Warning: Useless speculation thread.

I recently learned that the Continental ECS is no longer available in 205/50R15. I guess that's stale news for some, but it caught me off guard. I'd run them previously and planned to go back when my current set of Nitto Neo Gens gets worn down. That got me looking on Tire Rack and Discount Tire and wow... how things have changed! 205/50R15 was the NA/NB Miata default for years with tons of great options to choose from in the true street tire category. There's still a bunch of 200TW options for track work, but my car is dual duty and I was hoping to get back to something a bit more sporty but 300TW tires for my 15x8 street wheels. For most of my years on track I just ran the Conti ECS and didn't have a second set of wheels/tires. I don't see a tire for sale that has that sort of reputation anymore.

I'm feeling a bit deflated by this. I figured I'd check the pulse of people who pay more attention to tires than me - do you think this is a temporary blip in availability, or do you think this trend going to continue?

Given the surge in interest in NA/NB Miatas over the past few years, and continued or even increased aftermarket support, I didn't think the market for such an essential component would crash like this. It wasn't that long ago that Mazda made a splash by getting the original 14" tires remade. Am I just a few summers away from being just like that old man still clinging to his MGB, hoarding whatever parts he can grab as essential items become no longer available? I can't keep a set of tires on the shelf for 10 years like I have with some spare parts.

 

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...rt-02/p/126611

I also thought they were discontinued, but looks like they're not? Maybe it's the ECS vs the ECS02? Maybe it's just discount tire doing their thing? I've ordered stuff from them before that was "in stock" and then been called an hour later letting me know that they're backordered or unavailable.

I'm on the Neo Gen's as well for daily tires. Why you aren't interested in getting another set of those?

I like to complain more about the lack of 245's available. For autocross the RT660 isn't exactly cream of the crop, but it's the only tire that makes sense in that size IMO. The others are dramatically more expensive while not being much better performers (from what I've researched, no personal experience).

My roommate just threw the KumHo PS31's on his Miata. A bit higher TW at 400. He said they're pretty average. I've had the all season version (PA31) and they were fine for putting around town.

 

The Neo Gens were a bit vague feeling at full tread depth. Since they've worn down a bit they feel better, or I've just gotten used to it. I was running ECS until two years ago when I got a flat tire on a road trip and destroyed one of them. I had to get back home and only the Neo Gen was in stock locally, so I ran one Neo Gen and 3 ECSs. It didn't feel terrible, so when the other three wore out, I bought a full set of 4 and kept the single half worn Neo Gen as a spare in case I got another flat. On the first few spirited drives, I didn't get the warm fuzzy "OMG this is so much better" feeling I usually get with a fresh set of tires. I'll only be putting around town on 15x8s (I have 15x9s and 225 RS4s for track work), so I don't really need a high performance street tire to keep on driving. But it's the direction I was hoping to go as it better fits everything else about the car. I mean, the Neo Gens have a Mud and Snow rating! Not exactly what you'd expect to put on your nice weather fun car with a BBK and coilovers.

The discussion around the ECS discontinuation on M.net had several people calling Continental and confirming that the size was discontinued entirely, so I think that any retailer website saying they'll be back in stock is just an automated inventory system being optimistic.

This isn't currently a roadblock for me and how I use my car, it's just a concerning change. For a while now people have been saying the NC is where the NA/NB where 10-15 years ago as the easy button for cheap track toy. That may well be true for someone starting from scratch, but I've already got my reliable and well kept car. I'm not fixing PO fuckery, and every NA/NB weak point I know for track use of is addressed. This is the first time I've come across something that made me worry about what kind of support it will have moving forward as a dual duty car.

 

I have a hard time imagining that we're going to completely run out of options any time soon. Miata's are far from the only car still on the road that runs 15s which leads me to believe we'll still have allseason/commuter tires available.

Considering how popular they are for motorsport, I think we'll keep seeing 200 TW and race tires be produced as well.

To be fair though I'm pretty out of touch for tire shopping on anything other than a Miata. My Subaru got Extreme Comfort Sports (I think that's what they are) when I got it and they've been on ever since.

 

All good points. I can't say from firsthand experience as I wasn't participating in HPDE events 15 years ago, but I hear that track days have really increased in popularity over that time period. Maybe 200tw tires have increased in sales and eaten into the market share that 300tw summer street performance tires used to own?

I'm just disappointed that there doesn't seem to be one tire that can do it all anymore. It was my go to recommendation for anyone who wanted to dip their feet into autocross and tracking without buying a second set of wheels and tires.