Best 14" street tire for a turbo car
10-29-2009, 04:01 AM
#21
on my stocker, daisy wheels ive got 912 on there... its OK, not the best. if i were to get summer performance tire, as mentioned above id go for 615, but TIRE is not cheap here in canada, having tires shipped from tirerack to lettercarrier or point roberts and picking it up is still way cheaper than buying them locally here in vancouver,bc.
on my current car... I really was being a ***** and went for cheapo tires my buddy hooked me up with through his shop. paid 50 bucks each for uhh SUmo akina or some bullshit. would not recommend it to anyone
on my current car... I really was being a ***** and went for cheapo tires my buddy hooked me up with through his shop. paid 50 bucks each for uhh SUmo akina or some bullshit. would not recommend it to anyone
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 07:33 AM
#22
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
I don't think you're going to waste your money if you use a cheaper set of 14" tires till the end of their life, as long as you:
A. Learn to drive.
B. Drive safer/smarter than you do now.
You'll have less traction obviously, but find the limit, stay below it, and you'll still have fun. Otherwise anyone who tracked their cars who weren't on 245 r-comps wouldn't ever have fun. Which is everyone.
Good advice. Currently my traction is different in all conditions due to mismatched tires with varying degrees of camber wear...tread wear...and heat cycling. These came with the $50 daisies I bought when I picked up my replacement motor and I put them on last spring in order to sell the BBS wheels.
I was supposed to use that money for 15x7s...but the wifey never actually gave the green light on the tire side so I just kept driving these. They are getting worse quickly...with the right rear nearly bald. Everytime I think I know where the limits are I find they are changing. This is why I want a new matching set of tires.
Very dumb on my part. I was feeling particularly self-destructive that day after getting a 37 back on my first Heat Transfer exam (maybe I shouldn't do my coolant reroute). On top of everything it started raining hard...I felt like I was in a damn Hemingway novel. Let's just say that looking out the back of the car through the rollbar at oncoming traffic with a 140mph relative speed was a little bit of a wake-up call.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 10:43 AM
#23
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
Here is some info I got from Jeff, who heads our local forum. He's been through a few sets of the Azenis...and speaks very highly of them on m.net. Here is his reply to me though regarding my specific usage:
I hope he doesn't mind me posting this...but it's the most info I've found in one place...and wanted to share it for posterity.
I'm pretty sure the 512/912 Ziex is going to be the compromise I have to make.
Originally Posted by JeffGoji & Miyoshi
Hello Damon,
Hey, a Begi kit! Very cool, you should stop by the club sometime!
I will admit to being a bit biased towards the Azenis due to my former autocross exploits, there just wasn't anything else in the 14" size for a street tire that would grip very well out on the sealed asphalt lot at Gulf Greyhound Park... However, what worked best at GGP, wasn't always the best on the street.
My mileage always varied, one set I only got 8,000 miles out of, another set I saw as much as 18,000, but that set was worn down to slicks.
My usual average mileage was 12,000 miles or so to a set with autocross every month, but the tire was usually heat cycled to death around the 6 to 8,000 mile mark.
One of my big issues with the Azenis is that for as good of a autocross tire as it was, it was a HORRIBLE street tire.
All-out grip was great, but it was always nervous and twitchy at the limit of adhesion, and could snap on you at a moment's notice, so you had to be ready with the opposite lock.
For a slightly longer lasting summer tire with only slightly less performance then the Azenis but with more gradual break-away and easier to live with on a daily basis, I would look into the Hankook RS2s.
For less all-out grip but even better predictability, much better wet weather performance, longer tread life and a much better ride, I highly recommend the Toyo T1-R in the 195/55/14 size.
Something I should point out, since we've finally started entering the colder weather months here in Houston, NONE of the above tires are going to function very well at sub 50 degree weather.
The Azenis is actually the less scary tire of the three in cold weather in my opinion, if the roads are wet use extreme caution.
Hey, a Begi kit! Very cool, you should stop by the club sometime!
I will admit to being a bit biased towards the Azenis due to my former autocross exploits, there just wasn't anything else in the 14" size for a street tire that would grip very well out on the sealed asphalt lot at Gulf Greyhound Park... However, what worked best at GGP, wasn't always the best on the street.
My mileage always varied, one set I only got 8,000 miles out of, another set I saw as much as 18,000, but that set was worn down to slicks.
My usual average mileage was 12,000 miles or so to a set with autocross every month, but the tire was usually heat cycled to death around the 6 to 8,000 mile mark.
One of my big issues with the Azenis is that for as good of a autocross tire as it was, it was a HORRIBLE street tire.
