Best tire out there?

[mspdfreak]

If money were no objct, what would be the highest performing tire out there? I'm not interested in ride comfort, just grip...escpecially in the rain. Thanks in advance!

[Lil Freek]

toyo proxes t1-r, IMO :)

[yanyan]

Yokohama Parada Spec 2's are great =)

So are BF goodridge drag radial TA's or however you spell them.

[Style "N" Speed]

BF Goodrich G-Force KDW-2

[arlsmazdaspeed]

Goodyear, Eagle F-1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (headbang)

[mspdfreak]

Yeah, I've heard really good things about the F-1's. VERY high ratings on www.tirerack.com (http://www.tirerack.com/)

[BradC]

Goodyear F1's
Bridgestone SO-3
Toyo T1-S
Falken Azenis Sports
BF gForce KDW
Yokohoma is bringing Advan's over here...they should be hot
Not sure how the R-compound tires are in rain, but some goodies are:
Toyo RA-1
Hoosiers

[FlyinMSP]

According to tests made by a German magazine (Auto Motor und Sport), these tires came out on top:

1 - Pirelli P Zero Nero (not M+S), 194 pts (99 pts on wet, 95 pts on dry)
2 - Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, 191 pts (95 - 96)
3 - Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, 187 pts (91 - 96)
4 - Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, 180 pts (89 - 91)
5 - Uniroyal Rain Sport 1, 179 pts (95 - 84) Note: not sold in NA
6 - Falken FK 451, 176 pts (83 - 93) Note: it got 10/10 pts in both Straight and Curved aquaplaning

All tires were 225/47/17 (of course!). These tests include wet and dry, braking, handling, roll resistance, noise, hydroplaning and so on. They are very, very professional tests (tons of sensors, many sets of tires)

In another test (Another German magazine) the Flaken 451 came 2nd, but the other tires tested were older models (not the ones here) but it did beat Toyo T1-S and the old Pilot Sport. The winner on that test was the Dunlop SP Sport 9000.

Personally, I'd love to try that new Sport Maxx (it's the offical tire of the German DTM series). But in the category "best bang for the buck", the Falken 451 is also very interesting...

[MSPRO]

I have Falken 451's in 225/45/17 on my stock wheels and I have never had a problem with them. They have pretty good traction, are great in the rain and seem to wear well. I haven't had them on in a while b.c of rockin the snow tires but I am looking forward to putting them back on when it gets warm enough. I was also told that once then are down to a certain wear point they have the same base compound as Azenis and actually grip better than them b.c of the way the tread pattern is... I cant say this for fact but I have been told this by a couple of avid autox'ers

[FBI14]

I heard a lot of mixed reviews about the Goodyear F-1's. A lot of people said they get really bad once they start to wear, a lot of people said they were getting dangerous to drive on after they started to wear.

[Tommy1005]

michelin pilot sports are without a doubt the best street tires on the market if you talk to autocrossers, but they are extremely expensive. The Dunlops are good, but have a very soft sidewall, thus require alot of air all the time to be decent. Pirelli makes a good tire, but I haven't looked at them all that much for the car, I did have the Scorpion Zeros on my truck when I had it, and had no complaints.

[peepsalot]

How do our stock tires compare to any of these? I was under the impression they were pretty decent. Also, how long will these extra sticky tires last? I'll be needing to replace my tires kinda soon, will any of these last longer than stock? Apparently I go through tires kinda quick.

[JohnnyB]

michelin pilot sports are without a doubt the best street tires on the market if you talk to autocrossers, but they are extremely expensive..

Well about 75% of the Autocrossers I see are rocking Falken Azenis Sports.
And the new model of them is coming out very soon. (even better than the current ones)

[blynzoo]

None of these will last as long as stockers.

[mspdfreak]

None of these will last as long as stockers.Are you serious? I've got 19,943 miles on the car and my stockers are about 75% shot. I don't race, and rotate the tires regularly. The road noise is getting outrageous.

