high performance tires...

[spidy3]

Im in the process of looking for a good set of tires for my Tsi AWD for the summer. My car should be putting out around 400awhp, so I am looking for a pretty sticky tire. I will hopefully be visiting the track atleast every other weekend and also push my car pretty good on the back roads during cornering.

I am looking at the Kumho Ecsta MX tires currently. I am looking to spend probably $120 max per tire. 215/45/17 or 225/45/17

Anyone have and recommendations for tires that are pretty soft but wont wear out in a 10k miles? I would like a treadwear of around mid 200's, traction AA and temp A.


Dom

 

[weith1111]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=g-Force+T/A+KDW+2 = the shit

 

[DSMcamaro]

Eitherway, i'd stay away from the cum-ho's. KDW's are awesome, but expensive.

 

[99gst_racer]

Eitherway, i'd stay away from the cum-ho's. KDW's are awesome, but expensive.

Kuhmo is just like any other tire company. They have they cheap, low-performing junk tires, and they also have the sticky ones. I run the Kuhmo Ecsta MX tires and I love them. They are even rated as being in a higher performance catagory than the BFG KDW's.

They are a little on the expensive side, but they helped immensely with my FWD traction problems. They are pretty good on treadwear too (unlike many other soft tires). I've used Prada spec 2's, BFG's, and Toyos as well, but of all of them, these Kuhmo's are the only ones I plan to buy these again.

I swear by this tire: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=ECSTA+MX

 

[weith1111]

Kuhmo is just like any other tire company. They have they cheap, low-performing junk tires, and they also have the sticky ones. I run the Kuhmo Ecsta MX tires and I love them. They are even rated as being in a higher performance catagory than the BFG KDW's.

They are a little on the expensive side, but they helped immensely with my FWD traction problems. They are pretty good on treadwear too (unlike many other soft tires). I've used Prada spec 2's, BFG's, and Toyos as well, but of all of them, these Kuhmo's are the only ones I plan to buy these again.

I swear by this tire: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=ECSTA+MX

How's the treadwear on the MX's?

I suggested the KDW2s as they are in the price range, handle well, and last long in my experience. Any better BFG tire will be more towards $150 a tire.

But the MX's look great on paper...

 

[spidy3]

Those of you that have the BF Goodrich....

I read alot of the feedback about them on tire rack and just about everyone said they are great for grip and wet traction, but they also said the road noise was terrible.

Now I dont know if their alignment is off and causing that or if it is just the tire because some people said it wasnt too bad.

anyone have experience with road noise with these tires on a 1g awd? is it really bad?


Dom

 

[weith1111]

Well...I'm used to loud exhaust and shitty Illinois roads. A quiet driving experience is something that I'm not familiar with.

Road noise is not something I would choose or eliminate a tire by. If you can hear the tires, turn up the stereo!

 

[spidy3]

road noise isnt a huge concern, but when someone with a 2005 Sti says the tires sound like all 4 wheel bearings are going back I dont really want to listen to that when driving.


Dom

 

[jim97gst]

I've had the Mxs before. They're great, but I think I got even less than 10k out of them. I was autocrossing about once a month at the time though, so you can't expect to get too many miles out of any tire when they get that much abuse.

If you want to save a little money and get a little more life, but loose a little grip, these are another option. I've been pretty happy with them. SCC compared them back to back with some supposedly stickier tires on an autocross course and got the same times (although they ran the SPTs last and admitted that they knew the course better by that point). They're pretty quiet too.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=ECSTA+SPT&partnum=145WR7KU31XL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=1

 

[99gst_racer]

How's the treadwear on the MX's?

I would say they're good. But that is comparing them to the other tires that I've ran on my car. As far as treadwear, these won't hold up like the all-season Continentals on my grandma's Buick, but they're better then my previous Toyo's and my Yokohama's. I put about 5K miles on my car per year. I drive agressivily, and I make my tires cry. I expect to see 2.5 years out of these tires. While 13K may not seem like much use, my previous tires had threads coming through by 9K......

I suggested the KDW2s as they are in the price range, handle well, and last long in my experience. Any better BFG tire will be more towards $150 a tire.

The KDW2's were what I planned to buy. When I went to get them, Tirerack was out of them at their IN store. So, I opted for the MX's (my second pick) and I'm very glad I did. The only BFG tire that I would choose over the MX's is the BFG KD's. Unfortunately, they are not available in the size that I run, nor are they in my price range.

But the MX's look great on paper...

IMO, these are one of the few that perform better than they look on paper.

 

[weith1111]

I would say they're good. But that is comparing them to the other tires that I've ran on my car. As far as treadwear, these won't hold up like the all-season Continentals on my grandma's Buick, but they're better then my previous Toyo's and my Yokohama's. I put about 5K miles on my car per year. I drive agressivily, and I make my tires cry. I expect to see 2.5 years out of these tires. While 13K may not seem like much use, my previous tires had threads coming through by 9K......


The KDW2's were what I planned to buy. When I went to get them, Tirerack was out of them at their IN store. So, I opted for the MX's (my second pick) and I'm very glad I did. The only BFG tire that I would choose over the MX's is the BFG KD's. Unfortunately, they are not available in the size that I run, nor are they in my price range.


IMO, these are one of the few that perform better than they look on paper.