All-out grip was great, but it was always nervous and twitchy at the limit of adhesion, and could snap on you at a moment's notice, so you had to be ready with the opposite lock.
For a slightly longer lasting summer tire with only slightly less performance then the Azenis but with more gradual break-away and easier to live with on a daily basis, I would look into the Hankook RS2s.
For less all-out grip but even better predictability, much better wet weather performance, longer tread life and a much better ride, I highly recommend the Toyo T1-R in the 195/55/14 size.
Something I should point out, since we've finally started entering the colder weather months here in Houston, NONE of the above tires are going to function very well at sub 50 degree weather.
The Azenis is actually the less scary tire of the three in cold weather in my opinion, if the roads are wet use extreme caution.
I hope he doesn't mind me posting this...but it's the most info I've found in one place...and wanted to share it for posterity.
I'm pretty sure the 512/912 Ziex is going to be the compromise I have to make.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 12:37 PM
#24
Cpt. Slow
iTrader: (25)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 14,209
Total Cats: 1,139
Well thank you for not taking offense, it was a slighly rude story. I'm glad you have a decent story behind the 70mph spin, instead of just "I drive like an *** lol". Uneven bald tires suck. I think you'll like the 512's. I think my dad got 40,000 miles out of our first set when he still owned the car, I barely got 20,000 out of the 2nd once I bought it from him, so the way you drive has a lot to do with tire wear, obviously. That 20000 mile set had a track day or two I believe.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 01:16 PM
#25
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,050
Total Cats: 6,608
Ugh.
I hated the T1-R as a street tire. Yes, as Jeff notes, they are "highly predictable." If you apply throttle, they spin. If you depress the brake pedal, they skid. If you turn the steering wheel, they slide. If you do any two of these three at the same time, your rear bumper automatically seeks out the nearest tree.
I removed mine with probably 75% tread still remaining and never regretted it.
Saying that a tire is "predictable" is like saying that a patient in the hospital is "stable." People who are dead are in stable condition.
Go buy a can of spray-on rubber truck bed liner, remove the old tires, and apply that stuff directly onto the wheels. Costs less than a set of 912s, and provides about the same amount of grip. Slightly harsher ride, maybe.
Just because something is cheap does not make it a good deal.
I hated the T1-R as a street tire. Yes, as Jeff notes, they are "highly predictable." If you apply throttle, they spin. If you depress the brake pedal, they skid. If you turn the steering wheel, they slide. If you do any two of these three at the same time, your rear bumper automatically seeks out the nearest tree.
I removed mine with probably 75% tread still remaining and never regretted it.
Saying that a tire is "predictable" is like saying that a patient in the hospital is "stable." People who are dead are in stable condition.
I'm pretty sure the 512/912 Ziex is going to be the compromise I have to make.
Just because something is cheap does not make it a good deal.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 01:50 PM
#26
Ugh.
I hated the T1-R as a street tire. Yes, as Jeff notes, they are "highly predictable." If you apply throttle, they spin. If you depress the brake pedal, they skid. If you turn the steering wheel, they slide. If you do any two of these three at the same time, your rear bumper automatically seeks out the nearest tree.
I removed mine with probably 75% tread still remaining and never regretted it.
Saying that a tire is "predictable" is like saying that a patient in the hospital is "stable." People who are dead are in stable condition.
Go buy a can of spray-on rubber truck bed liner, remove the old tires, and apply that stuff directly onto the wheels. Costs less than a set of 912s, and provides about the same amount of grip. Slightly harsher ride, maybe.
Just because something is cheap does not make it a good deal.
I hated the T1-R as a street tire. Yes, as Jeff notes, they are "highly predictable." If you apply throttle, they spin. If you depress the brake pedal, they skid. If you turn the steering wheel, they slide. If you do any two of these three at the same time, your rear bumper automatically seeks out the nearest tree.
I removed mine with probably 75% tread still remaining and never regretted it.
Saying that a tire is "predictable" is like saying that a patient in the hospital is "stable." People who are dead are in stable condition.
Go buy a can of spray-on rubber truck bed liner, remove the old tires, and apply that stuff directly onto the wheels. Costs less than a set of 912s, and provides about the same amount of grip. Slightly harsher ride, maybe.
Just because something is cheap does not make it a good deal.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 02:24 PM
#27
Cpt. Slow
iTrader: (25)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 14,209
Total Cats: 1,139
Jesus Joe, you don't like a reputable summer only tire, or a reputable aggressive all season, what space age tire do you use? No experience with the t1r but like I said I tracked 512's and did a lot of aggressive wet&dry driving and loved them, their price only sweetened the deal. Would I spend more if I had a higher budget? Yes, but with only a $200 budget I'd be satisfied with the 512s
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 02:25 PM
#28
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
Riding a bike taught me to avoid those kind of situations. I gave it a little more throttle than was prudent...and got a little less traction back than I had hoped for.
