Your Recommendation for "Florida Only" Tires

Title says it, lots of rain, occasional beach driving, & HOT summer days at speed. Looking for good treadwear without needing "ultimate" grip, quiet, and still relatively smooth. 8) No snow requirements at all. :wink:

Just like me in Houston. What''s the budget? That'll help determine my recommendation...

BFGoodrich KDW-2's....awesome dry/wet performance tires...love em

Using Tirerack as a comparison, around $140 (their "base" price.) That's probably $200 out the door real world mounted & balanced. The KDW-2s get good reviews, except for noise as they wear. After spending the last hour at Tirerack reading reviews, I'm favoring The Pirelli Neros. Any feedback? Anybody found the best way to immediately ditch the stock tires & recoup some of their price? :P

I have no probs w/ noise on the KDW's...they are amazing.....I hit a puddle and figured I was gonna hydroplane....tire when right through. These tires give you some confidence. Pirelli's are good...all my buds love them. Toyo's are good too....:)

Potenza RE050, S03 Pole Position Toyo T1S Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2

Potenza RE750 - awesome tread wear and way better than stock handling. SBT

Pilot Sports no doubt.

I second the vote for Bridgestone RE750s. I've been using them since the 730 series and have never had a better combination of cost, wear, performance, and hydroplane resistance. I've tried a *lot* of tires in the past ~ 15 years. A friend's Stealth has them in the stock size (245/45/17) and runs 11.6 @ 120 (he's also got 476 whp, and that's AWD!) My brother's Supra (single, FMIC, the works) has S03 Pole Positions in the back but when they're up for replacement he's going to 750s.

My last tire purchase was a set of Kumho ECSTA Supra 712's. My opinion is that they are a remarkable tire for the price, with remarkable wet traction. Also being a FL resident, I can honestly say I never hydroplaned once, even when driving through deep puddles at speed. Tread and noise were similarly not a factor for me.

750 are decent. My friend had them on his 240sx... They just don't measure up to the higher end max summer tires is all...but do cost less to make up for it. The RE050s are a much more capable tire... Teh Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s look intresting as they got the best (dry) results in the latest tirerack comparison. They only come in 225/45/17 so I'm not sure about fitment... If wet traction is your main priority, check out Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s.... [url]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/bs_RE050A_rd.jsp[/url] [url]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/bs_RE050A_rd_c.jsp[/url] Another idea I had was RE070s from the STi. Will these fit on a 17x7 wheel?

The Pilot Sport 2's are awesome, drove in my friends M3 who had them, wow they just grip, no complaining at all on a auto-x course. I drove the Goodyear F1's on my WRX for about 1.5 summers, they were great too. I think this time though I will go with T1's or PS2's just to try something different.

[quote name='BoxerGT2.5']I have no probs w/ noise on the KDW's...they are amazing.....I hit a puddle and figured I was gonna hydroplane....tire when right through. These tires give you some confidence. Pirelli's are good...all my buds love them. Toyo's are good too....:)[/quote] I've heard good thing about these, just have no experience. How do they KDs stack to to to the KDW 2s? Intresting how Tire Rack puts the KDs in the "Max" category and KDWs 2s in the "Ultra High" category even though the KDW 2s rank similar dry performance (lacking .1 away in cornering stability section) and far superior in everything else (wet traction, ride/noise comfort, treadwear) Why would anyone even consider the KDs? :o

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 Bridgestone Potenza S03 Pole Position Bridgestone Potenza RE011 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 My choices in order of preference.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 [EDIT - Oops, if you don't want maximum grip you can pass on these and get something less expensive and longer wearing].

Those fancy "max performance" tires also have a 140 treadwear. I'll take the 350 rating on my RE750s along with the $50 [b]per tire[/b] savings.

[quote name='Drift Monkey'][quote name='BoxerGT2.5']I have no probs w/ noise on the KDW's...they are amazing.....I hit a puddle and figured I was gonna hydroplane....tire when right through. These tires give you some confidence. Pirelli's are good...all my buds love them. Toyo's are good too....:)[/quote] I've heard good thing about these, just have no experience. How do they KDs stack to to to the KDW 2s? Intresting how Tire Rack puts the KDs in the "Max" category and KDWs 2s in the "Ultra High" category even though the KDW 2s rank similar dry performance (lacking .1 away in cornering stability section) and far superior in everything else (wet traction, ride/noise comfort, treadwear) Why would anyone even consider the KDs? :o[/quote] Tire rack puts the KD's in the Max catagory because it represents a true high performance tire..which based on their logic means it sucks anything other than dry pavement. KDW's is a more realistic tire for people who do get some rain. And the grip is awesome.