You may have swayed my next tire purchase, but that treadwear is pretty evil. I do only put on about 5k on my car in a year as well, and I don't really want my tires to last TOO long, as I don't like the idea of driving on 5 year old tires that sit in a garage for 1/2 of the year. My current BFG's could go another 5k but they look like crap just from aging and storage conditions.

Spidy3, do it and report back with how great these tires are so I'm convinced as well!

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

I have the BFG KDW2's as well. They grip well, although they benefit from warmup just like an R compound tire. The road noise isn't that bad, I only hear it on certain surfaces. I wouldn't worry about it, especially if you have a catback exhaust...If I could have done it again I would have probably gone with the BFG KD's which are purely a dry road tire. The KDWs grip awesome when dry and suprisingly very well in the rain, much better than I expected. 10x better in the rain than my last Kumhos. It doesn't rain too much here, and plus its fun to drive in the rain , I would have probably gone with the BFG KD's.

 

[spidy3]

anyone try these or know someone that has....... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=g-Force+Sport

they are rated very high on tire rack and are also about $30/tire less than the BFG KDW2s

I think its between BFG G-force sport and the BFG KDW2s right now, but I have another 2 weeks probably to purchase so there is a possibility that I could change my mind haha



Dom


** anyone know the revolutions per mile the stock tires are for 91 Tsi AWD??? or atleast the brand and model that came stock on it and I can look up revs/mile info.

 

[jim97gst]

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Just enter your stock tire size into the calculator.

 

[Zero Bar]

The Falken Azenis RT-615 is one of the stickiest street tires you can get, not sure if it fits in your price range though. Don't forget the Hankook Ventus RS-2 which I ran on last year and they're great tires and super cheap!

 

[jtmcinder]

The thing to keep in mind when thinking about Azenis is what you plan on doing with the car. They have the stiffest sidewalls of any street tire. Therefore, they are great for autocrossing and not so good for drag-racing. You will really want to have done all the standard mods to reduce wheelhop before launching on Azenis.

The MX and KD are better compromise tires if you both drag-race and autocross. The Nitto DRs are better if you are committed to drag-racing.

What's more important to you: lateral grip or longitudinal grip? Answer this question honestly and you will get better advice.

- Jtoby

 

[BREW]

I'm not sure if you've made a decision or not yet but I feel I have some insight to a tyre not yet mentioned in this thread. The tyre I speak of is the AVON TECH 500. First off, these are slightly heavier than most of the tyres spoken for already, but I truely can't feel that extra weight on the road. Performance wise I'm speechless. These tyres cost less sometimes far less than all other tyres listed so far, and would be shocked if any of them could outperform them in such a way as to simply overlook these AVONS. I was sceptical at first, as they are relativley new to the american market (ENGLAND), so I couldn't find many reviews on them. These tyres are solid, built like a brick shit house solid, I mean ****ing SOLID. I only have about 200 miles on them so far an have enjoyed everyone of them. As it is a little too early in the tyres life to OVER PRAISE them, but I felt that these tyres needed recommending for consideration to anyone looking for ultra high performance summer tyres.

 

[weith1111]

road noise isnt a huge concern, but when someone with a 2005 Sti says the tires sound like all 4 wheel bearings are going back I dont really want to listen to that when driving.


Dom

If road noise isn't a HUGE concern, I would go with the better performing tire. I think the road noise on the BFG's is negligeable. Maybe another BFG owner can back me, or refute.

 

[ACM]

I've run MXs, the Avon 500s, and Hankook RS2 on my 98 AWD. The MXs and Avons have really soft sidewalls, so their steering precision and accuracy suffers considerably. The Avons are much better street rain tyres than the other two, but the Hankook wins hands-down for steering and dry grip.

RT615s have more dry grip than the Hankooks, but less wet grip. Steering accuracy seems the same. The Hankooks are substantially cheaper than the Azenis except when the Azenis are on special, which they just so happen to be right now.

Charles

 

[Bigglesworth87]

**subscribed, Because I Will Soon Be Purchasing Some New Tires**

 

[T9S1i]

the rt-615 have a pretty good price right now at www.edgeracing.com . When i buy some new rims im kind of torn inbetween them and the kdw2's..... I think ill probably go with the kdw2's because i do more drag racing than turns, but i want to reserve the right to go hit some twisties!!!

hope this helps
danny

 

[Goro21]

I LOVE my KDW2s. They are an awesome all around tire. (minus snow, they are like slicks in the rain when driving in snow) They are rather quiet, great traction, provide for good handing, and wear pretty slowly that ive seen so far. They are semi expensive, but I think they are well worth the extra 20 or so dollars (per tire) you'll spend on other high-performance summer tires.

 

[tstkl]

how come no one has mentioned anything like the mich ps2's or the eagle f1's? is it just that most dsm'ers aren't going to pay north of 180 per tire for tires, or is it that they aren't good for our drivetrain configuration or something? (awd that is)

 

[Wufei]

What about Azenis ST-115's? I've read that they have low road noise, almost as good grip as the 615's, and good wet traction. Think the sidewalls are still kinda stiff, but how much?

 

[spidy3]

update.......


I purchased the BFG g-force sport. I had the KDW2s in my "shopping cart" and the total with some bulbs was almost $600!!! So I went with the g force sport 225/45/17. I have not put on my car yet, but should be this weekend. I will post results after a little break-in time and some abuse! As for now the g-sports look like very good quality and sidewall stiffness seems pretty good, atleast they were a pain in the ass to mount on the rims.


Dom