LRegvall

Got over 28.5 for a couple of months in mixed driving in Chicagoland this past summer. Red line it everytime out at least once. Winter gas is now taking its toll. Down to 27.9 over the last 6k and no doubt falling as per OEM info system. 67k on the Spec. now and not a single problem.

 

The best I'm getting is still around 22 on the hiway and around 16 in the city. My best with a steady 65mph and minimal throttle movement was 26. The only way I'm going to get 28 is if I carry the car on my back. I think I've improved marginally by mashing the pedal a little harder and faster on accelerating. I used to use the egg-on-the-pedal theory. In the end, it probably doesn't matter how I drive. The only thing that seems to matter is how many times I lift my foot off the gas and put it back on.

 

I still think there's something wrong with it but SOA has convinced themself that there's no problem. I'm curious what would happen if you took 100 random LGTs and put them through the same EPA city/hiway runs on a dyno what the mileage variability would be.

Because extreme perf tires give up some comfort for handling.

 

Are there ultra high perf tires (with treadwear ratings in the 300s) with stiffer sidewalls? Is the price of stiff sidewalls a 200 treadwear rating (and 10,000 to 15,000 mile tire life)?

#1) What tire are you offering for review (size, model, type (summer, A/s, winter, race, etc), price paid, miles driven on tires, etc):

Bridgestone Potenza RE 760 Sport 25/45/ZR17 on stock wheels and Cobb 22mm sway bars

Ultra High Performance Summer

#1) What tire are you offering for review (size, model, type (summer, A/s, winter, race, etc), price paid, miles driven on tires, etc):

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 215/45/ZR17 Extreme Performance Summer Tire on stock wheels with Cobb 22mm sway bars .

Paid approximately $150 per tire.

I have only driven about 150 miles on these...city streets, winding backroads and interstate freeway.

These tires are probably just as sticky at the 760s if not more, but the big difference is steering response. The Dunlops obviously have stiffer sidewalls and when you give it steering input, the car responds immediately. Nonetheless, despite the stiffer sidewalls, the ride is better than the 760s. For example, rolling up to a 90 degree turn in the city in 2nd gear and not touching the brakes, you can simply crank the wheel and the car turns immediately, tracks tight and does not squeal. The 760s in the same situation felt as if there was a delay and the whole car felt like it had massive body roll. The 760s did not inspire confidence. The 760s did not squeal, but they felt sloppy. I ended up adding some tire pressure 38/36 to frim up the 760s, but they got rather harsh. The Dunlops are running 36/34 and feel like they have much better ride qulaity, are a bit quieter and are definitely firmer in the corners. The Dunlops are sticky as you could imagine. They do not tramline. In the wet, the 760s were a bit slick, but the Dunlops felt stickier in the wet. The Dunlops run on the wider range of tires and you get the surface area of a 225 from a 215. They definitely run wider than the Bridgestones.

 

The Dunlops are one of the newest tires on the market in the Extreme Performance Summer Tire category. for the price of $130-$150 range, these are undoubtedly one of the best tires on the market. Great ride comfort, not noisy, great sticky traction with great steering response. Highly recommended!!!!

 

It seems like the reviews for all ultra high performance tires talk about mushy steering feel, and most extreme performance tires report good steering feel. Could it be the lower treadwear rating (200 vs ~300-340) with a softer tread compound contributes to that? Is there a reason that extreme tires would generally have stiffer sidewalls? Anyone have experience with a longer wearing extreme performance tire?

^^

I have coilovers and sway bars. I Started the tires at 32-35 psi- that was waaay too soft. I bumped them up progressivley and I think I am in the mid 40s (which reminds me, I need to check them pretty soon). But even in the mid 40s they really are pretty mushy.

 

 

What pressure are you running them at?

 

I'm running at around 37lbs and my only other change is a 20mm AVO RSB. I wouldn't have thought of them as mushy but it may be just perceptions. I do think there is some vagueness in the front that I attribute to the suspension (caster?) and not the tires. Maybe it is the tires. I thought the re92s were pretty mushy and overall pretty awful so I don't have an altenative point of comparison. In general, I feel very confident tossing the car into a corner and knowing where it both ends will go. BTW, off the tire topic, which coil overs do you have on? I'm thinking of putting some on (e.g., tein basics).

1.) BF Goodrich g-force T/A KDW 2 215/45R-17/ $152 each from Costco.

 

2.) Baltimore Md

 

3.) Track day, spirited daily driving

 

4.)70% highway, 30% city

 

5.) RE-92s

 

6.) I am on the fence about these. I have put about 5k miles on them thus far. They have a ton of grip, the wet traction is great and they look aggressive. Many people complain that these are pretty loud- they are louder than stock but really not loud enough to be annoying in my opinion. My only complaint(but a big one) about these tires is the SOFT sidewalls. They are mushy. Turn-in provides little road feel. They will hold a really hard, high speed turns like nothing else but are very difficult to read and inspire little confidence. As bad as the RE-92s were, they provided very crisp and predictable turn-in. I will not buy these again or recommend them for his reason.

