Compendium of Tire Reviews: Please sticky

[PGT]

quick recap of my tire experiences over the last three years (obv. some sizes won't work for the LGT):

215/45/17 Kumho ASX. Good. Buy em.

215/35/17 Bridgestone RE92. Good. Get em free (never pay!)

215/45/17 and 225/40/18 Bridgestone S0-3. Good. Buy em (though there are better tires for the money)

215/50/16 Dunlop Direzza DZ101. Crap. Skip em

205/55/15 Kumho Ecsta SPT. Crap. Skip em

215/45/17 Falken ZIEX 912. Great. Buy em

215/45/17 and 245/35/18 Goodyear F1GSD3. Great. Buy em.

215/45/17 Nokian WR. Great. Buy em.

205/50/15 Yokoham A048 'medium compound'. Good (better for the money though).

215/35/18 Yokohama Parada Spec-2. Great. Buy em.

225/35/18 Goodyear F1 Asymmetric. TBD (going on tomorrow)

215/45/17 Avon M550 . Great. Buy em.

265/50/20 Yokohama Parada Spec-X. Good. Skip em.

265/60/18 and 265/50/20 Avon Tech ST. Great. Buy em.

215/45/17 Bridgestone RE01R. Great. Buy em.

[VTGT]

#1) What tire are you offering for review (size, model, type (summer, A/s, winter, race, etc), price paid, miles driven on tires, etc): 225/45/17 Good Year F1 Asymmetrics Summers

 

#2) What is your geographic location: Washington DC metro area

 

#3) What types of driving events if any (Track, AutoX, Commute , etc): No events just spirited driving.....

 

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving: 70/30

 

#5) Tires used previously: Stock re92's for 20k miles

 

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

 

I have had the good year f1 asymm's for a good month or two. Great tire. Comfortable and grippy . They are nosier than the re92's especially at highway speeds but I am getting use to it....

 

Note: First experience with summer tires so everything is relative to the all-season crappola re92's

Edited June 23, 2008 by VTGT

[PGT]

I'm running A048's right now so the F1's will be welcome quiet

[CwhillVT]

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.

 

 

Edit/Update (7/11/2010)

 

My KDWs are at the end of their lives now. Despite my initial negative impression(as read above), I love these tires. I am pretty sure I'll be buying another set to replace them. They are very sticky and predictable. And to top that off, I put 3 full track days (~200+) hard track miles and 25k or so aggressive street miles on them- these wear great.

Edited July 11, 2010 by CwhillVT
Update

[LRegvall]

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.

[CwhillVT]

^^

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?

[SBT]

^^

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.

 

Holy schnikees, your dentist must love you. Is there possibly something wrong with your tire gauge, because at those indicated pressures, those things should be like driving on lead donuts.

SBT

[LRegvall]

^^

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).

[CTATV]

I got myself some Pirelli P-Zero Nero all seasons on my Spec.B 18" rims and i have been really happy with them so far, havent had them in the winter yet but for summer driving I really like them Edited July 8, 2008 by CTATV

[raz-0]

#1) Kumho ECSTA ASX 225 45 17

 

#2) NJ

 

#3) spirited daily driving

 

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving: 40/60

 

#5) Tires used previously: continental contiextreme contact 215 45 17

dunlop sp5000 sport 215 45 17

bridgestone re92 (OEM)

 

#6) Your review and personal comments

 

Well the RE92s sucked in pretty much every manner possible. CRappy wet traction, virtually NO lateral wet traction, poor snow performance, poor dry pavement performance, noisy, mushy, just plain sucked. Pretty much after being round and sort of light, it all fell apart. They had to go after 12000.

 

Dunlop SP5000 sport. NIce tire, I had used them (multiple sets) on my previous car in a different size. Nice wet performance, so-so snow performance (wouldn't use them someplace snowier or without awd), quiet. THe stock tires did this some, but these were worse. They stopped nicely, and you could stop on dry pavement without setting off the ABS (this also got rid of my "rotor warp" that kept on cropping up). On the downside, they are heavy, and over rough road with the LGT, they would tend to skip a bit much. On top of that, they changed the way they constructed the sidewall, which resulted in a heavier tire with less sidewall ridgitiy. Cheaper to make, but they didn't pass it on to me. In fact the price went up. On top of that, they flat spot a fair bit when left overnight. HOwever, they doo sort that out ina couple of miles of travel at highway speeds. After something metal off someone's pickup trashed two of them I tried....

