S. Drive vs. NT 450 tire comparison

I have two sets of wheels for my E36, and the rears of my street tires need to be replaced. I want summer tires for good handling. Which tire is better between these two? I'm looking for wet weather handling, tire life, dry handling, nice ride, and quiet in that order. These are in 205/55R15, and these are the only summer tires in this size. I will replace the fronts in a month or so. The price difference is only $28 before shipping, and even considering shipping, I want the better tire.

Who has experience with the Nitto NT 450? (S. Drive too, really)

The NT450s are for college kids in 2002 that couldn't afford a better tire for their civic after buying 17": wheels. I can't imagine they're any better 12 years later.

Yikes! /End Thread.

I have s-drives on my miata and have been happy with them for daily driving. Good performance wet and dry.

DatsunS130 wrote: I have s-drives on my miata and have been happy with them for daily driving. Good performance wet and dry.

Same here. On the few occasions we get rain, I now miss being able to dirt track/drift/go sideways on a whim.

I'm on my second set of S drives. My current ones are 205/55-15. I have no real complaints. Ok in the rain. Quiet from what I can tell in a miata. No experience with the others.

I had 205/45/16 on a 2001 sport miata daily driver.. love the tires, smooth quiet really grippy and forgiving at the limits. The only drawback, i no longer can slide the car on asphalt and hardly can on rain unless i really push hard.

I can live with that deawback ☺

The S.Drives are not exactly a modern tire themselves, but they are newer than the NT450 and better in almost every conceivable way. They are a great daily driver summer tire, but don't expect them to run like Star Specs! I did enjoy the set I had on my VW.

In reply to SlickDizzy: Yeah, I didn't think they were designed with that level of grip. I actually like a lower grip summer tire for daily driving, anyway. I'm bummed out a little that the DZ102s wore out so fast.

I had a set of NT450's way back when (2002-2003 I think?) They are awful.

On my second set of S.drives on the E30. I think they're a fantastic tire, and for my driving style, they hold up very well both on track and off. They give up some grip to the really soft tires, but on a light car, it isn't really that big of a difference. E36, you may notice it a bit more, but still a really good DD/autoX/trackday tire in my opinion.

Also a fan of the S.drives. Great all-arounder. Probably won't win you any competitive autocrosses, but will be predictable and survive the process without chunking or tearing. Good wet traction and nvh to boot.