I am putting new shoes on the 94 Touring AutoTrans. As long as I am driving this fast I may as well have tires that are built to take it.

Specifically by Brand and Model, what would you guys recommend in terms of new rubber with the following characteristics

1. Must be 225 50 R 16 (completely stock rims) (SCCA Solo II problems)

2. Minimum of Z rated (W or Y preferred)

3. Excellent street and AutoX handling

4. Good in the wet

5. Reasonable tread-life (25-30K)

6. Snow/Ice ability not real important since the thing spins like a top with the least bit of frozen precip.


Thanks for the wisdom

 

The Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Is supposed to be the best street tire available now. Its also supposed to be good in the wet. 245/45/16 are better for stock rims but I guess regulations don't allow it. I'm currently on my 2nd set Toyo Proxes T1-S and really like them.

 

Hi:
You may want to get Bridgestone 730's -good in wet/dry & won't break the bank + a set of the Toyo Proxes or R1's for the track.
Good luck.

 

S-03 is the best. But I get the g-force T/A KDW. Suppose to be good in wet too.

 

I have a set of S-02's and a Set of S-03's on my new wheels. The S-03 will last a bit longer than the S-02 and will give great wet performance. of course 30k is asking alot from a tire your going to drive on the AutoX. I think 18-22k would be more realistic. of course you will sacrifice about all your performance for a harder compound tire that will go 30k or more. If you want the best tires I would go with the Bridgestones. Other notable tires would be
Mich Pilot Sports
Pirelli Pzero System ( Directionals in front Asimetricos in rear)
Toyo Proxy T-1s
Yoko AVS sports
I may be leaving out a few good ones but here are handfull worthy tires.

 

Well like stated the bridgestone s-03's are very good as well as the g-force t/a kdw's. I've used the kdw's and they don't offer me enough traction, but I think if you have 325rwhp or lower they would keep you happy. Although if you take curves strong enough you can feel them start to break loose. My buddy that has an fd uses the s-03's and granted he only has about 250rwhp, they seem to be better than the kdw's. Both will get good life as long as they aren't breaking loose all the time. I am currently running kumho ecsta 700's (designed for auto-x and road racing) and I couldn't be happier. They don't break loose at all, handle super, and work well enough in moderate rain to keep me from hydroplaining, but I wouldn't want to go through standing water. I doubt they would last more than 10k on a moderate hp car, my kdw's only lasted me 6k on the rear, I still have them on the front with perfect tread.

 

TOYO PROXE S1's

 

I would also recommend Bridgestone's S-03 tires. Out of 1 - 10, they consistently scored 9's in dry/wet traction, hydro resistance, cornering, and steering response. In addition, they're quite and very comfortable ride. They are substantially reasonable in price also.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bs_s03.jsp

 

I thought KDW is rated 300 AAA right? should last much longer than that.

 

S-02 is rated at 140-180 treadwear S-03 is 220 and the S-03 got a AA A Highest rating given in both traction and Temp. S-03 is the smart buy.

 

Is it the lower number the better? As far as softness of tires? I know my Nitto 555 Extremes are rated at 300 and A which in my book sucks and these tires suck completely - I can't wait until they wear out - I don't get a lot of tire spin with them but as far as handling they feel like when I go into a corner at high speed I can feel the tires aren't holding like my old Dunlops did. I don't recommend Nittos at all. With a rating of 140-160 wouldn't these almost be like glue on the road?

 

softer will have lower numbers. Stickier compound general wear faster.

But Nitto is one of the worst tire company. So it's pointless to compare to other companies.

 

get the yokohama A032R!!!!

 

the tire will be gone as soon as you put them on

 

Check your rule book. You can substitute any tire width that will fit on the stock rim, 245/45-16 is the usual choice, same Dia as stock, so no rubbing issues.

My vote is for the S-03's, the most bang for the buck.

I find it amusing that people want a high performance tire to use on the track & street & still expect long life.

Be thankful you don't drive an NSX. The early year cars would burn through a set of tires in 5-8k miles.
Had a bunch of rich ****** complain to Honda that their tires didn't last long & gosh, they cost a lot to replace.

 

so you only get 10,000 miles out of the A032R's but during that time you will got the GRIP!! baaaabeeeeeeeeee.

what the price of the S03 ?
A032R run about $150

 

Dry Traction 9.3
S03's
225/50WR16 $149
245/45YR16 $179

Dry Traction 9.3
A032R
225/50ZR16 $145
245/45ZR16 $149 ( nice price !!! )

AVS Sports
Dry Traction 8.8
225/50WR16 $157
245/45WR16 $182


I would still have to go with A032R

I run the A048R on my Car Now.

 

S-03s or Toyo T1-Ses

 

For street use you probably cannot beat the S-03. For track/street use you probably cannot beat the Yokohama A032R or Toyo RA1, but life is an issue. I don't know how anyone could rate them equal on dry pavement, I have run many tires and no street tire approaches the performance of the R compound tires such as the A032R that I run today.

Just a word of warning on the Yokohama AVS Sports, these are nice tires but they are too hard of a compound to condsider as a sport tire.

A friend of mine just wore out a set of 245/45/16 Toyo RA1 and has switched to the A032R. His initial comments indicated the tires to be very comparable regarding grip. The A032R however did appear to wear a bit more on the inside edge due to the extreme amount of neg camber on his car, time will tell.

 

The A032R is a good tire it will last longer than any other R compound tire. As far as performance they are ok but there are a few better choices. The new Kumho V700 and the V700 Victoracer.. The A032R is VERY noisey for the street. The Treadwear on the Yoko A032R is 60. The S-03 is 220. The S-03 will last longer and will give you plenty of wet performance which the Yoko A032R wont.

 

in very simple answer. GET THE S-03!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have to say the S-02's are just great! You get what you pay for!!

 

Tried Kumho Esta 712 -->
Moved to Toyo T1-S -->

I will probably try a set of S-03's out next time around so I can give a good Toyo T1-S v/s S-03 comparison.

SleepR1, can you give one now?

K

 

Nope, haven't tried either tire...

I can say that the old Ecsta Supra 711 Kumho was absolute junk...

 

I've been running with the BFG KDW's for half an auto-x season and I can't complain. I run in SS (assuming you do too, jeff48) and I'm not terribly far behind the FD's running with Hoosiers and Kumho's. For the price they're running right now, I think it's a steal.

But, I agree with 94touring, they do have a tendency to break loose. I've drifted a couple hairpin turns in the twisties that I wasn't intending to. On the auto-x course, I have managed to lock up the wheels once or twice ... but, that may be me just coming in too hot (or braking way late). On the street, they're pretty nice; soft and comfortable and relatively quiet ... way better than the Dunlop SP8000's that came with the car when I bought it.

If you've got the dough, I'd spring for the S-03's. I haven't heard one bad thing about them. I rode with a couple guys running with Toyo Proxes this weekend, but they weren't very good drivers (hence, I don't have a feel for how grippy the Proxes are). Granted they were on F-bodies, but the Firestone Firehawks are really good grip tires. My friend has had them on his Vette for over a year and the Firehawks (SZ50 EP) still have a fair amount of tread on them (both daily driver and auto-x'er). But, if you're strapped for cash, the KDW is a feasible alternative. $179 (S-03) vs $119 (KDW) per tire (at tirerack.com) Your choice.