Almost time for summer tires

[madman]

So I need tires for this summer and I'm most likely to go with the RT 615's since they seem to be the most comparable to stock but I'm wondering about their traction in the rain. I hear it's not that great.

Does anyone have a 2nd best choice, maybe geared to better wet traction.

My order of importance in a summer tire:
response
wet traction
tread life
price

[turbolarry]

I've never driven them, but Evomrguy drives a set of RT-615's and he says they do get squirrly in the rain.
Right now I drive a set of Kumho MX's and never had a problem in the rain, however I'm not getting another set due to its softer sidewall.
I am looking into getting Dunlop's Direzza Z1 for my next tires.
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1
I haven't seen any negatives about this tire yet (online reveiws/other foums).

[Wicked E]

RT-615's are scary as hell when wet...

The Dunlops are awesome!!! Not quite as sticky as the RT's though...

I would also recommend you look into the Pole Positions. These are the ones recommended to me by the TireRack guy on EvoM when I inquired about a better road noise tire, good grip, good wet traction, etc.

[madman]

Originally Posted by turbolarry

I've never driven them, but Evomrguy drives a set of RT-615's and he says they do get squirrly in the rain.
Right now I drive a set of Kumho MX's and never had a problem in the rain, however I'm not getting another set due to its softer sidewall.
I am looking into getting Dunlop's Direzza Z1 for my next tires.
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1
I haven't seen any negatives about this tire yet (online reveiws/other foums).

I can't find the Dunlop Sport Z1 in stock size 235/45/17

Would 245/45/17 or 255/40/17 work?

[Evolvd]

255/40's work great for the stock wheel. I'm running that size now and have no issues with rubbing and it has a little bit of tire hanging over the rim in case you have depth perception issues with curbs

I'd stay away from the 615's unless you're going to track them. For daily driving they aren't required. Honestly, who takes every corner at 10/10's and needs that kind of traction for daily driving? I'd prefer a good grip, wet and dry, along with good tread wear. I currently have BFG G-Force Sports on my car and they are great. Spent about $93 per tire. I've yet to break them loose with spirited driving (although I'm sure I could if I pushed them) and they get great traction in the rain. Now I won't run them in snow....they are about uselss in snow. But then again you said summer tires so there ya go

[madman]

How is the sidewall stiffness on the BFG's?

If I can't get into the Dunlops then I'm thinking of trying Yokohama S.Drives.

[Evolvd]

I have no basis to compare it to. I'm really not an agressive driver very often so I can't say how good or bad it is. All I know is they serve my needs for daily driving and don't give me any worries when I decide to get a little spirited.

I've also heard good things about the Falken 452's

[BAMBAM]

I raced on my falkens at Bandi and drove in a blizzard that last winter and they are great. I love these tires.

[evoRSTroy]

Originally Posted by Evolvd

I have no basis to compare it to. I'm really not an agressive driver very often so I can't say how good or bad it is. All I know is they serve my needs for daily driving and don't give me any worries when I decide to get a little spirited.

I've also heard good things about the Falken 452's

these are the tires I have on my 18's (the FK-452's). I am impressed with them so far, but with the weather lately, haven't really been able to push them yet, to test the grip level

good response/feedback, low noise, haven't had any problems in the wet

[turbolarry]

Originally Posted by madman

I can't find the Dunlop Sport Z1 in stock size 235/45/17

It turns out they added a "StarSpec", changed some sizes, and raised prices.

[madman]

No luck on the Dunlop's so I was set on the Yoko S.Drive's but my shop couldn't get them so I opted for the Yoko ES100's.

They should be on tomarrow and I let you know what I think.

[BAMBAM]

Yea please do. What rating are those by the way?

[evoRSTroy]

Originally Posted by madman

No luck on the Dunlop's so I was set on the Yoko S.Drive's but my shop couldn't get them so I opted for the Yoko ES100's.

They should be on tomarrow and I let you know what I think.

I have used those tires before, they are terrible IMO. I was very unhappy with them, hopefully you fare better.

[madman]

They are ZR rated.

Yokohama AVS ES100

[madman]

Originally Posted by evoRSTroy

I have used those tires before, they are terrible IMO. I was very unhappy with them, hopefully you fare better.

Yeah I really wanted these Yokohama S.drive

I have seen a lot of good reviews on the ES's but yeah I'm not expecting them being very close to the stock Yoko's.

[madman]

Yokohama ES100 235/45/17

The tires are on and my fist impression is... there not that bad.

The day is 45* and rainy. Tire pressure 35psi all around (cold)

I wanted good rain tires so I'm glad it was raining. I'm happy with how they handled today. I was able to easily maintain 50-60 mph on a circle on-ramp to the highway with no feeling of wanting to slide. They handled very good around town and stopped great on the wet cold streets. I had my 2 yr old with me so I wasn't going to get crazy with them.

I would rate the response 7 out of 10. At first, on highway, they felt a little washy as I moved the wheel back and forth. As they warmed up that feeling went away and became a little more tight, not as much as I wanted but not bad. I'm hoping that as the temperatue gets warmer that these tires will handle even better.

Road noise consisted of mostly rain and watter noise so I wasn't able to gauge them very well.

Overall ride quality was good.

I will try to follow up on these as I get more miles on them and have some nice warm days to really test them out.

Again my purpose for these tires was a dedicated summer tire for daily driving and possibly a few track days.