tires on tarmac II
08-23-2004, 10:58 AM
#1
tires on tarmac II
what kind of tires do you guys recommend on a 17" tarmac II. I do mostly dry road driving but when it rains, it pours and the road is terrible. but this is mostly in winter. I am mostly in the sac/davis area or the frisco area. any recommendations on tires? thanks.
08-24-2004, 11:16 AM
#5
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Posts: n/a
Bridgestone's are great but they're mucho $$. Take a look at Kumho Ecsta MX's. I had them on my GTi 1.8T (225/45-17) and they were a really nice compromise. Sure, they're not as great as the B'stones head-to-head but for the money you really can't beat them. They had great dry grip, progressive break-away, and offered good wet weather compromise. And this was in a FWD GTi with a lot of torque. I'd think they'd be even better on an AWD setup. And they are cheap!
Just don't use them in the snow... I tried. And failed to get anywhere
But I'm here in CT.
Just don't use them in the snow... I tried. And failed to get anywhere
But I'm here in CT.
08-25-2004, 11:10 AM
#6
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Under your bed, in your closet, and in your head
Posts: 15,425
Car Info: Corvette Z51
^^^
I'm hesitant about Kumho's. Not to rag on your recommendation, but from what I've heard here on the boards and from chats at meets, the overall build quality of Kumho's is very inconsitent. Some sets have been so well made as to rival S03's (in some people's opinions), while other sets have had their tread separate from their sidewall while in operation.
As such, I recommend the Falken FK451 for something that is more suited to all types of weather and roads. If you want excellent dry performance and are not too concerned with wet grip, Falken Azenis ST115's are a good choice. For near R compound tires but at the sacrifice of almost zero wet weather performance, the Falken Azenis Sports are a good choice. Most of these models are fairly economical and are overall a good value. The Yokohmama AVS ES100 and the AVS dB are good tires as well from what I've heard.
One more hint: every so often Costco's tire department has a $60 off coupon. They can order any model of Bridgestone, Michelin, BF Goodrich, and Pirelli tire IIRC. I took advantage of this deal and got a set of Potenza RE750s for the price of Falken FK451's If you're curious, the RE750's have GREAT wet weather grip (I've never been able to break them free on a wet day no matter how hard I tried), but the dry grip is only above average. They have a vague turn-in feel so it's difficult to gauge when they've established full grip from the start of a corner. The nice thing is that they give a good amount of audible feedback when they start to lose grip, although it's sometimes difficult to feel from the steering wheel.
I'm hesitant about Kumho's. Not to rag on your recommendation, but from what I've heard here on the boards and from chats at meets, the overall build quality of Kumho's is very inconsitent. Some sets have been so well made as to rival S03's (in some people's opinions), while other sets have had their tread separate from their sidewall while in operation.
As such, I recommend the Falken FK451 for something that is more suited to all types of weather and roads. If you want excellent dry performance and are not too concerned with wet grip, Falken Azenis ST115's are a good choice. For near R compound tires but at the sacrifice of almost zero wet weather performance, the Falken Azenis Sports are a good choice. Most of these models are fairly economical and are overall a good value. The Yokohmama AVS ES100 and the AVS dB are good tires as well from what I've heard.
One more hint: every so often Costco's tire department has a $60 off coupon. They can order any model of Bridgestone, Michelin, BF Goodrich, and Pirelli tire IIRC. I took advantage of this deal and got a set of Potenza RE750s for the price of Falken FK451's
If you're curious, the RE750's have GREAT wet weather grip (I've never been able to break them free on a wet day no matter how hard I tried), but the dry grip is only above average. They have a vague turn-in feel so it's difficult to gauge when they've established full grip from the start of a corner. The nice thing is that they give a good amount of audible feedback when they start to lose grip, although it's sometimes difficult to feel from the steering wheel.
08-25-2004, 12:01 PM
#7
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Nether reach of CA delta
Posts: 414
Car Info: 03 WRX Sedan MBP/17X7.5 SSR Comps/225 Kumho MX
I live in Davis, too. I have an '03 WRX Sedan which I upgraded last week to include SSR 17" Competitions and 225 45 17 Kumho Ecsta MXs (total reduction in unsprung weight from stock: 17 lbs.) The MXs have a traction rating of AA, A rating on temp and 220 treadwear. Falkens aren't even competitive with them on a performance basis. I picked the Kumhos because they are a great summer tire and I wanted the performance benefits of a "summer" tire over an "all season" tire.
In Davis or most of the Bay Area (Mt Diablo excepted), all we have is "summer" driving conditions all year long... except when we get a day of snowfall, which is about once every 10 years. Once in a while, fog or rain will freeze on a roadway but that's pretty rare. These tires are not designed to do snow. I have another vehicle to take up to the snow, or I'll put some little snow tires on the old 16" WRX stockers.
I read a lot of user info on the MXs from several sources during the past six months, and the vast majority of users would probably buy the tire again. They like the tire on wet and dry roads. That means a lot. Most of the dissing of MXs at this site seem to come from one person.
So, I chose the MXs for my WRX and I'm not disappointed. I've driven them only a week and some 400 miles but I'm aready in love with them. The dry grip is tenacious, they are only slightly noisey and they hold a line. I have purchased and driven $800 sets tire sets several times before, but I've never driven anything so sticky and quick as these $500 per set MXs. And believe me, I don't think a $500 set is a "cheap tire" by any means.
My Kumho MXs are good looking tires, too. And I don't see any sign of them falling apart.
Looking forward to driving the Kumhos all year long and trying them out in the rain in a month or two...
In Davis or most of the Bay Area (Mt Diablo excepted), all we have is "summer" driving conditions all year long... except when we get a day of snowfall, which is about once every 10 years. Once in a while, fog or rain will freeze on a roadway but that's pretty rare. These tires are not designed to do snow. I have another vehicle to take up to the snow, or I'll put some little snow tires on the old 16" WRX stockers.
I read a lot of user info on the MXs from several sources during the past six months, and the vast majority of users would probably buy the tire again. They like the tire on wet and dry roads. That means a lot. Most of the dissing of MXs at this site seem to come from one person.
So, I chose the MXs for my WRX and I'm not disappointed. I've driven them only a week and some 400 miles but I'm aready in love with them. The dry grip is tenacious, they are only slightly noisey and they hold a line. I have purchased and driven $800 sets tire sets several times before, but I've never driven anything so sticky and quick as these $500 per set MXs. And believe me, I don't think a $500 set is a "cheap tire" by any means.
My Kumho MXs are good looking tires, too. And I don't see any sign of them falling apart.
Looking forward to driving the Kumhos all year long and trying them out in the rain in a month or two...
Last edited by yzercyber; 08-25-2004 at 04:12 PM.
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