Daily driver tires
 

Hi guys,
I decided to get another set of wheels specifically for DD duty. Now, I don't want shite all-season tires. What I need is a set of summer tires that doesn't totally suck in sub-50F weather. We don't really have a "winter" around here, so I don't care about snow traction (that's what the jeep is for). I care about grip & mileage I can get out of them.

So, in a nutshell:
- 205/50/15
- must not totally suck at near-freezing temperatures (RS3s suck...)
- the more dry grip the better
- being decent in wet is a bonus. RS3s were pretty good, for comparison.
- will be just for highway and "spirited driving". for track and autocross I'll mount NT-01s on my 15x9s.

I've basically narrowed it down to:
Bridgestone RE-11
Dunlop Star Spec
Kumho Ecsta XS

So please tell me which one of those would be best. RE-11 are the most expensive. Star Specs have highest threadwear (200 vs 180). Also for comparison, out of my RS3s, I got about 15000 miles, a dozen of autocross (a lot of them were 12 runs) and an hour of track. They had 140 threadwear rating.

I am trying out AD08s for double duty. They are comparable to star specs in performance, but I have heard they have better wet/rain traction (not that that is a big deal, I am trying them out mostly for sidewall stiffness/response).

I should be getting them installed in the next week.

Otherwise, the star specs for sure. the Kuhmos aren't as good for wet weather.

Falken 615k have been pretty good all weather for me. I have 195/14 though

Scratch the Kumho off the list, worse than the Hankook in the cold. Between the RE-11 and the Star spec I would pick........Continental DW

Judging by the responses I'm leaning towards star specs...

Those are out since I'll be ordering wheels with tires from tirerack. They don't carry Falken.

These don't seem to come in 205/50/15 size

These look pretty good, but what turns me off are the reviews based on mileage. There are 5 reviews for Star Specs with 30k miles. The highest-mile review for AD08s is at 15k....

Aww hell, forgot about that. The one advantage of the crappy 16s my car came with.

Yokohoma S-drive

Aren't these like, a level below Star Specs/RE-11s?
Although 300 thread wear hmmmm...

I don't know. I just suggested them b/c I just got a set and I like them. The grip is good, even if it's wet out and they weren't too expensive, $370ish a set, shipping was like $50, and I got a discount on getting them mounted and balanced. Plus shipping was crazy fast, but I think thats because of where I live.

Rs3 is great in the cold. Just do a burnout in first and second and third.

Those first few turns can be pretty scary tho. Yowzas

I think you should sell your jerp and buy my forester lenny. AWD on all seasons and 260 or so hp is fun. Tire slip but awd to the rescue

I love my Kumho XS's for DD and some track use

that's one of the big parts of reviews that I ignore actually, as its really all dependent on driving habits. I am pretty sure there isn't really a standard for measuring treadwear either, so one manuf. 220 might be another's 240.


I have driven my star specs for 12k miles right now. It's all about how much aggressive driving you see. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't go with the star specs. Especially since this is your DD set, you should go with a solid known performer.

Of the list you provided, none are going to be much if any better than the RS-3's in the cold. You will have to go to an agressive all season and the S-drive's are a great choice. Just look around in that category and pick something around the 300 tradwear as they will last much longer and are more suited for the cold.

On a lightweight car like the Miata, DD tires can last a REALLY long time (not incuding the Fae's lead foot, that is).

My last set of DD tires were S-Drives in 195/50-15. They were good and held up forever. Recently switched to BFG G-Force Sports in 205/50/15. I like these even better than the S-Drives. They are really sticky, especially considering the treadwear.

My favorites tire is the Michelin Pilot SS that I'm running on my G8. Unfortunately, not made in our size. BFG is a Michelin brand name, so a lot of Michelin's technology filters down. My Dad is a BFG retiree.

I don't think any of the tires you listed are "daily driver" tires. I run Toyo Extensa M/S for the street and they last a very long time, about 2-years or 60,000 miles on my daily.

S-drives are a UHP summer tire brah.

Not really sure where this guy is coming from, but my star specs do fine as low as 36*F.

Another vote for the XS. Picked mine up back in the late summer and have been on them since. No snow yet, which I think would be a disaster, but otherwise good even down to the 30's. Definitely a loss of grip down at that temp but not dangerous by any means. I have the same size you are looking at, on stock 15x6 rims.

I'd honestly buy my Riken Raptors again.

I have 215/45 XSes for the summer that didnt get mounted once in 2011.

Star spec. I'm still rocking a set we ran for 10 hours in a chumpcar race in 102* air temps. Passes safety inspection last week.