[FBI14]

Are you serious? I've got 19,943 miles on the car and my stockers are about 75% shot. I don't race, and rotate the tires regularly. The road noise is getting outrageous.

Yeah no kidding, our stock tires have the worst treadwear rating ever ( just about)
Heres the treadwear rating of some of the tires mentioned
BF Goodrich g-force sport (340)
G-force T/A KDW (300)
G-force / KDW2 (300)
Goodyear F1 (280)
Toyo proxes (280)
Bridgestone S0-3 (220)
Michelin Piolt Sport (220)
Yoko AVS Sport (180)
and our Stock Tires RE040 (140)

[peepsalot]

None of these will last as long as stockers.

I meant stock MSP of course... ;)

[BOOSTR]

I got 38,115 miles on my stockers. I almost got killed driving on the interstate during a severe downpour. I replaced them with the Goodyear F1's and got a $75 rebate. The original tires were just to noisy for my taste, but had outstanding grip.

So far, I have no complaints about the Goodyear F1's. I would buy another set. Excellent grip overall in both the rain and on dry surfaces. I drive primarily on the interstate, which is why I was able to get so many miles.

[peepsalot]

tell me more of this rebate...

[BOOSTR]

I bought the tires from the tire rack over a year ago, because of the rebate. It was a deal from Goodyear. It took a while to get the $75 check. Check www.tirerack.com (http://www.tirerack.com) or www.tires.com (http://www.tires.com) for current deals.

[Damaga]

you guys might want to check these out!

http://www.dunloptire.com/catalog/direzzaZ101.html

[Damaga]

although I don't think they have our size :(

[Natey]

I have KDWs on my P5 and the difference between them and Parada SpecIIs is noticable. The BFGs are much more grippy in the rain, and on dry pavement, they're thisclose to the Yokos.

Roid noise is a little more intruding than with the SpecIIs, though.

[FlyinMSP]

although I don't think they have our size :(

The 205/45WR17 is pretty close (just -1.43%)...

[Tommy1005]

anybody notice the Dunlop drag radials? I wonder if they're any good.

[ping]

Not in rain...

Remember treadwear ratings very by manufacturer (fairly good between tires of the same make, not as comparable between different makes).

[Sushi-Monster]

Not in rain...

Remember treadwear ratings very by manufacturer (fairly good between tires of the same make, not as comparable between different makes).

Indeed... When the BridgeStone S-03's say 280... its more like 200 to a Michilan Pilot Sport....


Still personally I would stick to the S-03's... impressive grip in the rain is what I need in Vancouver... just rains too much here... And as true as they say, the stock Bridgestone RE40's just don't last too long... especially if you race them hard once in a while...

[mazdaowner123]

Well, best street tires for dry grip in turns: Falken Azenis Sports (or the new azenis)

If you're looking for something more practical, I'd say S-03s or PS2s. I have S-03's and they're awesome.

~brian

[Tommy1005]

but S-03's chunk like a mo-fo on the autox course.......I'll have to find some pics of a friends S-03's on his M3 after one of our events, granted that was after about 15 runs

[mazdaowner123]

Yeah I don't autox on the s-03's. I use the azenis for that. I haven't heard of the s-03's chunking at autox though.

~brian

[Tommy1005]

they were bad.......almost as bad as the stock bridgestones from our cars

[mazdaowner123]

I autox'd on the stock bridgestones and they didn't chunk... I'm willing to bet he was running them at too low pressures. What pressures was he running?

~brian

[Tommy1005]

40 something front and rear.......part of it could be the surface where we race, but it did it on the infield at Texas Motor Speedway as well......My stock tires chunked with 42 in the front and 40 in the back

[Sushi-Monster]

Yeah I don't autox on the s-03's. I use the azenis for that. I haven't heard of the s-03's chunking at autox though.

~brian

Indeed... if people can afford it, get like r compounds for auto-x... though it'll cover up alot of your mistakes... otherwise, keep street tires off auto-x grounds, unless they're paved with nice ashfault!