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Old 11-17-2004, 07:45 AM   #1
HerculesPeanut
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Default Best Summer Street Tire for the money? Will not take to Track!

Hello,

I am getting ready for new tires and am looking for recommendations. I've done some searches but everywhere I look I get recommendations that include the word "TRACK". I'm not interested in that kind of tire

This car is a daily driver, never on the track and never on snow. It is, however a Stage 2 (and then some) car with more horse power than the stock tires can handle.

What I want is an inexpensive tire that will last but is better on dry than OEM and great on wet roads. I'm concerned about safety here. I can give up a little on hard cornering if I have to.

I know I am asking a lot but this seems like a good place to look. I have checked out Tirerack (great site) but there are so many choices and everyone seems to have something nagative to say at some point or other.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
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Old 11-17-2004, 07:49 AM   #2
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Falken FK-451
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Old 11-17-2004, 08:49 AM   #3
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Ecsta MX would be my suggestion or for a little more $$$ the Eagle F1 GS-D3
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Old 11-17-2004, 12:37 PM   #4
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Thanks for the reply. I have been looking at the Yokohama ES100s. Can you give me some insight as to how these other tires compare?

Thanks
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Old 11-17-2004, 12:47 PM   #5
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IF you can still find'em, try the AVON ZZ-1 tire. british made, cheap (205/50-16 ZR rated for $108 a corner) i've run them for 2 summers, great in the dry and wet, sticks like a booger with a smooth breakaway at the limit. they don't squeal too much either (hated my nittos for that)
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Old 11-17-2004, 01:17 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HerculesPeanut
Thanks for the reply. I have been looking at the Yokohama ES100s. Can you give me some insight as to how these other tires compare?

Thanks
I ran ES100's last year and I was not particularly impressed. Their grip is pretty good but they are terribly loud at the limit. I eventually got a nail in the center of the tread which for some reason caused the entire sidewall to seperate from the tread at 80mph! Not fun but this may not be specific to these tires. I replaced them with Avon Tech M 500's which are slightly cheaper, quieter at the limit, and grip seems to be about the same although I didn't do a back to back comparison. I like the Avons, but if I had more money I'd probably run Azenis or Kumho MX's which would require more frequent replacement. Another thing about the ES100's was that the shoulder of the tread seemed to wear down very quickly. It could be my driving style but it doesn't seem to be so apparent on this set yet (~10,000 miles).
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Old 11-17-2004, 05:24 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whtlegacy
I ran ES100's last year and I was not particularly impressed. Their grip is pretty good but they are terribly loud at the limit. I eventually got a nail in the center of the tread which for some reason caused the entire sidewall to seperate from the tread at 80mph! Not fun but this may not be specific to these tires. I replaced them with Avon Tech M 500's which are slightly cheaper, quieter at the limit, and grip seems to be about the same although I didn't do a back to back comparison. I like the Avons, but if I had more money I'd probably run Azenis or Kumho MX's which would require more frequent replacement. Another thing about the ES100's was that the shoulder of the tread seemed to wear down very quickly. It could be my driving style but it doesn't seem to be so apparent on this set yet (~10,000 miles).
Im on my second pair of ES100's (225/45/17 I think cant remember ) Not too loud for me, but they are a rougher ride especially with 17" wheels. Tread does go fast if you take corners to the limit the way I do I am in the process of buying seperate stock wheels with winter tires for tahoe trips, I dont want to risk it in the snow.

I also have an experience with a blowout on the freeway but mine was good under the circumstances. I was 90-100mph on the freeway when I hit uneven pavement due to construction (it was terrible, about 2-3 inches tall and I hit the corner of it) anyways, my front left tire blew out bending the wheel and bending the left rear wheel also. This happend on a lower profile es100 (225/40/17 I think, that is why I now have the 45) The car didnt go out of control and it took about 1 min for me to feel the flat. It sucked royaly but Im still alive

I dont have any other comparisons, but I would guess that its more geared towards performance driving than a daily driver, but I like "spirited driving" and dont mind the roughness. I will probably buy them again for a summer tire.

just my opinion
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Old 11-17-2004, 06:26 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty
Falken FK-451
How much are these?

I would go to tirerack, but here at work almost all web sites are blocked. Im sooo lucky to have this one!!
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Old 11-17-2004, 08:16 PM   #9
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I don't think you can get the Falkens at Tire Rack. I can't see them as an option, anyway.
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Old 11-17-2004, 08:30 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subenerd
How much are these?

I would go to tirerack, but here at work almost all web sites are blocked. Im sooo lucky to have this one!!

I just got (4) in 205/55/r16 Shipped to my front door for $300.00 even. I think 17's are 5$ more each.
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Old 11-17-2004, 09:29 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subenerd
How much are these?

I would go to tirerack, but here at work almost all web sites are blocked. Im sooo lucky to have this one!!

http://www.edgeracing.com/tire/702/

They are better in the wet than the MX's and a bit cheaper than the Goodyears although both of those would be good choices as well.


...and I'd stay FAR away from the ES100's.....the WRX i drove that had them didn't seem to do very well with them, and they didn't last long.
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Old 11-17-2004, 10:39 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty
http://www.edgeracing.com/tire/702/

They are better in the wet than the MX's and a bit cheaper than the Goodyears although both of those would be good choices as well.
These are 225s. Do you recommend them because Falkens run small or bigger is better?
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Old 11-17-2004, 11:15 PM   #13
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IMO, the stock 205/55 size is useless as tits on a bull except for snow tires....and then I'd likely go with a 195/60....

