got 50K out of my S03's. I've got nothing bad to say about the Potenza. It served me well in my daily commute. I did notice some cupping on the inside fronts. May be the car has a little toe out in it. Now that my warranty has expired I'm going to begin investigating some performance mods for the car. With that in mind my replacement Falken ST-615's were delivered Friday and go on the car tomorrow. I'll get the alignment done with 0 toe all the way around.

 

Couple things. Toyo T1R's are not out in the US yet. Won't be until probably late 2nd Q/3Q of this year...at least. The current unit is the Toyo T1S. The Falken ST615 that HottRodder is putting on his car are the replacements for the Falken ST215's and by all accounts an outstanding tire. Other than that, for a nice summer tire you have the Bridgestone Pole Positions (S03's), Michelin Pilot Sports 2's, Goodyear Eagle GSD3's as the top of the heap (and most $$$). The Pirelli Nero is a good ultra high performance All Season tire, but for dry traction (single season summer tire) is not as good as the above tires.

 

Hottrodder makes a good point on the alignment. Always make sure the alignmet is spot on. If you have some bad toe settings your tires will wear down extremely quick.

 

Replaced the OEM RE040's with ADVAN Neova's, after 49k and a track day at the Buttonwillow MazFest '05. Would have brought the still groved (no tread, though) RE's back for use as drifting tires, but no room on the trip back. 2k+ on the Yokos and very pleased. Made sure to heat cycle the puppies properly on the 130mi trip back from BW. 1st hour 55mph max, 2nd 65, 3rd 75, and 1/2 hour+ cool down breaks with water hose downs, in between. Lets the rubber get a chance to harden and last much longer. May loose 10% in adhesion, but still get extended miles with the naturally great grip of these outstanding tires. No probs with noise or hunting. The AD07's are lighter and slightly larger in diameter than the OEM's, which can't hurt none. Treat your tires right and its easy to justify the premium price. Don't forget the 4 wheel alignment with new treads.

 

MPG > HP,

Looks like the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 has finally expending its size offerings beyond the original Lotus Elise one. While the tire is not legal for SCCA Street Touring for both lack of adequate size and April 30 deadline, it remains to be seen how competitive ADVAN is versus the rest of popular autocross street tires: Falken RT-615, Hankook RS2 Z212, and Kumho Ecsta MX.

On the issue of heat cycling for street tire, I am certain the extra care you took will surely help stabilizing the rubber molecules within the compound. The question is how much benefit gets translated into measurable real-world difference. According to this article, http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=62, the difference is .1-.2 sec in a 38-40 sec autocross environment. Bear in mind that regular street tire is designed to work across a wider range of temperature versus competition tire. Therefore, heat cycling on street tire that is not used in competitive setting can be seen as a "feel-good" measure most likely.

 

Continuation of heat cycling, both TireRack & Tire Discount Direct charge $15/each for their in-house services. The keys to a proper heat cycle are "vertical scrubbing" and "soft temperature curve", taken straight from Tire Discount Direct. It is very possible and do-able for DIY heat cycle on tires that will not be used for National-level competitions.

Follow the advice given by Luke@TireRack via http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=740063. You may also jack up the car to lift the tires off the ground instead of taking them off and putting them on their sidewalls.

 

This question all depends. First you have to decide what your price range is. If the sky is the limit I would go with the S-03s. They are simply the best tire out there. PM "Tigger" and ask how he likes them. Next you need to determine the weather conditions where you live. If it does not rain very often you can afford to go with a tire that doesn't get great wet traction. I live in New England so I have to sacrifice some dry traction to make sure my tires have good wet traction.

I have the Falken GR Beta FK-451 in 245/40/18. They are good on dry and excellent in the wet. They were $138 a tire at www.tires.com. If I had to do it again I would go 245/35/18 since I'm running them on an 18x8 rim (less sidewall). The P Zero Neros are all season tires I believe. People like them because they are light. Also consider the Kumho Ecsta MX, light tire and good dry traction.

 

i have the falkens too, with no problems, road noise is low and tires are good in wet weather. I probably recommend some yokohamas advans if you have the cash. I've been dying to change to those, but not time yet.

 

whoa... 120lb/ft is WAYYYYYY too tight! those wheels should be UNDER 100lb/ft of tq - between 85-95 is where they should be kept.

the reasons have to do with your brake rotors. wheels that are too tight will cause the rotor hat to flex between the wheel and the hub. this flexxing causes all kinds of stress and uneven wear problems with your brakes, especially when they get hot. 120lb/ft is a recipe for a pulsing brake pedal and decreased brake performance in the long-term.

Ray

 

That's not exactly true... according to this TSB, the lug nuts should be torqued to 108 lb/ft to get rid of a snapping noise. I suppose they wouldn't put that into a TSB if it should indeed be under 100 lb/ft.

 

I got Falkens and am very happy with them.