Miata tire suggestion for '99 w/15"

My nephew will be following the GRM way and the light by supplementing his Volvo 940 turbo wagon with a '99 Miata (silver/tan.) The Miata will need new rubber soon. He has asked me, and I am asking you, "what do you think of Yokohama S drives?"
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=S.drive&partnum=95VR5S&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Mazda&autoYear=1999&autoModel=Miata&autoModClar=
I have never had them. Is there something out there that represents a better value?

As a second topic: 195/50/15 vs 205/50/15 ?

Purpose: The car will be a street driver for summer months.
Nephew located in Columbus, OH

I have the S-drives on my Miata in 195/50/15. They are great for the street. I haven't autocrossed on them yet so I can't say what their performance is like in that situation.

Steer him toward this GRM article:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/top-tires/

It's recent and very thorough.

In reply to oldsaw:

Thanks for the lead to the article but that comparo is a bit too aggressive for the need here. He is not shopping shaved autocross tires but rather everyday proper street tires.

wear vs. grip level

How often does he want to replace tires?

I'm currently running a set of General Exclaim UHP, they are made by Continental and like some Continentals, 2 of 4 were badly out of round.

I run 195/50/15 S Drives on my 02 miata and love them. I have around 25,000 on them right now and there getting near the wear bars. I will probably put them on the next time to. For a good all around tire with a little performance orientation thrown in I like them. No problems in the rain with these either.

heres a link to tire rack where the tire is rated on Mazdas in specific.

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComments.jsp?additionalComments=y&commentStatus=P&tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=S.drive&fromTireDetail=true&partnum=95VR5S&tirePageLocQty=%26partnum%3D95VR5S

well that gets you most of the way filter it by vehicle top left corner

I have run a number of sticky street tyres over the years on the Ti.. so far the one I love the best is the Dunlop Direzza Star Sports.. I was running the BFG 050s before and I could break them loose.. these will squeak once and then let the car scoot

I was considering the S drive for my Mini. They were out of stock at the time and I wound up with the Bridgestone RE 720. Doesn't seem like you have many options in that tire size.

Rudy seems to be the Miata guy at Tire Rack. Might want to check the latest posts on this thread: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=275243 or give him a call.

In regard to 195 vs 205. I was originally going to do 205 but for cost reasons I went with 195/50/15. They are more then plenty for any kind of street driving on the Miata, there is no reason to spend the extra money for the 205s if it is just going to be driven on the street in the summer.

EvanB wrote: In regard to 195 vs 205. I was originally going to do 205 but for cost reasons I went with 195/50/15. They are more then plenty for any kind of street driving on the Miata, there is no reason to spend the extra money for the 205s if it is just going to be driven on the street in the summer.

I agree. Especially on a 6.5" stock wheel width