What about the new (Bridgestone) Fuzion tires? (reviews) [url]http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComments.jsp?additionalComments=y&tireMake=Fuzion&tireModel=ZRi&commentStatus=P[/url] They're $80 in our stock GT size! [img]http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/fuzion/fuzion_zri_ci2_l.jpg[/img]

Crap!...nough said

[quote name='John M']Those fancy "max performance" tires also have a 140 treadwear. I'll take the 350 rating on my RE750s along with the $50 [b]per tire[/b] savings.[/quote] Contrary, the Eagle F1 GS-D3 have excellent tread life rated at 8.1, .3 behind the RE750s, but leading everywhere else (including noise/ride comfort). That is more than accpeptable for me since I know max perf. tires don't last as long, but these look promising! As for price, you get for what you pay for, and the F1s are that much better. Oh BTW, 215/45-17 Potenza RE750 - $139, 215/45-17 Eagle F1 GS-D3 - $145, that's nowhere near "$50" a tire. At a mere $6 difference, cost is negligable, even for savings of $24 for a set of 4! Easy decsion really... Eagle F1 GS-D3: Dry Traction - 9.2 Wet Traction - 9.1 Hydro Resistance - 9.1 Snow Traction - N/A Cornering Stability - 8.9 Steering Response - 8.8 Ride Comfort - 8.6 Noise Comfort - 8.6 Tread Wear 8.1 Potenza RE750: Dry Traction - 9 Wet Traction - 8.6 Hydro Resistance - 8.5 Snow Traction - N/A Cornering Stability - 8.6 Steering Response - 8.7 Ride Comfort - 8.3 Noise Comfort - 8 Tread Wear 8.4

DON'T buy the 750's. I have them on my Saab and after 8,000 miles they start to howl. I have plenty of tread left, problably 20 k miles, and it's like a banshee. I hate these tires. Great in the rain though. J

Thanks for the replies everyone. 8) 8) 8) As for the Fuzions, they are too new and seem too good to be true at that price. Maybe after they've been around a while.... :| As to the rest, I think an Ultra High Performance Summer tire would be best, as they seem to wear a little better. I drive almost 20,000 miles per year. If a set of tires goes 40k that would last 2 years, so that's my target. I know there are tires that will last that long & be heads & shoulders better than stock. Wet traction must be good, but doesn't have to be "The Best". Reviews on the Bridgestone RE750 look pretty good, with most reviews with 10,000 + miles saying noise is OK, a few complaining they are noisy. One review attributed the noise to cupping. Perhaps the ones who complained of noise didn't rotate properly? Or didn't keep pressure correct? Can the tires on the LGT be rotated diagonally, front to back, or what? Another possible reasons for the noise complaints were road surfaces? I'm lucky enough to have pretty smooth roads so that may make the potential noise problem a non-issue. Other suggestions with these targets in mind? :?

[quote name='Drift Monkey'][quote name='John M']Those fancy "max performance" tires also have a 140 treadwear. I'll take the 350 rating on my RE750s along with the $50 [b]per tire[/b] savings.[/quote] Contrary, the Eagle F1 GS-D3 have excellent tread life rated at 8.1, .3 behind the RE750s, but leading everywhere else Oh BTW, 215/45-17 Potenza RE750 - $139, 215/45-17 Eagle F1 GS-D3 - $145, that's nowhere near "$50" a tire. At a mere $6 difference, cost is negligable, even for savings of $24 for a set of 4! Easy decsion really... [/quote] I think that John M was talking about the price difference between the RE050 vs the RE750, rather than the goodyear to bridgestone comparison. The Comparison between the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and the 750 is an interesting one. a couple short years ago, my mom's Lebaron GTC turbo had horrible luck with very poor tire wear characteristics (uneven wear and cupping) on goodyears, a predecessor to the F1 GS-D3, shortly after breaking in the tires. rotation, alignment and constant checking of the tire pressures didn't prevent it or help afterward. Kinda soured me on Goodyears, but maybe I'll check them out again. I was almost positively set on the RE750s for my wife's Miata summer shoes. I have heard a couple of reviews about noise, but 9-10 reviews are glowing for the 750s, with much longer wear characteristics than the S03s or RE050s, for less money. I may have to check out the Goodyears, though. My truck is getting Bridgestone Dueller AT REVOs next month, though. I can't find any major complaints, and no other light truck tire that can compare, that I have seen. If bridgestone's Potenzas are as good as their Duellers are, then I think I will be happy with bridgestones, but I guess we'll see. There are always exceptions, like the RE92s.

[quote name='ikonomore']DON'T buy the 750's. I have them on my Saab and after 8,000 miles they start to howl. I have plenty of tread left, problably 20 k miles, and it's like a banshee. I hate these tires. Great in the rain though. J[/quote] Must be an individual tire problem. Tire rack's user rating on the RE750s sold me, particularly how quiet they are after several thousand miles. I've got 26K on one set and another with 18K on the tires and both sets look almost brand new and no road/tire noise. Setting the tire pressures up just two PSI made a ton of difference in how these tires handle, particularly in the rain/wet, and wear. I found that the stock 32/30 settings were causing inordinate wear in the rear tires and the cars just weren't handling the way I thought they would/should. Typical spirited driving and they ride quiet, handle exceptionally well (not R070 handling but great for street driving) and look like they'll last for at least 60K miles if not more. That's pretty good value in my book. SBT

Did you go up two pounds front AND rear? I run two-three pounds up in both front and rear, depending on the season, on the miata, and it does seem to help. Even wear on the Dunlop Sp9000s that are on it at the moment. It does tramline like crazy, though, on 205/45-zr16s. I too have heard that the RE750s are quiet, and long-wearing. I have heard that after a couple days of sitting, the tires "flat-spot", but come right back to round after just a few minutes of tire-warmup. I hear they have excellent traction throughout their useful life. So far, that is what are going onto the miata in the spring.