 

the contiextreme contacts in 215. I also got rota rev wheels to try to keep the unsprung weight down and reduce the floatiness over rough surfaces at speed. With the wheels and tires, I shaved about 5.5lbs off each corner. With the low weight, acceleration felt better as well, and the stering a bit lighter. THe former good, the latter not so much IMO. THe contis were awesome in the wet and snow. On dry roads, they were ok. HOwever, the most annoying thing was they were noisy. Road noise was on par with the RE92s (i.e. annoyingly loud), and they would squeel if you looked at a corner funny or thought about stopping short. GOt me lots of nasty looks, sometimes form cops, for not doing anything remotely questionable. The sidewalls wer soft, and they were mushy in the corners.

You could set off the ABS on dry pavement with them, but not as bad as the RE92s. They also flat spotted pretty bad when left sitting for more than about 8 hours. FRom overnight in winter, it could take as much as 5 miles to get them mostly normal feeling. After 3 got eaten by potholes, I decided I was sick of them. Also, for 215s they were narrow. Narrower than stock. Despite the manufacturers claims, they did NOT take to an 8" rim well at all. If you get them, get them in 225 45 17.

 

Now for the ecsta ASX in 225 45 17. These are the tire the car should have come with. Seriously. DEAD quiet, like whole different feel to the car quiet. Good dry traction. On par with the dunlops. In the wet, it has better lateral grip than the sp5000 sport, but slightly worse hydroplaning resistance from my brief experience with one good downpour since I have gotten them. Not as good as the contis, but lightyears better than the OEM tires. Sidewalls are stiffer than I expected for what it is and what it cost. Weight is pretty close to stock, and with lighter than stock wheels, the skipping over rough surfaces is reduced from stock, but still there in some situations. HEavily patched offramps are the biggest issue. They flat spot surprisingly little, and at least in the summer temps are sorting themselves out within about 2 minutes of driving as long as you get over 40. A little longer if you don't. They really give the car more of the luxury sport sedan feel subaru was going for. Also oddly enough, with the diameter change, the fuel milage estimates are MUCH closer to stock, and my speedo is almost dead on. FRom gps, 60.2mph at an indicated 60mph on the speedo. Better than OEM, WAY better than the contis. With these tires, the car feels much more planted at highway speeds. If they are ok in the snow, and the tread holds up for 30k miles, they will be what is on this car as long as I own it.

[TSiWRX]

^ Any impression of the ASXs in wintry precip?

[raz-0]

^ Any impression of the ASXs in wintry precip?

 

Not yet. Just initial impressions based on my first few hundred miles.

[TSiWRX]

^ Gotcha. Thanks for the reply!

 

I'll be looking forward to your updates this winter, as I consider what tires to purchase for the wifey's upcoming lease renewal (she's very likely to "re-up" on the WRX, moving to an '09).

[fastwgn286]

I'll go for the dark horse review:

 

#1) Tire: Uniroyal Liberator A/Ts (205/75/15s)

Price: $72/tire

 

#2) Location: Virginia

 

#3) Driving events: Kidding, right?

 

#4) 75 Highway / 24 City / 1 Offroad

 

#5) Tires used previously: Michelin Weatherwise

 

#6) I got them to replace my Weatherwise-guys because the steel belts kept breaking, and Michelin conveniently stopped manufacturing them half-way through rotating them out.

 

Thought they would have some grip on the road. They don't.

 

Thought they would have some grip in the rain. They don't.

 

Thought they would have some grip off-road. Surprise! No.

 

Thought they would have grip in the snow... Jury is still out on that, hasn't snowed yet :wink:

 

Honestly was fond of the all-weather Michelins. Shame they didn't hold together too well.

[ArcTec34]

hahaha ftw

[dash]

#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

$140 per tire

2000 miles (a fair amount of straight interestate and curvy mountain roads)

 

#2) What is your geographic location:

San Francisco, CA...I drove on these to Mt. Hood in Oregon and back

 

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

Highway and mountain roads

 

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving:

20% City, 40% highway/40% winding roads

 

#5) Tires used previously:

OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE92s (we all know about these, huh?)

