The Official Tire Thread

i read about these, they seem to have a squishy sidewall

 

Not super firm but I find them to be alright. They are what I have on my wrx and I find no issues taking nearly all onramps at 50+

 

What about a quick lane change on the freeway does it feel like the tire lags? The lgt is heavier so i think it would be worse (yes i could have more psi but i have ruled this tire out)

 

Have not noticed much tire lag. Have made multiple emergency lane changes with little to no drama. Compared to a re070 the side walls are deffinatly softer

 

Squishy sidewall will only impact the few milliseconds it takes to load up the tire, and yields a softer feel on initial turn in.
if you're on snow tires right now, it won't be worse than that, and will have almost zero impact in steady state turning.

it does yield a nicer ride though.

short of mid to high level autox where you're transitioning the car back and forth to full load within a second, soft sidewall isn't something you can't drive around.

 

Just ordered the new Dunlop z2's today. Will put them to the test after all the snow goes away and it warms up.

 

Keep us posted. Can't wait to hear how they are!

 

The new z2's!

 

I'm really interested in those camber tires Derek posted that video about.

 

^ I think they are cool... but I would still get Z2's when my Z1's wear out

 

I'll let you know how the z2's are! Very excited to put them on!

 

Looking at wheels on wheeldude.com thinking it will be easier to order them with tires so it's between the falken fk-453 or the hankook ventus v12..curious if anyone has ran either tire before and just looking for any feedback. Also looking at a 18x 9.5 wheel thinking either 255 or 265 tire but I can't decide which is a better way to go, gonna be put on on a 2011 wrx so I'm guessing I will have to do a rear fender roll with either tire?

edit...I will also have the koni adjustables and rce black springs on the car soon so there is that to consider.

 

Wheel dude charges a few hundred dollars more for tires... why not save some money and go through tire rack?

I tried to get them to match prices when i got my Rotas, but they did not care about the sale. They know that tires are cheaper else where and only offer tires to the customers as an "extra". IMHO - buy the tires cheaper online, get them mounted at a good shop, save a few hundred dollars.

 

Ok you are right I just found similar tires on tire rack for about $250 less so I will definatlely go that route, you think 255's will work ok or should i step up to 265?

 

What I did when checking my tires.

#1 - Tire Rack will tell you what the tire is rated for. I made sure my Z1 tire was rated for a 9.5 inch rim. Check the specs on the tire you want and see what they rate for width of rim.
#2 - Look at people who have the same gen car + rims + similar tire specs. I was able to find a ton of examples on NASIOC. I was looking at Rota Grids... I went to the Rota thread. I found cars and PM'd the person about the specs. About 80% of them responded. I also talked to them about what suspension they had and what fender modifications they did. Then you can get an idea of how that relates to your setup and what to expect.

I ended up rolling my fenders, although it wasn't required when we put the tires on my car. Since I had planned on doing it, had the tools and expert to do it, we did it anyways. I have what Ben calls "Monster Truck Gap" on my wheels. Mainly because I haven't put money into my struts and springs yet. However, the tires fit. They work on the street/track ... and I love the grip.

 

I have the Hankook v12 evo's on my gram lights on the wrx, they are a great non winter DD tire in my opinion.

I have z1 star specs on other wheels I use for the real fun, I will probably try out the rivals or maybe some a6's next.

 

a guy down in milwaukee had a set on an Ev0X at an autox last year... the results were less than impressive. I think they might help a stock, camber challenged car a bit, but if you can get proper camber, do it. a camber tire won't really change the sweep of your control arm, and the camber added/lost to it.

 

Once you go purple crack, there's no going back man...

 

I know, I am trying to do some "soul searching" right now with my next direction with racing. I found a good deal on some 1 heat cycle use a6s(275/35/17 for $400+ shipping from a dude who had to bump to 18s this year and now has about 20 a6's to sell) and figured if I buy those it will force me to keep my WRX DS legal this year while I search for what I get next, or keeping the wrx.

 

Have you seen the proposals for the end of "Stock" classes to be replaced with "Street" classes... focusing on street tires, open sway bars, camber adjustability, DA Struts, and wheel size changes to be launched over the next two years.

 

Ben picked up a set of federals. People really seem to like them.

I am a fan of the star specs. When we went to BIR with BMW last year 80% of the cars were running Star Specs on the track.

 

Ah makes sense

 

been trying to decide on tires for my new rims 18x8.75 et+35 going on 02 wrx sedan. 235/40 or 45's?
what would be a good all season in the mid range and would be more of a plug and play?
I don't want to mess around with camber nor pull fenders, maybe a roll in the back and on stock springs.
any suggestion or anyone have experience in this form?

