Although there are many things the non-Miata owner may (or may not) owe the Miata owner, the most significant is the availability of decent tires. What I'm talking about are a wide selection of 195/50/15 tires, or more accurately in recent years... a wide selection, that is waning, of 195/50/15 tires.
About 2 years ago I purchased a set of Genral Exclaim UHPs. 3 of the 4 tires came to me out-of-round, Tire Rack, and General tire allowed me to return 2 of them for replacements. Anyway... I'm NOT happy with the experience, the Generals are less than what I'd like... especially with one still out of round.
SOOOO... what I'm looking for are real world experiences with tires that are available in 195/50/15. I'm talking about summer tires, with treadwear ratings of 140-300. I believe Tire Rack has 9 tires listed in that size.... the one that seems closest to my driving style are the Yoko S-Drives.
Tires I've had in the past: Bridgestone RE-71s, Toyo T1s, Kumho 712s, Yoko ES100s, The only one of the group I didn't like were the Toyos, and now the Generals.
So what say yee users of 195/50/15????
Are there other tires available?? Are they any good????
I like my Yoko S.drives, I am pretty sure they are 195/50.
I have star specs in that size on my 2 and though I've only got about 400 miles and no autocrosses on them, I'm quite happy with them. That said, they're my first set of 'good' tires so I don't have much to compare them to. Much stickier than anything I've ever driven.
mtn
PowerDork
4/19/12 5:13 p.m.
I have RE-11's that I am extremely happy with. Mine are 205/50/15, but they make 195 as well.
The S.drive is a pretty popular tire for Miata drivers. You can get them in both a 195/50 and a 205/50.
Price difference on the 195/50 - 205/50 is significant. I usually buy the 205/50.
I have Star Specs in that size on the e30. $20 cheaper per corner than the 205s. Love em. Even with a soft rallycross setup it feels like a 100hp racecar on the street.
wbjones
UltraDork
4/19/12 7:41 p.m.
R1R in 195-50-15 is the UBER tire with the STS and ST crowd
I have that size in Bridgestone RE-11s on my '89 MR2, mounted on 15 x 7 wheels. Great handling, wear is good after 5000 street miles and about 150 track miles, excellent dry track handling, not so much in the rain, totally useless in 1 inch of snow. I like the tires very much, but at today's prices I'd also consider the Star Specs.
Kumho?
http://www.kumhotire.ca/tires/details_specs.php?line=1&cat=7&ptn=712
damn Andre, long time since I"ve seen you in here. Strange coincidence since I just did some work on the GT6 tonight for the first time in months (new Momo steering wheel!). Done with the racer project yet?
Hi Josh.
Race car is almost ready for the 2012 season.
Did a lot of suspension work over the winter.
As per the Kumho's I run SPT's on the Mazda but I run the Supra's on the GT6.
All I can say is I purchased my CRX with General Exclaim UHPs in 185/60-R14 size and I will agree, they are garbage.
I was really happy with mine. I'd definitely buy them again.
When I had the Kumho Supra 712s, they wore well enough, and they gripped pretty decently too. The only real issue I had was once parked... they flat spotted pretty badly and it took a few miles of warm up to get them round again.
woof - I found out AFTER I bought them... the Exclaims are built by Continental, and Continental has(had) some problem with making out of round tires.
I guess I'm spoiled... I don't believe I've ever had to pay more than $75 per tire to get a GOOD tire....
I guess the S-Drive @ $77 isn't really too much money
stan_d
Dork
4/21/12 10:46 a.m.
I had 712 on my 900 great until rain.