Doesn't mean I wasn't driving like an *******...drifting through the rain just above the speed limit. You'd have thought I learned from wrecking my wife's car...but I've been making a rash of poor decisions recently.
EDIT: Also...it's good to hear the 512s are good in the rain. I've been catching a lot of it recently...and ride nothing but curvy roads with lots of elevation changes. Great Miata terrain...but not good when you have very little confidence in your rubber (that's how *accidents happen).
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 02:26 PM
#29
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
Ugh.
I hated the T1-R as a street tire. Yes, as Jeff notes, they are "highly predictable." If you apply throttle, they spin. If you depress the brake pedal, they skid. If you turn the steering wheel, they slide. If you do any two of these three at the same time, your rear bumper automatically seeks out the nearest tree.
I removed mine with probably 75% tread still remaining and never regretted it.
Saying that a tire is "predictable" is like saying that a patient in the hospital is "stable." People who are dead are in stable condition.
Go buy a can of spray-on rubber truck bed liner, remove the old tires, and apply that stuff directly onto the wheels. Costs less than a set of 912s, and provides about the same amount of grip. Slightly harsher ride, maybe.
Just because something is cheap does not make it a good deal.
I hated the T1-R as a street tire. Yes, as Jeff notes, they are "highly predictable." If you apply throttle, they spin. If you depress the brake pedal, they skid. If you turn the steering wheel, they slide. If you do any two of these three at the same time, your rear bumper automatically seeks out the nearest tree.
I removed mine with probably 75% tread still remaining and never regretted it.
Saying that a tire is "predictable" is like saying that a patient in the hospital is "stable." People who are dead are in stable condition.
Go buy a can of spray-on rubber truck bed liner, remove the old tires, and apply that stuff directly onto the wheels. Costs less than a set of 912s, and provides about the same amount of grip. Slightly harsher ride, maybe.
Just because something is cheap does not make it a good deal.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 04:29 PM
#30
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: maine
Posts: 221
Total Cats: -1
this a little extreme but if you really want the best out of your 14's nitto makes the nt01 in a 205 55 14 you won't get much life and they suck in the rain but when it's dry and warm they are great.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 04:36 PM
#31
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
Well...it looks like I may be able to upgrade to 15" after all.
Honestly this HAS to be the best route. I've been checking CL constantly for months...and missed a few deals. Another good one came along and I'm going to take the plunge even if the rubber isn't perfect. My reasoning is that next time I have to replace tires I'll have much more in the way of choices.
I found a set of Voxx MG 15x7s with Dunlop Direzza DZ101s at 80% treadlife for a little less than what it would cost to order Azenis in 185/60R14. The Dunlops are 205/50-15s which will be perfect.
Finally...a chance to upgrade after weeks of overpriced crap. This is good as I only sold my beloved BBS wheels under the promise that I'd never buy 14" tires again anyway. I think a 205 tire will help a LOT in the traction department.
Honestly this HAS to be the best route. I've been checking CL constantly for months...and missed a few deals. Another good one came along and I'm going to take the plunge even if the rubber isn't perfect. My reasoning is that next time I have to replace tires I'll have much more in the way of choices.
I found a set of Voxx MG 15x7s with Dunlop Direzza DZ101s at 80% treadlife for a little less than what it would cost to order Azenis in 185/60R14. The Dunlops are 205/50-15s which will be perfect.
Finally...a chance to upgrade after weeks of overpriced crap. This is good as I only sold my beloved BBS wheels under the promise that I'd never buy 14" tires again anyway. I think a 205 tire will help a LOT in the traction department.
Reply
0
0
10-29-2009, 04:52 PM
#33
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
If I miss out I'm just buying cheap tires and saving up until next season.
Trying to get real traction in a 14" tire is a pointless endeavor. 6ULs or bust.
Reply
0
0
10-30-2009, 11:53 PM
#34
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (51)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 7,257
Total Cats: 26
I went and looked at the CL setup:
The wheels were nice..but very heavy. Had to be a 16lb knockoff.
The tires were nice...but down to around 4/32...which probably wouldn't get me through winter. I would rather have Star Specs if I'm running Dunlop anyways.
I'm just gonna save up for 6ULs and stop being an idiot.
The wheels were nice..but very heavy. Had to be a 16lb knockoff.
The tires were nice...but down to around 4/32...which probably wouldn't get me through winter. I would rather have Star Specs if I'm running Dunlop anyways.
I'm just gonna save up for 6ULs and stop being an idiot.
Reply
0
0
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
