Which tires should I get for my stock wheels?

[WOT]

I need new tires for my stock evo 8 rims. These tires will be used everyday & won’t really see much rain.

My priorities are: longer tire life, a softer ride, reduction in road noise & I don’t mind giving up some grip.

What do you guys recommend / have experienced with your evo's?

So far I have read favorable write-ups about Kumho ASX's & Falken azenis

Thanks for your input.

[leaveit2bevo]

falken azenis

[Absinthe]

falken azenies - for $$ to performance ratio

kuhmo712's if you are cheap and want soft side walls get then in 245/45/17 and the car will be smooth and the tires will be cheap...you'll loose grip though.

[WOT]

Are these tires loud? How is the wear rate? Do oyu guys have the Azenis on your cars?

[Absinthe]

I had 712's on my wrx they get louder as they wear.

Putting Azenies on my car tommorrow.

[leaveit2bevo]

I run a aggresive RRE suspension set up and the tires look great still and I have run one track day and delivered tofu on them quite a bit. They are a little loud.

[Absinthe]

the best fit for what you want to do would be the Yokohama AVS DB2 quietest tire in the high peformance class, decent wet traction, smoother riding than the advans. not as much grip though.

oh yeah and they aint cheap.

[WOT]

I just saw the tread pattern on the Azenis.........very nice & for $103 bucks a piece, not to bad.

I want to hear a full report about your new tires, Absinte!

[Absinthe]

they are going to the track this weekend I'll let you know how they go and how loud they are on the way up to laguna seca

[WOT]

how many times have you run up @ laguna?

do oyu take the G16 from the 101 as well & then cut across over the hill to the track?

[erikgj]

What size Azenis did you get Bevo, 225 or 245?

[leaveit2bevo]

245, the only probs with the azenis is the sloppy side wall idealy I would want something stiffer I dont like the softer ride, I wonder how 225 would be streched out on our rims any suggestions?

[GokuSSJ4]

for the street the azenis are more then enough, for the track R - compound tires .
i wonder how justin 255 serious hold on the stock suspension..

[rizalhoo]

I have the NITTO NT555 and loving it!!!! well dunno for sizing with stock rims but im running 18s with 235/40/18

[Ricardon]

My next set of street tires will be the Azenis in 225 trim. I already have the 245's and I love them , but don't like the fact that the sidewall is so weak because the tire is meant for at least an 8.5 wheel. I've seen the 225's used, I also ran 225 pilot sport cups for the track, and they worked great. i've heard goos stuff about the 225 stretched on the stock wheel. I may just go with a set of RA1's and double up for street/track.

[Absinthe]

how many times have you run up @ laguna?

do oyu take the G16 from the 101 as well & then cut across over the hill to the track?

first time I will ever be going there from LA just want the fastest way to get there.

[leaveit2bevo]

My next set of street tires will be the Azenis in 225 trim. I already have the 245's and I love them , but don't like the fact that the sidewall is so weak because the tire is meant for at least an 8.5 wheel. I've seen the 225's used, I also ran 225 pilot sport cups for the track, and they worked great. i've heard goos stuff about the 225 stretched on the stock wheel. I may just go with a set of RA1's and double up for street/track.

How long would the RA-1 last on street and track?

[GokuSSJ4]

My next set of street tires will be the Azenis in 225 trim. I already have the 245's and I love them , but don't like the fact that the sidewall is so weak because the tire is meant for at least an 8.5 wheel. I've seen the 225's used, I also ran 225 pilot sport cups for the track, and they worked great. i've heard goos stuff about the 225 stretched on the stock wheel. I may just go with a set of RA1's and double up for street/track.

235/45/17 Rich on the RA . they work great
since i have 17x8.5 i will try the 255/40/17 RA's once im done with my current set . for the amount of money you spend and how long they last im sticking with the RA's for the track.

[Coolguy949]

My next set of street tires will be the Azenis in 225 trim. I already have the 245's and I love them , but don't like the fact that the sidewall is so weak because the tire is meant for at least an 8.5 wheel. I've seen the 225's used, I also ran 225 pilot sport cups for the track, and they worked great. i've heard goos stuff about the 225 stretched on the stock wheel. I may just go with a set of RA1's and double up for street/track.