 

18x8.75 and offset +35, means you need to roll and or pull fenders, regardless of what tire you put on them.
+35 offset is commonly referred to as "the wrong offset." in subaru land.
Unless you're a flushtard. then.. well.. you'll still have to roll and/or pull fenders.

 

It seems like comparing the a tire like the star specs, ventus rs3 with tires like the extremecontact dw or ventus v12 evos is comparing apples to oranges. The first two are certainly going to outperform the latter two in extremely hard driving during DRY conditions, but the latter two are actually going to prevent your car from hydroplaning if it rains, while still maintaining a very high level of performance. So it comes down to how much safety one is willing to compromise for performance or DD vs track if you like. This guy is ordering some evos.

 

dw is the better tire. star spec and rs3 are in another category

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=MP

 

scratch that, more research is needed. Though I did find out they are discontinuing the DW.

 

1. The Star Spec is a FANTASTIC tire in the wet and the Toyo R1R is better. There are other tires that sacrafice wet for dry performance.. The BFG Rivals and Hankook RS3s are tires like this.

2. The DW is basically a summer only tire with a wet bias (DW = Dry Wet. The DWS is Dry Wet Snow). Street tire Autoxers have found this tire tire to be even faster than the previously mentioned Specs and Toyos in standing water conditions.

The reason i recommend the Star Specs to everyone over the cheaper hankooks is because most people don't buy separate rain tires on their fast cars, nor do they get a chance to bring them up to temp where they really grip. the dunlop is an extremely fast tire that will let you extract the maximum performance from your car, while still maintaining a good wet and temperature safety margin.

 

For almost exactly $100 more/ set (current promotion) than the DW, one can own Michelin PSS....which seems to be the best of the best. Any thoughts/ experience on that tire

 

Everbody loves it

 

Thanks for the insight. I PM'd MPLSREX as well.

 

On days like today, I could not be happier with my Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3's. They are the most expensive tires I've ever bought but after a full winter of driving on them I'll say they perform better in any type of snow/ ice than any other winter tire and I've run a few different Hakkapeliittas, Hankooks, Continentals, etc. I'll always buy the best tires I can. To me it's cheap compared to the alternatives of car repair, people repair (ie. hospital bills), etc.

 

drove on DWSs to work today and it was garbage compared to being on Michelin Xice2 all winter. Granted they are lower profile and it was icy today, but braking and turning still felt awful

 

Profile's probably not what hurt you today... You're comparing an All-Season (DWS) to a dedicated performance winter tire (Xice2).. which is like trying to compare snow boots to Stilletto shoes... they'll both get you around in the snow and ice, but one is going to do a much better job.

That being said, the DWS is still up there in my list of "All season tires for people who live with snow but refuse to buy proper tires" falling only after the Nokian WGR2 which is about as close to an all season snow tire as you can get.

But you do have to pay attention with the DWS.. they mold into the tread the different functions of the tire.. The letters DWS are in the center tread, and molded at different depths. Once the S is gone, they're no longer any good for snow. W gone? better pray it doesn't rain. D gone? Why are you still on these tires?

 

I know, i was just supporting that guys comment about winter tires being awesome

 

Ah.. gotcha.
This is the internet after all.. it can be really hard to identify a terrible opinion/comparison.
That's why i don't trust TireRack user reviews.

 

I absolutely love my pilot super sports( Michelin). Those and the direzza star specs were my favs. I'm very anxious to try the direzza z2. the Michelins and star specs are awesome in wet conditions.

 

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fi...5106&frmcart=true&pc=28865&ar=60&rd=15&cs=195

anyone run these on any of their cars. Considering picking these up for the gf as one of her current hankooks has a nasty bulge on the side of it.

 

Oh boy, I hated those tires. They were the loudest and softest tire I've ever driven on. Avoid this tire.

 

If you wanna go cheap. Buy the 612. If budget is not an issue, get the avid touring s.

 

Ok thanks for the input. I will look at both of them. I wanted to get the 960 pole positions. I had these on my wrx for awhile and they were awesome. About the same price as the Avid's but they are special order and with the massive bulge these tries need to be be replaced asap and Its her only car. She drives from coon rapids to the U 5 days a week.

 

You just have to decide if you want a preformance/summer tire, or more of a touring all season tire. Yokohamas will last longer and provide a better ride and better AS Traction. Where as the re960 will handle better under harder driving conditions but will not last as long out do as good in the snow. Same applies to the 612, more of a high performance summer tire.