Just fishing for opinions on what tires are best for street and some track? I have Yokohama ES avs 1000's. They are very grippy but tey do hold very well on 4 sessions on the track.

Thanks,
Carl

 

Falken Azenis might be a good option, especially if you have 16 inch wheels. I wish TireRack sold them, but I got a great deal from http://www.vulcantire.com

I just got a set that I will use for performance driving at autocross schools, the Tail of the Dragon, and other racing events where I am not competing for points in order to save some wear on my Hoosiers.

There is not a fantastic size for 17" wheels though.

I have been very happy with my Yoko ES100's for spriited driving and they are a very good tire, especially for the price.



_________________

SE Regional, BAMA Club Moderator: PM me

 

The knock on the Azeni is they become greasy when they are hot. They are great for autocross but a trck event puts a lot more heat in the tires. S03s are near the dry grip of Azeni, and react to heat better. The ES-100s are a little behind (very little) the S03s and are much cheaper.
Chris

 

totally agree about the Falkens. I've had them on the track several times and the first 5 or 6 laps are wonderful and then they get hot and get pretty slippery. I finally bit the bullet and am running Hoosiers this year at the track...got a new set of Kosei K1 racing wheels to go with them and I'm all set. I use the Yoko's on the street.

 

I just got a set of Bridgestone Pole Position S-03's for my 16" wheels and ran one driver school/ track day on them. I'm very pleased so far. Good grip throughout the day and no signs of wear. Another driver had a set of S-03's on her track-dedicated BMW E30 M3 and said she ran 4 track events this year and the tires still looked new to me. The S03s are fine on the street as well. I haven't noticed any undue noise.

For 17" wheels I hear the Kumho Ecsta MX's are good for the track (they don't make the right size for a 16" wheel for the S).

 

does BS made the S 03 to fit the stock 17" rim? How does it performs compare to the stock performance tires? I need some info of the stock performance tires too..

thanks in advance.

Ed

 

I’m thinking it depends on your weather. I’m using the Yoko ES 100’s for everyday driving and auto-x a couple times a month. A very good all round tire. I’m also thinking of trying the Falken Azenis next time round, but I live in a somewhat dry area. I’m told the Falken’s are not a good wet weather tire. You might take this in to consideration.

 

>>The knock on the Azeni is they become greasy when they are hot. They are great for autocross but a trck event puts a lot more heat in the tires. S03s are near the dry grip of Azeni, and react to heat better. The ES-100s are a little behind (very little) the S03s and are much cheaper.
>>Chris

I just did a day at Thunderhill Raceway and used the Azenis for the first time. We did 5 twenty minute sessions. I noticed no changes in grip as the tires heated up. I mentioned the above comment to some of the instructors who worked with me and they said the tires got "gripier" as the got hotter and as they wear.
I used the Kumho MX tires last autocross season running in a street tire class and they didn't last the season before they lost grip. Still some tread but the last day they were toast.

 

>>does BS made the S 03 to fit the stock 17" rim? How does it performs compare to the stock performance tires? I need some info of the stock performance tires too..

The Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-03 tires come in-
215/45-17 recommended
or
215/40-17 (slightly lower load rating) runs a little rougher on bumpy roads

Both sizes work OK for street and some track use.

I don't think there is any 205/45-17 size for the S-03 or Yokohama AVS ES100 tires.

 

I like the Kumho Ecsta MX, the Falken Azenis, and the Yoko AVS ES-100.

The Kumho isn't quite as grippy as the Azenis, and it does get slick when hot, but it takes a bit longer to get hot when compared to the Azenis. It also seems to last a bit longer on the street.

The Azenis is the best combo tire in my opinion, but the wet weather performance is only OK, and it does tend to get hot and greasy after a short period of time on a tight track in higher ambient temps. For autocrossing, it is great.

The S-03 is just a bit too much money in my opinion, but it performs excellently, with near the grip of the Falken, but much better wet performance and longer wear.

The AVS ES-100 is a good value. It is less grippy than the other tires, but not too much. The drawback to the Yoko as a combo track tire is that under high heat conditions they tend to chunk. As long as the track is long enough (cool) and the temp is low enough, that shouldn't be a problem though.

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

This may be too much to spend for a few weekends but you should consider camber adjusters. Your tires will last far longer than a few laps and the response will be much better with camber plates and rear links. The difference is so great that you could use a set of stock RFs and still be faster.

