mauroe

hi there guys...

just want to get any help/recommendation about how tires are the appropriate to get considering the price, comfort and quality... actually i got the GOODYEAR EAGLE GT 195/50/R15 (ITR OEM WHEELS), and they are pretty good, but i really want to try another ones, like FALKEN, TOYO, NITTO etc. im not looking for racing tire purposes, just sport/street or something like that.

Also i got on mind the Falken Ziex ZE512, but i read some bad reviews about that tire... lol xD

Just a n00b

So...what's the question?

sr-71

go with Direzza ZII either in 195-55 or 205-50 and you won't regret it.

fairly cheap especially if you consider the quality of the tire, amazing lateral grip, out of corners and under braking, great response, really predictable at the limit and consistent from somewhat cold to hot on track and still have grip when cold. Astounding rolling quality.

Treadwear 200, 8/32 deep when new BUT will last fairly long if you heat cycle them.
Will grease progressively at some point in your 1st 2-3 outings on track when hot(even if you heat cycle them prior to that), and they still remain safe even when greasing a bit but that will completely go away after a few sessions only.

Slightly more noisy than RE010 but still pretty quiet.

I got a set at the beginning of the summer and I wouldn't buy anything else!
went through something like 10 lapping sessions(250+ hard miles) and about 2500 road miles under normal conditions and haven't burned quite 1/32 yet on the fronts and rears are as new (less than 1/64 gone). They don't chunk and peeling is minimal, even less if you bring them up to temp progressively but you can still be like an animal off the bat and they will hold.

conclusion: great for the road, great for the tack.

SF_EF8

ive heard great things from dunlop zIIs.

silent112

I got those dunlop Direzza ZII tires on my JDM R and they handle really well with the stock suspension. We also get a lot of rain up here, and these tires are amazing. I also want to try the bridgestones badly too, I think I drove about 17,000KM so far on these tires, and I switch the fronts and rears once, I think the tread is still okay right now too.

mauroe

First of all, thank you very much for your help...

Dunlop ZII's sounds pretty good, i read some reviews about those tires too, and also got a very good one feedback... but sincerly im looking for some tire more 70% street 30% racing... i got on mind some NITTO NEO GEN, what did u think about?

Spunkster

Kumho Ecsta XS are really good tires and come in the right sizes.

sr-71

quite honestly the ZII are about as good as it gets IMO, they are still categorized as street tires but they're exceptionnaly competent on the track as well for a street type tire, plus if you've got an ITR why would you want to shy away from performance?

It is a wonderful match for the stock suspension and brakes.
Dito with Hawk HP+ upgrade and will still do the job on track with an N1 type suspension for most applications....so, very versatile in whatever conditions.

Honestly, they're so superior all around in every aspect to pretty much everything else I've tried so far that they could give a run for their money in almost every aspect to several tires from high performance summer tires to R-comps with about no tradeoffs, that's how good they are, at least on our caRs in my experience.

I tried a few Bridgestone models, Michelin's and Pirelli's and others over the years and while there are other good choices, they remain my tires of choice, handsdown, plus they're relatively cheap.

For instance, they're less noisy than Bridgestone RE750 and waaaaay less than Federal SS595 for example if you wanna talk about milder or lower end types performance tires, just goes to show how good the ZII are once again, because usually the type of tires that fall into that category or with similar tread pattern(as the ZII) tend to get more to pretty noisy.

What makes you want to go for lesser categories? is it because of price? treadwear?

If it's treadwear, I'm telling you, the way it goes right now, they will outlast the RE010 unless they start to wear in an unexpected way even at 8/32 new compared to 10/32 for the OEM RE010 and honestly I wouldn't settle for something that has less grip than the OEM tires with an ITR...

In a similar category to what you were initially asking, you got the RE040 in size 205 which is a pretty good tire but they will cost you almost double and I can bet they will last less longer just because it's older technology and compound as tires have come a very long way in the last few years.

Can't speak for Nitto's or others you asked as I have no 1st hand experience with them, sorry.

Personally I never liked the feeling of most asymetrical tires for some reason and especially when they start to wear out.

mauroe

woahhh i like very much how you explain everything, thank you again...

i think the most reason i dont want to spend to much money on the tires aside the price, its because actually Im daily driving my R, so i dont feel necessary on spend for those great tires just for drive to home-work-home, by the moment i think those tires zII are great, definitely is an option when i got new wheels for the R...

Just a n00b

If you are daily driving and don't have a spare set of wheels, don't get the ZII's--you'll just be wasting precious tread on shitty roads.

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

You mention racing, what type? It is important to consider the application when selecting tires. I don't like to compare tires from different tire categories, I prefer to compare apples to apples, not 120 treadwear to 400 treadwear options.

I also see price is a concern. What is your budget for this purchase? Are you okay with a tire only last ~10-20k (Extreme Summer Performance tire category), or are you looking for a tire that will last longer?

Keep in mind you can't have it all in a tire. Dry performance, rain performance, tread life, and some tires do not perform in the cold. Focusing on one area generally means losing out on others.

mauroe

Thanks for your help...

i got a $320 - $370 budget, and i'm good with this option (Extreme Summer Performance tire category)

Just a n00b

The only Extreme Summer in your price range is the ZII AFAIK (if they still kept it to like $99 per corner)... everything else is like $130 per.