The 225/50 is a better 'summer' tire size.
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Old 11-18-2004, 09:26 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty
IMO, the stock 205/55 size is useless as tits on a bull except for snow tires....and then I'd likely go with a 195/60....

The 225/50 is a better 'summer' tire size.

Uncle, correct me if I'm wrong. Going from a 205 to a 225 can have some the following effects:

- Less wet traction
- More sidewall flex
- greater chance pull in grooves
- more noise.

Considering it might be a minimal difference, If your looking for an RE92 OEM replacement, your best bet is to stay stock.
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Old 11-18-2004, 01:09 PM   #15
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If you are sure that you will never go to the track, I would look for a tire that maximizes wet grip. With a high performance tire on the street, it is difficult to exceed the tire's grip in the dry. It's pretty easy to exceed the tire's grip in the wet. The better wet grip high performance tires seem to be the Eagle F1 GS-D3, Dunlop Pilot Sport PS2, and Falken FK-451. Of these, the FK-451 seems to be a real bargain.

I once said that I would never autox too. If you haven't tried it, you might want to try an autox. The Kumho MX makes a very good autox tire. While they are not supposed to be as good in the wet, I still have full tread and mine work great in the wet. As the tread wears down that may change.
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Old 11-18-2004, 01:43 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Celly
Uncle, correct me if I'm wrong. Going from a 205 to a 225 can have some the following effects:

- Less wet traction
- More sidewall flex
- greater chance pull in grooves
- more noise.
I don't think you have to worry about any of these.

the wet grip on a 225mm Eagle F1 is far beyond a 205 RE92, or Azenis Sport. (Three tires I've had on my car). If you are talking about hydroplaning in standing water, then yes, for the same tire, wider is less resistang to hydroplaning, but tread design is much more important than an extra 20mm.

More noise is only to do with tread design, construction.

If the sidewalls were more flexible, then you'd get less pulling/tramlining. Tramlining comes mainly from stiff/short sidewalls/wide wheels. The height of the sidewall isn't changing so you aren't changing this by much. you'd have a more noticeable effect going from 225-50 16 to 225-45 17 on a 7.5" rim
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Old 11-18-2004, 01:43 PM   #17
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nothing new here

Last edited by Gonz; 11-18-2004 at 11:21 PM.
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Old 11-18-2004, 09:45 PM   #18
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The new Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, in UK tire tests, pretty much owned everything around. Tire Rack has them in (just recently, I think). Unreal in the dry apparently, and excellent in the rain as well, like the vaunted SP Sport 9000.

Kevin
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Old 11-18-2004, 10:44 PM   #19
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....but are the Dunlops worth $250+/set more than the others.......???
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Old 11-18-2004, 10:55 PM   #20
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what's the opinion on Kumho 711/2 on this board? my friend's protege has some 712's and my god... the increase in road holding was eye-popping...
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Old 11-18-2004, 11:30 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Handsdown
what's the opinion on Kumho 711/2 on this board? my friend's protege has some 712's and my god... the increase in road holding was eye-popping...

Tires like the Goodyear F1, Dunlop SP9000, or Bridgestone S03 will stick better in the wet than 712's do in the dry. But they're also 2x the price, or more.

My obersvation is that on this board the 712's seem to get pretty similar reviews to the Yoko ES100's. People who compare them to stock RE92's will tell you they are fantastic, and people who compare them to max performance tires will tell you they aren't worth putting on your car. In any case, they are older technology, so they tend to be very cheap, but are not as good as the newer entry level high performance tires.
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Old 11-19-2004, 01:03 AM   #22
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It's not often I see a post that I think speaks the opinion of the board accurately ( as if that can ever really be done), but if it can, Gonz just did it.
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Old 11-19-2004, 01:26 AM   #23
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711/712 are nice if all you have ever had was re-92's......but they suck balls(the es100's, too) compared to almost any other UHP tire.....and for the price of MX's or 451's....I wouldn't even consider them for anything other than a fire or a boat fender or some similar fate.....
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Old 11-19-2004, 08:39 PM   #24
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I think you comments have really helped. It seems that the Yokohama ES100 was once a good choice, cheap and much better than stock. Perhaps it still has some value vs the more expensive Goodyear/Michelin/Bridgestones but there are now other, better inexpensive tires out there.

I'll go with the Falkens. That's a tough price to beat.

Now if I can just control my spending urges and NOT buy the 17" SSR Comps, I should be able to through this fairly inexpensively.

Thanks for the input.
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Old 11-19-2004, 09:01 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subenerd
This happend on a lower profile es100 (225/40/17 I think, that is why I now have the 45) The car didnt go out of control and it took about 1 min for me to feel the flat. It sucked royaly but Im still alive
Um... ES100s arent made in a 225/40/17... hell only one tire is made in a 225/40/17 and thats a Nitto.. bleh

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gonz
Tires like the Goodyear F1, Dunlop SP9000, or Bridgestone S03 will stick better in the wet than 712's do in the dry. But they're also 2x the price, or more.

My obersvation is that on this board the 712's seem to get pretty similar reviews to the Yoko ES100's. People who compare them to stock RE92's will tell you they are fantastic, and people who compare them to max performance tires will tell you they aren't worth putting on your car. In any case, they are older technology, so they tend to be very cheap, but are not as good as the newer entry level high performance tires.
SHOOT! that means if I downgrade to a less expensive tire(thus not as great of a performer) I'm gonna cry (I'm on my 2nd set of S-03s)... I was looking into ES100s, but I think I'll cross em off.

Now its Azenis, S-03s, and Goodyear F1s. Argh...
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