 

Kumho MX or Yoko ES100 for the value.

Bridgestone S-03 or GoodYear Gs-D3 for best performers.

Alex

 

I bought Falkens Azenis Sport in the 215-45-16 size - you can go to 225 at the stock height. I have put a few thousand track miles on Azenis and never felt any loss of grip; in fact they were better as they wore down. IO think they are by far tghe best value for the buck.

 

Does anyone know anything about the Falken FK-451 that does come in 215/45/17 size for those of us with 17" rims? I know these are a completely different tread pattern than the Azenis, but they look nice!

 

I put on Falken Ziex ZE-512s (205/50R16) about 2000 miles ago. Although they aren't the stickiest summer tires, the seem to cope with any weather condition I've encountered better than any other rubber that I've tried, including snow:


and Daytona Beach sand:


Tom

_________________

Tom Clark, Clarksville MD: CR '02 MCS

 

Best street and some track.... Falken Azenis, for me anyway. I had the same requirement you did in that I wanted the best tire for track days that was also totaly streetable. So factors you do need to consider is weather. I live in florida so I only have to worry about rain. My falkens were cheap. $62 each for the 15's Treadwear ratting of 200 compared to the 180 for the runflats. I'm very happy. Only negatives on the Falkens is that they are heavy for their size (I think they make up for it in grip) and I have noticed some road noise associated with the large tread blocks. You can't beat the Falkens for the grip they give you cold on the street.

_________________

 

i love my S03's.....for all purpose....

 

>>i love my S03's.....for all purpose....

Me too!

Alex

 

Which of these tires come in 215/45/16 besides the Falkens? And is this size better than 205/45/16 or anything else?

 

>>Which of these tires come in 215/45/16 besides the Falkens?
None of them do. See below.

>>And is this size better than 205/45/16 or anything else?
Well you have to look at contact patch so a slight advantage goes to the 215/45-16 but if tires don't come in that size then you don't really have a choice.

For Yokohama AVS ES100 the following sizes in 16" are at tirerack.com (280 wear)
205/45-16 87W load, 6.5-7.5" rim width range, 7" best rim, 23.3" Overall diam. $81 each
205/50-16 87W load, 5.5-7.5" rim width range, 6.5" best rim, 24.1" Overall diam. $80 each

Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-03 (220 wear) $152 each
205/50-16 87W load, 5.5-7.5" rim width range, 6.5" best rim, 24.1" Overall diam.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
205/45WR16 83W (280 wear) $123 each
205/50ZR16 $123 each
215/40WR16 86W (208 wear) $125 each

Kumho Ecsta MX
205/55-16 91W (220 wear) $88 each

 

Thanks a little late but thanks. My wheels and tires are sitting in Eric's garage. SSR Comp/Anthracite-215/45/16 Falken Azenis.

 

I personally don't see the 'greatness' of the S-03. They are excellent tires - for street driving but that's about it IMHO.

But, overall the S-O3's are too expensive for what they are and don't provide near the performance of the Azenis or MX on a dry autocross course or track - don't know about the wet, although I'd assume the MX's would do nearly as good. I've run all three back-to-back on stock BMW 330i's and just didn't see any advantage that would come from paying significantly more for the S-03's.

The other thing to notice - go out to a local SCCA Solo II event and look at the tires being run in STS and STX. You'll notice they are nearly all running either Azenis, MX's, or BFG T/A KD's or KDW's. That's about all you see on the top cars.

 

The So3 is z rated, so it's better if you have an M3 or something like that imho.

Mine didn't last very long, but I also didn't rotate often enough, so that was a hue problem.

I'm currently Running the Toyo Proxes t1s but they get quite greasy if you run too long on the track...but it's a great street tyre with some tracking.

L

 

S03's are great, but noisy when about 1/2 worn and start to dramatically
loose grip under 35F. I use them on my wrx and have been very pleased
with the performance...but the noise is pretty loud! :smile:

I would still get a new set of S03's for my rex, but im leaning towards
ParadaSpec2's next for my MCS after my dsst SP9000's wear out.

 

>> noisy when about 1/2 worn -

Rotate every 3 k!

>>and start to dramatically loose grip under 35F.

So does every max performace tire. They are designed from 45 Degrees and up!

Alex