How long would the RA-1 last on street and track?

I would think a few track days...mine have been on two track days already. They look like thay can maybe do two more.

[GokuSSJ4]

yours are shave Rob ,i know none shave some people have made more then 10 track days with them.
im sure depending also what track you use them on makes a huge difference

[WOT]

I have been reading good things about the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tire. Hve any of you guys have experience or know someone who has with these tires?

Absinthe, are you driving yor evo there or trailering it? If there is one thing you should know about laguna, is to laaaaaate apex the left hander after you start going up the hill (T6?). This turn is very misleading as you are approaching it & once you arrive, your like oh-s**t.

[kaisho99]

I have been reading good things about the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tire. Hve any of you guys have experience or know someone who has with these tires?

I have those F1's as my daily drivers. They have an awesome tread life (280) for a max performance tire and seem to perform well for tofu. I haven't tracked them though. But my buddy did on his WRX (although it was raining pretty good that day) he said they suprisingly had very good water performance, hellava lot better than our advans did I can tell you. The tirerack guy on evom, neil, ted?, gave them a positive review.

[GokuSSJ4]

playing on GT3 and seeing what laguna seca looks like :shock: there are some turns that you need to be careful

[erikgj]

245, the only probs with the azenis is the sloppy side wall idealy I would want something stiffer I dont like the softer ride, I wonder how 225 would be streched out on our rims any suggestions?

The thing with azenis is that they run very wide. The recommended tire for our rim width is the 225. I was just wondering if any one had tried it yet.

[leaveit2bevo]

I have been reading good things about the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tire. Hve any of you guys have experience or know someone who has with these tires?

Absinthe, are you driving yor evo there or trailering it? If there is one thing you should know about laguna, is to laaaaaate apex the left hander after you start going up the hill (T6?). This turn is very misleading as you are approaching it & once you arrive, your like oh-s**t.

HAHAHA in toca driver 2 I always fuck that turn up and crash into the wall.

would a 225 streched on our rim be identical in width to the 235 advan?

[Cr0mster]

Toca 2 is the shit!

[GokuSSJ4]

how about a 245-40-17 since there are other companies that make that size ?
like dunlop and tires are around 100.00 each

[donatevo]

Get the stock yoko advan's A046! The best tires for the evo, designed for the evo! :)

[Coolguy949]

I have been reading good things about the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tire. Hve any of you guys have experience or know someone who has with these tires?

I have those F1's as my daily drivers. They have an awesome tread life (280) for a max performance tire and seem to perform well for tofu. I haven't tracked them though. But my buddy did on his WRX (although it was raining pretty good that day) he said they suprisingly had very good water performance, hellava lot better than our advans did I can tell you. The tirerack guy on evom, neil, ted?, gave them a positive review.

I adminre you. You still partake in tofu even though there are people that are tofu haterz...namely donut eaters.

[leaveit2bevo]

Get the stock yoko advan's A046! The best tires for the evo, designed for the evo! :)

ya to bad no one is willing to pay over a grand to replace them there are R compound track tires that are cheaper.

[Ricardon]

Get the stock yoko advan's A046! The best tires for the evo, designed for the evo! :)

Actually the A046 is a piece of shit compared to many tires that are out there that cost about $100 less per tire. The stockers are great for street cars because the compound is soft and doesnt take any time to heat up, but when it heats up it just greases itself to death. If you don't back off your run, or pull into the pits when your'e at the track they will start to chunk...BADLY.

[GokuSSJ4]

at SOW there great , A046 but after 5 laps they start to grease up like Rich mention. You need to get them to cool off, but for a street tire which you dont need every single grip possible , there are plenty of tires out there for way less then the yoko A046 (only if there cost was near the azenis, then i would get them for the street every single time). For track is a different story, you can get a R- compound tire that will out perform the a046 and will not grease up like the stock ones do.

[Absinthe]

I have been reading good things about the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tire. Hve any of you guys have experience or know someone who has with these tires?

Absinthe, are you driving yor evo there or trailering it? If there is one thing you should know about laguna, is to laaaaaate apex the left hander after you start going up the hill (T6?). This turn is very misleading as you are approaching it & once you arrive, your like oh-s**t.

