I often post advice for tires for our cars (which I'll repeat at the end of this post).

One of my recommended picks is the Kumho SPT. This is an excellent summer tire which offers very good traction on dry pavement, is just awesome in rain, and lasts a reasonably long time for a summer tire (25-45K miles is typical). I recommend it for people who want good traction on dry pavement, but also want great traction in rain and/or also care about value (purchase price and/or treadlife), and who DON'T use these tires in snow (either it doesn't snow where they live, or they have separate tires or another vehicle for winter conditions).

In our sizes, the SPT normally sells for $60-70 per tire. However, right now tires-easy.com has the Kumho SPT in 195/55-15 (our stock size) for $44.80 per tire, which is an incredible bargain. It's not a typo; I just bought some myself. $44.80 for the SPT is a great price on a great tire. Just thought you'd want the heads-up.

Oh, and here's that more complete advice...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Roughly 90 percent of the time, people fall into one of the following three categories:

a. People who want the maximum traction on dry pavement, and don't care about anything else. These are usually people who sometimes use their street tires in autocross or on the racetrack or in brisk drives on curvy roads. The best tire for such folks IMHO is usually the Falken Azenis RT-615, which is available in Integra sizes of 195/60-14, 205/50-15, 215/45-16, and 205/40-17, depending on your wheel size, or the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, which is available in 195/55-15. These tires don't last all that long - treadlife of 10-12K miles is typical - and they are only so-so in rain. But if you only care about dry grip, they're the bomb.

b. People who want good traction on dry pavement, but also want good traction in rain and also care about value (purchase price and/or treadlife), and who DON'T use these tires in snow (either it doesn't snow where they live, or they have separate tires or another vehicle for winter conditions). These are usually people who use their tires for everyday driving. The tires I most often recommend for these folks are the Kumho SPT and the Avon Tech M500, which are available in Integra sizes of 195/55-15, 205/50-15, 205/45-16, and 205/40-17. I recommend the Yokohama ES100 in 195/60-14 for those with 14" wheels. All of these tires have very good grip on dry pavement, are excellent in rain, and last a reasonably long time (25-40K miles).

c. People who need to use the same tires in snow during the winter as well as in moderate to warm temperatures the rest of the year. These folks need all-season tires, which are a compromise; they have the flexibility to be used in a wider range of weather, but they're not as good in winter as true winter tires and they're not as good the rest of the year as summer tires such as those mentioned above. For these folks, I recommend the Kumho ASX in 195/55-15, 205/50-15, 205/45-16, and 205/40-17. For those with 14" wheels, I recommend the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position in 195/60-14.

All of these tires are reasonably priced, and are the best you can get for your money in each of these categories, IMHO. You can get them shipped from places like Tire Rack, Discount Tire (whose higher prices are offset by free shipping), and Vulcan Tire.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Wow! Thanks for the tip!
Thats a great price...I might just have to buy a set for when the ones I have now wear out.

 

As always... thanks for being an asset to this community Ken. Looking forward to seeing you E8. Perhaps you'll even instruct me again for a couple of sessions

 

Just ordered a set

 

I got a set of SPT's in 205/45/16 based on yours(and others) reviews in the past. Just waiting for my wheels to arrive. A good compromise between wet and dry traction was my primary concern so I hope these fit the bill.

Thanx for the heads up for stock ITR wheel users

 

You da Man, Ken.

 

dam thats a real good deal, but i just have jdm 16s and 16" work rsz-r

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WheaMyRyceGo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dam thats a real good deal, but i just have jdm 16s and 16" work rsz-r </TD></TR></TABLE>

They come in 205/45-16. The Tire Rack never seems to carry that size, but tires-easy does, for $83.90/tire. It's not a bargain the way the 195/55-15 is, but that's still a fair price (about what the Tire Rack was charging when they used to carry it).

 

I've been hearing good things about nitto NT01s too.
Below is three of the best places to get tires and all are national chains.
Ask that the tires be clocked when mounted (I ask for the psi max lettering be placed next to inflation valve) and always ask that the lugnuts be hand torqued. Then re-check torque when you get home.
Linkies:
Discount Tire
Discount Tire Direct
Tire Rack
NTB

 

Just ordered 8, looks like both set of wheels are getting new tires. Thanks for the heads up!

