they dont make them anymore. i had them for a very short time and they SUCKED!!!!!! my $60/tire khumos have tons more grip and feel.

Life is too short to run cheap shit tires. RS2s are crap when they are cold, Azenis are crap on the limit and get greasy when hot. I just got quoted $580 installed for 225/45 R1Rs, so $130ish a tire. I think the 195/50 R1Rs are like $110 a tire.

If I had a lot of money, I would run NT-01s all the time. Street tires blow.

+1 i run only track take-offs on my bike now.

$580 isn't terrible installed. I should just try it.

Needing some warm up isn't too bad, depending what "warm" means - drive in a straight line for 5 minutes? Ok, awesome, don't care.

What don't you like about the Falkens on the limit? I don't like the grease, and I've noticed it, though I thought that was the T1-Rs... I kinda liked those tires.

I've never tried it myself, but Emilio doesn't like them and he's faster than I am on track so I listen. He says they act like a race tire (really crappy breakaway characteristics) without the grip. The RE-01R is supposed to grip harder, be more comfortable on the highway, handle rain better, and do your laundry. My dad just replaced his Azenis on his E46 M3 with RE-01Rs and he says the RE-01Rs are much better.

I love my 205/50/15 RT-615's on Enkei RP-f1s. It's not a daily driver so the tire wear is not an issue.

HPI Potenza RE-01R T-Drift Tires 26mm (4) HPI4423 NIB - eBay (item 230289535435 end time Dec-07-08 16:00:13 PST)
oh! And they are surprisingly affordable.

RE-01r is tire rack's #1 rated extreme performance summer tire in the survey if you give any credance to surveys.

The new RS3 will be interesting to see tested when it hits the streets. I'm guessing Hankook has learned a bunch since the RS2 came out.

Failboat
 

Yeah, unless I want to run 195's they don't make that tire for my 15 inch rims, period,

Why the obsession with 195 section tires?

It's the only size they make?

Look into the Fuzion ZRi. That is what I have now on my DD and they are great. The reviews on them are good too, which is why I bought them. They are 'ultra high performance' summer tires but so far they are wearing well and are not noisy. They are made by Bridgestone.

I have 205/50/15 on stock rims. However I do not think they make the 205/50/15 anymore, or they are limited to available stock, so you might have to get something different. I wish I had bought two sets now. Discount tire and tire rack both have Fuzions.

Looks like Nitto is releasing a new tire in Feburary. The NT-05 looks like it should be a good street tire, but unfortunately it doesnt come in 15inch sizes. Anyone wanna email nitto and tell them to make them in a smaller size?

Nitto Tire - High Performance Tires for Car and Truck Enthusiasts

I don't quite get what your requirements are here... What is the price limit? Is there one? Are you willing to replace these tires in 4000 street miles? What about 10k? 15k? Is noise an issue? Are you opposed to 195/50s or do you HAVE to have 205s? Do you really want race tires or can you deal with slippery street tires and maybe grab a second set of wheels to run gum balls on?

Having taken all this into consideration, I will be running those Falken ZE912s I mentioned. Size not withstanding. They are cheap, last forever, don't scare me in the rain, and come in a size I like. My Miata is my only 4 wheeled vehicle these days, and if I decide to drop everything and go 700 miles to Charleston, SC for the weekend, I like knowing that it won't cost me $50 in tire wear to do so. Again, like I mentioned before, I have a set of Avon race tires to use when the mood strikes me. And for the record, I would NEVER buy lame ass street tires if I didn't have stickies to play on. Same applies for the bikes.

You will have to decide for yourself how much life and money you're willing to give up for grip. For me the Hankooks out value the Falkens. The Dunlops and Bridgestones are the next step up and are a much stickier tire at the obvious expense of life and price. Of course I guess you could just run race tires at all times. If I was a baller like Savington, I'd just do that. Unfortunately I like eating more than I like driving, if only barely :cool:

Any idea how they compare to the Falken RT-615? 'Course, if I can't get them, it doesn't matter.

Good question, I guess I'm just wondering what people think.

195's, I dunno, are they ok on a 7" rim? Plus, I guess there's no curb rash with wide tires? :-)

Still, what I'm looking for is something which has great feel, decent grip, nice breakaway is probably the smarter choice - though these haven't bothered me all that much. I hate tires which turn greasy, though!

Mileage doesn't matter. 4k would be a little short, 10 I wouldn't mind. Road noise isn't a huge issue (it's a convertible!) but squealing sucks. I'd like to just have the one wheel, but since mileage isn't a huge issue, I don't care.


Yeah - I worked out once what I would have to drive buying cheap tires before I'd make back the money in not running high performance tires, it didn't come out well.

That said, why the ZE921 over the rt-615 - hoping to get a few more miles out of it? I don't drive much, really, between the bike and what not, so I can't imagine that something in the ballpark of the 615 is about right. Also, I seem to be able to find these for $80 shipped from a couple places, though I still have to mount and balance them... Meh.

Maybe the race tires at all times is good, I dunno, I hear they are better, but don't know. I guess it's just a mileage issue, which doesn't hurt me too bad at probably 6k/year.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3- 205 50 15....Loved them. Awesome dry tire, awesome wet tire. Quiet, and kicks ass right up to the end of it's life. The best tire I have ever owned, period.
Then I got the Toyo T1R- 205 50 15... great handling tire. They have gotten very noisy over the last 6 months. About 10k miles on them. I will be going back to the GSD3 after these are toast.

I'm not sure you'll go back to the GY because they make them only from 16"

I can't seem to find this size anywhere. Are you sure that's what you've got?

I should give the proxies another go, I really liked them when I had them. I remember something going all glassy on me, but mainly after ******** on some mountain road all morning.

I've driven on those tires. They are abysmal pieces of shit, worse than my Falken 912s by a long shot. Seriously, people, stop recommending shit tires.

So far, both in terms of performance, and price, I've heard little to make me think I shouldn't buy another set of falkens. For $80/tire shipped, I can't really complain. The few I have seen on here which even fit my rims are either a) hated by 50% of the people, or b) at least twice as expensive.

The Toyo's are the only exception, but since I'm 50/50 on it, I guess I'll take the 40-100/set savings and just count my money whenever I have doubts. I think it was the toyos which got all glassy on me at the autocross, then again, I was slipping them like mad for three straight laps.