I'm looking for my 3rd set of tires---looking for relatively inexpensive sticky tires. I went through my runflats without rotation in 19,000 miles. I extended the life of my Yoko AVS-ES100's to 27,000 miles by rotating every 3,500 miles--but they are pretty much bald now. Going to do a track event, then get tires.

I might get Yokos again---I liked them, but I saw that the Kuhmo ECSTA 711 are at Tire Rack for $26 less per tire than Yoko's--205 50 16. Or I might swing to the other side and go for Toyo T1R's but they aren't cheap.

Seems I'll be changing tires once a year now, and expensive tires at this rate, don't fit with my pocket book.

Any opinions on whether they are significantly less sticky performance wise to my Yoko's??

Thanks

 

i just mounted all new Kumho ECSTA SPT, which is the replacement for the 711, you might want to look into them, so far the ride is superior to the RE750 Bridgestones i had before, quieter too, grip's been great both wet and rain.. of course, the tires's not properly broken in yet

 

Oh I didn't realize they were replaced. Thanks for the info. I'm not familiar with Bridgestones---were those runflats? Just trying to get an idea from what you had and what you now went to.

Seems the Falken Ziex Ze 512 aren't a bad deal either. Considering those as well.

Richard

 

well they havent fully replaced the 711, but i believe they will...

the re750s arent runflat, they are bridgestone's premier ultra high performance tire... they were great in the dry, in the wet they were okay, but dry grip was phenomenol... tho after about 5 track days they are toast

 

Thanks! Been doing a bit more research:

Seems that my Yoko's--205/50 16 from Tire Rack are only $80 each & 21 lbs.--it's what I paid for back in July 2004, so no price change.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....odel=AVS+ES100


I'm even considering Kuhmo ECSTA 711 in the same size. They offer similar grip but are only $54 each and 20 lbs.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=ECSTA+711


Toyo T1R's at Edgeracing which I could swear said $119 each, now says $102 each and 19.4Lbs.


A friend also recommended the Falken Ziex Ze 512 which are only $65 each and 19.4Lbs


Another one is Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 at $80/tire, but they are sold at at Edgeracing also.



$69 and 22.8Lbs.
http://www.falkentire.com/tires_451.htm


and

http://www.falkentire.com/tires_rt215.htm



So currently, I'm considering the Falkens or Kuhmos in part because of price and price to value ratio.

See here for information on possible tire choices and their prices. These are 16" tires.

http://www.edgeracing.com/tires/2055016/

 

The new Kumho SPT tires are the replacement for the Kumho 712 tire, not the 711. I used to have a set of 711's on another car, and they were the worst performance tires I've ever owned (out of more than a dozen different sets of performance tires I've had). The 711 is a summer only performance tire, but I've had all-season tires that had better dry traction. The 711's I had were mediocre (at best) in the dry or wet. You definitely get what you pay for with the 711's (not much).

Some of the sticky tires I've used before and liked have been Kumho MX and SPT, Yokohama AVS-ES100, Falken Azenis, and Toyo T-1R (what I currently have on my MC). I currently also have a set of Falken Ziex 512's on another car and they are a good tire, but are all-season, while all the other tires I mentioned before are summer only performance tires.

-Keith

 

If cost is going to be an issue and you want your next tire to last longer than 27,000 with regular rotation, then you might consider leaning towards the falken ziex 512. It is an all season, so it won't grip as much, but you gain a lot, too. I had them on a 1986 325 and they were great, especially in the rain.

I love these threads because I love learning about people's opinions on all different tires.

mb

 

I've got the Falken Ziex ze 512 tires on my MINI right now. They've got a good treadwear rating, 300. I switched from the runflats to these, so I can't give a good "performance" rating. You're welcome to ask me questions, though.

I got them as an all-season, cheap tire. I sometimes run autox events on them.

 

Thanks everyone. While cost is a consideration, it won't be the ultimate determining factor. I'm just hoping to find something with similar performance to my AVS- ES100 for around or less money--since I will likely have to figure in shipping, installation, and disposal fees, etc.. even a set of $300 tires can become $500 pretty quickly. It doesn't rain much here in California so wet performance of the Yokos were just fine for me---besides the fact I'm pretty good at driving in the rain--I like the feel of a controlled slide in a turn Just kidding--they weren't that bad.

25,000 miles is an acceptable tread life for me--as it takes me about 1 year of driving, and I don't mind trying a new tire each year.

I guess I'm also looking to avoid the tramlining that I had for the first 10,000 miles on my Yokos--severe side to side movement at 70mph on the freeway, so a different tread pattern is also desirable for this next trial.

Has anyone gone from Yoko's to any of the tires I've mentioned--except the Toyo's--which I hear are really good---and give any positive comparisons???

 

well im using the toyo t1R and love em, great wet and dry traction, pluse it looks cool and agressive, i use to have the parada spec 2 but they were all show, good feedback thou and cheap also !

 

I had Kumho 712 in size 16 on my previous car; the tire was grippy and quiet until about 20k miles, but the tread wear was really good, and no tramline issues.

I put a new set of Falken 512 on my girlfriend's car about 2 months ago, and they're much quieter than the Bridgestones all season tires. However, they didn't have as good of a steering feel as the Bridgestones, even though the grip level was high.

For my MCS, I'm torn between Kumho SPT, Hankook Ventus V4ES, or Avon M500... just can't decide

 

Ok, I did my first track event yesterday at the Streets of Willow and my bald Yokos are entirely shredded. I'm not only talking about chunks missing, but entires rips in the center of the treads going for 6 to 8 inches. Anyhow, it's time to decide today.

