well its finally time to put my summer wheels and tires back on, but my Hankook Ventus II H405...they got worn out due to camber issues and now i need new tires...so i was debating between a couple of tires and need some opinions from tire gurus so that i can make a wise choice...


1) BF Goodrich KDW2
2) Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
3) Yokohama Parada Spec 2
4) Yokohama AVS ES100
5) Falken Azenis RT615
6) Nitto NT 555
7) Toyo T1R

i have a set of gsr swirlies with Michelin all seasons for winter driving, and will use my summer set only in the summer for daily driving and spirited highway driving from june-october.
i just need some experiences and thoughts about these...ive searched but all that comes up is each one of these tires VS KUMHO SPT...i wanted more of individual experiences and comparison between these in particular...thanks

 

It really depends what you are looking for. The Falken RT 615 is a very good racing tire that can be used in the street. It won't last long and it won't do too well in the rain. The GS-D3 is almost as good in the dry but is better in the rain, it's expensive though. The ES100 is a bang for your buck tire.

Questions you should first answer are:
-What is your budget?
-What do you care more about; longevity or stickyness?
-Do you track this vehicle at all?

 

i didnt want to spend more than 600...kdw will be 550, so will the gsd3, es100 will be 450, and azenis will be 400.

im looking for a happy medium...i do want them to last me 3 or more summers tho. also, i do care about stickyness but i have no intention to track the car at all...
mostly used for highway driving in the summer and occassional twisties fun.
because of this i was leaning toward the kdw or gsd3, since its only about 100 or so more than the es100.
thats where i need the help tho...is it worth spending the extra 100-150 to get kdw or are there any other ones that can give me those things i ask as well?

 

Let's take a look at how the tires you list (plus the SPT) rank in terms of various criteria.

Here's how I would rank them in terms of overall performance on dry roads:

1) Falken Azenis RT615
2) Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
(insert big gap here)
3) BF Goodrich KDW2
4) Toyo T1R
5) Kumho SPT
6) Yokohama AVS ES100
7) Nitto NT 555
(insert big gap here)
8) Yokohama Parada Spec 2

Here's how I would rank them in terms of overall performance on wet roads:

1) Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
2) Kumho SPT
3) Yokohama AVS ES100
4) BF Goodrich KDW2
5) Toyo T1R
6) Nitto NT 555
(insert big gap here)
7) Yokohama Parada Spec 2
8) Falken Azenis RT615

Here's how I would rank them in terms of cost (measured in cents per mile, based on actual prices* for a set of four tires shipped plus $60 for mounting balancing for the typical treadlife stated, in 205/45-16 or 215/45-16):

1) Yokohama Parada Spec 2 - 1.3 cents per mile ($276+$40+$60 every 30K miles)
2) Kumho SPT - 1.3 cents per mile ($332+$0+$60 every 30K miles)
3) Yokohama AVS ES100 - 1.5 cents per mile ($340+$40+$60 every 30K miles)
4) Toyo T1R - 1.6 cents per mile ($384+$40+$60 every 30K miles)
5) Nitto NT 555 - 1.7 cents per mile ($436+$0+$60 every 30K miles)
6) BF Goodrich KDW2 - 2.0 cents per mile ($508+$40+$60 every 30K miles)
7) Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 - 2.1 cents per mile ($544+$40+$60 every 30K miles)
(insert big gap here)
8) Falken Azenis RT615 - 4.8 cents per mile ($380+$40+$60 every 10K miles)

So it all depends on how much you're willing to trade off dry performance vs wet performance vs cost. You can see from these rankings why I usually recommend the Falken Azenis RT-615 for people who care only about dry performance and not wet performance or cost, the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 for people who care about dry performance and wet performance (and why they're a much better value than the Azenis), and the Kumho SPT and Yoko ES100 for dry performance and wet performance and value.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JdmTypeRdc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im looking for a happy medium...i do want them to last me 3 or more summers tho.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That depends on how many miles you drive each summer. (BTW, summer tires can be used in three seasons, not just summer.) In any case, though, if you care about treadlife, avoid the Azenis.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JdmTypeRdc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">because of this i was leaning toward the kdw or gsd3, since its only about 100 or so more than the es100.
thats where i need the help tho...is it worth spending the extra 100-150 to get kdw or are there any other ones that can give me those things i ask as well?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

IMHO, the KDW are not at all worth spending extra for. If you wand top performance and you are willing to pay a bit more for it, get the F1 GS-D3, and not the KDW2. If you're looking for more value (lower purchase price) and you're willing to accept a bit less performance in exchange, then consider the SPT or ES100.

HTH

* Prices used in the numbers above come from the Tire Rack (1,3,6,7), Discount Tire Direct (2,5), onlinetires.com (4), and Vulcan Tire (8).

 

that is by far the best explanation anyone has ever given me on this forum...i truly appreciate your help...

 

Falken Azenis RT615