Trailer? man the whole reaon I bought the evo was cause its cheap fast has 4 doors and goes in the snow...trailering would be against my whole line of thinkng.

That said aneies are one and seem not louder or smoother around town. havent beaten them up yet because I still need to bed in my pads. with further review on tuesday night.

[nonmature]

AZENIS... is everyone running the azenis sports or the azenis st-115's.. both look like a good tire but the 115's have awesome treadwear 360AA wet grip is suppose to be awesome over the sports with dry handling being only a little bit worse... anyone tried these yet???

-non

[Ricardon]

I haven't seen the 115's on any EVOs yet, but I'm sure there's somebody that has them. I personally don't think about wet traction, for even a milisecond, when I consider a tire purchase. I figure that it's SoCal, we never get rained on, and when it does I just drive really really slow. I guess if I lived in a different state or up in NorCal I'd have to consider things like that.

[nonmature]

maybe I'll be the first to try'em I really dont think about wet traction much either but that 360 treadwear seems real nice if they stick anywhere near the azenis sports... i am lookin to get new rims so I may put these on them and stick the azenis sports on the stockers for track days... that way I can get a decent opinion of both...

-non

[GokuSSJ4]

im looking into the new dunlops MF900 which they make on 235/45/17 ,245/40/17 and 245/45/17 .
Dunlop has always made a good tire , ill probably end up with the 245/40/17 for the stock rims.

[leaveit2bevo]

why the 245 is prob going to have the same sloppy side wall characteristics.

[GokuSSJ4]

even with the 245/40/17 , since its not the same as the azenis on 245/45. I just need a tire that is compare with the advan and that will last 3 times as much. I dont want to spend on tires once a year

[leaveit2bevo]

well the 40 will just have a smaller side wall hight wise not necessarily a stiffer side wall. The reason the azenis are sloppy is because the 245 is to big for the rim its not streached out enough to be stiff.

[WOT]

Does anyone know of a good comparison website besides tirerack?

I would like to compare some toyo's, falkens (st115 & the Ziex line), yoko's (AVS DB2), goodyear's (F1 GS-D3) & Pirelli (P zero nero M&S)

As you can tell by my choices above, I dont mind giving up some grip that the Advans offered for a softer quiter ride with a tire that will last ~20K +.

[Absinthe]

I promised a review of the Azenies Sports- here goes...

god damn POS tires...

So the side wall thing that everyone bitches about that I thought was just you guys being women, oh no its there. Its there so bad on the track that for the first three sessions I would turn in, wonder were my turn in was, then turn in more, and then realize I had too much imput and have to correct back...that sucked. :?

Also what the hell pressures are people running these at on the track I could bare get them to roll over so I bled down from the much use 36/40 psi setting to 29/32 cold world of difference its like the tires have no grip if you get more than 35-37 psi in them. I suppose I'll get used to them and just run them with less air in them that did improve girp alot, although it did my turn in no favors.

On the street...louder than stock, not louder than my super owrn out stockers but i think they we louder than my new advans, aw shit this is more of a guess than anything. They do ride better though and seem like a better tire with my tofu than the advans were perhaps because it makes things feel like they are moving more slowly.

SOO all in all I'd buy them again just dont expect them to be as precise or predictable as the Advans on the track.

[WOT]

Absinthe

Thanks for the input.

Thats what these forums are all about!

Sorry to hear about the poor performance. Besides that, what did you think of laguna? did you take the G16?

[Absinthe]

Absinthe

Thanks for the input.

Thats what these forums are all about!

Sorry to hear about the poor performance. Besides that, what did you think of laguna? did you take the G16?

The performance wasnt all bad just not suited to my micro input style of driving if i were to fling the car around more it would have been faster but that is easier said than done with walls everywhere.

Naw didnt make the G16 there a big brush fire north of SB so I had to back track to 154 which had a wreck on it so i backed up to 33 over the hill to the valley up the 5 and over 198 which was pertty sweet but took soo long.

[leaveit2bevo]

I also agree I cant stand the azenis on track I think they suck, but they kick ass for a street tire although Im probally going to get something with a stiffer sidewall for daily driving becuase I hate a soft ride.

