I'm hoping to find someone that's run on both so I can get thier thoughts on how the two contrast. (Or someone that's run the S.Drives and something else that they think more closely matches what I'm wanting)

I'm in an '06 RSX-S with stock wheels wanting to run the OEM size of 215/45R17. It's my daily driver, and while I currently don't do any track events, I might (eventually) give autocross a try.

Currently I'm on S.Drives, which, while I find them a decent tire now, took around 5k miles for them to be something that I didn't hate. (I found them really squirmy while turning at speed for the first 3-5k or so) I'd also like to have a tire that gives a quicker response than the S.Drive.

I'd rather not go much lower on tread-rating than 300ish, maybe 250ish, as I'd like to get *some* life out of my tires. Also like to keep it below about $125 a tire.

So... given that, and given what I've read on tirerack, I'm thinking that the SPTs *might* come closer to what I'm wanting than the S.Drives do. I just haven't found anyone who's driven on both that I can talk to about how they differ.

 

Okay, here's a lot of advice for you. But if you're the kind of person who likes to cut to the chase, I'm going to suggest the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec for you. Here's why.

The Kumho SPT and Yokohama S.drive are very, very similar in most respects. If you're interested, you can see a side-by-side comparison test on the Tire Rack website which includes both of these tires, and evaluates them according to a lot of characteristics (don't forget to check the detail graphs):

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=97

However, since you're looking for quicker response and higher performance, I think you would be better off stepping up to a better quality tire than one of these two (a) "Ultra high performance summer tires". There are two ways you can do this - putting the tires in the terms that the Tire Rack uses to describe them:

(b) "Maximum performance summer tires" - these are the tires often used for high-end luxury cars, and offer excellent traction on dry roads and in rain. They are fairly long-lasting tires, typically carrying treadwear ratings of 240 or 280, which means they should last you almost as long as your S.drive (rated 300). The life of the S.drive is typically somewhere in the 25-40K mile range, so you can figure maybe 20-35K for these tires. The big downside of these tires is that they are usually expensive, in the $150-175 range. But they will give you more responsiveness, which is what you're looking for. Some of these tires you might look at, with Tire Rack prices, include the Continental ContiSportContact 3 ($159-162) and the Goodyear F1 Asymmetric ($130.50 after rebate). I haven't yet tried the new Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110, but it's $76.50 after rebate and did well in the recent tire test in Car and Driver, so it might be worth a shot.

(c) "Extreme performance summer tires" - these are tires that are often used on sports cars and by folks who use their cars for autocross and track events, and for brisk rides on mountain roads. They offer exceptional handling and responsiveness, better than the other two categories. The main downside is that they won't last as long as the other two categories; treadlife ratings are typically 180-200, and you might get 15-20K miles or so to a set. Some of these are more expensive than others; that's the main reason why I usually recommend the Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Spec ($117) or Kumho Ecsta XS ($113) rather than the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 ($175) or Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 ($173). And I usually recommend the Star Spec over the XS because it's better in rain.

I know you're looking for everything in one tire - low purchase price, great traction, long treadlife - but you can't have all three. Which two would you like? That determines which kind of tires you should get:

(a) ultra high performance tires - low purchase price and long treadlife, but not great traction
(b) maximum performance tires - great traction and long treadlife, but not low purchase price
(c) extreme performance tires - great traction and (with the Dunlop or Kumho) low purchase price, but not long treadlife

Frankly, I recommend trying the extreme performance tires. I say that because it's clear that you're not satisfied with the performance you're getting from the S.drive, and you probably won't be satisfied with the SPT. Why not give the Star Spec a try? See how long they last for you; you might be surprised, they might last almost as long as the S.drive, and they're not all that much more expensive, either.

One more piece of advice. You will eventually wear out your tires. So if you don't like the traction, or the treadlife, with one kind of tire, get something different next time.

 

Yeah, the S.Drives and the SPT are rather similar... which is one of the reasons that I'm looking at the SPT. I'm mostly happy with the S.Drive, for instance, I'm fine with the grip, noise, and ride characteristics. I'm not happy with thier response and the funky squirmy behavior I encountered for the first 1/4 of thier life.

I do realize that with tires, everything is a tradeoff. My understanding is that increased responsiveness is mostly due to a stiffer sidewall and to some degree tread design... not so much compound. So I'm beleiving that in exchange for the increased responsiveness, I'll likely be getting a noisier, harsher ride with an increased tendency to track.

As for the Z1 Star Specs they made my short list, and if I was wanting more grip, I'd probably jump on them. But while I'm sure the increased grip would be fun, right now I'm not missing it, and I'd rather deal with a longer lasting compound than get myself hooked on something nice and sticky and wind up buying tires twice a year

As for tire life... I'm hard on tires; I think my S.Drives are going to have around 18-19k when I replace them at around 3/32 tread. (coming up pretty soon)

I haven't done much research in the Maximum performance category, because as you note, they're more expensive. You may be right, for what I want, I may wind up needing to... but then when you factor price... that brings us right back to the Z1 Star Specs.

 

Yup. It's all a matter of what you're willing to trade off.

Since that comparison test in Car and Driver included the S.drive, Star Spec, and the new Hankook, it might be worth a look. (I wouldn't rule out the Hankook!)

 

Yeah, I've seen it before. It reinforced my stance on the S.Drives. It also made me rule out the Hankook as:

i.e., they're worse than the S.Drive in the area I'm wanting to improve on.

 

I've been running the RE760 on the street and sometimes on the track this year (while struggling with my track tire's tendency to get friendly with the fenders) and I've been pretty impressed by how direct they feel. Definitely not the fastest thing on earth, but if you are looking for something that "feels" good without huge tradeoffs I would recommend. Fun to drive for me, anyway, and they were price competitive with the Yoko and Kumho in my size.

 

Dont know if this would be of much help, but I just switched over from Kumho SPT's to Kumho XS. The SPT's were enough for any type driving on streets, but squirmed and squealed on the track (both auto-cross and road racing tracks). The XS worked wonders on the track, but I feel like its wasting money in a way to daily drive tires that provide this much grip :/ .
If you are serious about starting to auto-x, I would recommend following nsxtasy's advice and step up to the extreme performance tires; for streets nothing more is needed than something like the SPT's

 

I agree with what has been said about the Ecsta XS and the auto-x capabilities of that tire. I still prefer the Dunlop Star Specs and the Bridgestone RE-11 on the track, but the Kumhos have great cornering ability.

 

Appreciate all the feedback...

Looks like I've got a lot of reading to do.

Thanks!