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Once the cold hits and I switch to winter tires my stock potenza will have seen the road for the last time. So I'm looking for a new set of summer tires. I want something that's sticky but that I hopefully WON'T have to swap out every week. Plus fairly inexpensive (i.e. no Advan Neovas) and a decent ride comfort would be nice. Any suggestions?

EDIT

Libra Monkee wrote:I want something that's sticky but that that I'll have to swap out every week.

that's gonna get 'spensive!

i was very happy with the kumho ecsta spt's. plenty of stick without the high cost. i'm sure the doctor's gonna recommend those yokohama whateverthehelltheyare's. i've been reading good stuff about them.

If you want high grip and aren't worried about tread-wear I've always enjoyed my Yokohama AVS ES100s. They don't last long though.... and they are $200 a pop....


I had a set of Fuzion tires on the 18s for a bit and they were actually... not that bad. They WERE noisy however so if you want quiet steer clear. I hear they are cheap.

I, too, can recommend the ECSTA SPT's. As another option, Grassroots Motorsports recommended the Falken Ziex ZE-912's in their "cheap skates" comparo (August 2008).

Discount Tire Direct has the Falken's for $94 each for stock STi size.

--Alan

WRXWagon2112 wrote:I, too, can recommend the ECSTA SPT's. As another option, Grassroots Motorsports recommended the Falken Ziex ZE-912's in their "cheap skates" comparo (August 2008).

Discount Tire Direct has the Falken's for $94 each for stock STi size.

--Alan

those are all-seasons. i think he's looking to get dedicated summer tires since he has blizzaks for winter.

What type of mileage are you looking to get out of these tires?

I have the Sumitomo HTR Z III and am happy with them. They are not as sticky as my Advans, but they are 1/3 the price (and they are quieter!)

Quieter is nice! Although with your car it doesn't really matter since everything else makes so much noise.

I was hoping find something that has better road grip the the RE070s but moreso has good treadlife. According the this chart I'd be leaning to the Kumho Ectsa MX and the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R which are $96 and $186 respectively. Both rate higher than the RE070. Of course, the more expensive one is better all around rated #1 in its class over the more pricey Neova.

This is looking at Extreme Performance tires. I personally run Ultra High Performance Summer Tires on the miata (Kumho SPT) and I think they are all I need on the street.

The replacement for the bridgestone RE-01R (RE-11) is coming out in the spring. The replacement for the MX(XS) is already out.

While the price of the MX is very good they are old tech in tires now and I would not buy them if I was looking for the best grip (and low noise was not one of the strong points for the MX). From what I have heard from people that autox and drive the RE-01R they are nice on the road and not as much noise as some others but you might also want to look into the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec. The star spec beats the RE-01R in handling and is a little worse as far as ride/noise and are about $55 cheaper a tire ($128) than the RE-01R. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/cha ... p?ttid=107

If you want to try something new that might be better look at the XS. They are about $120 a tire but since they just came out I don't have much data on them yet.

i haven't decided yet between bridgestone and hoosier (katie, if you have input here, it's welcome), but the next set of tires (prolly round march or so) will be street-rubber slicks (e.g. not R-rubber).

Yeah, had MX tires on my last suby...terrible noise and some serious tramlining over grooves. Other than that, they were okay.

I like my ZE-912s for summer...good bang for the buck. Top rated in CR for their class for 2007:




...not sure about 2008 b/c I cancelled my subscription and haven't been looking at my father's CR magazines.

On another note, I am trying out some new Michelins for winter...sold the blizzaks

avriette wrote:...hoosier (katie, if you have input here, it's welcome)

Just an FYI, you'll overpower your suspension with hoosiers. I'd highly recommend upgrading atleast the springs if you want to do this... and probably a rear sway as well.

avriette wrote:i haven't decided yet between bridgestone and hoosier (katie, if you have input here, it's welcome), but the next set of tires (prolly round march or so) will be street-rubber slicks (e.g. not R-rubber).

Your post is confusing. Bridgestone does not have any R Compounds and Hoosier does not have any real street tires so what exactly are you looking for?

moxnix wrote: words Bridgestone does not have any R Compounds and Hoosier does not have any real street tires more words

HAHA! I was wondering about that.

avriette wrote:i haven't decided yet between bridgestone and hoosier (katie, if you have input here, it's welcome), but the next set of tires (prolly round march or so) will be street-rubber slicks (e.g. not R-rubber).

