Need New tires what should I use

[xxshyster]

Okay my MSP needs new tires, what are the best out there, what is the differnence between the these speed ratings WR and ZR. I am debating over a few just want the boards input.

XXX(scratch)

[benimal]

Everything you ever wanted to know about tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/speed.htm

Ben

[MrRoseBlackMSP]

i went the sumitomo's

[Installshield 2]

I have replaced a lot of tire since I have owned cars...and can comment on which ones I liked best...

currently I am using 215/40 ZR 17" Yokohama Parada Spec-2's on my P5...I don't like them a whole lot...They have a tread wear rating of 300, which is good for Ultra-High performance tires...but always sucked in the wet, and drone so loud at 30mph it is ridiculous..

Before the Parada's I went with Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tires of the same size...They were absolutely incredible in every situation...I had exceeded speeds of 100mph in the rain with no problems (I do not recommend that, I was late for class)...no hydroplaning of any kind and no noticable loss of traction whatsover...although once you do notice "a loss of traction" in the rain it is usually too late...so don't do it...They were the best tires I have ever used in my life...I haven't used any R compound tires for racing or anything, but for daily driven street applications they are my favorite so far...but they have a tread wear rating of 180...I only got about 20,000 miles out of them...and they are about $155 each...

I have used a number of other Bridgestone tires on my older cars, notibly the 7300's...They were great too, much harder and higher tread wear (320 I think)...but still pretty good for grip...not as crisp response as the S-03's but they are a lot cheaper...

Next I am going with Pirelli PZero Nero's I think...They are in the Maximum performance category, and beat the S-03's in dry grip according to Tire Rack...The S-03's are still the best in the rain, but are not quite the best in dry conditions...and they are more around $125 each...

I used Dunlop Sp Sport 9000's a while ago...very good, but wore extremely quickly (probably do to alignment issues)...when I bought them they were newer and much more expensive than they are now...(I paid $150 each I think)...they seemed to be great in all conditions as well...

I used a set of Falken Azeni's that a kid "swapped" me at school for a day (he wanted to try the Parada's on his MP3, so I took his stock wheels and Azenis for the day)...They were much better than the Parada's from what I could tell, and both of our tires were pretty much brand new...It was dry that day, and they were quieter, and cornered more crisply with better response...But still not the S-03's...

FWIW I tried the Azenis in a stock MP3's 205/45 width (I think that is stock for MP3's, that is what he had anyway) and my Parada's are a little wider, which may have been why his felt much more responsive...but despite being narrower they seemed to offer better grip anyway...

[vodapas77]

Well,

The difference between ZR and WR is all about speed. The R portion just means Radial tire. As for the W and the Z, they are the speed rating portion. A W tire is designed to be structurally safe up to 168 MPH. A Z tire is the big daddy. Z's are rated safe at 149+ MPH. In other words they really don't have a set limit, so they are over engineered. Thus the reason guys who work at tire shops speak about Z rated like a religion. Ok, slight exageration there. Anyhow, there are other speed ratings, they are V - 149 and Y - 186 MPH respectively. There are also lower speed ratings, P-H, but they are not recomended for passenger cars unless they are snow tires or if you drive say a Yugo.

Now, in my opionion the real difference is between W and Z is price. Let's face it from W rated on up the tires are structurally engineered to withstand hi-po driving. So, what you really want to look at is how you drive and where you drive. If you live in an area where the weather can chage rapidly, you might want to look at an all-season tire. Or if you like to drive like a bat out of hell, you should probably only be looking at high to max. perf. tires.

I just recently swapped out the wheels and tires on my Speed. I ended up going with the Yoko Parada Spec 2's that Installshield 2 mentioned. But, the point of that is that I have been doing a lot of tire shopping lately. I went to tire rack and did a search for you on the performance related summer and all season tires they have for the stock wheels on your car. Let me list a few of the ones that popped up that I would recomend either from personal experience or that of friends. These are good:

Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position
Kumho Ecsta MX
Pirelli PZero Nero
Michelin Pilot Sport

But, this would be my personal recomendation. The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2s. They are the most amazing tires I have ever owned. Great dry traction, outstanding wet traction. Comfy ride and good road feel. On top of that they look awesome. I would have to say they are the best looking tires on the road today. The only negative I experienced was they are a little noisy when you first get them. But, that could be because I got the widest possible on the rims I had.