 

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

 

These were recommended by WheelWorks. I am running cobb 22mm sway bars and the tightened up suspension outperformed the RE92s, thus it was time for a summer tire since I switch out to Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2s...(Great snow tire!!!!). There is no doubt that this tire is sticky, but it has a very vague feel to it, as if the sidewall provided excessive tire roll. The steering response feels delayed as if the car had no sway bars. Even the passenger in my car mentioned that he felt that smushiness and said that my snow tires felt more responsive. The tires are very quiet and there is no noticeable tramlining. I drove through 2 tanks of gas with my AP in economy mode and got 31 mpg at 72 mph, proving to be nice highway tires. Nice easy rolling reisitance, but even while changing lanes in a more abrupt fashion, you could feel the roll and delay to the steering input. I have only driven these in dry warm weather and they hold fine , but the responsiveness is something to be desired. I am actually taking them back under the Wheelworks 30 day Rolling Guarantee and looking for something else. If you've got any ideas for a sticky tire with crisp response, PM me...please!

 

New Tires update...

 

First of all, big "props" to WheelWorks here in San Francisco for honoring a 30-day rolling guarantee, whereby I was able to return the Brindgestone 760s with no hassle.

 

#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.

 

#2) What is your geographic location: San Francisco, CA

 

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

No commuting, mostly spirited recreational driving

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving:

20% City, 40% highway, 40% winding curvy roads all in summer only

#5) Tires used previously:

OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE92s (we all know about these, huh?)

and

as listed above...

Bridgestone Potenza RE 760 Sport 25/45/ZR17 on stock wheels

 

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

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!!!!

Edited August 17, 2008 by dash
New tire review

[SBT]

^^ You don't mention tire pressures, but I run 38F/36R on my two stock 98 LGTs which both have this tire and the handling is pretty darn firm. At stock pressures 32F/30R, not so much. At 38/36, turn-in is precise and wet/dry handling is excellent. These are my second choice behind my MPS ASes on my LGT. And they really do need a few weeks to break-in, so don't write them off too quickly.

[dash]

Ran them at 37/35 and then ramped up to 38/40 to really feel the difference. A bit beter response, but still a vague feeling. It is tough when you drop $600 on tires and the car actually feels worse than before and you lose confidence in the cars ability due to the vague feedback from the tires. Very seriously considering the Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=107

[SBT]

Ran them at 37/35 and then ramped up to 38/40 to really feel the difference. A bit beter response, but still a vague feeling. It is tough when you drop $600 on tires and the car actually feels worse than before and you lose confidence in the cars ability due to the vague feedback from the tires. Very seriously considering the Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=107

 

Dash - give them a few days to break in. One of mine is a 16 on 6.5" rims but I can't imagine there would be that much difference between the 16s and 17s. The other is a 17" x 7.5" rim and I can't tell the difference between the handling

[ilh]

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 225/45R17 on stock wheels.
   
2. Boston, MA.
   
3. No track or autocross, just spirited street driving.
   
4. 40% highway, 60% city.
   
5. Bridgestone RE92, Nokian RSi.
   

 

6.

 

Very, very good. These are my first dedicated summer tires. I can't believe how literally sticky they are when warmed up. I actually thought the RE92 (Z-rated) were not too bad in the dry when worn to about 5/32, but these clearly blow those away. The RE92s would often chirp when braking or turning hard. The limit on the F1A is clearly quite a bit higher. Without much effort, they just pulled 0.94G lateral around an off ramp this morning (according to Dynolicious on my iPhone), and that was not at the limit of traction.

 

Wet traction seems quite good. I would guess that the F1 GSD3 is better in standing water, but these have pretty serious circumferential grooves that can clear the water. I have hydroplaned once in a very serious downpour at 65mph, but I was kind of exploring their hydroplaning limit. In normal driving they haven't let me down. Wet grip is excellent, and I have no doubt their wet limit is higher than the RE92's dry limit. UPDATE: I ran some skidpad-like simulation in a thoroughly wet empty parking lot this weekend and pulled a max of 1.04G one way and 0.97G the other way. There's no way the RE92 could do that in the dry.