What pressures are you running at? Do you have any other suspension changes? I've got them in 225/45-17 and agree that they are noisy but haven't found them to feel mushy.

My gas mileage still sucks. The absolute speed doesn't seem to matter. I did two tests where I actually got 26mpg on the freeway. One was at 65mph and one was at 80mph. Both involved filling the tank before getting on the freeway and then refilling as soon as I got off. Tried to not use the accelerator pedal in the meantime (not exactly the EPA hiway paradigm SOA). Otherwise, in town, with conservative driving, 16mpg, and with agressive driving, 15mpg (this is closer to the EPA city model). My freeway driving with some use of the go pedal is usually 22mpg. I'm running an 18mpg average with a mix of driving styles.

After my mishap last night I have decided to get new tyres. The stock tyres I have are the Bridgestone Potenza 92C with only 5,000km on the clock. They are crap in dry as well as in snow.

By reading the above posts it looks like Goodyear Ealge F1 GS-D3 (215/45 ZR17) is the answer. Any further comments in this regard will be appreciated. I will post photos of the rim damage I sustained in the photo section.

Thanks.

Are there reasons not to go with a 225/45-17 size? For me the extra tread width was worth the slightly taller sidewall. I also think it looks better. But curious if anyone sees reasons to the contrary.

agreed the post to you can be taken as a bit harsh. but i believe the concern is that your comments were not on the topic of this thread. could the comments in the other post have been more kind...yes, but here's where we are. back on topic now:

 

Folks,

 

I think it's a good idea to have one thread with all tire reviews for our cars, like NASIOC does it. There are tons of reviews in here, but I think the information will be more useful for everyone if it is located in one thread.

 

Please Sticky so that folks may have all tire info along with Keefe's great Wheel/Tire FAQ. For all posts, please answer the following questions. (I'm still rocking the stockers, so I can't post any helpful info at this time). thanks

 

#1) What tire are you offering for review (size, model, type (summer, A/s, winter, race, etc), price paid, miles driven on tires, etc):

 

#2) What is your geographic location:

 

#3) What types of driving events if any (Track, AutoX, Commute , etc):

 

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving:

 

#5) Tires used previously:

 

#6) Your review and personal comments (Dry, wet, and snow, if applicable. Also, please compare to other tires used):

 

I'm probably missing something here, but if RaGe asks about the three tires, isn't that like asking someone to post the 6-point info on the three tires? Not consistent with the thread? Anyway:

 

1) BFG GForce KDW2, 225/45-17 Summer UltraHighPerformance. They were around $125 from Tire Rack. I've driven around 6,000 miles on them.

 

2) Located in Southern California, near twisty canyon roads, twisty Santa Monica Mountain ridgelines, creative on ramps and off ramps and them stinkin freeways (and not too far from the Sierras).

 

3) No track driving. Business and recreational driving.

 

4) 20% City 45% Freeway and 30% mixed

 

5) I had only the RE92s on the LGT. I agree with the consensus - they enhance all the bad qualities of the OEM chassis.

 

6) These tires are very sticky (especially compared to the Pirellis, Michelins, Dunlops I've had in the past). I've had the KDW1s on my other car (SVT Contour) since I got it (on my third set). The Tire Rack tests are very positive about their dry adhesion and response and I agree. Their rain stick is also incredible. I feel very safe in the rain with them. They are very resistant to hydroplaning (I've taken them progressively to north of 80mph in a driving rain storm with standing water and they stayed glued) and they stick well in the rain. No snow experience but wouldn't expect too much. They last well. I've gotten around 45,000 on the KDW1s and will see how the KDW2s hold up. Their biggest downside is noise. They have a bit of howl to them. Most of the time this doesn't bother me. I attribute this to being a sticky tire that lasts a long time (or maybe they're just a little noisy). I shopped the Kumho Ecsta SPT and the Avon Tech M500 at the same time (the Tire Rack guy said the General Exclaim UHP tested well initially but dropped off quickly; would be curious about the experience on this, but I'll be sure to search it first) each of which sounded pretty good. In the end, I just wanted to try the new version of the KDW.

Is this poll supposed to represent city, highway or combined? It would make a difference. 21mpg isn't great for highway but would be for city or even combined.

 

I agree with unclemat's premise on another thread that there is variability in the cars, i.e., that some cars get better mileage than others irrespective of individual driving styles due to differences in the cars' engine management systems. I've been having at this with my dealer and Subaru for a while, with no resolution at this point (the glaciers may have all melted by the time there is any). I was searching and found this thread in preparation for having back at it with them. I think there's just too much variation in people's reports on this website. I also have a brother with an '06 LGT who gets spot on the EPA figures without too much variation. The best I get in town regardless of driving style is 16mpg with hard driving giving 15mpg. I've tried to replicate the EPA City cycle under which most of our cars were calibrated (23 start/stops in a 31 minute period peaking mostly at 30 mph with two bursts to around 55mph) and I still get 15-16mpg. I've made similar efforts with similar results for highway driving (consistent 22 mpg). Either Subaru cooked the test or there is something in the car setup that allows for large mpg variations.