Hmmm. I have a 2005 STi wtih 8500 miles on it. My original tires are almost done... maybe another thousand miles out of them yet. This is a result of multiple track days and generally spirited driving for the rest of their lives.

I know the RE070's grip better than most any tire I've had. Their rain performance is not that great, but, what can you do.

The STi has 8" rims for 2005. The Evo has 235 width tires. Are the advan's any good? Has anybody tried running the advan's?

A direct comparison of the Advan A046 EVO 235/45/17 and the Bridegstone Potenza RE070 225/45/17 would be EXCELLENT... thanks guys. Id be interested to hear comparisons of ride quality, noise, wear, driving impressions, etc. The Advans have 160 treadwear as opposed to 140 on the STi and seem to have lower maximum inflation pressure (44 vs. 51).

 

I'm confused.... Why are you only looking at two OEM tires? Theres a lot of great tires out there, so why stick with the ones the dealer put on? In general, OEM tires are pretty bad (RE92's for instance), I mean sure the RE070s are excellent for an OEM tire, and pretty good overall, but there are better ones. But whatever you prefer! And as far as your question goes, I have absolutely no clue!

 

hehe thanks for your response but, Subaru put them on, not the dealer.

The RE070's and the Advan's are the absolute best handling OEM tires put on street cars save perhaps the Pirelli's on the Enzo or the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups on the M3 CSL. They might ride harsh and howl on the freeway, but their stiff sidewalls and sticky tread allow them to be real performers on the street and track. They've saved my *** several times, especially on track at Buttonwillow in decreasing radius turns where I've had to tighten my line or go off track.

I have looked at the competition. other tires I'm considering are BF Goodrich TA KD's and a slew of R-compound tires (Toyo RA-1, Dunlop SuperSport Race). I'm not considering the Kumho MX's, S03's, and Pilot Sport 2's because of their absolutely SQUISHY sidewalls. Even though they're a bunch stiffer than most tires out there and grip pretty well, they are nowhere near race tires... even people switching to PS2's have said the sidewalls give vague turn in over RE070's.

My question is merely which of the OEM high performance yet streetable tires are the best.

An added bonus is the fact that OEM takeoffs can be had for extremely low prices. 4 tires for $400 with like 200 miles on them for example...

 

i'm actually really interested in hearing what tires you think are superior to the OEM ones on the STi/Evo... seriously... do you know of any high performance streetable tires that I should consider over either the Advans or Potenza Re070s?

Oh and, people take them (oem'ers) off and replace them because they are relatively annoying to drive on like in the bay area where roads aren't perfect and they have crappy rain performance. Fortunately, my STi isn't my only daily driver, so I can afford to make some ride quality/rain performance compromises in exchange for superb track day performance.

Ive considered putting R-comps on, but I wouldn't run them on the street because of their prohibitive cost and the fact that they'd wear out in like 3-5k miles of street driving where their potential would not be enjoyed and/or utilized.

 

Firstly, I meant subaru, sorry.

On a seriouser note, YOu should totally ignore me, clearly I'm a complete idiot, and you know what your doing. I didn't realize that they were so good, and if you can really get 4 for only 400ish, thats a pretty good deal. I'm not super knowledgeable about this stuff, all my knowledge is from what I read on the forums (and a little outside of them) so thanks for edifying me!

Again, I don't know much, but thought Id say a couple things just to prove my ignorance . I believe the potenza's treadwear rating is like 140ish. The Falken Azenis Sport on the otherhand have a treadwear of 200, thats quite a bit better, and I thought Azenis Sports were THE tire for autoxing, and basically the best tire short of expensive R compounds for the dry. The only complaints I've heard about them are they wear fast, they're noisy, and they suck in the rain. All of these things are problems you mentioned about the RE070s, and said you didn't care about. But I'm sure you considered them. Just out of curiousity whats wrong with them (they can be had new for 400ish)?

Sorry for kinda stealing your thread. Hopefully someone with some real knowledge can help you. Good Luck!

 

Azenis sport are just like the BFGoodrich T/A KD tires. They're pretty nice, from what I've seen, the Sport's are direct competitors to the RE070's and advan's. I've never tried/used Falken tires though I've heard the Azenis are pretty good. I might have to. thanks for the suggestion.

 

I don't think there's a significant advantage one way or another between the RE070s and the Advans as far as ultimate grip, but I believe the Advans have stiffer sidewalls, and you seem very keen on that. You'd get lots of dry grip, good heat capacity, and not very many miles out of these, but the Yokohamas should have the best turn-in and feel of the best dry tires, including the KDs and the Azenis Sports. And of course, all four suck *** in the rain. If I were you, and knew I'd be using at least 2 if not 3 sets of tires in the next year, I'd just try all three in random order to see for myself. I don't think the Kds are $100 a tire better than the Azenis, so I have no plans to run them, but I'm considering all 3 of the others for my autocross wheels next year. Maybe by then, you can help me decide.

 

check out the azenis sport that are supposedly supposed to be great in the rain with thier new tread pattern....

 

how are the KD's in the wet?
planning on going with these as my summer tires

 

...and you drive like your grandmother. They are quite possibly the worst SCCA Street Tire Class-legal tire that exists in the wet. They're worse than the RE070s for certain.

 

looks like Ill be getting the KDW's lol

 

looks like I'll be getting PS2's in 255

Evo guys run 255 on their 8" rims no problem...