 

Ride comfort and noise are surprisingly good. They are quieter than RE92 (which I found quite quiet) and ride better too. Going from 215/45 to 225/45 gave me 1/4-inch more sidewall height, which I welcome on the lousy Boston area roads. (I run 205/50 on winter tires for the same reason.) The thing that surprises me is that while riding softer than the RE92, the F1A does not at all feel like it is rolling over on the sidewall in hard cornering. The RE92 would flop over and you could see the wear on the sidewall. It sure seems to me that Goodyear really nailed it on the handling/comfort balance.

 

I'm running about 37/35psi. I could probably go up a little if I wanted to firm them up a bit more, but they don't really feel like they need it. I like the handling/comfort balance at this air pressure.

 

The one negative is there is some flat spotting on cooler mornings. When it is in the 50s and 60s, I can feel some flat spotting for about 1-3 minutes at 35mph until the tire warms up. Still, I consider this a relatively minor issue compared to everything else this tire offers.

 

--Lee

Edited September 27, 2008 by ilh
updated wet traction

[gusgusdude]

^^^^

How many mile do you have on them?

[ilh]

I think I have about 2500 miles on them.

[lawl]

Dunlop direzza Z1 starspecs:

 

Just got them. braking performance seems kind of iffy. It doesn't FEEL as good at braking as my hankook rs2s.

 

but the grip is phenomenal. took a turn off the offramp trying to get it to squeal and it just held on like glue. the RS2s would have complained. the all seasons would have probably let go. just stuck on. no noise, no fuss no anything.

 

like rails. acceleration is okay, braking doesnt feel that great.

 

would buy these again, especially for the price i paid. after rebate, it'd be 600 installed for 225/45/17s.

[nm]

Dunlop direzza Z1 starspecs:

 

Just got them. braking performance seems kind of iffy. It doesn't FEEL as good at braking as my hankook rs2s.

 

but the grip is phenomenal. took a turn off the offramp trying to get it to squeal and it just held on like glue. the RS2s would have complained. the all seasons would have probably let go. just stuck on. no noise, no fuss no anything.

 

like rails. acceleration is okay, braking doesnt feel that great.

 

would buy these again, especially for the price i paid. after rebate, it'd be 600 installed for 225/45/17s.

Give em time. They're fantastic tires one they have some heat cycles on them. Perhaps the best.

 

Short review:

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

225/45/17 RE01-R

#2) What is your geographic location:

Minenapolis/Midwest

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

Track, daily driving, no auto-x yet

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving:

shit if I know

#5) Tires used previously:

(On the Legacy)

Re92s

Nokian RSI

Dunlop Z1 star specs

Falkien RT-615s

Many more before this car (haven't had this car a year yet)

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

Fantastic tire. Very livable for daily driving.

My only "driving in anger" so far was Blackhawk, in the rain. I passed pretty much everything (including a Carrera 4 and Cayman S) and the tires had a huge amount to do with it. Extremely good wet grip even at high speed. Never felt a bit hyrdoplaining even with puddles at nearly 100 mph. As the track started to dry out, they performed similarly amazing. Very responsive and good turn in.

Lots of events in October (3-4 auto-x plus 1-2 days at MAM), hopefully something will be dry and I'll be able to give a better impression.

These are better than the dunlops in the wet, but I'm not convinced they'll be better than the Dulops in the dry.

 

#1A)

225/45/17 RT-615

#3A) Daily, Autocross

On the other hand, the RT-615s I had for 2 weeks before sucked balls. They don't like high hp combined with 3300+lb curb weights. These are a miata tire. It hs been massively outclassed by the 1z star spec and the RE01R.

Edited September 25, 2008 by nm+

[devobuzz]

#3A) Daily, Autocross

On the other hand, the RT-615s I had for 2 weeks before sucked balls. They don't like high hp combined with 3300+lb curb weights. These are a miata tire. It hs been massively outclassed by the 1z star spec and the RE01R.

 

I know you don't like the RT-615's but would a different size tire other than 215/45/17 make a difference, you think? Say a 235/40/17?

 

Ralph