Tires are shot... talk me out of Azenis if you can.
 

These 195 T1R's have been awesome for me... but enough is enough.
205 Azenis are $346 to my door w/valvestems from DiscountTireDirect. They're $347 from EdgeRacing, but nowhere on the ER website does it say they come with valvestems. If specifically states they do come with a wheel/tire "bundle" but not just with a set if tires. Anybody know?

And does anybody suggest for any reason a better tire for less money?

I'm just not sure you'll be pleased with the longevity.

what do valvestems cost? we hand them out for nothing at work. sam what size are those tires, may have something you'd be interested in, i've been too lazy to list for sale.

I think I paid $1.50 for all 4 last time I had to get valvestems :jerkit:

DTD adds a $12 surcharge for valvestems... so if I decline those, that takes the price down to $334. I assumed they'd come as part of the mounting price at my tire place anyways, just checking.

They only need to last until early next summer when I sell/part the car. My 99+ build will be on 6UL's and 225's.

Mach, they're 15x6.5"Heliums. PM me with what you've got.

i pming

The more I ride/drive/experience Azenis, the less I like them. They are loud, rough, short lived, and FUCKING HORRIBLE if it rains. One of my coworkers just spun his RX8 on the interstate in a light rain because Azenis in rain is like walking on ball bearings on top of ice. In the dry, they grip good before they get hot, then they're greasy and unreliable. The T1Rs ride much softer and quiter than Azenis, I'm not sure how happy you'll be...

I'm running the BFG KDW-2 in 205 50 15 on 15x8 6ULs. I am very happy with the KDWs; they're better riding than the Azenis, work in the rain, and should get decent life. Turn in is a little heavy, but otherwise no complaints so far. However, based on reviews and the fact that BFG does not make the KDW in the size, I think my next tires will be RS2 in 225 45 15. But that is a long time away, so it's prone to change as something better may come out.

Why not go ahead and get the 6ULs and 225s now? I can't imagine you'd put that many miles on the miata with your truck and speed6, so you'll have their benefit over the next year, and then won't have to buy tires this year and then again next year.

Valvestems are cheap. Get them from the people who will install your tires. I like metal stems, they're worth the small premium. Especially with the ULs which have twice as many stems to potentially be damaged. Emilio also sells metal stems.

Also don't be afraid to get quotes from the local shops. Tires are the kind of thing that are nice to get local in case you have any road hazard or balance issues. The store that I got my tires from gives me a free rebalance and rotate every 5k. They also had 1 guy spend nearly a whole work day getting the tires right on the wheels, I think a few of them were remounted 3 times. They have 0 runout on the balance machine. Zero. They're also filled with Nitrogen. That kind of service is worth a little extra, no?

I just put a set of Fuzion ZRi UHP summer 205/50/15 on my car. Too soon to comment about their overall performance, but so far I like them. <$400 w/tax mounted/balanced at Discount Tire. I had to haggle a bit, but it ended up being the same price as if I bought them on-line and had them mounted locally.

I really really like my Nitto Neo Gen Vr's. When up at the gap last month they took everything I could throw at them. They are also very good in the rain. I drove home from work today in a down pour and they handled it perfectly. http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...06&rd=15&ar=50
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I didn't have any excessive road noise with 195s, and I am still on my original set two years later. They are now to the point of needing to be replaced, but IMO, they are the best bang for the buck in street tires. If I can make a set last two years, anyone can. (Not my DD)

Ben is right, they do suck horribly in the rain though.

I won't run azenis on the street, they don't last long enough.

I always get my tires mounted and balanced at a mexican tire shop in the barrio. Its only $25.

RE-01s...and/or Hankook RS2s

I liked my azenis but like ben says, they're not practical.

I absolutely DETEST the KDW2s for everything but flash floods. they are heavy and ride like ass even compared to azenis. I found them to be about a B- in dry traction at the limit for a street tire.

The RS2s I have now compare favorably to both. I've had them in all the virginia weather except snow and I'm pretty happy. They do tend to tramline some but what awesome tire doesn't?

Sam, honestly, the RT615s are OK in the rain for the first 50% of their wear bar life. That may be 5000 or so miles if you drive like I'd expect. They are a fun tire and probably a fair tradeoff.

Another option if you want less compromise is the 912. I picked those up for $100 at discount tire last winter for my gf's civic and they've been pretty decent. No real faults that stand out. solid in wet or dry. of course it's not a turbo miata so I can't say if they'd do well (though I could swap em over and try).

Hell, if you're feeling like a big 8 foot tall stud, you can drive your ass up here and try all these sets of tires. Kook RS2, Falken 912, KDW2... they're just sittin around on cars and in my shed. Probably could convince some other nova shmucks to bring some azenis to compare to.

Running RS2's and like them. Haven't hit cold wet weather yet though.

I did like the Kumho SPT's I had before but that was Pre-FI. Worked really well wet and dry. No problem in heavy rain. Wore pretty well and they were cheap.

These Z1 star specs are fucking dirty. Those are my recommendation, a little more expensive, but way more grip than an azenis.

OK, wow, didn't expect a lot of that. So, I've officially been talked out of Azenis.

So how about buying my 6UL's now. The 15x7.5 and 15x8 are $150 each. That makes $600 a set. Assuming I can get $300 for my Heliums, I'm looking at $300 for the trade-up. Which means I'm not gonna be able to spend any serious $$ on rubber.

First, what's the pro/con of 7.5" vs 8" with a 225/50/15.

And... I need a cheap 225 tire.

TireRack has Ecsta AST's for $58.
EdgeRacing has Zeix 912's for $58.

If you're going with 6ULs and you're FI you have no reason to even consider 7.5s. The 225 fits best on the 8" wheel why go smaller. I personally like my Azeni's but I haven't driven on anything else. They're relatively cheap, though not as cheap as other options. I still would love a set of 225/45 RS2s if they were available when I needed tires. By then i'll want a set of R comps though.

I've had many people tell me the 912s are a good cheap tire.

I don't really recommend Azenis either. I tried them out and I'm tired of them. They suck balls in the rain and get greasy hot really fast in the turns. Fortunately when they are greasy, they are still very predictable.

I'm replacing with either Rs2's or T1R's when the time comes(225/45)

is 949 no longer selling the 225 RS2?

^I don't see any tires on the 949 website, but TireRack has them for $99, which makes them too expensive.

I've got about 20 things going on Craigslist today (mostly household shit) my Heliums will be $300... I've got some brand new Zeix512's on stock rims that I'll run in the meantime if they Heliums sell.