Well I need to start thinking about what tires I am going to get for the summer. This is the first year I have some money to spend on tires specifically for the summer.

My car is a 95 civic Ex, Eagle/Vitara t3/t4 setup running 15 psi. I have 2000 SI rims that I want to use for the summer.

I am open to pretty much anything, I will probably order them from tirereack.com. I will be going to the drag strip at least once a month, and i already have some BFG Drag Radials for that. But I want to get some good tires for on the street, I know no matter what tire I get I will still have some sort of wheel spin but I would like to get some better traction then the cheep tires that had before.

So I guess here is what i am looking for:

1.) Fits on 2000 SI rims, so 15 inch rim, probably 195 width, I'm not too picky on the side wall dimensions.

2.) Great dry weather traction. I mostly want good straight traction, but I like to take the back roads occasionally so cornering traction is also important.

3.) Decent wet traction, this is my dd, and I live in new engalnd. I will have to drive in the rain. but I have other wheels/tires for the fall/winter/spring so nothing too crazy wet/snow.

4.) Ok tread wear, I would like to use these for more then one summer if possible.

5.) Price- I am willing to spend some money on these, Hopefully $120 or less per tire.

Ive been trying to get some recommendations from friends, some of the ones that have come up are:

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R: tread wear looks a lil lower then others, but I have no idea how long that correlates too. and pricey compared to the next tire which gets better ratings.

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1: Best rated Extreme performance tire on tirerack.

Yokohoma S.drive: I Really like this one, Ultra high performance summer tire with good tread wear and a good price.

But what Im wondering about these are the tread wear, and can I get a lower performance tire with better tread wear and still be happy? How long can I expect an extreme performance to last, or a ultra high performance?

Any recommendations or advices is appreciated, There is just so much out there that im having a tough time picking the best for my needs.

 

The tire you can get without breaking your wallet is the S-drives, i have personal experience with the S-drives in 205/50/15's and they hold up really well both in dry/wet conditions.

The Direzza Z1's is a great sticky tire for both dry/wet but i dont know if i could deal with the tread wear. I'd buy them for my weekend car, not for my DD. I drive 1200+ miles a month so i need tires to last me at least 30k+ miles.

 

Sounds like you've done a lot of reading and thinking about your needs. That's excellent!

First of all, the size you need is 195/50-15. So stick to tires in that size.

Second, I'm not sure why you talk about only using these tires in summer. "Summer tires" can generally be used whenever temperatures are above freezing. New England's climate is like ours here in Chicago; we use summer tires spring-summer-fall, and winter tires only in winter, generally swapping in late November and mid March.

Now, in choosing a tire, there are really two kinds of tires: let's call them the "supersticky specialty tires", and the "budget performance tires". Supersticky specialty tires offer outstanding traction on dry roads; the main downside is limited treadlife (10-12K miles for the Falken Azenis RT-615, maybe 15K or so for the others). They're okay in rain, but not as good as many other tires. Budget performance tires offer very good traction on dry roads, but nowhere near as good as the superstickies; OTOH they are excellent in rain, and they last a lot longer (25-40K miles is a good estimate). So those are the trade-offs.

In 195/50-15, the best supersticky tires are the Bridgestone Potenza RE01R ($120/tire plus shipping from Tire Rack) and the Toyo R1R ($95/tire plus shipping at TireDeals4Less.com). The RE01R is slightly grippier than the R1R, but obviously the R1R is less pricey. (The Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is not available in 195/50-15.) The best budget performance tires are the Yokohama S.drive ($69/tire with free shipping from Discount Tire Direct).

So those are the options and trade-offs. On a per-mile basis, you're going to be spending almost three times as much for the R1R (and even more for the RE01R) than for the S.drive, taking into account the lower treadlife as well as the higher purchase price. OTOH the R1R will give you better traction on dry pavement, without a doubt. It's up to you whether to get the stickier tire, which is more expensive and only lasts 15K miles, or the less sticky tire that is less expensive and lasts 30K miles. One final thought - if you often drive enthusiastically on winding roads and highway ramps, and would enjoy the better traction of a stickier tire, it might be worth it to get the R1R; if you drive conservatively on public roads and only really take advantage of forced induction at the dragstrip where you have your drag radials, you might be perfectly content with the S.drive.

HTH

 

Thanks for the very informative post! Thats exactly what i was looking for, a good ball park tire life, and just because of that I want to go with the more budget performance tire. The S.Drive is at the top of my list, does anyone have any more recommendations? and as for how I drive, I don't corner all that hard, its more straight line stuff just because my turbo is so large an spools later, boost builds fast and my tires break loose especially while turning.

 

Direzza's on my4 Teg daily driver- great wet/dry.
S.drives on 95 turbo'd teg, good traction.
RE-01R's wet tire for track use (on a Civic), awesome!
forget wear, try using grip and quality as a guide. you'll be happy you did.

 

They're really the best in that segment of the market. The Fuzion ZRi is also very good, for about the same price, but the S.drive is just a tad better. Same for the Toyo T1R, which is significantly more expensive. There are several others - BFGoodrich g-Force Sport, Dunlop Direzza DZ101, and General Exclaim UHP - but all are a step down from the S.drive in performance. So there's nothing that is better and lasts as long.

 

That is what im seeing on the web right now, every one likes the s.drives for all around good performance with good wear. granted i would love to get stickier tires but I drive alot, currently around 350+ miles a week. and i really don't want to have to get new tires once a year. and the need to real grip is at the track and i have the DR's for that so no need to go crazy on street tires.

 

S.drives on my 98 GSR. Love em. Grip is good, and tread life is still going real strong after about 1 year, 8000 miles (ballpark guess).

That's also running year round, although Seattle only dips below freezing maybe 5 days a year (I might be able to get away with it a little more than you).

 

What about Kumho SPT, or is that not available in that size?

 

The Kumho SPT has become very difficult to find in 15-16" sizes. You should be able to order it from any Kumho dealer, but it might be expensive, especially since you can't get it from the Tire Rack or Discount Tire Direct (at least, it's not shown on their website). It's about as good as the S.drive.