[apexstrafer]

or, just get some 17x9 rims. that way you can keep buying the cheap azenis for the street, have good grip and lose the slop.

[Alias]

k, i'll be in the market for new tires soon also, and i was thinking of Kumho Ecsta MX's. How do you guys like em?

life?
noise?
water?
possibly snow? (doubt i'll be drivin in the snow, damn new yorkers salt their roads)

[Absinthe]

k, i'll be in the market for new tires soon also, and i was thinking of Kumho Ecsta MX's. How do you guys like em?

life?
noise?
water?
possibly snow? (doubt i'll be drivin in the snow, damn new yorkers salt their roads)

There was a guy at the track that had them and they seemed to be all right he had no complaints with them over the advans although he was running his tire pressure backwards. ie more in the fron tthan the rear.

[GokuSSJ4]

Bevo
what tires are you planning on getting ?

[leaveit2bevo]

have no idea the azenis arent dead yet so I have even really thought about it.

[Absinthe]

If money werent an issue I'd go with SO-3's

[leaveit2bevo]

Tire wise its not really but I heard s-03 were not very good.

[WOT]

Someone here at work has the S-03's on his S2k, he doesnt care for them. His complaint is that they just break away with no real feedback / indication that the rear end is about to step out. Then again, I am not certain of his driving skills, I am just voicing his coment.

He also said the S-03 tires are no louder than the stockers.

[nonmature]

I had the s03's on my Z and they were great... they broke away clean and were very predictabile... however I dont think they are necessarily right for the evo... call me crazy I'll probably try them though just because they were so nice on the Z

-non

[Hallster]

I promised a review of the Azenies Sports- here goes...

god damn POS tires...

So the side wall thing that everyone bitches about that I thought was just you guys being women, oh no its there. Its there so bad on the track that for the first three sessions I would turn in, wonder were my turn in was, then turn in more, and then realize I had too much imput and have to correct back...that sucked. :?

SOO all in all I'd buy them again just dont expect them to be as precise or predictable as the Advans on the track.

Have you increased front negative camber?

Sean

[Hallster]

If money werent an issue I'd go with SO-3's

I've got S-03s on my Porsche. I haven't found any predictability issues with them, I've "pushed" them too. Overall, I like them for the application, which is a 944 Turbo... I don't think I'd like 'em for the Evo tho. The Evo needs knife-edge tires in front and from what I can tell, that's not the S-O3's.

Sean

[Absinthe]

Sean-

still got the stock alignment.

Bevo-

Dont know who told you that but they are wrong. SO-3's may not be the best anymore as both Pirelli, Michelin, and Yokohama are coming to market with new products, but from a wet/dry/side wall flew/over all grip stand point I think as do many others that right now the SO-3 is the best widely availible street tire. not saying this is a fact just the feeling I get from a ton of people both using them and not.

[Absinthe]

Someone here at work has the S-03's on his S2k, he doesnt care for them. His complaint is that they just break away with no real feedback / indication that the rear end is about to step out. Then again, I am not certain of his driving skills, I am just voicing his coment.

He also said the S-03 tires are no louder than the stockers.

from what I have seen on the track its the car and the drivers that are the reason S2k's break loose so often most of those guys cant drive for shit and this compounded by the fact that you have to wind the engine up so much to get it in the power band. the seconds you even think about backing out of the power or applying more....Bam you spin.

[nonmature]

They do have a very nice stiff sidewall... I dont know maybe your right absinthe... only way is to try them and find out... by the way what tires are the other three companies coming out with?

-non

[Absinthe]

Yokohama- Advan - A048

Michelin Pilot Sport 2 or 3 I forget which number on that one. (based on current F1 tread pattern)

Pirelli- is rumored to be working on a new ultimate traction version of the Nero and Corsa

[GokuSSJ4]

Absinthe-
from your personal experience you prefer the S-03 over the azenis ?
Since is almost time for me to purchase a set of tires, i have been thinking of purchasing the new Dunlop M-909 245/40/17 . I need a tire that will last at least a year , if not more. While at the track im able to use the proxes -RA. i would love to find something similar to the A-046 with out spending 200.00 a tire ( which doesnt last more then 15-16k miles) . Not worth it !

