Before I get yelled at, yes I searched and the newest thread I found was from 2015. I am getting ready to start doing some open drift days and possibly a drift school. Car is an S14, stock KA, stock trans, welded diff. I already have two sets of wheels in 16" so I would like to stick with a 205/55r16 or similar tire.

Right now I am looking at running the Federal 595 RS-R in the front and 595 SS in the rear. Is there another tire I should look at? I have heard good things about Kenda and Triangle but Kenda doesn't come in 16" from what I can see and they sound like they can be a pain to find on a consistent basis. I would like to keep the options closer to or below $70 a tire for the rears to keep things somewhat reasonable.

I do have some questions as well, if someone could help me out with. People say 595s wont be too much for stock KA power but I still feel like it might be too much tire, so I just thought I would ask everyone's opinions. Second, right now the plan is a 205 tire but should I run a size bigger or smaller on either end to make it easier to break loose or add grip to the front?

Thanks for any advice, John

Hey John!

Sounds like a budget drift rig, so I'm not sure why you'd be buying new tires. With the small amount of power you'll be laying down, used tires would be my choice. Stay sticky in the front (you don't want to plow) and keep everything pretty close to square (same size) for swapping sake.

The added benefit? You can get a feel for what works, what doesn't, AND you develop additional skill (because each set of tires will behave differently).

Welcome aboard!

I wouldn't say budget, I went through rebuilt the engine and trans to so that I don't have to worry about them failing as much as I would a random setup. What I am trying to do is make the car as little of a variable as I can so that the only thing I have to fight with is my own skill level. This is why I want to use new instead of used tires at least to start out with if that makes sense. I understand the ability to drive different tires and I believe that is good once you already have a skillbase to pull from but I will be starting from scratch.
Thank you, John