airborne

i'm getting ready to pick up a new set of tires for the spring and i'm trying to decide whether to just get what seems to be the best (bridgestone s-03) or something a little lower priced. any suggestions/recommendations? i do a little drag racing and hopefully a lot of autox. thanks

SleepR1

You should NEVER compromise on tires. Those 4 rubber contact patches are what transfer your FD's tremendous potential to the road!

Spare no expense! Get the Potenza S-03s!

Bacon

iTrader: (12)

yokohama A-32 r's

theres no comprimise there
dosent get much stickier

Coulthard Fan

As soon as the weather warms up I'm replacing my A-032R's with Toyo's RA1 competition tires [on 17x8.5 and x9.5 wheels]. Bacon: I think this IS still a compromise... because serious drag/autocross/road course use should have tires made specifically for that application. Since I have no room for a tire trailer to lug wheels to events, I chose to just get competion tires that can be used on the street as well. (But as Brad Barber says, they wear out like a drunk at a sit-down dinner.) For the winter months I simply put my stock wheels back on with Bridgestone RE-71s.

I think S03s would be nice... but R compound tires would appear to fit your application better.

Scott

p.s. I was going to get the Yokos again because they were the only "streetable" R compund tires in the 255/40/17 size... but Toyo finally started making this size (according to their website). The downside to the Yokos is that they are pretty loud. I've done some laps in an instructors car at Summit Point that was shod with RA1's and I think they were considerably quieter than mine. Of course, my memory could be off since I was shitting my pants at the time.

WhtRocket

I don't think anyone wants to talk about this anymore. Try doing a search. There has to be like a dozen posts. Ok, enough ****, I'll give you my 2 cents.

I went with the S03's. As best I can tell for street use, they are the best tire money can buy. period. I think to get better dry weather handeling you have to get a track tire and they will last about half as long or less. Personally, I like a tire I can use in the rain too.

I've had mine for about a month and it's been too wet to check out the max limit handeling. They are very good in the wet, yes better than the SO2's. SO2's were not so good in the rain. There was a Big Ol SUV hydroplaning in front of me on the freeway and I was closing with traction (on 245 25 16's)! They are more prone to following grooves on the highway and ruts on the backroads.

There's a couple strong opinions that might receive a strong reply.

SleepR1

You might try Pirelli P-Zero C's (DOT road and track tires). They're apparently better than either the Toyo RA-1 and Yoko A032R, but not quite as good as Hoosier R3S03. I'm lucky to have a sponsor trailering my car, but that won't last forever, so I will need to switch from Hoosier R3S03 (245/45-17 and 275/40-17) to Pirelli P-Zero Cs.

The P-Zero Cs are are available in the sizes we need--235/45-17 for the 8.5 x 17 and 255/40-17 for the 9.5 x 17. Contact Doug Livingston at Autosport Outfitters in my signature for info on pricing. Let him know I sent you, so he can get you suprerior pricing.

Best of luck on track this season!

dis1

Well there are just about as many opinions on tires as there are people on this forum. When I decided to get new tires it seemed pointless to ask this question because there is rarely any agreement. So I did my own research. After doing so I made a section on my site devoted to it. It has been well received and people have complemented me on it. I don't really try to offer up pointless recommendations because those are a dime a dozen. What I do is offer a process for choosing a tire along with links to info to help you sort through all the recommendations others give. Perhaps you will find it helpful

Mr Seven

Any opinions on the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712's? They are certainly inexpensive enough (around 100 bucks each) and the tread pattern looks cool:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/kumho/ku_712.jsp

The only thing I've heard is that some Kumho's don't last very long.

kelrx7r1

go for the bridgestone
stay away from the pirrelli 5000's i think thats the series
i wouldnt give those to my enemy they suck that bad

SleepR1

My opinion on Kumhos? They suck golf *****!

I've had both their road and track tires. The road tires were Ecsta 711s. Terrible tires. No grip, and no usable life. Toasted them in 8000 miles of hard driving (track, autocross, daily commute). UTQG of 280 was worthless.

