sticky tires

[beihl304]

i am looking for a good pair of street tires i can put on my gst. my car easily burns first and second and sometimes third. i need them to be good sticky street tires. what tires are the best that arnt too expensive and get good grip when you warm them up? thanks. i looked on here and couldnt find a direct answer so i decided to ask

 

[ineedagsx]

i used lees on my gsx, they're cheap but did the job for me

 

[proteusx301]

Falken Azenis RT 615s are some great grip street tires. Only downside is that they don't last long. I've been through 2 sets of Khumo ECSTA MXs and I like them. Pretty good grip when they warm up. I'm thinking about mounting BFG G-force KDWs next. They seem to perform well for grip under acceleration.

 

[beihl304]

Thanks for the replys.. I was thinking about the kdw's. Anyone on here run them? And do they stick good when heated up?

 

[stefanOst]

If you can find some Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212 tires, they are a nice choice. They are real grippy in the dry, and they are mad cheap as they are a budget oriented tire. I had my 225s bought and installed brand new for 500CAD. Unfortunately, I believe the are discontinued, but if you can find some overstock or something, or Hankook likely makes some sort of equivalent, they are a good choice to consider on a smallish budget.

 

[Detail]

I've run probably 15 different sets of street tires. 160 and less tread wear rating don't last long for me although they do offer fantastic grip.

By far, my favorite tires have been the KDW's. I've nuked 2 sets of them. They offer the best grip, wear, and wet weather traction for the money. I typically pay around $125 a tire at discount tires for them. When they are pricing you out, ASK if they'll take 5-10 off a tire. Usually they will. It's worth mentioning that the KDW's do have one downside, they are loud when you get the worn down. This is the one reason I decided last time through not to buy them. I'm running yokohama's now and I honestly miss the stiff sidewall and tossability that I had on the KDW's.

Good luck!

 

[MrBoxx]

KDW's are nice. We have a 700+hp MKIV Supra here in town that I mounted two KDW's on his Ray's wheels a few months ago at the shop I work at. Nice tire.

I run Nitto 555R drag radials on all four corners of the GSX. Now, they are pricey as hell, and you can't really trust them in the rain or any type of cold weather. But honestly, after driving more than an hour, you can push your fingers into them like they were chewing gum. GREAT tire to drive on in dry weather. Just pricey, wear out fast, and will leave you in the ditch if it rains.

 

[beihl304]

kdw seem to be decent so im most likely going to try them out...thanks

 

[grantman10]

Falken Ziex ZE-912

This is what I run on my GSX. I haven't been able to break traction and they are as sticky as they get... Cheap too.

 

[beihl304]

thats on a gsx which is harder to break traction.... i was hoping for gst owners to give their opinions but do you think theyd be a better bet than the kdw? i am also down with a low price for a good tire so im going to have to check them out.. thanks

 

[daren_p]

If your easily burning 1st, 2nd & sometimes third, with your mods, you either have really crappy current tires or your car isn't setup properly?

Lots of info already on here for properly setting up a fwd & also many threads on tires & fwds. Kumho MX's work well (ran them when car was fwd), & I've never ran the Kumho XS's on fwd, but with awd they offer stupied amounts of grip.

KDW's seem to be a descent tire but their pretty old technology nowadays & for the price, I think there's much better choices. My recommendations above are fairly budget, there are some other great options if you don't mind spending abit more.

 

[UofACATS]

your car isn't setup properly?

Didn't see motor mounts in your profile, they're probably just omitted but if not, installing them will help.

How's your alignment?

Kumho XS

2nd these. They have fantastic grip for a street tire.

Any tire (such as the RT615) with stiff sidewalls will hinder straight-line traction.

Since you're 2wd, you have the option of purchasing 2 wheels and installing a set of dot drag radials such as the 555r mentioned above. This will provide the best results.

 

[MrBoxx]

Since you're 2wd, you have the option of purchasing 2 wheels and installing a set of dot drag radials such as the 555r mentioned above.

The problem there is finding the right size. The 555R's don't come much smaller than the 245/45/17 size I have on my GSX right now, and that's on a 9" wide wheel. They may not fit a thinner wheel very well. I haven't looked into other drag radials to see what sizes are available, however, as long as you can find some in the same size as the rear tires, you shouldn't have to get a new set of wheels for them to go on.

 

[Achelea]

I'm waiting til thus to get my Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 put on. Including the rebate I got Y rated tires for 478. >.> I'll chime in with how they feel Then

 

[romeen]

The Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec's have also received excellent reviews and are very reasonably priced.

 

[FenixTX717]

FWD making good/decent HP, you should run some drag radials and then just a nice set of street tires.

I'm running Yokohama S-drive's for my street tires and love them! Nice and sticky, BUT not good launching tires....great for everything else and from rolls but are terrible launching tires.

Have worked well for me driving around in the summer though, but I use drag radials if I know I'm going to go out and tear around the city/track. I don't mind swapping out front wheels/tires since I've gotten so used to it, it doesn't take long.

 

[Flash]

How much are you willing to spend?

 

[UofACATS]

as long as you can find some in the same size as the rear tires, you shouldn't have to get a new set of wheels for them to go on.

True, although I feel like the best option here is to invest in a second set. Buying two tires and two rims is half the cost of a whole set, and lets you run vastly different styles of tire. It sounds like he needs something serious up front, and that is not going to mix well with daily driving and/or commuting.

See:

FWD making good/decent HP, you should run some drag radials and then just a nice set of street tires.

Have worked well for me driving around in the summer though, but I use drag radials if I know I'm going to go out and tear around the city/track. I don't mind swapping out front wheels/tires since I've gotten so used to it, it doesn't take long.

 

[MrBoxx]

Good call; didn't see that post. Drag radials for play-time, set of four street tires for long trips, etc. Works for me.

I did forget the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. I have two friends with Evos, 550hp and 750hp respectively, who absolutely swear by those. The tread design is sick, they're nearly full-depth treads, and they get nicely sticky for track days. Whenever I can upgrade, that's probably what I'll replace the Nittos with.

 

[snowborder714]

I just bought the Star Specs for my GST to use as track tires. I read excellent reviews on them, as well as a bunch of members here recommended them. I don't have any first hand feedback to provide as they won't get put on the car for a few months, but if they're as good as people say they are, I'm sure I'll love them!

 

[daren_p]

This info has already been covered many time but if your looking for a DR for a daily driver, BFG DR's are probably the way to go. Pretty good grip (well above any "street" tire) & not too bad wear. If you want a track only DR, Hoosier is what I recommend but they defently aren't a daily driver tire (unless you don't daily drive in the rain & want to replace every couple thousand K's).

With fwd I ran the MX's on the street & the Hoosier DR's at the track (night & day difference vs street tires). Having a properly setup fwd will go a LONG way to helping with traction. I was probably making a good deal more power then you when I was fwd & I never had any issues with traction in 3rd (well actually not 2nd either but I ran an AVC-R, which allows different/lower boost settings in lower gears)

 

[habitatguy187]

Daren how much boost were you able to get away with in 2nd? And what turbo at the time?

 

[daren_p]

Daren how much boost were you able to get away with in 2nd? And what turbo at the time?

I believe I was running 18psi in second, that was with the current 3052.

 

[420a-t]

Along the same lines, what's the difference between DR's and slicks? What's the best for drag only, and fairly cheap?

 

[UofACATS]

Along the same lines, what's the difference between DR's and slicks? What's the best for drag only, and fairly cheap?

Drag radials you can run on the street, slicks you cannot.

Simple. If you're getting a second set of rims and tires AND you drag race, get slicks. If you want better traction on the street, get the drag radials.