Here are the usual suspects.....
Dunlop Sp9000 ( expensive...), Dunlop Sp8000( ok expensive), Bridgestone RE 730 ( Heard very good things), Kumho Ecstas 712 ($60 at tire rack), Nitto 450...

If you are NOT bothered about wet/snow weather performance ( yes I am in Pheonix..) which one is the best option out there?

Thanks guys

I would like to consider dry weather handling and less road noise as two important selection criterias ...

 

If you want "ultimate" dry handling, you WILL get some noticeable road noise. That's just how performance tires are.

Dunlop SP8k...do very well in the dry. You simply cannot go wrong with these tires.

Is money an issue at all?

 

Yes... money is an important factor. I am more inclined towards Kumho 712's.
btw I am looking for 205 50 15 size tires

 

Check out http://www.tirerack.com , they have objective and subjective testing results. Based on the timed track results the RE730 is faster than the SP8000 and SP9000 in the dry, and does even better in the wet... I have had two sets of them so far, and I will be replacing them w/ the same thing next time... (I go through them every 8k miles on the street).

 

see my sig. I'll be getting them again.

 

It really depends on how you drive... if you want lots of grip cause you take corners hard and want to stick to an on/off ramp like glue, my understanding is that the Kumho's offer great grip for the money. Notice everybody will throw in that money part, because there are tires that stick noticbly better than the kumho's but they cost much more. Also kumho's last longer than other performance tires, so that might play a role since money is a consideration for you.

By the way, don't go thinking that if you spend the extra money on nicer tires that they will make you invincible, cause it's that over cockiness that gets people hurt. I just wanted to throw in that qualifying statement in case I sounded like I better tires would prevent people from spinning out and things like that...

 

I like my Paradas.

 

I like my re730

 

Yokohama A520s...I've had 2 sets and I will return for the third.

The tread rating is a bit low, I've never measure how long they'll actually go since I burned down the fronts after 11 months due to bad camber, and a nail claimed a rear tire (had to replace both).

 

anyone have any comment on the Pirelli P-7000SS

i plan to have those as my next tires once i fry these Toyo FZ4's that suck ***......

 

You go through a set of RE730's every 8000 miles on the street?! What's the treadwear rating on those?

 

RE730's are $92 and Kumho $60. Following is the comparison between the two from tirerack. Noise comfort and tread wear Kumho wins easily.....

RE730 Kumho 712
HANDLING RATING 8.6 8.3
DRY TRACTION 8.9 8.6
WET TRACTION 8.6 8.2
RIDE COMFORT 7.9 7.9
NOISE COMFORT 7.6 8.0
WEAR 7.8 8.1

 

non-VTEC - Well, I can comment on their closest realtive, the P7000 Summer. I've been running these for 2 seasons now and I still love them to death! Someone mentioned money, end these are not cheap, even from Tire Rack, but gadzooks what grip and solid rain performers as well.

Now that they have 15k miles or so, I'm noticing some slight tire squeal on certain types of cornering, but I drive these babies HARD, and even occasionaly auto-x on them when the weather's no good for my Hoosiers. Even with the squeal, they're solid and predictable, but even so, I've heard such good things about Kumho's that I might try them next time, just to compare, and because they're so much less expensive!

 

My next tire will be Toyo Proxes T1-S from www.onlinetires.com .

 

The 8,000 mile life that I get out of tires is typical. I have gotten that pretty much out of all the tires that I have ever owned... I have used the Dunlop SP8000, Bridgestone RE71, Bridgestone RE730, Michelin Pilot SXGT... I have only gotten about a thousand miles out of Yokohama A032R, and Kumho V700 (during track use). Believe me tires wear quick when you put them to their limits daily.
Dave A>

 

The Kumho 712 has the least dry traction of the tires you mentioned. I have both Kumho 712's and Yokohama A520's and they are totally different tires....kumho's the cheaper, good performing tire and the Yokohama A520's the little more expensive, but way grippy ultra performance tire. Kumho's are great for the price, but if your looking for performance street tires with not a lot of noise look elsewhere....(Kumho's scream like mad when corning hard - as a comparison my A520's don't even make a sound at the same level that the Kumho's start to scream...). Dunlops, Bridgestone, and Yokohama are all good tires...get one of those brands.

 

I have a set of nitto 555's they seem to have very good dry traction.

 

Yikes... I've gotten 30k outta my RE-71's... even when I flogged the stock Michelin's I got 25k out of them... 8k? Thatsa crazzzeee...

 

YES
8K out of a tire, you rock. at least someone here is driving their car right!

I love my re730's

i had the sp8000s before. that are a great tire. but my 730s are way better. better lat grip more control. steering response is about the same

even though i can afford to get s-03s for my next tires. I would rather just have the 730s.

my buddy had the pirelli 700. they are allright. they were amazing in the rain. like really amazing. but if your in AZ that dont matter.

but he never got them again. get the p-zeros if you want a perfomance tire from pirelli.

im gettng the 730s next, cause i believe you get what u pay for (but im sure the 712's are an excellent tire)

 

About time I find someone else who actually DRIVES their car...

 

I'd drive my car hard too, if only I had the money to do so.

 

Pirelli P700-Z. Don't have anything to compare them to besides the stock Michelin's, but they're definitely a step up--quiet on dry pavement, and as someone mentioned, great in the rain. I'm not sure if they still sell them at Tire Rack; I bought them last May, and I'm still rolling on them. I was skeptical about the Kumho Ecsta's, since they had just come out at around the same time. The P700's have been around for awhile; I'm surprised more people don't have them. If they still sell them @ Tire Rack, they should be around $63/tire. Good deal.

 

I have Dunlop SP9K on my GSR and SP8K on my Audi A4. I've always liked Dunlop. I do not think that the SP9K have "that" great handling in the dry, in fact, I think the SP8K are better in the dry. The SP9K are quite good in the rain, when they have tread.

I went for the SP9K because they are so dang light. I forget the specific difference, but it's something like 1 or 2 LBS lighter than the SP8K in the same size! Pirelli tires are also very light. It's difficult to find much published data on tire weights, but the Dunlops are prob the lightest ones I think? When you consider how much emphasis people place on wheel weight, it's interesting the tire weight is overlooked. The tire is the extreme outside of the wheel/tire (duh) so it must have a significant affect on rotational inertia. At the same time, the handling and grip characteristics of the tire can also far outweigh any weight savings.

I won't get the SP9K again, I need to try something else, and they are too spendy with not enough perf despite then weight savings. The 730 appeals to me from all the positives out there. The Kumhos do as well for their cost and longevity.

Other thoughts?

FB

 

I'd by interested in feedback on the new falken azenis tire, although so far the only bad thing on these tires is that they are pretty heavy.

I too live in phx and so far I have used some cheaper tires, I used Dunlop D60A2's, and Falken Ziex 302's which actually are holding there grip very well. I have a hard time hearing the squeel before they let go though, but that don't happen very often.


[Modified by superflea, 1:40 PM 7/22/2001]

 

Anybody aware of RE730's making high road noise after 10k miles?