I'm looking to upgrade stock tires and size from 215/45/17 to 225/45/17. I'm not sure what to choose, the stock all-season Michelin's are crap.

Not looking to break the bank, this is a daily driver, but I like to drive aggressive and visit the drag strip every once in awhile. I live in Texas so there is rarely snow/ice, if there is I wouldn't be driving anyways.

 

If you're looking for better performance, concentrate on getting better, stickier tires, not wider tires. The tread width doesn't make any significant difference, and the larger tire diameter will hurt your acceleration too. So stick with your stock size of 215/45-17.

The reason the performance of all-seasons isn't all that great is that all-season tires are a compromise, designed for people who need to use them in snow and frigid cold; in exchange for this flexibility (which you don't need), they don't grip as well in moderate to warm temperatures. So what you need are summer tires.

It's up to you whether to get longer-lasting, less expensive summer tires, or more expensive, supersticky summer tires. You'll be trading off performance/grip against value (treadlife as well as purchase price).

If you want the stickiest street tires you can get, and you don't mind that they typically only last 15-20K miles, consider these (prices shown are from the Tire Rack):

1. Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 215/45-17 - $106 after rebate

2. Kumho Ecsta XS 215/45-17 - $113

If you're willing to trade off some grip in exchange for longer treadlife (25-40K miles) and lower purchase price, consider these:

3. Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 215/45-17 - $53 or $64 after rebate with closeout (the Tire Rack has some from 2005 for $53 after rebate, and yes it's an awesome deal, four years isn't that old if you'll be using them up in the next 2-3 years) - these are two of the three versions on their website, the third is $131

4. Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 215/45-17 - $80.50 after rebate

5. Kumho Ecsta SPT 215/45-17 - $84

The second group will still give you much better grip than your current all-seasons. But if you really want the best grip possible and you don't mind the price and treadlife, go for the Star Spec or XS.

 

I want to raise up my car a little bit and the 225 to fill the gap.

Those Sport Maxx's seem really good right now with that price and save me a ton of money. It says $60 mail-in rebate, typo? Soo tempting.

 

Don't use the wrong size tire to fill the gap. BAD IDEA. If you want less of a gap, leave it lowered.

No, it's not a typo. You get $60 back on a purchase of four tires. Yes, it's a great deal. As you probably noticed, there are three versions of the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (not counting the one with the "TT" designation) and all qualify for the $60 rebate. The regular version is $131/tire before the rebate. There's a closeout version for $79*/tire before rebate; I don't know what the difference is between that and the regular version. And there's one designated as 2005 production for $68/tire before rebate. Sometimes when tires have been sitting around for a while, Tire Rack puts them on a special to clear out their inventory, and that's the case here. As I noted, four year old tires aren't that old, and if you're using them for daily driving so you'll use them up within a couple of years, the older production date isn't a concern.

The Dunlop SP Sport Maxx is their "maximum performance tire", meaning that it's a longer-lasting high-performance tire, of the kind often used on high-performance sports cars and luxury cars. It's a very good tire, in this segment, not the very best but decent, fairly priced when it's $131, and a terrific bargain with these closeouts and the rebate. It's not quite as soft a compound, not quite as sticky, as the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, so if you want to go all-out for your aggressive driving and dragstrip uses, the Star Spec will give you even better traction, but it won't last as long as the Sport Maxx and obviously the price on the latter is much less if you take advantage of those closeouts.

Treadwear ratings aren't always precise, but Dunlop gives the Sport Maxx and Star Spec ratings of 240 and 200, so the Sport Maxx might last 20 percent longer based on that. (My experience is that the "extreme performance" tires like the Star Spec tend to be a bit overoptimistic on their treadwear ratings, but I don't know how true that is of the Star Spec.)

Obviously, the choice is yours. But $53 after rebate for that particular tire in your size is an amazing deal.

*The price of this particular closeout has been lowered since yesterday when I wrote my previous post, so I'm going back to edit it.

 

Just to elaborate on nsxtasy's post: I find the Sport Maxx to be a much 'gentler' max performance tire when compared to, say, the Bridgestone and the Goodyear in the same category. It's close to the Contis in overall performance, and actually better than the Contis in the rain.
Dunlop Sport Maxx

 

Yup. I wasn't trying to imply that the Sport Maxx is the best/grippiest tire in the "max performance" category. The only reason I'm even recommending it is because its price with the closeout deal meets with your objective of "not breaking the bank", and the performance is the best you're going to get (by far) at that awesomely low price. Remember, we're talking about $53 or $64 per tire for the Sport Maxx with the closeout. This compares with normal prices for "max performance" tires in this size (215/45-17) of $131 for the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, $181 for the Bridgestone Potenza RE050, and $143 for the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. The other two are excellent tires, but I'm assuming you're not really looking to spend $500-750 (plus shipping) for a set of four tires, especially when you can get darn good tires for just over $200. (And if you are willing to pay more for a higher level of performance, then you ought to consider the Star Spec for a tad over $400.)

 

I find that the TireRack.com has several new promotions when you purchase a set of four (4) qualifying tires. Hope this is helpful for u.

 

The Tire Rack is very good about showing any available rebates or other promotions on their website, anywhere you see eligible tires. For example, if you look up tires by size or by specific tire model, the promotion is indicated clearly along with other information. That includes the rebate I mentioned above for the Star Spec.

Most of the promotions shown on the Tire Rack website are offered by the tire manufacturer, and are available when buying the tire from any authorized dealer, not just from the Tire Rack. You can usually find them on the tire manufacturer's website.

 

A little old thread, but I had some stuff come up so I ended up not getting tires. But now looking again. Do you still suggest the same?

I see they have $50 MIR for Dunlop, Goodyear, Hankook, and $70 for Michelin.

 

They no longer have those closeout SP Sport Maxx tires from 2005 for the great deal, so you can remove that from the recommendations. Otherwise, all the same recommendations apply. (Prices may have changed a few bucks here and there, but without huge differences.)

 

Ok cool. I have been researching on the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. They did really well on the Car and Driver test, but after reading through some reviews on forums a lot of people really disliked them.

 

So my buddy suggest I try out the RS2, and saw they are having a closeout sale on TireRack, I guess to make room for the replacement RS3's. Really cheap

 

The RS-2 is a decent tire, although it's not as sticky as the really sticky tires like the Star Spec and XS. Treadlife should be similar (i.e. 15-20K miles). If you're willing to accept a bit less performance for a lower price ($75), go for it!

 

I am running Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 215/45-17. Awesome tire with killer grip!!

Should run about $110 a tire

 

Yeah when I saw the price I was surprised. I was also reading they don't like the cold weather (50º and below) well. But is that with all the tires in the same category or just these?

I would love to try them, but a little more than I want to spend right now. Still thinking about them though

 

All of them. More so when the temperature is below freezing and/or covered with snow/ice.

 

Hmm its getting pretty cool here now, 50's when waking up. But the price is too good lol