 

I just ordered 16. Looks like i'll have new tires for my MF-10s, TE-37s, CE-28s and MF-90s .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Dude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've been hearing good things about nitto NT01s too.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's an entirely different kind of tire. The NT-01 is an R compound track tire. Like most track tires, it's great for track use, but not a great choice for street use, for numerous reasons (rapid tire wear, poor traction in rain, need to get hot to be effective).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jon D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just ordered 16. Looks like i'll have new tires for my MF-10s, TE-37s, CE-28s and MF-90s . </TD></TR></TABLE>


uhhh...BALLER????

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JOHN WAYNE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


uhhh...BALLER????</TD></TR></TABLE>

more like uhhh.....LIAR

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jon D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just ordered 16. Looks like i'll have new tires for my MF-10s, TE-37s, CE-28s and MF-90s .

</TD></TR></TABLE>


I just spit a bit of my pasta onto my keyboard

 

Great call Ken! I have these on my IS300 and they are good for what their intention is. Plus you can actually put some mileage on them.

 

Just ordered 46!


No just kidding!


I just picked up a set of 205/50-15 General UHP Exclaims for the gs-r.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chrisdavis6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just picked up a set of 205/50-15 General UHP Exclaims for the gs-r.</TD></TR></TABLE>

195/55 SPT performs much better, costs a lot less...

 

none for the 16's

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kicker773 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">none for the 16's </TD></TR></TABLE>
............
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

They come in 205/45-16. The Tire Rack never seems to carry that size, but tires-easy does, for $83.90/tire. It's not a bargain the way the 195/55-15 is, but that's still a fair price (about what the Tire Rack was charging when they used to carry it).
</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I ran the SPT's for rain tires....good for rain, terrible for dry IMHO. I'd rather run RT615's year round

 

This looks like a pretty good deal and I'll try to order some.

My question is....will we ever again see a tire in 195/55 with the same level of dry performance as the oem tires had?? My ES100's certainly weren't close.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evs-One &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I ran the SPT's for rain tires....good for rain, terrible for dry IMHO. I'd rather run RT615's year round </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, there's no doubt that the RT-615 grips better in the dry. But you don't have one tire that is cheaper than other tires, lasts longer than other tires, performs better than other tires on dry pavement, and performs better than other tires in rain. You have to choose which of these factors is most important to you. The SPT lasts 2-3 times as long as the RT-615 and costs about half as much, so you'll pay about 5 times as much for your tires with the RT-615 as you will with the SPT. If you ONLY care about traction on dry pavement, like if you use the same tires on the track as on the street, it may be worth it (although I'll tell you, if you ONLY care about traction on dry pavement, you ought to get the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec in 195/55-15 instead - beats the RT-615 for only a bit more money, $90 vs $73). Otherwise, if you also care about rain traction and/or price and/or treadlife, then the SPT may make more sense. Different treads for different heads.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Kernel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My question is....will we ever again see a tire in 195/55 with the same level of dry performance as the oem tires had?? My ES100's certainly weren't close. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes. More on that in a moment. The SPT is decent on dry pavement, but it's not an Azenis. In fact, on dry pavement it's very similar to the ES100. In rain, it's much better than the ES100 (and the ES100 is actually pretty darn good in rain too, but the SPT is even better). I've been driven around Road America at speed in a drenching rain on SPTs and they were absolutely awesome.

To answer your question, though, the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is available in 195/55-15 ($90/tire at the Tire Rack) and it's even stickier than the Azenis. It may not have quite the handling "feel" of the RE010 stock tire, but it will corner faster. I don't know how long the Z1 Star Spec will last (it has a 200 treadwear rating, but those treadwear ratings are notoriously unreliable; the Azenis is rated 200 but wears like it were 100). It will do better in rain than the Azenis, not as well as the SPT. It's up to you what to trade off (or tread off ).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Dude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've been hearing good things about nitto NT01s too.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I thought they were R comp rubber, my bad.

 

I think I'll pass on the SPT and try out those Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec tires then. I didn't realize they were that sticky! Since the car is driven so little nowadays I'm not too concerned with a low treadwear rating.