What tires do you run and what would you like to run? | Informal audience survey

I would like a tire with the performance of an RE71 and the 100,000-mile warranty of a Kumho Solus. 

I've been running RE71s and the Federal 595 RS-RRs. They are currently made out of unobtanium. The car is currently sitting and probably soon for sale. I have zero interest in putting it back on the road. 

NickD said:

I run Continentals for street and winter driving. For my autocross car, I run whatever is available in 245/40R15, which right now is those new Nankang johnnies. I'd love to run a 245/40R15 Nexen N Fera SUR4G, and according to Nexen they have been contacted repeatedly about such an offering, but they have yet to start making them in that size.

I ran the Sur4g tires on my mustang for autocross and was thrilled to get rid of them.  I was using hankooks before and went back to them.  Maybe the wrong tire for the car,, but that is my experience

David S. Wallens said:

What tires do you run and what would you like to run?

I run a set of 245 series Toyo Proxes R888r's, and I would like to run 15-seconds a lap faster than I am now.

This changes for me every few years as manufacturers compete and innovate, but here is my basic breakdown:

Truck:  Firestone/Bridgestone for H/T and A/S, and I've been disturbingly pleased with the Conti TerrainContact A/T on the Branger.

Passenger car:  Usually Kumho or Fire/Bridge.  Kumho for the performance side (like the Impala SS) and Fire/Bridge for the non-performance side, like whitewalls.

Higher performance:  Kumho usually.  Had Pirelli PZeros and did not like.  Too finnicky based on temps.  I was very impressed with a set of Toyo DOT race rubber... for the 5000 miles until they were bald.  I used to know a Toyo exec until she moved on to some other job.  They had that 500 mile money back thing for a while so they had warehouses full of slightly used tires.  They would sell them to employees for $50/pair, so for a while I was getting a steady stream of new Toyo shoes for my cars for $100.  The downside was that I was at the mercy of the sizes and compounds they had and they weren't always a match for the application, but they were cheap.

Premium choice is always Michelin.  I've had some bad Michelins, but it's incredibly rare.  I find them to be 15% better than "normal" brands, but its rare that I pony up the 50% more from my wallet to get them.

Race car Hankook RS4, good grip and longevity but wet grip is lacking. RE71R on the heavy 89 SHO do not last a weekend. Dunlop Dirreza were the best way back when. 

TL and Speed3 have Firestone Indy 500's, for the money they are great. Grip is good for the street and wet is good too. 

Will probably try the Continental ECS on the TL next. I like good grip with at least 20k longevity, plus needs to be good in the rain.

No joke, the tires on my car are "Big O".  The treadwear number is borderline 4 digits.

They are amazing.

Keith Tanner said:

I just want to be able to buy the same tires twice in a row instead of having to start from scratch every time. Remember how easy it used to be when all you did was just pick up another set of RA-1s?

This is (sadly?) my view on so.many.things.I.buy.

My Mazda3 is turning 40,000 miles soon, and the stock Bridgestone Eco's are getting pretty thin.  On top of that, one recently took a sidewall puncture.  I was 700 miles from home, in small town Georgia, and the only tires available right there were off-brand deals.  So I bought _1_ to get me home, and stuck it on the back (figuring the difference in rolling diameter on fronts would be more of a problem).

I did some research on the size it needs (205/60R16) and looking at Michelin Defenders, Michelin CrossClimate2, or Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus.  Basically something like a Grand Touring all season.  Will be buying 4 of something before winter.  My main criteria, aside from performance/ longevity, is noise.  The Eco's are pretty noisy, esp at "grand touring" speeds. 

I've tried all sorts over the years, but these days it's Michelin in whatever size or model is suitable. No other tires seem to have the combination of life, ride, quiet, all round grip etc. Other manufacturers tires may feel and perform fine at first, but by 10-15k miles they are noisy, harsh, losing grip whatever. It's at the point I don't even bother pricing out other makes, I just select the appropriate Michelin model and order those. 

Olemiss540 said:

Run NT-01's and love them. 

Would like more information on the science behind (and results of said science) heat cycles and their effect on grip/lap times for various low TW rated track day special tires. Everyone comments on how tires are heat cycled out/garbage/run out of tread but haven't seen many articles use data and tread measurements to analyze this to compare them all. 

Specifically aimed at HPDE event users (4 20 to 30 min sessions) because lets face it that the pool for that type of client is MUCH bigger than the pool for racers and time trial'ers. 

I think this is a great idea for an article.

The groups I race with have spec tires (Falken RT660s on the Miata and Hoosier VFFs on the Formula Ford)  so I don't have  a personal use for info on other tires but I haven't found a tire for the truck that I'm really happy with.

ProDarwin said:

No joke, the tires on my car are "Big O".  The treadwear number is borderline 4 digits.

They are amazing.

How about a 335/18 in a 200TW that is from any manufacture besides BFG?  Please...

Most of my tire usage is boring and predictable. I AXed on RE71Rs and liked them fine. I was super happy with the Kumho R-comps I ran (some time) before that. Blizzaks for winter. Conti ECSs on the MGB in hopes of figuring out the car and not needing to have "real 200TWs" for autocrosses and "okay tires" for going to brunch on a brisk day.

An increasing worry is "which old cars can I wedge 15s under, and will a range of 205 to 225 and maybe even 245 stay available?" Pretty sure the decision to wedge 205s under the MGB was at least partly because the selection in 195 was so bad, but I might be misremembering that.

And of course "Gee, that car/those wheels is/are rad, but 13"/14" tires are a wasteland."

Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my NC Miata.  I needed tires quickly and they were in stock.  I like them well enough for sunny day street use.   

I tend to run nittos on daily's, altho I have hankook on my daily.

Most of the racecars/trucks run Mickey Thompson.

Currently have some 360TW Continentals on the DD/HPDE car because they were on the wheels I bought.  They are too hard and I can’t kill them @ 1500 miles per year.

Would like 200TW or less in a 265/40 or 35/18, can’t remember which right now.  Square setup on my S197 Mustang.

My utility vehicle gets new truck take offs that there are an unending supply of from people who upsize their tires on brand new trucks.  Wife’s car gets good quality tires, a set for each season, or Nokian WRs.

I'm running Kumho Ecsta PS31s on my Integra. They are in the 'Ultra High Performance summer tire' category.

I don't care that much, but I would get the more expensive BFGoodrich Sport Comp-2s if I had to do it again. The Kumhos are very squishy feeling, just like the reviews said...

The E Street Miata has 225/45-15 Rival S 1.5 shoehorned on to the class legal six inch wheels.  
 

While the Falken 660 is the new shiny, I am sticking with the Rivals because I know they work well with the car. Another big factor is that I live in Florida and the Rivals are good in the heat.  
 

I like Continental tires, just put a set of Extreme Contact DWS06 on the Mazda 5 van. I previously had a set on the Ralliart wagon and loved them. 

The Ralliart wagon just got it's second set of Firestone Indy 500. I was very pleased with the first set. I wanted to do a comparison by replacing them with the Continental Extreme Contact Sports, but the Contis  weren't available in my size. I autocrossed on them once and while they don't compare to a 200 TW tire, they were quite adequate. Great street tire, excellent grip with surprisingly good wet traction until near the wear bars. 
 

The first set lasted about 12000 miles, would be longer if I'd kept up with rotation and hadn't picked up a nail. I'm happy to get another set, although they're not as cheap as the last set. 

The 88 C2500 truck has General Grabber HTS. They've been good. They're 2013 dated and have been in use since 2014, so I'm looking at options. About half tread, but starting to harden. I'll probably follow the advice from Curtis and go with Continentals next. 
 

The V8 Morris Minor? Don't need tires for a car that doesn't run, lol. Maybe a used set of Hoosiers if it makes it to the challenge this year. 

Federal Federally G-10 :)

I have BFG Sport Comp 2 A/S on both my DD GTI and my Porsche 924S, which have been excellent in all conditions and the ones on the GTI are over 35K on them with plenty of life left. 

I have BFG KO2's on my Sequoia (previously had Falken Wildpeaks, which were excellent and quieter)

I have General Grabber AT/X on my Raider

For street use, Conti ECS (they also double as cold/wet track/autocross tires)

For dry track/autocross I'm still using RE71R and will be for a while as I have two sets of other people's take-offs to burn through before I have to think about buying new tires.

I'm always balancing a tradeoff between what I want, what i need, and what i can afford.  For my fun cars, I've bought Dunlop tires a few times at a fair discount.  They were durable, performed well, and I had zero complaints.  Frankly, I'd like to read comparisons about how the cheaper off-brand tires actually hold up under a mix of performance & DD usage.  Nitto & the less recognizable Chinese brands.  Will I hate myself for skimping on tires that will fall apart and drive awful? 

I probably already know the answer, but it's always nice to have more data points on tire purchases.  

I currently have Falkens, Contis, and Bridgestones I bought and OEM Goodyear's.  The truck might get the same Goodyear's or Bridgestones when it's due; not decided.

I'd really like to try Contis new 200 TW tire next or RS4s.  

So I have multiple cars with their own unique cases to respond to on this...

Primary racecar (F500) - Hoosier Bias Ply is the only game in that size you would remotely want to run.  Theres something to be said for tires just being a checkbox. For that car, $800 a set isnt too awful, though a person can always wish they were cheaper.  Knowledge base goes back a LONG ways, so they are fairly well understood from a setup perspective. 

Backup racer / street fun car (97 Mustang Cobra) - When I was campaigning it, it was always a research project every year or two, "whats the best option?" "whats the best compromise?" Pick wrong and you have either wasted several hundred dollars or hobbled your competitiveness for the life of the tire set. Moving target also means that car setup to optimize is a moving target. Makes it so that its rather frustrating for those who don't have testing avenues available to them.  Its on an old set of RS2's right now.  They need to be replaced, but I cant take my kids in the car right now (carseat issues), so it's just rolling on old dead tires for now. Here's a good question, what is the longest lived tire in terms of age/heatcycle in the 200TW sphere?

Vintage fun car (Bugeye Sprite) - What's available in this size (13x6 wheel)?  Do I want to spend for R888 or go for 400TW? There isnt a good 200TW option, which is what I tend to gravitate towards.  I think I found the best middle ground with Federal 595 (not the great performance 595 mind you, the more regular one). Its a slow car anyways, so perhaps lower grip tires for for the best anyways. Again, it was a research project.

I think thats why a lot of people in autocross still resent the Stock to Street conversion of years past. It used to just be " order up your hoosiers!" and now its a major research project if you want to be competitive. 

Michelin Pilot cup II on the track

Firestone Indy 500 on the street right now

Maybe Continetials or Pilot 4S all season in the future

I run Hoosier A-7's on my Comp Coupe

I'd like to use the Michelin slicks all the time but in my sizes they run almost $3k a set

On my '94 Viper, the only 18's that are usually available are the Toyo's 888's.  Since I rarely drive it and this car is a sunny day cruiser in SoCal, the Toyo's are great, and fairly reasonable for the large sizes on a Viper