new 16x7 ET40 wheels...summer performance tires

goals - handling, wet performance, ride quality (in that order)

1. Avon M500 215/50/16 for $87/ea
2. Bridgestone S0-3 205/50/16 for $90/ea (closeout)
3. Dunlop SP9000 205/50/16 for $81/ea (closeout)
4. Hankook Ventus Rs2 205/50/16 for $80/ea
5. Toyo T1R 205/50/16 for $93/ea
6. Falken Zaenis RT615 215/45/16 for $90/ea

 

Sorry to be "that guy" who answers with something not on your list, but I had a similar list and decided to spend more money on the goodyear f1 gs-d3's. First tire I've ever been COMPLETELY satisfied with. I absolutely love them, and for what you want, handling, wet perf., and quality, they're the best performance tires I've ever had.

But to address the list - S0-3s for 87$ is a steal! Do it if the goodyears aren't an option!

mb

 

I've owned two sets of the F1's and agree 100% about the quality. I had them in 245/35/18 on my Subaru and also in 215/45/17 on the MINI Cabrio. The set of wheels I'm buying is mega-expensive so the tire budget is alittle lower this time around (to keep the wife happy as she approved the Volk's). Plus, the F1's were a little 'soft' in response.

 

I dig my S-03's got them on close out as well. I got the road hazard protection because since they are no longer made, if one of my tires needs replacing under the protection, they will replace all of them.

 

good call....I was thinking the same thing, maybe even buying 5 of them. Guess road hazard would make more sense though, unless there was a catastrophic failure early on (thinking of tread depth, not that there is much on S0-3's ).

 

I just got BF Goodrich KDW 2's love them so far. Changing from run flats makes a huge difference.

 

2. Bridgestone S0-3 205/50/16 for $90/ea (closeout)

no question.

 

KDW2's are LOUD! I've driven them on an STI. No thanks. Besides, my runflats got sold the day the car came home.

I've got to say I'm leaning that way or the RS2's

 

Take a gander at

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....el=Exclaim+UHP


I'm really suprised by these tires and at $68 each, they are hard to beat. I recently put a set of 215/45-17 on mine and have been pleasantly surprised. They are a really great rain tire, very aggressive tread pattern. The sidewalls seem a little softer than the Dunlop FM901 that I had previously but I'm still playing with air pressure to work on that.

 

Take a look at both the Falken Ziex Ze 512's and Dunlop Direzza Dz101's.

I have the Falkens on the MINI and they rock !

Rated as a UHPAS tire with long tread life. They are holding up to a lot of abuse - several track days and 8000+ miles and they are showing only minor wear, the turn-in is excellent, the ride comfort is good, they are not terribly noisy. This is the 4th set of tires on the MINI and arguably the best yet. They are very good in the rain and excellent in the dry. I bought them as a stop-gap because the Dunlop Direzza's that I ordered where not in stock and then promptly cancelled the Dunlop order - they are that good. Did I mention that they are incredibly cheap and fairly light too ? $71ea at edgeracing.com If you are looking for a summer only tire - take a look at the Falken fk452 too - softer tire but terrible in cold weather.

My second favourite tire are the Direzza's. They are rated as UHP's, they wear pretty fast, have fairly stiff sidewalls and have a lovely 'plenty of warning' approach to informing you that you are on the limit. I ran these on the MR2 for a while before switching to F1's - I prefer them to the F1's and am looking forwards to swapping back when they are worn out. I am not sure if they are available in the correct sizing for 16's - but it may be worthing looking around a little for them.

 

Falkens are all season tires and do not offer the same performance (dry) level as the above listed tires. I had them and loved them for what they were, but if I want an ultra high performance summer tire, I'm not buying the ziex tires.

mb

 

agreed....I've got Nokian's for winter. As for the Direzza's.....meh. They lack grip and are horrid in the rain. I've driven a car with them and wasn't impressed.

 

FWIW...Let me throw another tire into the mix: Firestone Wide Ovals.

Now, before you discount them as another low budget tire, let me tell you that I have used several sets of the Wide Ovals for the last two years on my 500 hp Corvette Z06 that is used strictly for driving instruction at open-track events. They are very forving, and they have lasted FOREVER! (I will typically burn up Goodyear F-1's or Kumho R-compound tires in two weekends.)

