Help me decide on some tires

[Kaeyen]

I know a local tire guy who can hook me up with tires for reasonably cheapDespite all the research I've done, I cant really decide which to getMy car is just a daily driver but tires are pretty important to me and I want good dry/wet grip with decent treadwearThe ones I've been looking at are Falken 512's, Yokohama H4S, and Yokohama ES100'sideally I'd like the es100's but they're still a little pricey but I'm not sure just how much bang for the buck each tire is worth

[skydragoness]

Can he get Bridgestones? I swear by the RE950, 400 treadwear, I ran them on my daily driver for 3 yrs with still decent tread left (autocrossing, backroad-bombing, etc) but the rear pair were damaged by bad toe settings. I sold my front ones to a local NICO member who is enjoying them now. The only con's about them is that they're slightly heavy than most tires, but lemme tell ya, those sidewalls even in my oem 205/60/15, never flexed. I'm running BF Goodrich Traction T/A's now, which are comparable wet/dry but they have noticeable squirm at the limits. I've driven on Falken Ziex's and I find them to be like the BF's, soft and squirmy at the limit, but overall very good wet/dry grip.

[Kaeyen]

ThanksI've heard mostly good feedback about the Falken 512's, but havent really heard anything about the H4S'just have to keep doing research

[chrislis]

i cant put in a word until you tell me how well you expect to perform when wet out...

[McRussellPants]

Falken ST-115 FTW.

[Kaeyen]

Well enough to make it through a pretty good downpour without spinning the tires and without going 30 under the speed limitive got some ghetto generic tires on the back wheels now and when the roads wet if the rpms go above 1.8-2k they start spinning

[naed240sx]

I have es100's on all four corners, and they get my vote. They ought to grip a lot better than the others, and the stiff sidewalls make for responsive handling. they also seem to be lasting a while, considering how often I end up spinning them. I think I will be getting azenis next however, so that I can maximize the affects of my co suspension.

[d1grandprix]

You would definitely want to go with the YOKO AVS ES100. I have them on my ride and seems to grab pretty decent on wet and dry pavement. I heard on Car and Driver that the GoodYear Eagle F1 GS-D3 has the best performance for wet and dry pavement. You might want to check that out, but I still give props to the YOKO AVS ES100.

[Kaeyen]

I remember the eagle F1's being really really pricey if I remember right, and I wouldn't expect a whole lot out of the tread wear, grippy as they areHow nice it would be if i could afford max performance tires year around...I should drop out of college then I'd have plenty of money

[d1grandprix]

Yeah the eagle F1 runs about $125 each, total of $500 by itself with balancing, etc. I got my ES100 for $460 installed at American Tires. In life you get what you pay for.

[Kaeyen]

Problem is, the more I spend on my tires, the less I have to spend on the rest of my car, and I've got a lot of crap that needs to be tuned/fixed

[SmithSR]

Tires are the most important part of your car.

Can't leave the garage without themCan't stop without them no matter how powerful a big brake kit isCan't turn a corner no matter how expensive your coilovers areCan't do anything related to driving/enjoying your car without tires.Then you consider grip. How can anybody marginalize the value of grip? There is nothing ever, that will replace expensive grippy tires. They don't even have to be wide to grip. Tires are the only part of the car that comes in contact with the road. The most expensive part of your car should be your tires.

Bridgestone, Falken both excellent choices for the money. I lean toward Falken or it's sister Ohtsu. Bridgestone tires come in various subtle levels of quality. Read TireRack's website for reviews. That's an excellent place to start.

[McRussellPants]

Tires are the most important part of your car.

Can't leave the garage without themCan't stop without them no matter how powerful a big brake kit isCan't turn a corner no matter how expensive your coilovers areCan't do anything related to driving/enjoying your car without tires.Then you consider grip. How can anybody marginalize the value of grip? There is nothing ever, that will replace expensive grippy tires. They don't even have to be wide to grip. Tires are the only part of the car that comes in contact with the road. The most expensive part of your car should be your tires.

I've seen many a police pursuit that begs to differ.

[Exar-Kun]

"I lean toward Falken or it's sister Ohtsu"

Smith: Ohtsu owns Falken, IIRC...if you look at some of the "visa" line tires by Ohtsu, they'er simply old falken tread designs....

not ragging ya, just though you'd find that interesting

"I've seen many a police pursuit that begs to differ."

LOL...differ how? your car cant turn to out manuever them, or stay stable at high speeds to get away from ,without good tires man.. I don't care how much power or suspension work you do.....

Also, point of interest, Police spec cars have largely upgraded tires and susnesion systems from the normal crown vics, etc..usually go up at least 2 speed rating (from t to V)....

-Chet

[SmithSR]

Ohtsu does own Falken.Sumitomo owns Ohtsu.Treadways holds the majority share of Sumitomo..Some places, you can't buy Falken, only Ohtsu that look identical to Falken.

We call them sister brands

Like Mountain Dew has it's own headquarters, lawyers, accountants, etc.. basically is it's own company.

But Mountain Dew is of course a Pepsi brand.

I see a similarity somewhere

[nismofly]

i have avon tech m500s, theyre great but you might not like the treadwear, ive got about 6500 miles on them now and i have to rotate, the fronts are still fine but the rears are a little worn...i should be able to get around 12k - 13k from the set which is just fine by me

[Kaeyen]

Thanks for the feedback, and I definitely agree with the importance of tires,you definitely get what you pay for. Still waiting on my guy to get me an order quote for the exact sizes of the different brands, but bank holidays get in the way of that