I just picked up a set of Kosei K1's for my EG and I'm looked for a really good Summer tire.
These will only be used in the warmer months here in the Pacific Northwest.

I already have a set of wheels w/ Yokohama S.Drives I use in the rainy/winter months.
Car doesn't see snow/ice ever...


Right now, I'm currently looking at the following tires:

Dunlop Direzza ZII
Kumho Ecsta XS
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11A

Any input would be appreciated. Where you at NSXTACY???

 

You can't go wrong with any of those tires. For most people, it's a matter of pricing and preference.

 

Yeah, they all get pretty similar reviews.
I can get the Kumhos for under $400 shipped, so those will be the cheapest.
But I'd rather spend the extra money and be happy.

My main concern is the tires ability to deal with rain. Yes, these will be my summer tires, but rain pops up here in the Northwest at all times. So I need the tire to perform when I have to deal with that.

I've read the Dunlops are pretty good and the Kumhos are terrible and vice versa...

 

Re11a's are supposedly outstanding in the rain. Slightly edge out the z2's in the wet according to a test that I believe tire rack did.

 

KUmho would be best in dry, but absolutely useless in wet. The other two are very close (see our test results here)

 

Well, I finally had the time to have the new wheels/tires balanced and mounted yesterday.

Dry grip feels great, and didn't feel too bad in rain tonight.

However, I'm having an issue with vibration....
These are brand new from Tire Rack.
But I'm experiencing vibration above 60mph.

Americas Tire did the balancing/mounting.
Should I take the car back and have them rebalance?

 

Now I'm wondering if the plastic hubcentric rings on the Kosei's were the right size?

 

Unless the wheels were damaged or the lug nuts weren't the right seat type... you shouldn't need rings.

 

No damage. They are brand new. Brand new lug nuts, proper seat type.

I'm leaning toward the wheels not being balanced properly. The vibration isn't bad, but it's noticeable and increases with speed.

 

Toyomatt84:

This is my first time running hubcentric rings, I've never had them on all my other wheels and never had a problem. So it's a little strange that I'm having problems now that I'm using them.

 

Sounds like you just have a balance issue. I used to be a tire tech and if the techs that balanced your wheels counterbalanced them it will read ok on the balancer but will still vibrate at speed, just check your wheel weights, if either the inner or outer set of weights are not placed together in a group then it needs rebalanced properly. Also when you have them rebalanced specify to them that you want smart weight turned off, smart weight basically uses the minimum amount of weight to balance a tire. It works fine for grocery getters but not favorable for performance and high speeds.