Cheap rainable tires?
 

I have a set of R's for the track (hopefully they last for another weekend) and I want to start saving for a new set but I need some general purpose street tires. 205/50 (or 55) -15. I don't need extreme dry performance but I would like a tire that would do OK in the wet, for when my wife drives it and in case it rains at the track. I don't care about tire life because its not a dd. Anyone have a positive experience with something that might work?

Kuhmo Ecsta MX was good in the wet and for autocross they were very competitive.

The new Ecsta XS is also a rain-able pattern, but with the really good r-compound rubber. It is supposed to be the shit for a streetable race tire. They are available in 205/50 15s. I wish they made them in the size I run right now. They are reasonably priced at Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels

I quite liked the Falken 912s I DDed on for 8-9 months. Terrible performance tires, mushy sidewall, but they were comfy, pretty good in the wet, and cheaper than a diseased hooker.

Seconded for the 912's. I have them on my wife's Mazda6 and on my WRX. They're a GREAT compromise in ride quality and performance. Hugely better than the 329's that I had and much more comfortable than my 512's on the Miata.

The 329's were harsh and crashy, I have stock struts paired with Prodrive springs and Whiteline swaybars (urethane bushings, solid aluminium endlinks), and urethane steering rack bushings on my WRX. The ride with the 329's was way too stiff for daily driving. You felt every single pebble in the road. Since changing over to the 912's, the ride has smoothed out considerably even through corners. The 2002 WRX came stock with 195 60 or 65R/16 Bridgestone RE-92, those were tremendous CRAP. Great for just normal people driving, but the sidewalls were so soft that I actually almost scraped rim in a corner without farting the tire off the wheel. I had a chase Miata, he told me so.

FYI, right now on the WRX I'm running 205 55R/16 and the Mazda6 has 215 50R/17.

Another for 912's. I quite like the ride, noise and performance. Especially for the price. Wet traction is great.

proxxes 4. I DD in the rain and snow, and they worked great. They're currently my race tire until I wear them out (its not working), and they even work great on the track. Hot damn, I just went to check prices for you, and edge racing went out of business? Damn, I bought my wheels from them...

apparently I got my proxxes4's on sale, cause i know I didn't pay that much for 225-50-15's, and the best I can find is over $100. I'll just go ahead and put in a vote for 912's. They replaced the old faulken 512, right?

Dunlop Z1 Star Spec.

I like the Kumho AST. They are good on the street, wet or dry, and ran pretty well in an early spring autocross(read cold)

im running xs on my 350z right now. cheap and decent handling but very very loud. very predictable too.

195 only, no 205. But a good rebate going on right now.

Where's a good place to buy the 912s?

I got mine from Vulcan, good price, service and fast processing and shipping.
http://www.vulcantire.com/ze912_t.htm

i had good luck with rs2's in the rain. just do not run them if it's under 50 out.

One more thing about the 912's. I have lower back problems, BAD. There's a spot on the road I drive to work that has a pothole that I never pay attention to and hit about 9 out of 10 times. With my 329's it was crushing to me with my 912's it's much less painful.

A 195 that's wider than a lot of 205, has a much stickier compound, that works great in the rain.

BFG g force sports man they are good tires they just dont do snow. wet etc works great though.

I got mine at Big O Tire, I got all four tires mounted, balanced, and alignment for $435.

I'm running the Kumho Ecsta XS as well. Easily has as much grip as the RT615 in the dry and has decent wet grip too.

Not having tried many tires on the Miata, I have to say I like my 205/50/15 912's a lot. Very good price at $60 each and they handle very well wet and dry. Low road noise and a good ride. Perfect balanced tire in my opinion. Then again, I have only used 3 different tires on a Miata, but have used probably 15-20 different kinds of tires on other cars.

I got my 912's twice from Vulcan Tire with nothing but good results. Fast processing and shipping.

And I just realized I had already posted in this thread once before... oh well, another vote from me. I'm sure they have long since been purchased.

I'm running these right now on the miata. Wet traction is fine for normal rainy driving. I tracked them at Barber and was very suprised at how well they did. No chunking after running them really hard. They lost a little grip after about five laps, but outside temp was 98 so I don't know how hot the track was. For the price they would be tough to beat. I think close to 55 from tire rack for 205-50-15.

I think my next set will be trying XS tire, unless I get a separate set of wheels for track use. Then I'll buy a set of dedicated r-comp track tires

I would dread having to track in this heat. I could barely stay out long enough to plant 4 plants in my garden.