Hey guys, Im in the market for some new tires for the front of my car. I picked up some Yokohoma ES100's because I got a steal on them, they hook OK but second still needs heavy peddling and for my relatively low HP (240whp probably) I would like to have traction in second with my small turbo to get use out of the powerband

What is the best bang for the buck traction tire in 205/50/15

Theres are quite a few on discounttiredirect.com for about $100-150 a tire

The car is a street car and a street car only, will be driven very slow in the rain if at all. And tread life isnt a huge deal as the car will only see 10K a year

I just want TRACTION!

 

Toyo R888's and never look back, the 205/50's are also Z rated.
$143 each on tirerack.com

 

Ya I really like the R888's aswell as the Falken RT615's

Falkens being quite a bit cheaper and lots of great reviews of there stickiness for a quaint $112 a tire

 

I have the RT615 205/50/15s on my spare set of GSR blades. They are terrible.

 

Upgrade your rear swap bar. at least 22mm. You will feel a traction difference with a rear bar for sure. then you can get whatever tires you want.

 

I second this.

The RT615's are a horrible tire for what they claim.

The original Azenis were way better.

Hell my 205/45-16 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's kick the **** out of the new Falkens after you get them up to temp.

 

wtf?

 

I just switched from the RT615's to R888's. Still spins with 24psi in third, which is to be expected, but the car MOVES when doing so, unlike the RT615's that sat the car still.

 

Nitto Neo Gens

 

Bang for the buck hell yes.

But if your serious about it, NT01s or R888s are worth the money.

 

Toyo Proxe 4s did me well last year. If your looking for a street tire and not a radial, I'd suggest those or the Neo Gens. Gringotegra has done some pretty impressive things with those.

This is a video of my buddy's 570whp 430ft integra with the 205/50/15 proxe 4s. They also come in a 225/50.

 

Has anyone tried the Kumho Ecsta XS? I see they have a 205/50/15 ($100). I was thinking of trying them in 16.

What are the R888s like for daily driving? Say in heavy rain. I realize you can't drive like an a$$hole but are they at least able to say cruise at 60mph with out hydroplaning?

I don't know if it is possible or advisable but the Ventus R-S3 by Hankook comes in a 225/45/15. Too bad it doesn't come in more usable 15/16 in sized for us. I loved my S2s

 

I wouldnt daily drive an R888. Its simply not designed to be heat cycled a million times.

I drove it through the remnants of a hurricane last summer and they were awesome, even trying to drive like an asshat. As long as its warm out, they are pretty damn sticky.

 

That looked like a spin fest btw lol.


R888 at the track:

 

Nitto Neo Gens dont they make a few styles of those? Which ones?

 

any difference between the RT-615's and RT-615K's? just curious...

btw i using neo gens but no crazy power worth mentioning

 

LOL

I know we discussed this last year but I am still looking for something to drive daily and at least have some traction. I may just go ahead and try the Ecsta XS. I'm aching to put my 16s back on anyway.

Anyone have feedback on either the Direzza ZII or Potenza RE-11 price seems reasonable. - Just want to clear this up, not a thread jack. I was specifically looking at the 205/20/15 on both of those tires. Just trying to offer more suggestions for OP and see if anyone has any experience.

 

That was with warn down tires in the middle of January when it was 40 degrees on some back road. Lol

I'm assuming the OP is looking for street tires, not drag radials. But yes I would agree that the R888s are better than most to all street tires.

With the Toyo Proxe 4s I went to the track for my first time ever. It was a cool damp night and I went 12.1 @ 131. That's with boost by gear and not full boost. I would really like to go back these year on a test and tune day and really see what these tires can do. But yes I do agree that the r888s are a better hooking tire, but I think the OP is looking for something he can cruise around and get some decent mileage on, being able to handle in the rain, ect. Atleast that's what I understood from it.

 

If I got 10K miles out of the tires I would be ok. 15K Id be very happy

 

toyo r888s
the rt615 was really designed to be a tire for drifting, if you notice all FormulaD cars sponsored by falken or running a falken banner use the rt615, it was built using feedback from the FormulaD drivers and tire data gathered.... they are sticky but not like the r888.

the r888 is basically a dot legal slick, designed mostly for road course racing, the rt615 was also designed around circuit racing but with an emphasis on drifting and doesnt have the same design or aggressive compound like the r888

how do I know this? I work for ForumlaD.... we also have Global Time Attack run a few events at our venues and most if not all of their cars were on r888s, where as the drift cars were on rt615s or hankooks "sticky" tire or Achilles offering. Most of the tires on the FD pro cars were designed to create massive amounts of smoke (hence the tread compound) but still be controllable, hence being sticky.

 

I love my z1starspecs!!! I am running 205/50/15's on my gsr swapped hatch that i am about to boost to 300 hp. They have done great in the cold and in the rain. I have about 8,000 miles with plenty of life left even with about two dozen passes at the drag strip. My only complaint is I can't wait to try the z2's

 

^^ an N/a gsr holding the power isnt 300whp though

I wish the R888's were better for daily driving heat cycles Id buy them this second

 

Do you have a limited slip?

I agree that RT615s are kinda garbage...I used to run BFG KDW drag radials on my GSR in a 225/50 and that seemed to work ok at 375whp with an open diff

 

I have 4 year old brand new BFG drag radials in the basement but there 225/50/15 and the car would need to go up 2" in the front

Looking to keep my ability to not rub stock front fender and be a blind give away of having something under the hood

You guys are mentioning the r888's being great on track cars on circuits, were tire temps are optimal, would they perform silimar and would the r888 still be a great choice for a car that isnt on a circuit course in the middle of the day. But instead ripping around on a back road in the middle of a fall night, or on the way to work... Street use

 

Hey that's at Muncie! I'm there a lot. Don't think I've seen you/your car there though. If you see a Harvard Blue EG there this season, that's me.