Im looking to get some 205/50/15's for my DD civic with 275whp. Right now i live in hawaii so it doesnt get cold and rains very little. but i am soon going back to virginia where we have all 4 seasons. i am looking for a great tire with great traction and treadwear that will last me for awhile. i have done research but man there are so many types of tires out there its crazy. i was looking at the BFGoodrich g-force sport A/S tires because they are pretty cheap rigth now on tirerack.com and seem to be good all around tires?

 

It sounds like you want to do everything with your tires:

- Performance to handle high horsepower
- Value (low purchase price, long treadlife)
- Multiple weather situations (dry climate in Hawaii, wet with the possibility of snow in Virginia)

You can't. For example, all-season tires (such as the BFG Super Sport A/S) won't give you enough traction to transmit your high horsepower to the road. But higher-grip summer tires won't give you any grip in snow. You will need to either give up something, unless you're willing to get an extra set of wheels and tires, so you can have one set for all-weather and value, and another set for performance.

If you don't plan to use these tires in snow or extreme bitter cold, then you don't need all-season tires, and can use the higher performance of summer tires. In that case, you can either get some really grippy tires (e.g. Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec in 195/55-15 or Kumho Ecsta XS in 205/50-15), or some summer tires that are less expensive and longer lasting (e.g. Yokohama S.drive in 195/55-15). Otherwise, you'll have to get all-seasons like the BFG you mentioned or the Goodyear Eagle GT in 195/55-15, or the Kumho Ecsta ASX in 195/55-15 or 205/50-15.

Note that you can use either 205/50-15 or 195/55-15 on your '97-00 Civic. Either size works fine; some tires are only available in one of those two sizes, or are less expensive in one than the other.

 

well im actually not going back to virginia until march so i wont be driving in snow until next years winter season. but i really just want something that will last long and also a little sticky.

 

here is another question i have... why does everyone recommend federal 595's? i was reading alot of posts from you on here saying they are trash pretty much.

 

Because they hold air and are cheap. If you really don't know anything about tires, that makes them good.

Its like looking at the user feedback on tirerack. The crappy tires all have good reviews, because the purchasers bought crappy tires because they don't know better, and then discovered that they hold air just fine. The good tires all have less than good reviews, because they were purchased by discerning users who have actual performance expectations of their tires.

 

See my recommendations above. You'll need to trade off "last long" and "a little sticky". All-seasons may last you 35-55K miles but are the least sticky. Longer-lasting summer tires (S.drive) may last 20-40K miles and are a bit stickier. The stickiest summer tires (Star Spec, XS) may only last 15-20K miles and are the stickiest of all.

Obviously, it's your decision. But to me it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to go to the time and cost and effort of upgrading your car's power, and then use crappier tires that won't transmit that power to the pavement, just to save a few bucks.

 

^^ ok now tahts kind of what i wanted to know. a rough estimate of how long they will last and with that being said im leaning more towards the (s.drives) or even the (star specs) because once i move back to va i wont be driving that much due to the car will be a weekend/ whenever i want to go out for a drive/ track car.

 

Then I think you'll like the Star Spec or XS. On the Tire Rack website, you will find a side-by-side comparison test of both of these tires, along with the considerably more expensive Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 and Yokohama Advan Neova AD08:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=118

 

honestly, now that i have own some tires both "average" and "expensive".
i think it's ALL in the alignment.. right now, i'm using my S.drives for daily and my falken 912's for track.. SAD

 

the 595 only wins in the cheap tire shootout. if you compare it to a kumho ast, sure it's better. it by no means makes it a good tire, just king of the $50ea rack. personally, i would buy the 205-50-15 kumho xs and then a set of steelies to run snow tires on. the xs will work in everything except snow and ice. when that comes, run the steelies

 

I have the g-force sports on my supercharged gsr hatch (260 hp 206 trq) they are pretty decent tires . For the money I am happy and have run good track times with them .

 

Ewww. You can do so much better for the same money than the g-Force Sport.

 

x2

the only street tire bfg ever made that ripped was the KD and it's been discontinued and out slightly gunned by tires that cost half as much now a days.

 

any one like sumitumo htr50z's? they are $52 bucks a piece on tire rack and are incredibly sticky. just one of my favorites.

 

I don't want to start an argument about the 595's, but here's my experience.

185/55/14 595 on my turbo street miata vs 205/50/15 azenis 615 on a spec miata, identical suspension, brake pads, and weight:
We're both somewhat equal drivers, on the track at the same time, and I wanted to see what the tires could do when they're not being drifted on. Around the local track, on corner exits, I was able to put down my ~180 hp just fine, but here's where this comparison is important. Under braking and around hairpins, I didn't loose any ground to the spec. Around fast turns, I would fall back just a bit on entry, then use power on corner exit to catch up. In half a lap, it was over for the spec (used the back straight to pass) because there was no way to make up for it to come back under braking or in the corners.

Take it however you want, but that's my experience.

 

The Tire Rack does not carry a Sumitomo tire called the htr50z.

 

they used to...

 

sure it's not a 50 series htrz?

just to add my .02 the htrz is the single worst "performance" tire i have ever driven on.

 

this makes me scratch my chin....i didn't think the 595 was a half bad tire either. keeping up with a 615 or close to them? hmmm the 615 obviously has the edge but the small degree you speak of surprises me. when i drove 595s i didn't have a chance to compare them to another. they just came on a used set of tires & wheels i bought.

 

but your also comparing a 185/55/14 to a 205/50/15