Kumho V700s? Great autocross and track tire for big heavy cars like your classic American ground pounders, but the V700s are much too heavy-footed for our FDs. Our FDs need lightweight tires like Pirellis or Hoosiers to take advantage of our high-tech suspension setups, and power-to-weight ratios!

Whatever you do, don't ever race a set of V700s right out of the box. I did that, and I absolutely shredded them! I was pulling rubber chunks out of my fender wells for a week! The V700s definitely beneifit from heat cycling.

FWIW, I raced on my Hoosier R3S03s right out of the box, and they performed wonderfully, with very little chunking--and in the process turned my fastest laptimes ever at Putnam Park!

I haven't tried the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712s--and FWIW--I don't care to. The old addage of "you get what you pay for" rings truthfully with the Kumhos.

I'd much rather have the tried-and-tested classic performers like, Bridgestone RE71s or Yokohama AVS Intermediates, then mount any of Kumho's junk tires on my FD!

Nuff Said

2FAST7S

Mr seven:
I got those to keep cost down to a minimum when getting a set of wheels and I must warn you that if you like hearing your tires scream then thats the tires you want.
If you want to do smokey burnouts, ok get them.
If you need a set of tires and are low on cash, they'll last and should be decent
NOW if you are serious about your car then go with the better, grippier, pricier tires. I don't care who says they're really good for the money.
Bottom line is you get what you pay! Would I buy them again? not a chance!!!!!!!!
Khumo may manufacture decent auto-x/race tires but the Ecsta 712 are not one of them.

black99

I had kumho or actually still have them on until the spring, but it doesn't matter much since my car is sitting... At any rate kumho's suck ***** like someone already said whenever I get my new wheels, who knows when that will be, but I am going to buy a set of good tires... you do get what you pay for...

SleepR1

SAVE YOUR MONEY UNTIL YOU CAN DO IT RIGHT!

What's the point of buying Volks, Fikses, HREs from Rishie, if you can't shod the wheels with proper rubber!!!!?????

It's blasphemy to mount cheap-*** Kumho 712s on Fikse FM-10s! That very act should have you banned from the FD Rx7 Forum!

I don't get it. You all are ready to dump $5000 on a set of lightweight forged wheels, but then skimp on the very thing that transfers the FD Rx7's awesome potential to the road--a proper set of tires!

For gawd's sake, man--GET THE BRIDGESTONE S-03s!

Nuff Said!

RotaryKnight

AHAHAAH SleepR1!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea I have magnesium rims with Nankang tires on them. I also have Continentals on my other set of rims.

AHAHAHAH good point man.

SleepR1

rotarhead

I just got a set of kumho 712's for the rear cause I went through some s02's in 6 months or 10k miles and at 93.00 each not a bad price considering that s03's are double that and in my opinion they are not double the tire. So I say get some kumho 712's and with your extra money you saved by some used stock wheels and outfit em with the hoosiers for track and autocrossing. Thats my new game plan cause I don't want to pay 200 a pop for joy riding tires.

NM_Silverback

Well I've had experience with 2 types of tires. When I got my car it had top of the line Michelin tires. These tires sucked! They had no traction what-so-ever on a wet road. I found myself going sideways a couple of times as I lost traction going around a corner. I replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza tires and I'm very happy with the tires. They are inexpensive but have about the same performance of the more expensive tires. I found out Bridgestone is trying to break into the high performance tire market so they are not charging a high price for them. I also ordered my from tirerack.com and had no problems.

