ok, the tire rack is running a really good deal on bridgestone potenza S-03's for $76 each in size 195-50-15. for all four tires shipped to my door it would be $343.56 which is an awesome deal. the only problem is that im really short on money right now becuase i have other things to buy so my other option is the yokohama AVS ES100's in the same size for $268.62 shipped. i know that the S-03's are a better tire but is it worth saving the money and buying the es100's or spending the money and getting the S-03's? by the way, they are going on a crx with 15x6.5" wheels and the car will be street driven and also on the track during weekends.

 

Azenis

 

well i was really close to buying a set of azenis's but they don't come in 195's only 205's and they will rub like a ***** cuz im slammed. otherwise...i would.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Azenis</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman »
Azenis</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by japrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but they don't come in 195's only 205's and they will rub like a ***** cuz im slammed. otherwise...i would.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Dont "slam" your *****?

Probably handles worse that way.

 

Don't waste your money on nice tires if your car is "slammed." Its gonna handle like **** anyway. Raise it up so you have more suspension travel and at the same time increase your ability to accomodate 205's. The best of both worlds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by japrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well i was really close to buying a set of azenis's but they don't come in 195's only 205's and they will rub like a ***** cuz im slammed. otherwise...i would.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Depending on how stiff your springs are, if you have any gap between your fenders and tires you probably won't rub w/ 205s. I run 205/55/14 Toyo RA-1s on my HC4 prepped CRX. It's low (fender sits about .5 in above the tire) and doesn't rub (handles like a monster too). I had run 225's, but that did rub in the rear and didn't really give me any traction advantage that I could tell. I'd say it's worth going w/ the 205 azenis if you can.

I had S03's on my 350Z. They were awesome on the track, but I'm not sure they're worth the money. I had 245/35/19's in the front and 285/30/20's in the rear. Both of the 19's were defective and had tread separation issues at &lt; 15k miles. I had to replace both of the 20's because the sidewalls were so stiff that I drove each of them for miles (once at &gt; 100mph) w/ zero air pressure after picking up bolts in them. So I had to replace all 4 tires w/i a year at a cost of almost $1300. The tires were impressive, but that bill kinda left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

wow, sounds like a pretty bad experience with the S03's. well now you're really making me think about picking up a set of them. i mean my car is not "slammed" but it's very low and it actually handles very well right now. with the ride height and dampening how it is right now it handles well. i might try the azenis.

 

Unfourtunately they do make 195 width Azenis we just don't get them here yet.

Check around locally and see if anyone has a fender roller. You can do it your self but if you never had you should take it to a shop instead.

I would recommend the azenis but then after rolling the fenders

get an alignment

Big O does laser alignments for really low cars.

 

yeah i heard about that. when are the new azenis supposed to come to america?

 

hehe ... fender roller = baseball bat

 

How many track days do you plan on doing per year?

I have the S-03s in 195/50-15 and it's the best 195/50-15 tire I've ever driven on. One major thing to consider is tread life. After almost a year (two track days, and a bit over 12,000 miles) I figure I have another 3-5 months left of useable tread.

Tell us what you plan on doing with your car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by japrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i mean my car is not "slammed" but it's very low and it actually handles very well right now. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Doesnt hurt to raise it - are you running out of shock travel?

 

well for one, the car is not a daily driver and it only comes out on the weekend. i would say i will be going to the track just for open track days around 15 weekends of the year. other than that it's street driving. well that's good to hear about the s03's in 195 size. everybody is telling me not to go with 195's but i really don't think it will make a huge difference.

and no it doesn't hurt to raise it a bit but i like the stance right now and how it hanldes. im not running out of shock travel. im running the tein SS dampners for now and i have them pretty stiff.

 

What offset wheels are you using? If you're rubbing a 205 azenis, you're probably way too low

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by japrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> im not running out of shock travel</TD></TR></TABLE>

Put a zip tie around your shock shaft... see where it ends up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Put a zip tie around your shock shaft... see where it ends up.</TD></TR></TABLE>
probably buried in the bumpstop

Christian, who's car isn't even close to being slizzamed...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by japrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i will be going to the track just for open track days around 15 weekends of the year</TD></TR></TABLE>

Whoa! If you're doing better than 1 weekend per month, money can't be THAT tight.

If you're going that often, spend the cash and get some good track tires and an extra set of rims.

 

well my wheel is a 40mm offset but a 205 azenis tire is actually a 219mm wide tire becuase of the square sidewalls. thats where the rubbing problems come in. and no, it's not about rubbing on them all the time because the car is just too damn low...it's about rubbing and taking chunks out of the tire when you hit a nice bump in the road.

that may seem like a lot of track time but im talking about for now. yes, i would like to buy a set of track tires and wheels later on but for now i need a set of tires for both street/track because of funds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by japrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it's about rubbing and taking chunks out of the tire when you hit a nice bump in the road. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Then you're probably too low for your spring rates. There's two ways to fix that.

 

you're probably right.

 

FWIW, my fenders are not rolled, and I have no problems with rubbing: 15x6.5 38mm offset 205-50-15 azenis CRX.

 

it seems like it's half and half. half the people tell me they rub and half tell me they don't. very confusing. i know it all depends on the spring rate, ride height, and all that jazz but i really don't want to have problems. i think im just going to choose something and go with it.