You might also want to check out what Toyo, Sumitomo, and Nitto have to offer. I haven't had any personal experience with them so I won't try to speak as if I know.

Anyhow, hope I was able to help out a little.

[Newf]

I hate bridgestones. Always did. I had so many bad experiences with bridgestone tires over the years they are usually last on my list to purchase. I avoided them for years.

That being said, i do like the ones on the speed, but i can tell they are going to have wear issues as well. The other speed in town barely has 15,000 KMS on them, and their all fucked up. I got 5000 on mine so I can't say anything for sure yet. they are quieter then my dunlops were, and they do stick well. i love the extra lip on them and I don't know how I lived without it. My mp3 rims would be flawless if I had these tires all along. They perform well, but I'm not sure their all much better then Dunlops SP9000's ever did. And they don't look impressive at all.

Bridgestone seems to have gotten better, but their still way to soft, and way to $$$, so you'll be replacing them often.

When these go on mine, I won't be buying them again. what will I get? not sure yet.

[goldstar]

I recommend Yokohama AVS ES 100 tires. Excellent performance in both dry and wet and a quiet runner.

[yashooa]

I have 21,000 miles on my Stock Bridgestones and they are still in good shape. I usally drive a 100+ highway miles a day so I'm sure that is why they are doing so well.

[DiscreetSpeed]

so what do you all think is a great traction tire. i hate that the traction on these stocks ones suck....for those heavy footed days..lol

[Tommy1005]

S-03's will give about the best traction money can buy. If they can make a 300hp M3 stick, I'm sure that our car will be able to get traction with them. That being said, the only tires better than the S-03's are the Michelin Pilot Sports, but for my own tastes, I will be getting the Nitto 505's in 225/40-17. The information on the S-03's and Pilot Sports are from fellow autoxers and personal experience. I just can't afford them, thus the Nitto's for me.

[ping]

Call TIreRack and ask. They have some strong recommendation on the bew Goodyear F1 tire, but I haven't tried them.

Ditto the above on S-03 - AWESOME tire, but wears fast. Some other B-stones look good also.

[ARunto]

Yokohama AVS ES100

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

advan r compounds

[servoeyes]

I'll be looking at these three in the coming months for my next autoX season:

1) Goodyear Eagle F1 (GS-D3)
2) Yokohama AVS ES100
3) Falken GR Beta
4) Kunho Ecsta MX

Apparently all of these are pretty decent...the falken and Yoko are the cheapest at just under 100$

[DiscreetSpeed]

so many options.....descisions descisions.....

[rjspeed]

I had sp9000 and t1-s on my gts celica and like the T1-S better that the 9000's. For the most grip you wont beat the Falken Azenis but they suck in the rain. Just go to any local auto X and you will see a lot of people running the falken azenis. I have those falkens for my GTS on some 13 lb Kosei racing wheels and the grip is tremendous. Better than and non race tire ive ever driven. But for me I have a 65 mile commute each way so I drive with the t1-s on the stock 16's. The speed is my wifes car anyways but we swith cars now and then. If it was me s03's for everyday driving and azenis for racing. If you dont mind a noisy tire that isnt great in the rain go with the azenis and you wont be sorry.
Ryan

[twiztedjeckel]

i'll end up replacing the RE 040's by spring probably with some Pole Positions or Ecsta MX's. not sure which. there's about a $40 difference so we'll see how my wallets feelin

[scott42]

I just put on Falken Azenis ST115...they have very deep rain grooves, different from the Azenis' that apparently suck in the rain...they are very good in rain, better than my Dunlop SP9000's...they are smoother and WAY WAY more quiet (they are developed to be quieter than other high perf tires with some crazy sound absorbing rubber... that is my favorite part about them, they are quiet. Very good price, $99 w/ free shipping from Discounttire.com, and a great 360 treadwear rating...
good luck

[scapamouche]

Until about 1/2 life, the Azenis I had on my Celica were great in the rain, but then they got scary bad, quick... I have never run a tire (short of r-compounds) with better stick in the dry than those Azenis. Unfortunately, they don't come in a size for the MSP. I know, I used up a set of the 225/45-17s earlier this year. Great traction, but they were too big: rubbing issues at all 4 corners...