[Absinthe]

I have them on the 911 my dad and i are currrently sharing and I love them.

Also a good friend of mine runs them on his JIC equiped WRX and says the sidewall more than holds up under suspension and his is damn stiff.

For me SO-3's no question over azenies if the cost is taken out because they are not cheap and you are only going top get 20-25k depending on how big of an ass you are on the street.

[GokuSSJ4]

how would you compare them to the advan a-046 ? an 20-25k out of them is a lot more then 15k LOL. since my advans will last around that milage.

[Absinthe]

better tire no question in the wet, in the size you are talking about turn in should be about the same as stock, tire will ride more quietly and last longer than did the stockers. overall grip should be at least as good if not much better than the advans were.

[GokuSSJ4]

sounds great , whats the price for the S-03 and do you have a link to where i can find the tires?

[Absinthe]

tire rack i think

[Hallster]

Absinthe-
from your personal experience you prefer the S-03 over the azenis ?
Since is almost time for me to purchase a set of tires, i have been thinking of purchasing the new Dunlop M-909 245/40/17 . I need a tire that will last at least a year , if not more. While at the track im able to use the proxes -RA. i would love to find something similar to the A-046 with out spending 200.00 a tire ( which doesnt last more then 15-16k miles) . Not worth it !

FYI, the S-03s wear rating is the same as the Yokes. I wouldn't expect to get much more, if any, add'l miles out of the S-03s as the Yokes.

Sean

[leaveit2bevo]

I wouldnt get the s-03, first because it dosent come in 235 size which is the prob becuase of sloppy turn in. I would probally get some g-force KD but they dont come in 235 either so your kind of fucked

[Absinthe]

Sean- you right on the wear index reading although those puupies are not the most accurate. my experience has been about 18k on the rears in the 911 which is tougher on tires than most cars esp the rears so btw that and the 19.5k the above mentioned wrx guy saw in mixed use I felt safe calling 20-25k if you traet them right. How do they hold up on you 944?

Bevo trie sizing would be a bitch you might try the Kuhmo MX's if you think plus sizing on the rim would be that bad but with the shorter series side wall 40 vs 45 it should work out better.

Also the KDW's dont hold up particularly well to abuse they are prone to cupping the outside shoulders.

[Ricardon]

I'm not a huge fan of the KD's either. The KDW is out of the question. Are we talking about tires that we can use in mixed use or strictly for street use? If it's just street use only, 225 Azenis stretched on the wheels is about the best recomendation I can make. They suck in the rain, but it doesn't rain here. If it does, slow down. The KD's are rediculously epxensive, like the stockers, and the KD's were noisier than the pilot sport cups I had on the car if you can believe that. Your'e probably going to get the absolute best traction out of the KD, but they don't last long at all. Like Absinthe says, tire wear is just like gas mileage...it depends on how much of an ass you want to be on the street haha.

To address the plus sizing on the wheels, you need to take AR and sidewall stinfness into consideration. I have seen 255/40's work, and VERY successfully I might add, on the STOCK wheel. Before you go scratching your head and saying that a 255 is retarded wide for an 8 inch wheel, just try it.

[Smokymtsguy]

I'm a newbie, just bought my new Evo. We live in the Smoky Mts and do get quite a bit of rain. I've gone through all the posts in this forum and only saw one comment about the stock tires in the rain. Am I correct that they aren't good in the rain? I do drive aggressive going up and down the mountain.

Thanks

[Absinthe]

they aint great in the rain but they will work well enough until they get bald, then your pretty much hosed. Especially dont get Azenies if it rain that much where you are

[leaveit2bevo]

255/40/17? would that still have sloppy sidewalls? if you want good rain and sticky tire the ao32R are suppost to be killer in the rain but sound like chain saws on the street but who cares about tire noise?

[Smokymtsguy]

they aint great in the rain but they will work well enough until they get bald, then your pretty much hosed. Especially dont get Azenies if it rain that much where you are


Thanks for the reply.