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

In short, it sounds like you need to choose another tire category. As Just a Noob pointed out, you won't get any tires in that category for that price. If money is tight you probably don't want a set of tires that will only last 10-20k.

Check out this thread I made that compiles semi-recent pricing and more extensive info on the tires:
http://forums.itrexpo.com/zerothread?id=12053

mauroe

Thank you again buddy... btw nice thread on itrexpo!

maybe by the moment i will only replace the front tires with the same model i got goodyear eagle gt 195 55 r15... and save more money for a better tires

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

If you are just driving on the street then tires in the Extreme category will really just be wasted. Check out the Max Performance Summer and Ultra High Performance Summer categories:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/tiretype.jsp

10cjennings

iTrader: (1)

I have a set of 80% BFG Rivals fs in 225/45/15 if you are interested, only asking $300.

aw614

aren't those a bit overkill for a 15x6 oem wheel?

10cjennings

iTrader: (1)

yeah. you'd want a 7.5-9.

racebum

why? these cars are slow enough that a really good tire makes the car a ton o fun on the street. you can rip 1g corners and brake really quick

there are also no good choices for a performance street tire. conti dw? not available. michelin pss, not available. bridgestone s04, not available.

the extreme class doesn't usually have the cold grip but they can be good in the rain, the ad08 was a great rain tire, and, they hold up to hard driving really well. did i mention the fun factor?

you're giving up SO much grip using something like the yoke s drive over the yoke ad08 or even better this new gen like the z2, ad08r and re11a

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

Keep in mind that there are good tires in categories outside of Extreme Performance Summer. Good is a relative term anyway, as the context (application) is what matters. EPS category simply won't perform well in temps below 40 or any sort of inclement weather. They can be driven in snow, sleet, ice, etc. but they will perform very poorly. (I'v done it myself with new full tread, I did "okay" until the snow turned to slush and ice.)

Great again is a relative term. I have purchased and driven on 615/615k, XS, Star Spec ZI, AD08's, and RE-11's. I have tracked all but the Z1's in the rain. Simple put, these tires weren't designed to be top performers in the rain. They were designed for max dry traction. I'm not saying they can't handle rain, just pointed out that other tire categories will out perform them in the rain. (generally speaking)

'Lose so much grip?" For what? The stated application here is street driving only. The OP specifically states no track use. If you are attempting to pull 1g on turns on the streets simply put, that is not a wise move. There are no trophies awarded for parking lot shenanigans or dragon/canyon runs. There are plenty of good tires outside of the EPS category, I don't mind helping if you are looking for suggestions.

If you are wanting to progress your driving, go to an AutoX or even better an HPDE. Even there you want to start on an intermediate tire and work your way up in terms of grip. Otherwise you will mask car control errors.

ohsnapzafingcu

iTrader: (2)

i went through 2 sets of yokohoma s drives. a set of 195/55/15 and one 205/50/15 loved em!

racebum

plenty of tires outside of extreme'?

name one, just one. the only one i see that's even remotely half way decent is the s drive and it's no better in the wet than an ad08. the good street performance tires outside of extreme aren't made in this size. the michelin pss is downright excellent! i mean i really love these tires. i would beat off on these tires. i have a set on my z06 and you can pull Gs like an extreme tire and at the same time buzz through a downpour. the conti dw is another good one, also not available, nor is the s04 or even the hankook v12

ps. pulling 1g on the street is ******* fun. that's why people do it. if you want to put on your grandpa hat and shake your fist at anyone who doesn't drive 5 under the posted speed that's cool and all but it's not realistic

this whole anti street performance driving this is really going overboard on the net these days. ten years ago we had a kills section and street racing was a nightly pass time. as long as you're not sliding through intersections with people on the sidewalks what's the harm in jamming on an abandon backroad? if everyone drove like an elderly person what would be the point of enthusiast cars?

aw614

I was able to get bfg comp 2's in 195/55/15, and I've been pleased with them for street usage and some autox. They are really good in the rain, especially the heavy downours in Florida during the summer and decent for autox, could probably have a bit more grip, but better than my pirellis a/s on my gti.

But I've been wondering how the extreme tires would do during the summer downpours as I would like to get those as my next tire.

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

Let's focus on tires. You can voice your opinions about this board/others and the merits of street racing or the legalities of reckless driving in the OT section.

Half decent for what? We have to first identify the application(s) and desired size(s) before we start selecting tires. You can buy tires because the tread pattern looks cool or its hot on the internet, but without aligning your expectations for the tires purpose you are just following the internet wave. Summer-oriented tires are designed with dry grip in mind and the EPS tires are the top tier in dry performance. Items like wet performance, winter performance, and treadwear get sidelined for this goal.

You mention the S-Drives compared with the AD08’s. Right off the bat we are comparing tires from different categories which I’m not a fan of. Big picture? They are both summer oriented tires and the performance numbers indicate the same numbers on wet traction, lower hydroplane resistance on the AD08’s, better dry traction on AD08’s, better cornering on AD08’s, etc. The numbers seem to line up with the context that the AD08 is designed for max dry performance. That doesn’t mean the S-Drive is a bad tire, I think they have proven themselves as a leader in their class. Given these tires were never matched together for an official test due to the different tire categories I always question comparing numbers directly for this reason.

At the end of the day once you have the tire applications and size you pick the best tire for your budget and needs. That will remove the tires that won’t be available due to pricing or size, and you can make your selection from there.