If I race my car in a street tire class next year, I am planning to go with the Kumho MXs.... Great reviews and less heat sensitive than the Falkens...

I had a set of the S-03s on my Celica as well: GREAT GREAT GREAT rain tire, but not as good as the Falkens in the dry...

I would steer clear of tires like the Parada: they are ALL show...

The Pilots don't seem worth the price to me: they are very close to the S-03s in performance, but the 205/50-16s for my Celica were $70 each more for the Pilots... Save your money and get the S-03s or MXs... (relatively speaking ;) )

[rjspeed]

Originally posted by scapamouche
Until about 1/2 life, the Azenis I had on my Celica were great in the rain, but then they got scary bad, quick... I have never run a tire (short of r-compounds) with better stick in the dry than those Azenis. Unfortunately, they don't come in a size for the MSP. I know, I used up a set of the 225/45-17s earlier this year. Great traction, but they were too big: rubbing issues at all 4 corners...

If I race my car in a street tire class next year, I am planning to go with the Kumho MXs.... Great reviews and less heat sensitive than the Falkens...

I had a set of the S-03s on my Celica as well: GREAT GREAT GREAT rain tire, but not as good as the Falkens in the dry...

I would steer clear of tires like the Parada: they are ALL show...

The Pilots don't seem worth the price to me: they are very close to the S-03s in performance, but the 205/50-16s for my Celica were $70 each more for the Pilots... Save your money and get the S-03s or MXs... (relatively speaking ;) )

I remember you from back in the day on newcelica.org I thought the name looked familar. You got rid of the celica. I dont think ill ever gid rid of mine 120K and running strong. Did put a tranny with 26k in it when I replaced the clutch though. My buddy totaled his car so we switched trannies.

I really like the MSP but it doesnt pull like the celi from 6000-8300 rpms. It will though after the MBC and other mods. Also I get a lot more looks in the celica which surprises me. Believe me its great to have both cars though. Ill drive whatever I am in the mood for boost or na up to 8300 rpms. Good luck with the Mazda.
Peace
Ryan

[Geo212]

If you want the ultimate in dry traction go for the BF-Goodrich T/A dry traction tires. They still perform in the wet just not as good as others. The performance is fenominal, some European magazine pulled 1.01g's of grip on a 1996 BMW M3! They also make all season and wet tires if ultimated traction is not your goal but the T/A 's cannot be beat.

[EVILSRT]

Nitto Neogens own me:)

[BlkZoomZoom]

Get a set of bfgoodrich g-force kdw's (the drag radials) then tell me how they stick........ you wont get anything better.....just dont try to drive in rain or snow

[allspooledup]

i just put new ones on today....I was leaning toward the azenas but saw the tread-wear was like 180...same as the potenzas..GAY!! so i went with the Toyo Proxis...They are 225/45/zr17...Man do they grip....i can barly chirp second...the treadwear on them is like 280 or 300 the traction is AA and tempature is A...what more could u ask for in a tire to go with a racing beat suspension???

[Installshield 2]

Originally posted by Geo212
If you want the ultimate in dry traction go for the BF-Goodrich T/A dry traction tires. They still perform in the wet just not as good as others. The performance is fenominal, some European magazine pulled 1.01g's of grip on a 1996 BMW M3! They also make all season and wet tires if ultimated traction is not your goal but the T/A 's cannot be beat.

That was a marketing gimmick though...That M3 had major suspension adjustments made (such as Koni Shocks, Dinan swaybars, stronger LSD, and Dinan Strut tower bars)...The E-36 M3 already pulled mid .9 g's with the stock suspension and stock Michelin tires....They should have just tested the car with the stock suspension and compared it to the stock tires numbers...But my guess is that it didn't do a whole lot better from a marketing stand point...SCC was gaining .05g's on a skidpad or more simply by switching stock MP3 tires with Azenis'....in which case it was pulling almost 1g...

Don't get me wrong the tires are probably great for dry grip...But when a tire company posts numbers (they use that magazine article in their ad campaigns)...chances are there is more to the story than they lead you to believe...