Yokos AVS ES-100 ($80/$320) cause it's the safe answer--I won't likely be doing a track event until these are bald as well. Good looking & aggressive tread pattern. Good performing in dry, acceptable in wet. Sticky and good performing, not durable for track.

Toyo T1R's ($102/$408)-- 19.4 lbs. Very tempting but I could get 5 Yoko's for the price of 4 Toyo's. Good looking & aggressive tread pattern. Sticky and good performing in wet or dry.

Falken Ziex Ze 512 ($65/$260)-- 19.4 lbs. Long Lasting tread life, lower fun factor but very economical.

 

I know you've eliminated this tire from your final options, but for others interested, the big improvement on the Kumho SPT is supposed to be durability ( and performance at high miles)... They are supposed to have the performance of the 712 (Ecsta Supra), but maintain that performance (traction, quietness) much longer. The treadwear rating (I know, no standardization between manufacturers) is the highest I've seen for a high-performance 3-season tire.

These were recommended to me by Phil Wicks when I registered by phone for his Laguna Seca event. I also had the 712s on my old Subaru RS2.5, and really liked them, so I'm looking forward to the SPTs.

I think I'm getting a set in 205/50-16 this week to replace my SP9000 (17") runflats, if I can get the 16" wheels worked out. Will advise.

_Dave_

 

We have a set on amanda's car and they have been GREAT the car has one track event and about 10,000 miles and they still look nearly new. I know a few others that have them and are completly happy with them as well.

For my car I went with the falken 615's and they are a very very nice tire, BUT this is NOT my daily driven car so I am not concerned with tire wear or a little more noise.

 

I have had ZE512's for the last year and while they have been a good tire, they are not wearing well. I rotate every 3k miles keep them properly inflated. the wear is even across all four but all four are down to the wear bars after only 11k miles. No autocross, no track days. I do drive in a spirited fashion.

I'm not complaining, just wanted you to know that tire wear is directly related to driving habits and apparently these tires aren't too hard to wear out. the Falkens are guaranteed for 30K IF you have a dealer rotate every 5K and document it and also check and document the alignment. If you wear them out and have all the doco they can be prorated on a new set. My dealer offered, but I didn't have the alignment checked every 5k so no help.

 

The 711's are not comparable to the ES100's. Not even close.

The 712's were a step down, and the 711's a step down from that. IMO, you're prettymuch at the point that you'll need to sacrifice traction for cost savings.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments. It's much appreciated. I found a local tire shop that can get me the Falkens installed for $85--or Toyos for $110--so I decided to save $100 ($25 difference x 4 tires) and try the Falkens.

I will have them on by tomorrow. I remember when I researched the AVS-ES100s that people told me they had tire life between 5,000 to 30,000 miles on them, so if these perform similarily, they should be fine for me.

I'm thinking if I do more track events (which is now very likely), I'll end up getting a second set of wheels with T1Rs on them anyways.

 

I got my Falken Ziex 512's installed today. Cost me about $380 total for the tires, mounting, disposal, and tax. Installers were very professional, and I'm happy with the deal.

First things I noticed are that they are sticky! Well compared to my bald Yokos! Minor steering inputs made me move! I didn't experience any tramlining either, atleast not yet.

I will post some pix of the old Yokos and the new Falkens later tonight. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

New Tires Falken Ziex 512
After our Streets of Willow event, my bald Yokohama AVS-ES100s were shredded!! Literally chunks of rubber were missing. I paid a total of $376 including tax, mounting, and installation.




Yokos to be removed



Falken Ziex 512



Floor Jacks

When you don't have a lift, floor 3 floor jacks do nicely.



Shredded Yokos


Shredded Yokos


Shredded Yokos






Old Yokos











So far I really like my new Falkens. They ride smooth, are grippy, and came at a great price!

 

Those Yokos look HORRIBLE

I wouldn't go there again

 

Hahah 28,000 miles or so and 1 track day--chunks of rubber were missing everywhere--including that long strip. Those were my front tires btw--I moved them to the rear for my 200 mile trip home--wanted to make sure I arrived in 1 piece.

 

I'm unfortunately a bit late. I've used ES100s and Kumho 712s back and forth for nearly 200,000 commuter miles on a very well set up Honda product. I prefer the Kumho712s; They are better wet waether tires and break away more predictably. Grip feels about the same...the ES100s might be a bit more responsive. Despite rotating these every 3,000 or so miles, both brands become extremely noisy and exhibit unbalanced qualities for the last 25% of treadwear.

I drive about 60k miles per year and cannot in good conscience pay $200.00 per tire twice a year. But I refuse to put another set of either of the above on my Mini. I installed the Kumhos the day I took delivery on BBS RGRs thinking that that factory alignment specs might be kinder to these tires. Nope!

I just ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2s - 205/45/17. $144.00 each...We'll see...

 

I'm thinking about this tires as well. Any updates on performance or treadwear?

 

I'm at 54,000 miles and the fronts are more worn than the rears as expected, but I still have more than half the tread life. Wear is doing very well espcially considering I like to peel off the line at stop lights--ok not peel off, but I like to be way out front like the motorcycles. They have been very sticky and well performing. I just hooked up a friend of mine with the Falkens from the same tire company. She got them in 17s for her SLites for $355 for all 4 including installation and tire disposal and she's very pleased. Says it's running smoother and more sure (her worn runflats were making her mistrust her MINI)

My stickiness also increased dramatically once I added the 22mm Rspeed sway bar. I plan to run my fronts until they are bald, and replace those two instead of rotating like I did with my Yokos.

 

Thanks for the input!