Ok, got it down to the following after hours of research and reading:

Fuzion ZRi- $460 Installed w/ Road Hazard
Hankook R-S2- ~$530 Installed w/ Road Hazard
Bridgestone Potenza RE750- ~$660 Installed w/ Road Hazard


What is every1's oppions of these tires? How long do they last? Would the R-S2's or the Potenzas be worth the extra $70 or $200?

I have an 01 S2000 for those wondering

 

Those are three very different tires. And I wouldn't choose any of them. Not that they're bad tires; they're good. But I just think you can get other tires that are even better, for the same money or less.

The Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 (that's the full name) is a sticky tire, designed for very good dry traction. It's okay in the wet, but not as good as the other two, and it won't last all that long (maybe 15K miles or so).

The Fuzion ZRi and Bridgestone Potenza RE750 are both designed as "budget performance tires", to give decent performance at a decent price. They are better in the wet than the Z212 and last longer, but the Z212 is better on dry pavement. Both the ZRi and RE750 last longer than the Z212 and typically last 25-35K miles.

So it depends on whether you want better dry performance (and are willing to accept worse wet performance and short treadlife), or if you're willing to give up a bit of dry performance for better wet performance and longer treadlife.

However, I think there are much better choices than the ones you mentioned.

If you're looking for better dry performance, then I would get the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. It gives better dry performance than the Hankook, MUCH better wet performance than the Hankook, and lasts a lot longer (25-35K miles). Right now the Tire Rack has your rear size (225/50-16) on sale, and Goodyear has a $40 cash card offer, so a set of four tires will run $448. Add in road hazard warranty, shipping, and installation, and you're looking at around $600 out the door, not much more money than the Hankook for a tire that is significantly better in every way. You can see a side-by-side comparison test of the Goodyear against the Hankook (and nine other top-of-the-line tires) here.

If you're looking for a combination of performance and value, the Kumho Ecsta SPT is a better choice than either the ZRi or the RE750, IMHO. Its performance is much better than the ZRi at a lower price. (I can't imagine why you would want to consider a tire that performs worse AND costs more money!) The SPT is also similar in performance to the RE750 at a much better price.

Here are prices from the Tire Rack for four of these tires in your stock sizes of 205/55-16 and 225/50-16:

<u>Tires only</u>:
Kumho Ecsta SPT $212 after rebate
Fuzion ZRi $288
Bridgestone RE750 $468

These prices do not include road hazard warranty (around $50), shipping (around $50), or mounting/balancing (around $60). But even after adding those items, the SPT is still a better deal.

<u>After adding $160 for road hazard, shipping, and installation</u>:
Kumho Ecsta SPT $372 after rebate
Fuzion ZRi $448
Bridgestone RE750 $628

 

The reason i listed those tires is that the 01 s2k rear tire replacement proper size is 245/45r16 witch is only manufatured by basicly those manufaturers, i didnt see a khumo or the eagle in them. personally i wanted the goodyear eagle F1 but they dont have that size

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sounguy787 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The reason i listed those tires is that the 01 s2k rear tire replacement proper size is 245/45r16</TD></TR></TABLE>

According to both the Tire Rack and Discount Tire, the stock rear size for a 2001 S2000 is 225/50-16, not 245/45-16. (245/45-16 has a similar outer diameter, but it's not the stock size.)

The prices I listed above are for tires in your stock sizes of 205/55-16 and 225/50-16.

 

Yes, but according to S2ki, and if you do the comparison, the contact patch on most 245s is = to the stock 225

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sounguy787 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes, but according to S2ki, and if you do the comparison, the contact patch on most 245s is = to the stock 225</TD></TR></TABLE>

The size of the contact patch has nothing to do with the treadwidth. It only depends on the weight of the car and the inflation in the tires. (Reference).

I posted some excellent suggestions, for tires whose performance is much better than the ones you mentioned. But if you want to get oversized tires for which the best tires on the market aren't available, be my guest. (Remember, if you are looking for the best performance, concentrate on getting better tires, not wider tires.)