I have gone through a set of Dunlop 2000's that were OEM on my '05 Mini Convertible (junk in 3,000 miles because of bulging), tried a set of Goodyear RSA's (junk too after a short time), and now am on a set of Kumho Ecsta SPT's. The Kumho's are the best so far, but my next set of tires for the Mini will definitely be the Firestone's (made by Bridgestone). If they work half as well on the Mini as they do on the Corvette, I'll be thrilled! Just my $.02...

Go check out the reviews here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....hawk+Wide+Oval

 

+1 on the Goodyear Eagle F1 GsD3's! I'm running 16x7" Konig wheels - ran Kumho SPT's for about 12000 miles - until performance went away and the fronts were down to the last wear bars. Changed a few thousand miles ago to the Goodyear F1's, and am much happier with them. Much stickier under all conditions, slightly stiffer sidewalls than the SPTs, and also slightly noisier under cruising conditions - but MUCH better performance during cornering, and much better audible feedback when nearing critical slip angle: Where the Kumhos would squeal, the Goodyears provide a nice linear transition of increasing broadband noise - more of a building roar. Much better for nervous passengers/co-drivers, and lots easier for the driver to predict when grip will go away!

Both sets of tires were 206R50/16 on the Konig rims (42mm offset), and stock MCSc suspension; cold pressures of 36psi front / 34 psi rear.

The Goodyears were more expensive, but I'm much happier with them.

The Kumhos were supposed to have similar grip to the older ECSTA SUPRA 712's (which I ran and liked on my old Subaru 2.5RS), but with much better tread wear rating. I found that when the "good" layer of compound wore down, the performance just really fell away.

I prefer the way the Goodyears look in this size too. The Kumhos always seemed a little boring visually.

One last note: Neither of these tires is intended for all-season use - no snow, ice or freezing temps!

_Dave_

 

At those prices... S-03s. Got a set on my Audi - awesome. Mini's got GY DS-G3s - also awesome.

This survey is not much different than any I've seen in the car mags...
Tire Rack Survey

 

The specs on the KDW 2s look really nice. The tires are also extremely aggressive looking. I have Ziex ZE512 and like them, but when they wear out, I will probably go with the KDW 2s. I don't really care about a little extra noise.

 

looks like I can do 215/45/16 Falken Azenis RT-615's as well. Hmmm...

 

I'm planning on the F1 GS-D3s in 205/50R16. Anyone have experience with these mounted on OZ Ultraleggeria 16/7s?

 

I've used a few of the tires being talked about...

Goodyear F1 GS-D3 in 205/50R16
Bridgestone S-03 in 205/50R16
Hankook RS2 in 215/45R16

Also, I've used the old Azenis RT-215 in 215/45R16 and the BF-Goodrich G-Force Sport in 205/50R16

At the price for the Bridgestones, they win with the criteria the original poster had.

The Goodyears are almost as good as the Bridgestones, and (were) cheaper. Now that the Bridgestones are on closeout, the Gooyears lose that advantage. And I'm not a fan of the looks of the Goodyear, but that's a personal preference thing.

I used the Hankooks as track / autocross tires, not daily driving. They worked great and are cheap. I was going to get Azenis RT-615 tires, but they were out of stock in the size I wanted so I got the Hankooks.

The BF-Goodrich G-Force Sport is a pretty good tire at a good price. Noticably lower performance than the F1 GS-D3 / Pole Position S-03 / Azenis / Hankook / etc., but cheap and they seem to be lasting a long time. Now that I have a set of track wheels and a set of street wheels, the cheaper but lower performing G-Force Sport works great for me. I just throw on the other set of wheels when it's time to have super sticky tires on.

But, for the original question, get the S-03 Pole Position.

 

added a #6 choice. my wheels are finally en route....time to decide on tires.

 

I like #3, have had a few sets of them on various cars. Good overall tyre. Not the greatest life, maybe 30,000 on a MINI, but still good. Just make sure to rotate before 8,000 with those.

I also like Pirelli PZero Nero M+S, but I think they are closer to $100 per.

 

I've got Nokian WR's for winter....I want a 'no holds barred' type of tire to take advantage of the handling mods I'm doing.

 

No Kumho MXs??
One of the best value I think..

 

they aren't offered in a size useful to the Cooper in 16" (only 205/55/16 and 225/50/16).

 

Oh i c.. Sorry, didn't notice taht the wheels are 7s..