im currently looking for new tires for stock fd rims. im thinking about going to 245/45/16. at first i was considering the kumho ecsta mxs but i did some searching and found many people did not care for them. just wondering if anyone could give me advice on which tire i should choose. it will mostly be a street tire with occasional autocross and track days. i havent decided for sure whether to stay with the 225/50/16 stock size or to move up to 245/45/16 . if someone could give me advice on whether it would be better to move up in size, that would be great. any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

I've never been on the Bridgestones, but i had and hated a set of ES100s. For the money, those tires really suck..Kinda sketchy in the rain, and greasy on hot days. IMO, A set of Kumho MXs are much, much better, and probably less expensive than the Yoko's.

I've got a set of BFG KDW2s on my FD now and love 'em. In fact, we have 'em on two of our three cars!

 

i was also looking at Bridgestone Potenza RE750s. i heard these were pretty good.

 

+1 for the Es100s sucking *****!....worst tire ever. if you want a super sticky tire for auto-x I highly reccomend BFG KDW the original style...they are the best tire I have ever had on the street the down side is the price and they don't last all that long.
right now I am on the kumho ecsta mxs and they are not terrible but nothing great...they don't have much grip but are pretty predictable dry and wet....the one bad thing I have noticed with the kumhos is that they flat spot pretty bad IE leave em over night and the next morningfor the first few miles you swear you lost a wheel weight.

 

I have a set of Bridgestone RE050A's on my stock wheels and they are really good overall. I got these for my daily driving needs in heavy rain and they have done a great job. They do have a lot of grip in them also and I take them up in the mountins all the time.

Basicly, great overall tire for your daily driving needs and they good grip as well.

 

depending on your budget, you can pick up a set of hankooks in those sizes. I have a staggered set, but they're not on my car

 

Almost no one makes 245/45 16 anymore.....about the best tire that still is, is the Toyo T1-R. There are a lot of top choices left in the 225/50 size.

 

mdude,

You need to pick the right tire for the right application. The ES100's are great for tooling around the streets. However, they are not a high performance tire for competitive AutoX or road racing.

The two tires you are choosing between aren't even in the same class (obviously by the pricing). If you plan to AutoX, spend more and get a good performance tire.

 

yeah there arent really too many choices on tirerack.com. i saw some Bridgestone Potenza RE750s on there in 245/45/16. i might just get some 225/50/16 since there seems to be alot more tires to choose from.

 

thanks mahjik. i really dont have alot of experience with picking tires for street/track use. the tires will mainly be used on the street though.

 

If you don't care about shorter treadlife, get a set of Falken RT-615s and call it a day.

 

If you aren't going to do AutoX for competition (i.e. you are just doing it for fun), then the ES100's would be fine. However, when/if you want to get competitive; you'll need a better tire to get you there.

Continental ContiSportContact has a 245 size tire. Its more expensive then the ES100, but IMO, its not that much better of a tire. Still, its a 245 size tire.

You'll have a ton of options in the 225 size. Kumho ECSTA MX is a good tire and inexpensive. Continental ContiSportContact 2 is a better tire but a little more expensive and Pirelli PZero System is also a good midranged tire.

 

Bingo

 

RT-615's are great. As long as you have an alignment and know how to drive, you will be more than happy with them.

Most people tend to fool themselves thinking they will be going to the track, "sometimes". If you are, then best bet is to have a set of wheels for track and a set for street. Tire life is great imo. But then again, I haven't even had a set of tires last me 5kmiles... If you are insistent on choosing between the two, go with some RE's. Es100's are amongst the wort tires ever.

 

i think that is what im going to do. i have some stock evolution wheels that i will use for the track. i just went to thunderhill with those wheels since the stock fd wheels had cracks in the tires. ill just stick with the stockers on the street. what does everyone think of the potenza re750's? i still ahvent decided if im going to stick with 225 or move up to 245? any suggestions

 

If you are going have 2 sets of rims, IMO, I would not spend a lot of money on tires just for the street. You aren't/shouldn't be using the public streets as a race track, so I would just get something cost effective.

Then spend the real money on your track/performance tires.

 

If i was u, Id check out Hankook Rs2. They are 100bucks each for 245, and they supossedly grip better than the Bidgestones, and close to falkens. Also they have good tread life.