MtnRacer

I have a spare set of TII rims sitting in my closet, and I think it's about time to put rubber on them(especially since my current rims came with m/s tires). Let me explain what I'm looking for and then tell me if what I've selected fits the bill. I'm really looking for contrasting opinions here so that I have some options to choose from.

I'm looking for a nice grippy set of street tires that will survive autocross seasons in addition to a few track days, all while being daily driven. I'd basically like them to be pretty sticky, good enough for the track days, but still get a decent street life out of them. I've got a budget of around $450, but tire wear is an issue as I don't want these things crapping out after 12,000 miles.

After a few hours of searching and research, Bridgestone RE750s seem to be the choice for me. They've got good tread life, are very grippy, and don't cost an arm and a leg. Other choices I looked at were Yokohama AVS es100(too short a treadlife), Bridgestone s03s(pretty expensive), and some various other tires.

What I'd like are some other suggestions from fellow members(particularly autox and track racers) on other tires to look at that are in a similar price range(although $600 isn't TOTALLY out of the question if I can get a few years out of them), that have similar or better grip than the re750s, with comparable treadlife. Sorry for the long post, I hope you guys can help me! Thanks very much in advance!

Steve

dis1

I have some info on my site but generally I'd take a look at the Firestone SZ50s and the BFG KDWs.

MtnRacer

Hey dis1,
I actually checked your site out before while doing my searching. How do the sz50s and kdws compare with treadwear versus the re750?

Steve

dis1

All of these 3 are about the same, maybe the KDW is a little less. The SZ50 is on sale right now though and is closer to the S03 so is by far the best buy. I have even heard they are the same tire but with different tread patterns. I have also been hearing good things about the new Goodyear F1. Personally I have had the SZ50s and the ES100s. The SZ50 are great, the ES100s... well ya get what ya pay for.

neofreak

Steve, I had the RE730's before and loved them, actually I still have them on a set of rims. I've been meaning to try out the RE750's next, after this set of Azenis are done (on another set of rims in the garage, it'll be a while, less than 1k on them)

Personally, I didn't like the ES100's, they didn't seem as gripy, especially in the wet.

rynberg

I assume you are looking at the stock 205/55 16 tire size?

Good cheaper tires would be Dunlop SP8000, Kumho Ecsta MX.

Slightly better tires -- Toyo T1S, Yokohama AVS Sport.

You are asking the impossible though, wanting treadlife, good grip, and low price.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

I had the Bridgestone 730's, and liked them. The only problem was the noise. They were very loud. They lasted about 10000 miles with no track days, and 4 autocrosses. I decided to try the Yoko ES100 because they were inexpensive. Bad move! They didn't grip well, and seemed to "float". I sent them back, and got the Bridgestone 750. So far I am very happy with the tires. Good grip, straight line stability, and quiet.

If you are going to take your car to autocrosses,and regular track days, you will be lucky to get 4000 miles out of a decent handling set of tires.

MtnRacer

Well, not exactly. I considered the re750s to be a great balance of all three. I wanted to know what other tires came close to that balance. I've got to admit, the sz50s are looking really attractive right now. Especially because they're on sale. I'm going to hold out for a few more opinions though.

Steve