Need new Tires...Advice?

[Bosch]

Jimbo

Why I always say go to TireRack, cause what I need in a tire can be totally different than what you need. I can tell you what I liked and didn't like about tires I've driven on, use that info for what you will. But its really about what you need and are wiling to spend, personally never cheap out on tires. Its your first line of defense between you and an accident..


RSA - should be just taken off all cars and shredded. Horrid piece of rubber ever forced on a car.

[LiquidPT]

Originally Posted by jimbo I'm confused. Every post recommends a different tire. I have no clue how I am going to choose new tires with the dozens of choices. I wish this was automated. Take a survey, and get a ranking of tires that fit your needs. Example survey would be Dry Traction Wet Traction Service life Noise Comfort Price Just give every category a 1-10 rating for the tire size you need, and the automated database lists all of the tires that are geared toward your needs. For example, everybody here is emphasizing price and traction. Absolutely NO consideration for tire roar or comfort. Those are not negligible concerns to me. Maybe I am alone in that. Maybe everybody can tolerate a rigid tooth-breaking tire that screams constantly as long as grip is maximized. I rented a 350z and the tire roar was intolerable. It drove me insane to have that constant roaring noise intruding on my drive. It was so bad, and the ride was so stiff, I took the rental back early. I'm sure it stuck like glue, but I'll never know since I don't drive at 9/10ths on the street. The GS2s on my GXP have all the dry traction I could possibly need on a street tire, made vastly more effective with the stability control. I want better wet traction, while MINIMIZING tire roar and maximizing comfort, price is not as important as the above 3. Just my observation that people don't seem to ever even think about comfort or noise when selecting a tire, just traction, price and life.

So, from what I know of some of the tires recommended above, I beleive the Direnzas and the BFG KDWs have more road noise.

The reason I'm nearly set on the Hankook Ventus is that I've seen them rated nearly as good as the Direnza for grip, are cheaper, and have less road noise (just from reviews I have read).

[jimbo]

Thanks, when I go for new tires, I'm really going to need help finding out what tires are noisy and uncomfortable.

Also, has anybody found a tire that improves turn-in responsiveness yet? Our cars are fun, but they don't have that go-cart turn in that gets the Miata a lot of praise. We have all the stick, but not the turn in.

An aggressive alignment can improve this, but at the high cost of short tire life.

[NormSky]

New tires annually will give you the best performance your looking for. Aside from that I would look at a direction tire for best performance. Though drive a directional treaded tire for more than one season and as they dry out they will get noisey.


Norm

[mena661]

Originally Posted by jimbo Thanks, when I go for new tires, I'm really going to need help finding out what tires are noisy and uncomfortable. Also, has anybody found a tire that improves turn-in responsiveness yet? Our cars are fun, but they don't have that go-cart turn in that gets the Miata a lot of praise. We have all the stick, but not the turn in. An aggressive alignment can improve this, but at the high cost of short tire life.

Interesting about the Direzza tire noise. I have none on my set. I have noticed that some overpasses really make them howl though. Excessive tire wear with aggressive alignment really depends on the tire. Some tires will wear down in a month and others will hardly show any wear. I have my wife trained to believe I need new tires at least once a year (20,000 miles a year) so that's all the life I'm concerned with.

I have at least 20k on the Direzza's with no abnormal wear. I could go at least another 10k on them but I'll probably look to replace them in a couple of months with the new Bstone RE11's. If you're looking for 60k miles, NONE of the sticky tires will get you that. The stock GXP tires were in fantastic shape when I swapped to these (40k miles) and, even though I think they're the wrong tire for this car, there's no arguing with the mileage, comfort and lack of noise.

The Miata's turn in feel is aided by narrow tires. A mildly aggressive, skinny tire will generally have better turn in feel than a equally aggressive wider tire. Also, higher tire pressures will improve feel. I run mine at 38 psi all around. Hope this helps.