I know what you mean. But I want high performance tires, even for daily driving. I know they will wear out 2x as fast, but I'm ok with that because it will be 2x as fun :)

I'm just going to get Star Specs. Thanks for the responses!

fk452 are leggitt

The Kumho exctas not bad either

Michelin pilot Excalto.

doesn't look like they come in 15 inch sizes

all seasons and don't come in 205/50/15

I've got neo-gens on my stock wheels and like them. They're a good bit more conservative than others you mentioned but still a nice performance-ish tire.

im running doral sdl 60's they are only 185-60-14 and around $50each and they are the best tire i have ever had on my car so far... they hook way better than the 205/50/15 toyo RA1's i used at the drag strip. hooked up enough to pull a best of 12.6@111

they come in a 195/60/15

I tried all-seasons for commuter duty on the turbo car...its too dangerous. I run NeoGens on that car.

I don't get it, NeoGens are all seasons...? And you're in Texas, you have 1 season anyways!

They do look good cheap, though.

They are substantially more grippy than the tires I had on it.

Ah. Well, they look good. Would consider getting them if Tirerack carried Nitto tires :(

Another for star-specs.

So far they have done me well. I don't DD them at this point because I drive the jeep mostly in the winter, but I have had to drive it a few times in the cold this season. So far tire wear is pretty damn good and they are still grippy down to about 45-50*. Below that and you start to notice them getting harder.

This is my experience so far. Once these wear out I will probably buy another set.

onlinetires.com

Damn, that's cheap. but still comes out to about same price if I factor in $100 for mounting/balancing. This ---- is expensive locally and I want road balance. Tirerack does it for free*.

* factored into the price

I take my mailed rubber to a tire shop in the barrio and usually pay $40 to mount and balance all four.

I tried, but couldn't find a tire place to do it for that cheap. I guess everyone hates immigrants.

Yeah most places I have found around here are closer to $100+. I think Merchants over in Chantilly will do $12 a corner if you say you bought from tire rack... I don't know if I trust their work though. Took the Jeep there for a safety inspection because it's really close to my work.

By the time I got home (8 miles) lugs on 2 wheels had worked them selves loose...

I've been running the 205/50 Azenis RT-615K as my daily tires and they have worked out great as rain tires at the track. I have had them for about 10 months and they're getting to the wear bars now. I might go with another set since they aren't too expensive but I might try out the Star Specs since they worked so well on my S2000.

Last night I bought two used tires and paid $92 total, with mounting and balancing. It took them exactly 10 minutes to do the job.

RE-11s are bueno. I'm about to put another DE event on them. I don't expect them to last more than 15k miles though.

I ordered 15x8 TRMotorsports C1 with 205/50/15 Star Specs yesterday, all for $940 shipped, mounted and dual plane balanced.

They arrived 24 hours later. I'll weigh them today vs bald RS3s on 15x9 6uls.

Right, so.
32.2lbs 6UL 15x9 GenII + Worn out RS3 (225/45/15, mounted, balanced)
33.8lbs 6UL 15x9 GenII + New NT01 (225/45/15, not mounted, not balanced)
34.8lbs C1 15x8 + New Star Specs (205/50/15, mounted, balanced)

Basically, 2 points:
- Worn out tires are LIGHT! (new RS3s are heavier than new NT01s)
- If you add a bit of wheel weights, 15x9 6UL + NT01 is about same weight as 15x8 C1 + Star Spec

hey soviet. loving those seats!

how did you get 15k out of those rs3's? what toe settings are you running?

anyway, starspecs are def my recommendation. another option you may consider though is yokohama s. drives. they should do better in the cooler temps like we've been seeing lately in VA. i can vouch for the amount that starspecs suffer in the cold. it's not really dramatic, but it's a little inconsistent for my taste.

A little bit of toe, 1/32 front, don't remember if any in the rear. Lots of camber though (2.2f 2.9r) so they wore out unevenly. my alignment was generally fail, i'm going with 949racing one this time (2f, 1.8r camber, 0 toe)

Ahhhhh. Ed's good ole "I'm gonna make your tires wear out in 1000 miles" alignment. -_-

I ran random amounts of toe between 1-3mm on the front and still got a whopping 12k miles out of my star specs. (including track days and daily driving). I will say the toe was only ran on the last half of their life, or the last 3 track events.

I had to replace them due to the outsides being gone which is due to not enough camber in general?

outer edge, yeah run more camber. I wore out the inner edge.

My RS3s
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...02163551_o.jpg

So how do the star specs feel in comparison?

comparison to what? RS3? Two different sizes, hard to really compare.

Star Specs and NT01s are sitting in garage and living room respectively until the car is actually running (see build thread).

I forgot how my RS3s felt like to be honest. I remember "Awesome!", that's about it. Plus once I'm running I'll be at 3 times the whp than before....

I had tried two of those three. I will go Dunlop Star Spec.