[Hallster]

Sean- you right on the wear index reading although those puupies are not the most accurate. my experience has been about 18k on the rears in the 911 which is tougher on tires than most cars esp the rears so btw that and the 19.5k the above mentioned wrx guy saw in mixed use I felt safe calling 20-25k if you traet them right. How do they hold up on you 944?


Hmmm... my best guesstimate on the 951 is that they'll last for about 12-15K... 425+whp tends to impact tread life a bit, so they might do a lot better on the Evo.

Sean

[GokuSSJ4]

how long do the azenis last ??

[Takashi]

didn't catch this, but has anyone shoved 245 series azenis on their stock wheels?

[GokuSSJ4]

245, the only probs with the azenis is the sloppy side wall idealy I would want something stiffer I dont like the softer ride, I wonder how 225 would be streched out on our rims any suggestions?


My next set of street tires will be the Azenis in 225 trim. I already have the 245's and I love them , but don't like the fact that the sidewall is so weak because the tire is meant for at least an 8.5 wheel. I've seen the 225's used, I also ran 225 pilot sport cups for the track, and they worked great. i've heard goos stuff about the 225 stretched on the stock wheel. I may just go with a set of RA1's and double up for street/track.


I promised a review of the Azenies Sports- here goes...

god damn POS tires...

So the side wall thing that everyone bitches about that I thought was just you guys being women, oh no its there. Its there so bad on the track that for the first three sessions I would turn in, wonder were my turn in was, then turn in more, and then realize I had too much imput and have to correct back...that sucked. :?

Also what the hell pressures are people running these at on the track I could bare get them to roll over so I bled down from the much use 36/40 psi setting to 29/32 cold world of difference its like the tires have no grip if you get more than 35-37 psi in them. I suppose I'll get used to them and just run them with less air in them that did improve girp alot, although it did my turn in no favors.

On the street...louder than stock, not louder than my super owrn out stockers but i think they we louder than my new advans, aw shit this is more of a guess than anything. They do ride better though and seem like a better tire with my tofu than the advans were perhaps because it makes things feel like they are moving more slowly.

SOO all in all I'd buy them again just dont expect them to be as precise or predictable as the Advans on the track.



Absinthe

Thanks for the input.

Thats what these forums are all about!

Sorry to hear about the poor performance. Besides that, what did you think of laguna? did you take the G16?

The performance wasnt all bad just not suited to my micro input style of driving if i were to fling the car around more it would have been faster but that is easier said than done with walls everywhere.

Naw didnt make the G16 there a big brush fire north of SB so I had to back track to 154 which had a wreck on it so i backed up to 33 over the hill to the valley up the 5 and over 198 which was pertty sweet but took soo long.


I also agree I cant stand the azenis on track I think they suck, but they kick ass for a street tire although Im probally going to get something with a stiffer sidewall for daily driving becuase I hate a soft ride.

[drmosh]

It may just be my driving, but I kinda liked the Azenis at Streets, yes the sidewalls suck, but one thing is for sure, they don't goo like the Yokes, I was able to run a full session without slurping the tires out unlike the Advans... but if you wanna be serious about it, the shaved RA-1s beat the crap out of em hands down on the track. Once I get another set of wheels, on the street I'll be running the crappiest, cheapest, hardest compound tires that'll last here to eternity.

[GokuSSJ4]

Thats my next set up Mosh, something that will last . I don't want a set of tires that will need replacement every 10-15k miles . Thats changing tires once a year :?

[philthyevo]

Wow last post was June 2004!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure since then all of you have grown and learned a lot! lol

I'm putting on 255 40 17 RT-615s on my stock BBS rims today. What can I expect on the street in contrast to the stock Advans?

[Positron]

Wow last post was June 2004!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure since then all of you have grown and learned a lot! lol

I'm putting on 255 40 17 RT-615s on my stock BBS rims today. What can I expect on the street in contrast to the stock Advans?


So how are your new rt-615 compared to stock advans?

[philthyevo]

I would say my stock ADvans feel better, but as they should--they're 2 about twice as expensive to buy

[Positron]

I'm complating on getting 245/45/17 RT-615. I saw them in person the other day on MR BBS rims. They had a slightly bigger bulge than stock advans. I can only imagine 255 having bigger bulge.