[TomatoSoup]

Take a read of this: Raising the Bar - Testing New Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by mena661 Interesting about the Direzza tire noise. I have none on my set. I have noticed that some overpasses really make them howl though. Excessive tire wear with aggressive alignment really depends on the tire. Some tires will wear down in a month and others will hardly show any wear. I have my wife trained to believe I need new tires at least once a year (20,000 miles a year) so that's all the life I'm concerned with. I have at least 20k on the Direzza's with no abnormal wear. I could go at least another 10k on them but I'll probably look to replace them in a couple of months with the new Bstone RE11's. If you're looking for 60k miles, NONE of the sticky tires will get you that. The stock GXP tires were in fantastic shape when I swapped to these (40k miles) and, even though I think they're the wrong tire for this car, there's no arguing with the mileage, comfort and lack of noise. The Miata's turn in feel is aided by narrow tires. A mildly aggressive, skinny tire will generally have better turn in feel than a equally aggressive wider tire. Also, higher tire pressures will improve feel. I run mine at 38 psi all around. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the tips. I appreciate it. Excepting that SolsticeMan has brainwashed me to keep my tire pressure at 29psi or very nearly so. I would never street-drive them on any other pressure. I'm programmed not to.

[MGar]

Originally Posted by mena661 The Miata's turn in feel is aided by narrow tires. A mildly aggressive, skinny tire will generally have better turn in feel than a equally aggressive wider tire. Also, higher tire pressures will improve feel. I run mine at 38 psi all around. Hope this helps.

Definitely helped by smaller tire. I had a the OZ 18x9 rim with Direzza Z1 275/35 tire all the way around- it turned, and it held beyond belief, but when I put the stock size tire DZ1s on the SSR-C's back on for the winter, I immediately noticed a sharper turn in response. Likely due to scrub radius, and perhaps extra work needed to turn those wider tires.

[NormSky]

When you change about 10 lbs with wheel/tire combo on each wheel it makes a noticeable difference in turn-in. So much so that the bushings will compress less initially with the lighter wheel/tire than the heavier stock setup. Feels weird at first but I got used to it. I've done it with all my GM cars in the past that have run 17/18" wheels.

Norm

Originally Posted by MGar Definitely helped by smaller tire. I had a the OZ 18x9 rim with Direzza Z1 275/35 tire all the way around- it turned, and it held beyond belief, but when I put the stock size tire DZ1s on the SSR-C's back on for the winter, I immediately noticed a sharper turn in response. Likely due to scrub radius, and perhaps extra work needed to turn those wider tires.

[ASETech67]

Originally Posted by jimbo I'm confused. Every post recommends a different tire. I have no clue how I am going to choose new tires with the dozens of choices. I wish this was automated. Take a survey, and get a ranking of tires that fit your needs. Example survey would be Dry Traction Wet Traction Service life Noise Comfort Price Just give every category a 1-10 rating for the tire size you need, and the automated database lists all of the tires that are geared toward your needs. For example, everybody here is emphasizing price and traction. Absolutely NO consideration for tire roar or comfort. Those are not negligible concerns to me. Maybe I am alone in that. Maybe everybody can tolerate a rigid tooth-breaking tire that screams constantly as long as grip is maximized. I rented a 350z and the tire roar was intolerable. It drove me insane to have that constant roaring noise intruding on my drive. It was so bad, and the ride was so stiff, I took the rental back early. I'm sure it stuck like glue, but I'll never know since I don't drive at 9/10ths on the street. The GS2s on my GXP have all the dry traction I could possibly need on a street tire, made vastly more effective with the stability control. I want better wet traction, while MINIMIZING tire roar and maximizing comfort, price is not as important as the above 3. Just my observation that people don't seem to ever even think about comfort or noise when selecting a tire, just traction, price and life.

Being as I had a set on my last car...and I see how well these tires handle and wear on a daily basis on several different types of cars that come through my shop (I work for Bridgestone/Firestone LLC), Id suggest the Bridgestone RE960 Pole Position All Season tire...it has great traction in dry and wet weather, very smooth, quiet riding directional tire, and it comes with a 40K mileage warranty against craftsmanship defects, there are other tires out there for lesser money...but to address every concern you mentioned above...that would be my recommendation.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by ASETech67 Being as I had a set on my last car...and I see how well these tires handle and wear on a daily basis on several different types of cars that come through my shop (I work for Bridgestone/Firestone LLC), Id suggest the Bridgestone RE960 Pole Position All Season tire...it has great traction in dry and wet weather, very smooth, quiet riding directional tire, and it comes with a 40K mileage warranty against craftsmanship defects, there are other tires out there for lesser money...but to address every concern you mentioned above...that would be my recommendation.

