Rain AutoX tire 200tw

What do people seem to like these days?

I am thinking of putting together a set of wheels/tires that will be my running around/rain tires on my AX car.

Ideally with 15" fitments available 

The Continental Extreme Contact Sport and Extreme Contact Sport 02 are kind of the go-to rain tire at the moment, but 15s are going to be a tough get in any brand. Michelin MXW maybe? I think they might have a 15 option.

It's not a great answer, but the 205/45/16 Continental ECS02 has the same OD as the 205/50/15 and you can actually buy it. That would be my top pick, but understandably you might not want to get other wheels. 

The Conti ExtremeContactSport isn't 200tw but it's insanely capable in the rain, moreso than most 200TW tires. I have a set on the stock wheels for my MR2 Spyder that I intend to be the street and rain tires.

If you are looking at just one tire for wet and dry, I remember the old RE71R was also brilliant. I'm pretty certain the RE71RS continues that trend.

I can definitely tell you that Rival S 1.5s and the Nankang CR-S are both absolutely horrible in the rain.

ECS/ECS02 would be great if you can get them, other than that, for 15s your best options might be Toyo R1Rs or Yokohama V701s (although these are 300TW).

For 200TW tires, your best shot is the RE71RS. But for an actual good rain tire, I'd echo what everyone says here and go for the Conti ECS (340tw tires)

unless its like standing water type rain, a regular 200tw is still better off than a "rain" tire

I guess I should of been more clear...they do not necessarily have to be 200tw...but definitely cannot be less. 

I thought about the Contis...I have some beat up 16" motegi wheels I can use...just rather not and use my 15" Kosei wheels instead.

I just wasnt sure if I was overlooking some choices or not

ECS02 exists in 205/50-15...just not currently available from TR.

Looks elsewhere.  Somebodyt found some at Summit, but that source seems to have dried up.  Keep looking.

And yeah, worst case, go 205/45-16 on some cheap 16x8's

Just wet or cold and wet? If it is cold enough regular summer tires start doing better. Crossover seems somewhere around 50-60f. 

Bringing this back up, I ran the RE71RSs two weekends ago in some pretty heavy rain, with patches of standing water, and those tires absolutely delivered. 

theruleslawyer said:

Just wet or cold and wet? If it is cold enough regular summer tires start doing better. Crossover seems somewhere around 50-60f. 

I don't know about the -02 but the ECS works amazingly well down at least into the 30s, Fahrenheit-wise.  I've never experienced them glassing over like other performance tires tend to do.

As long as the moisture is liquid and not solid (in sheet or crystalline form), they don't seem to care about temperature.

This is kinda relevant to my interests, as the BRZ (& now the WRX) are more daily drivers than AX/RX cars.  I went with Indy 500s on the BRZ last year, they seemed like a good compromise for both weather conditions.  But now considering new tires for the WRX & something AX-worthy would be nice but they have to have great wet weather traction.

I was leaning towards Conti ExtremeContactSport.

In reply to Jerry :

You really can't go wrong with the Contis. They are impressive performers in the dry to. Not quite on pace with a 200TW, but I wheeled an all-stock MR2 Spyder to 13th (out of 50) at an autocross in the dry with ECS 02s.

Ran the A052 this weekend in cold and wet conditions and they loved it. 6th pax and my region is pretty competitive. 

I had stock size ECS on my stock 2015 WRX and took it to a wet, actively raining track day and recorded 1G in the corners (tires were new that year). Those tires were amazing in the wet and they lasted me 3 years. 10/10 would recommend.

Great thread that people are actually reporting real experiences.

Possibly off topic but I have a Lotus Europa that is at the tire selection part of the restoration process.

I hate to say it but it uses 13" wheels and I would like to stay with them (look good, period correct and actually made out of magnesium). I live in Seattle and the selection of good tires that would be OK to autocross but not kill me in a rain storm is bleak. Some claim OK performance (in the rain) from a Toyo R888R (seems hard to believe) other think a Radial T/A is good for autocrossing (hard to believe) and great in the rain. All in 205/60/13. I can get away with very soft tires given that the entire car with drive and gas is about 1600 lbs. With modern tire design I could probably go down to 185/70-13 or 175/70-13  and still excede what I could get from a 205/60 from the 90's.

Are there any recommendations of experience for a modern sticky tire that will work in the rain.

Radial T/A are the opposite of sticky, rain or dry.  They're cosmetic tires, not performance tires.

I've driven on R888s in the rain and I don't remember them being murderous, so I could believe that R888Rs aren't bad. They actually have some pretty generous tread voids.

dr_strangeland said:

Ran the A052 this weekend in cold and wet conditions and they loved it. 6th pax and my region is pretty competitive. 

Ditto for Tom and I in this year's One Lap of America on the CRX.  In the wet especially, we kicked many seemingly-faster butts.  That said, at half-tread or less, they can be a bit sketch in heavy downpours like we experienced on a couple of transits.

Yeah I have experienced aquaplaning with lots of water and highway speeds. Haven't had it happen at autocross though. 

Another wet session at packwood this past Saturday and another excellent result. I think they just love being cold.

In reply to dr_strangeland :

They sure don't love being hot!

Hahaha! For real. I spray the fronts after the first run now, lol