Tires!

[Roadster]

What's everybody running? I'm on a shot set of Ecsta SPT's right now and I'm in the market for another dual duty auto-x'er/semi-daily driver.

I've driven on the Azenis RT-615 a few times and I'm in love with them, but what are the other options out there in the same price range right now? I haven't looked into it a whole lot. Wet traction isn't a major issue. Just looking for rib-cracking grip and...average tire life. :)

What's everybody else rolling on?

[BFH miata]

Hankook RS2's. They held up well to a track day at TGP and I've put a bunch of street miles on them. Might not fall under the "rib cracking grip" part, though.

[thx712517]

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R tires in a 195/50-15. THE BEST TIRE YET!

[Tinman88]

The RE-01R is supposed to be much grippier and last longer than the RT-615.

The STS2 car is probably getting the 225 Toyo R1Rs whenever they come out. Right now it's rolling on the most generic POS tires I've ever seen.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

The RE01R's smallest size is 15inch right? I remember from my days with 17's they were quite pricey but if they do have increased tyre life then I suppose that offsets it.

I've got RT615's and put about 10k and a few autox on them so far, still going good and loving the grip.

[Otto]

RT615's very nice tire, just dont overstep the limits, or they will bite you, sadly not much nowadays in the 14 in size, but the 50-60 dollar price tag is nice:P

[viperbite]

17x9

fronts:
225 45 17

rears:
235 45 17

:P

[Tinman88]

17x9

fronts:
225 45 17

rears:
235 45 17

:P


That seems like an awful lot of wheel for those tires. Are they stretched at all?

[MeFryRice]

I've got RT615's and put about 10k and a few autox on them so far, still going good and loving the grip.

I agree. They are awesome for the price. The only issue I have with them though is if you get them past their heat cycle, they start to melt and feel like your driving on oil. :(

[JDM88]

I've not had that issue yet. The most hardcore performance they've had is at autox and I'm neither fast enough or have had plenty of time between runs recently.

[JDM88]

And at $280 shipped... :D

[Tinman88]

I've not had that issue yet. The most hardcore performance they've had is at autox and I'm neither fast enough or have had plenty of time between runs recently.


Yeah, a one-driver car isn't really going to run into a lot of issues with the tires getting too greasy. It's only when you are taking a run every 5-10 minutes that it becomes a big problem.

[JDM88]

....lol I want to take runs so often to get that problem. Doing a 2 person car must really help with the track familiarity and times.

[metalman]

Running Yokohama S-Drive's on the NB, plain ole Toyo Proxes4 on the NA.
The Yokos are new to me...still checking them out.

[Tinman88]

....lol I want to take runs so often to get that problem. Doing a 2 person car must really help with the track familiarity and times.


It makes it a lot more fun, too. Neither my co-driver or myself are terribly fast, but it does help to get those extra looks at the course and have somebody to bounce ideas off of. It helped a lot at the last event because we could compare where we were bouncing off the rev limiter and figure out where we could each pick up some speed. Having somebody else in the same car to compare your times to helps you know how fast you're going as well. It's also nice to be able to keep some heat in the R-compounds.

[nderwater]

I ran Azenis for a while - the grip was awesome, but the ride quality was terrible for a daily driver. They were replaced by a set of Ecsta SPT's, which were terrific in the wet but gave up a lot of dry traction. I'm currently running a set of RS2's. I wasn't impressed at first, but as I put more miles on them (<500 so far) they're improving signifigantly in braking and cornering traction - clearly better than the SPT's with only a slightly less comfortable ride.

[CaveRacing]

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R tires in a 195/50-15. THE BEST TIRE YET!


From my experience, I'll second the vote for RE01R. These tires GRIP!!!

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

Some good info in here. Albeit I'm slightly limited with the stock 14's... guess I'll just have to get some 9UL's :D

[RotorNutFD3S]

I'm on Ecsta SPTs like the OP. I haven't invested in something for the track simply because I haven't had the time for track events. Maybe that will change sometime soon.

[Doppelgänger]

i've been using 215-40/17 Nitto NeoGen for street, but have used Bridgestone Fuzion ZRi too. Been happy with both for regular street driving. I used to run Dunlop FM901's and loved them.

For track i have 235-40/17 Hankook Z211 c50 compund slicks.

[Roadster]

My RT-615s are nice and broken in now. I'm in love with them. So much grip. banana

[Doppelgänger]

Well, in the next month or two i'll be getting new tires (yay, i made it about a year and a half on a set of NeoGens!)... but i'm stuck between the RT 615 ($113 each) or the new Dunlop Dizzera Sport Z1 Star Spec ($120 each)....

http://base1.googlehosted.com/base_media?q=http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/dunlop/du_dir_spt_z1_starspec_ci2_s.jpg

And i don't know if i want to keep my current 215 40-17 or step up to a 235 40-17. Are the RT615 "oversize" for their size? Like my 235 40-17 Hankook slicks are actually as wide as a 255 street tire... and my old 205 50 15 slicks i used to run were as big as 225 45-15 street tires. Which brings up another choice... of selling my current 7.5" wide wheels and going up to 8.5" wide wheels.....

[nderwater]

If you get the Star Specs, let us know how you like them once you've broken them in. I'm seriously considering putting a set on my M3 in the next rotation.

[Doppelgänger]

On paper , they seem like a killer tire.. big tread blocks, square shoulders, decent water dsipursement and a new sticky compound. I'm more likely to get them over the Azenis because of the whole wet driving thing. I know the Hankook Z212 is a popular tire.. but something tells me the Z1's are better.

[MeFryRice]

Well, in the next month or two i'll be getting new tires (yay, i made it about a year and a half on a set of NeoGens!)... but i'm stuck between the RT 615 ($113 each) or the new Dunlop Dizzera Sport Z1 Star Spec ($120 each)....

I am a huge fan of the RT-615 although they are not so great for wet conditions, especially if they are lower almost bald. I have read really good reviews on the Z1's.

And i don't know if i want to keep my current 215 40-17 or step up to a 235 40-17. Are the RT615 "oversize" for their size? Like my 235 40-17 Hankook slicks are actually as wide as a 255 street tire... and my old 205 50 15 slicks i used to run were as big as 225 45-15 street tires. Which brings up another choice... of selling my current 7.5" wide wheels and going up to 8.5" wide wheels.....


The sidewalls on the RT-615 are oversized. I have a 40 series on the S2k now but you'd think they were a 45 or even a 50 series.

[Sawyer]

I finally got my new tires put on about 2 weeks ago! :D

[Doppelgänger]

Something tells me i'll probably skip the RT615's and go with the Z1's

[Roadster]

I've been in some pretty heavy rain with the RT-615's so far and they grip a hell of a lot better than the Ziex 912's or Fuzion ZRi's that I had on my previous Miata...and those were considered all-seasons.