That's what I have had on my car for 6 months now. I do like them and they are VERY quiet on the road. But they do make me a bit nervous in the wet, and even a little in the dry. They're ok for now, but I might go to the Goodyear GS-D3s next time.

.

[ASETech67]

Originally Posted by Gizmo That's what I have had on my car for 6 months now. I do like them and they are VERY quiet on the road. But they do make me a bit nervous in the wet, and even a little in the dry. They're ok for now, but I might go to the Goodyear GS-D3s next time. .

Well it sounds like you might be expecting a bit more from the tire than you should...its an all-season radial (I.E. the best possible mix for all weather conditions)...not an ultra or max performance summer tire like the GS-D3...thats like comparing apples to oranges...pushed to the edge a max or ultra performance summer tire will hold better wet or dry because of the softer (sticky) rubber compound...all-seasons have a harder rubber compound for several different reasons, one being longer tread wear...thats why they have a mileage warranty...where as almost all Ultra or Max summer tires have no mileage warranty...they are bred for one thing...TRACTION at higher speeds while being pushed to the edge.
I was discussing this in a similar thread several days ago on another kappa forum, as to which tires to choose when it comes time to replace our OEM tires. Im leaning towards a runflat...Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position RFT...the 3rd generation runflats that Bridgestone came out with in march of this year are not the HARD UNGIVING HEAVY RIDE LIKE BRICKS tires that they were 10 years ago. If you research (and I already have) the several different popular brands of Ultra and Max Performance tires out there from Goodyear, Dunlop, Michelin, BFGoodrich, and Bridgestone, they all weigh in at 25-29 lbs per tire (Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 was 25 lbs all the others were 28-29 lbs)...if you include runflat Ultra and Max Performance tires into that category which are the Bridgestone and Goodyear...they are 29 and 31 lbs respectively...to me, in my opinion, since we dont have spares for our cars, and since Bridgestone's latest technology allows us to have a runflat without adding unsprung weight and harsh ride to our kappa's...why not put a runflat on the car and have the added convenience of not having to mess around with the 12 volt mini air compressor and tire sealant, (which by the way ruins the inner liner of the tire by melting the rubber making it impossible to patch/repair) and having one helluva Ultra Performance tire on the car that is a proven commodity in wet and dry weather handling. To me its a win/win situation on paper...I guess I'll be finding out here in the near future. So far the only draw back I see to runflats is of course the price...but look at how much the majority of us spend on our Kappas in Performance and Appearance Mods...just think of it as yet another upgrade to our already fantastic cars!!

[Gizmo]

ASETech67, I agree with you, the All-Season can not do as well as a summer Max Performance tire. What I failed to mention is that, living in Houston, I will not be driving in snow or ice. I only need to worry about pushing the edge of the envelope in the rain or dry.

But for those who live up north and don't change to a snow tire in the winter, the Bridgestone All-Season 960 Pole Position tires would be a great choice.

.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by ASETech67 Being as I had a set on my last car...and I see how well these tires handle and wear on a daily basis on several different types of cars that come through my shop (I work for Bridgestone/Firestone LLC), Id suggest the Bridgestone RE960 Pole Position All Season tire...it has great traction in dry and wet weather, very smooth, quiet riding directional tire, and it comes with a 40K mileage warranty against craftsmanship defects, there are other tires out there for lesser money...but to address every concern you mentioned above...that would be my recommendation.

Thanks for the help. The nice thing about having a forum is this post will always be here to refer to when I need tire replacements. I will be sure to check these out.

[ASETech67]

Originally Posted by Gizmo ASETech67, I agree with you, the All-Season can not do as well as a summer Max Performance tire. What I failed to mention is that, living in Houston, I will not be driving in snow or ice. I only need to worry about pushing the edge of the envelope in the rain or dry. But for those who live up north and don't change to a snow tire in the winter, the Bridgestone All-Season 960 Pole Position tires would be a great choice. .

Im like you then...living in Central Florida on the Gulf Coast Im driving in the very similar conditions...thats why I had the 960's on my last car, (and I loved them) but she wasnt the performance bred machine our Kappa's are...thats why Im leaning towards a much more serious tire for my own future driving pleasures