I know nothing about motorcycle tires.

If dry performance is the most important trait my 1st pick would be the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec at $128.00. It's probably the best (non-comp) street tire you can buy.

Another would be the Sumitomo HTR Z III for $95.00. It's an impressive performer and a steal for the price.

And another would be the Falken Azenis Rt615 at $107. A very impressive tire with dry performance close to the Dunlop but not as good in wet.

Lastly would be the Kumho Ecsta SPT for $82. Very good at just about everything but a step down from the RE070 except in wet.

One thing should be pointed out. The Dunlop and Falken have a 200 tread life vs. 300 for the HTR Z III and 320 for the SPT.

(all prices based on 225/45 R17)

If your going to replace tires think 245/40 R17s! (prices will vary)

Until I see some test on the Kumho XS I can not recommend them. I absolutely cannot recommend the MX over any of the other tires that I posted.

There was a write-up that pitted the SPT against the MX shortly after the SPT came out that I found absolutely shocking. The SPT ran nearly identical lap times, slalom times and held similar lateral g-forces in cornering in dry, but exceeded the MX in wet. It was also quieter and more comfortable on the road. The writer said that the only reasons he could see to chose the MX over the SPT was for slightly better steering response and cornering stability which he felt "subjectively" were better on the MX. But closed by saying that if it were his money, his choice between the two would be the SPTs.

The problem with the SPT vs the MX is that the SPT will wear very quickly when used for autox (even more so on a heavy car) and tends to chunk up on the track when it gets hot while the MX will take the heat better.

Katya4me wrote:

avriette wrote:i haven't decided yet between bridgestone and hoosier (katie, if you have input here, it's welcome), but the next set of tires (prolly round march or so) will be street-rubber slicks (e.g. not R-rubber).

I know nothing about motorcycle tires.

i could swear i replied to this. it's possible i didn't. at any rate, i had a brainfart and mixed up bridgestone and bfg.

hey look, it's captain retard with the reply button again!!

I think Sandy and I are choosing to buy the 'spensive tires for the bikes this season. So the plans of getting the real fancy tires for the Subaru are out this summer, I think. When I look at Tire Rack, I see a bunch of stuff in the $160-280 range, and then I see these Sumitomo's, which aren't rated so poorly, for like $70. The Sumitomo HTR-Z from Tire Rack?

Is it made from baby seals or something?

The problem with the HTR-Z is that they were only a fair performer in their day which was 10+ years ago.
The Kuhmo SPTs at $81.00 are a better deal by far. They have twice the wear rating 320 vs 160 and their load rating is higher.
Also, I had the Yokohama A520 which were compared to the HTR-Z and were ranked higher and I can say that I like the SPTs significantly more than the A520s, especially in the wet, where the A520s were noticeably slicker.

Do some looking for the Falken FK-452, Nitto NeoGen, Hankook Ventus HRII occasionally there are deals to be had.

drwrx wrote:The problem with the HTR-Z is that they were only a fair performer in their day which was 10+ years ago.
The Kuhmo SPTs at $81.00 are a better deal by far. They have twice the wear rating 320 vs 160 and their load rating is higher.
Also, I had the Yokohama A520 which were compared to the HTR-Z and were ranked higher and I can say that I like the SPTs significantly more than the A520s, especially in the wet, where the A520s were noticeably slicker.

Do some looking for the Falken FK-452, Nitto NeoGen, Hankook Ventus HRII occasionally there are deals to be had.

I liked a set of A520's I had a looooong time ago. Those are pretty old tires, too, right? And, remember, I'm not real worried about wet performance (but let's not drag it out again). Where do you look for these "deals to be had"?

edgeracing.com will once in a while have a special.
Tirevan.com will also have good deals as well.
You may want to do a search/shop on a specific tire and see what you find.

edge racing I am told went out of business recently (posted on GRM forums)
I agree with springing for the SPT's if your budget can stretch a little more.

Does your car take the same size tires as any current subaru's that come stock with decent tires(if any)? Sometimes you can pickup cheap low mileage takeoffs from people that think stock = bad.

moxnix wrote:edge racing I am told went out of business recently (posted on GRM forums)

I was wondering why the site wouldn't come-up. Damn! I really liked that place good selection, good prices.