luneytune

I'm very happy with these, and a price thats quite a bit cheaper than the S-03's but the S-03's are an exceptional tire! IMHO

slopoke

i have the kuhmo 712's and like them very much. having a college budget i couldnt really afford much more but have ended up being very pleased with them. i have about 6,000 miles on them with no signs of wear, and i feel they do very good in teh rain, better then the potenza tires i had. also on dry street they may not be the most sticky but they hook up quite well for me, hope this helps,scott

rx7tt95

The Kumho712 Ecstas, for the money, are great tires. Superior in the wet and very good in the dry. They last forever (I had 50% wear after 20,000 miles) and I used them for a session of ProSolo, roadcourse work, and even drag racing (1.8 60ft. times). No, the 712's are not Hoosiers and they're not SO3's either. Then again, they don't wear out after a few weekends of road course work and you won't be replacing $280 tires after 10K miles. If you absolutely need those extra 3/10's, go with Hoosiers over the Kumho710 on the track. If you're on a "street" budget, the 712 Ecstas handle anything you can throw at them on the street. If you're loosing control running Kumho 712's, you're going a bit fast for the street anyway. If you have the money, go with the SO3's. You'll get 90% of the SO3'sperformance for 1/3 the price with the Kumho's. FWIW, I ran three 40 lap sessions on the Kumho's and they never became greasy. Always predictable and I always knew just where I stood in terms of traction.

Kumho has released a new road race/autocross tire. Not as good wear wise, but more ultimate grip. VERY square sidewall, not as rounded as the old version. Their tech (at Sebring SCCA event this weekend) did admit they were having trouble going significantly faster on the new tires. They're MUCH lighter than the old version, something you can feel just by picking each tire up. A few drivers said they preferred the new over the old and was faster on them. Guess it depends on who you talk to!

coop

I have those tires on the rear of my FD...they are ok. Seem to handle ok. I haven't had much to compare them to.

SleepR1

Hotlapping or road racing? I've tried--Kumho V700, Yokohama A032R, BFG R1A, and Hoosier R3S03--all in 245/45-16--Hoosier R3S03 is without a doubt the best damned road racing DOT slick available. Easily the fastest tire of the bunch at Putnam Park--1 second faster than BFG R1A, 2 seconds faster than Kumho V700, 3 seconds faster than "Yo-Slow-mama" A032R! If you can drive the wheels off of your car, then you'll want the Hoosiers. If you're a novice, and don't know what you're doing on track, get the Slohama A032s and learn how it's done. They're nice and safe, and squeal like stug pigs at the limit!

Banzai runs down the Pacific Coast Highway wet or dry? I've had Bridgestone Expedia S-07, RE71, Kumho Ecsta 711, Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrics, all in 225/50-16. Expedia S-07s gave a nice blend of both dry and wet performance, plus ride comfort. Full tread depth the RE71s were fantastic rain tires. In the dry, P-Zero Asimmetrics worn to 5/32nds matched my Kumho V700 and bettered Slohama A032R Putnam Park laptimes (or maybe I just got better as a driver?). I haven't tried Potenza S-03s, but I'd bet the latest Potenza is the ultimate wet/dry road tire. Worst road tire ever? Kumho 711s...very low adhesion limits wet or dry. 711s would are excellent for first time performance drivers, and driftkings. Kumho released the 711's replacement--Supra 712s. Perhaps the 712s are better, than their predecessor, but the sure money would be on tried-and-tested tires like Yoko AVS Intermediate, Dunlop SP8K, or Bridgestone RE71 (if you can find any left!).

Right now it's snow and ice here in Indy, so I'm wishing I had some Bridgestone Blizzaks to run slaloms around those lumbering, view-blocking sport futility vehicles!

jspecracer7

okay, what about the nitto 555R's?

275/40 r17(?) is what I'm looking to get as daily driver tires....

Dragon, Igy, and FDOkinawa all swear by them...

so am I missing the point?

Want2race

KUMHO

I have tried half of the expensive ones you guys mension..
The ignorance here is pretty sad..
The Bridgestones... Poor life.. Pretty good grip!
The yokos... OK life, Ok grip..
The kumhos.. GREAT LIKFE , Good grip!

The kumhos own! Try a set.. and until you have... STFU

jspecracer7

okay...so how long do the kumho's last with "spirited" driving to all out drag racing?