Need a set of tires for summer
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From: NJ
Need a set of tires for summer
I had the Yokohama AVS ES100s previously, which gripped amazingly, especially in the rain. However, their downfall was that they were pretty noisy from the start, and just got worse as they aged. I believe I paid just over $100 per tire at that time, so anything in that same price range is acceptable.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...dex=0
I'm looking for a quiet tire with a reasonable amount of grip in both dry, and wet conditions. The car doesn't see the track, just spirited daily driving.
I've been focusing on the Hankook Ventus Z212s, and Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs (little noisy as recent reviews say).
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...dex=0
I'm looking for a quiet tire with a reasonable amount of grip in both dry, and wet conditions. The car doesn't see the track, just spirited daily driving.
I've been focusing on the Hankook Ventus Z212s, and Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs (little noisy as recent reviews say).
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From: Chicago
Re: Need a set of tires for summer (Crono139)
Well, you're talking about three totally different kinds of tires there. As noted in the FAQ topic stickied at the top of this forum:
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Forum Rules and FAQ - READ BEFORE POSTING »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
<FONT SIZE="4">Tires FAQ</FONT>
Summer tires are designed for use for moderate to warm temperatures. If you are only going to be using your tires in temperatures above freezing, summer tires provide the best performance at those temperatures. With only a few exceptions, most summer tires do extremely well in rain as well as on dry pavement. Summer tires are not recommended for use in extreme cold conditions, and especially not on snow and ice.
There are several types of summer tires:
a. Specialty tires designed to maximize traction on dry pavement. Downsides typically include so-so traction in rain, and rapid treadlife. These are a good choice for someone who only cares about dry traction, such as those who use their tires for autocrosses or track events as well as normal driving. Recommended examples include the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, Falken Azenis RT-615 and Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R.
b. Top-of-the-line performance tires, designed for excellent traction on dry pavement and in rain, and very good treadlife. The primary downside is a rather high purchase price. These are a good choice for someone who wants excellent performance and also cares about grip in rain and/or about treadlife, and doesn't mind paying more for better performance. One recommended example is the Goodyear F1 GS-D3.
c. Budget performance tires, designed for good traction on dry pavement and in rain, very good treadlife, and a relatively low purchase price. The downside is that the performance is not quite as good as the previous two groups. These are a good choice for someone looking for good value as well as good performance and treadlife. Recommended examples include the Kumho Ecsta SPT, Avon Tech M500, and Yokohama ES100.</TD></TR></TABLE>
It's up to you whether you want a tire like the Dunlop Star Spec, which is amazingly sticky on dry pavement but won't last as long and is only so-so in rain, or another tire like the ES100, which won't grip as well on dry pavement but is excellent in rain and lasts quite a long time. The Z212 is not quite as sticky as the Star Spec but lasts slightly longer and may be slightly better in rain, although not as good as the ES100 in either respect.
If you want a supersticky tire, and you don't care as much about treadlife or rain grip, by all means get the Dunlop Star Spec. It's great.
If you want a tire that lasts longer and does better in rain, I'd get the Kumho SPT, $94/tire. It's even better than the ES100 in rain (the ES100 is pretty darn good, the SPT even better) and is at least as good on dry pavement. Not as noisy. You can see a side-by-side comparison test of the two here.
I'm not sure how committed you are to that $100/tire figure you mention, but the SPT is as good as it gets for that price. If you'd consider the Star Spec at $129/tire, you might also want to consider the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, which is $149/tire but has a $50 rebate on a set of four. It lasts as long as the ES100 and SPT (25-45K miles) and grips even better, both dry and wet. Obviously it's a bit more money. But it's a better tire.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Forum Rules and FAQ - READ BEFORE POSTING »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
<FONT SIZE="4">Tires FAQ</FONT>
Summer tires are designed for use for moderate to warm temperatures. If you are only going to be using your tires in temperatures above freezing, summer tires provide the best performance at those temperatures. With only a few exceptions, most summer tires do extremely well in rain as well as on dry pavement. Summer tires are not recommended for use in extreme cold conditions, and especially not on snow and ice.
There are several types of summer tires:
a. Specialty tires designed to maximize traction on dry pavement. Downsides typically include so-so traction in rain, and rapid treadlife. These are a good choice for someone who only cares about dry traction, such as those who use their tires for autocrosses or track events as well as normal driving. Recommended examples include the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, Falken Azenis RT-615 and Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R.
b. Top-of-the-line performance tires, designed for excellent traction on dry pavement and in rain, and very good treadlife. The primary downside is a rather high purchase price. These are a good choice for someone who wants excellent performance and also cares about grip in rain and/or about treadlife, and doesn't mind paying more for better performance. One recommended example is the Goodyear F1 GS-D3.
c. Budget performance tires, designed for good traction on dry pavement and in rain, very good treadlife, and a relatively low purchase price. The downside is that the performance is not quite as good as the previous two groups. These are a good choice for someone looking for good value as well as good performance and treadlife. Recommended examples include the Kumho Ecsta SPT, Avon Tech M500, and Yokohama ES100.</TD></TR></TABLE>
It's up to you whether you want a tire like the Dunlop Star Spec, which is amazingly sticky on dry pavement but won't last as long and is only so-so in rain, or another tire like the ES100, which won't grip as well on dry pavement but is excellent in rain and lasts quite a long time. The Z212 is not quite as sticky as the Star Spec but lasts slightly longer and may be slightly better in rain, although not as good as the ES100 in either respect.
If you want a supersticky tire, and you don't care as much about treadlife or rain grip, by all means get the Dunlop Star Spec. It's great.
If you want a tire that lasts longer and does better in rain, I'd get the Kumho SPT, $94/tire. It's even better than the ES100 in rain (the ES100 is pretty darn good, the SPT even better) and is at least as good on dry pavement. Not as noisy. You can see a side-by-side comparison test of the two here.
I'm not sure how committed you are to that $100/tire figure you mention, but the SPT is as good as it gets for that price. If you'd consider the Star Spec at $129/tire, you might also want to consider the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, which is $149/tire but has a $50 rebate on a set of four. It lasts as long as the ES100 and SPT (25-45K miles) and grips even better, both dry and wet. Obviously it's a bit more money. But it's a better tire.
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Joined: Nov 2002
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From: NJ
Re: Need a set of tires for summer (nsxtasy)
The SPT seems like a good choice for me because of NJ's crazy weather.
I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of dry grip in exchange for less road noise, and better wet traction compared to the ES100.
The F1 GS-D3 seems like a damn good tire for the money, but I don't know if I can drop that much on a tire when the SPT is available for much less. I also considered the Bridgestone RE050A PP before the price was bumped up to $180 from $130.
I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of dry grip in exchange for less road noise, and better wet traction compared to the ES100.
The F1 GS-D3 seems like a damn good tire for the money, but I don't know if I can drop that much on a tire when the SPT is available for much less. I also considered the Bridgestone RE050A PP before the price was bumped up to $180 from $130.
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