Which tires for new rims?

[kartunez]

I have new wheels and I am stuck on which tires to buy! The choices are Nitto NT555's (http://www.nittotire.com/#index%2Etire%2Ent555) or Toyo Proxes 4's (http://www.toyo.com/docs/tires/tires.asp?lpid=18970&name=Proxes+4%99&category=sport); click to view specs. The major factor I have right now is I can get the Nitto's for about 80 less than the Toyo's. I guess I really want to know if the Toyo's are worth the extra $80. The car is mainly a DD, but does see track time going straight and soon to be carving up a road course. I also want to know which one will last longer for those that have used either! I have read a bunch of the tire sites and the reviews for both seem to be even, but the Proxes do have a bit higher mark, just not by much. I don't see a lot of snow, mainly just ice and we are nearing that season; this is where the Toyo's out rank the Nitto's! TIA for all that can help! Here are some :boobs: for your help; screw a cookie! :thumb: L8R

NT555
http://www.discounttire.com/product/tires/nithz4.ang.jpg

Proxes 4
http://www.1010tires.com/images/tires/Toyo/toyo_proxes4_lg.jpg

[StealthShark]

I've run Toyo Proxes before and the only gripes I have are road noise and a little less tire life than Nitto's. My personal preference for tires with excellent wear, low road noise and velcro sticky grip are Bridgestone's tho. I was kind of surprised to see the new Tib with Hankook's on it. I remember my 03 GT came with Michelin's and they were great too. I'd say jump on the Nitto's. If you were somewhere with a wider variety of weather then the Toyo's might be worth it, but DFW area shouldn't see a whole lot of snow and mush.

[kartunez]

I've run Toyo Proxes before and the only gripes I have are road noise and a little less tire life than Nitto's. My personal preference for tires with excellent wear, low road noise and velcro sticky grip are Bridgestone's tho. I was kind of surprised to see the new Tib with Hankook's on it. I remember my 03 GT came with Michelin's and they were great too. I'd say jump on the Nitto's. If you were somewhere with a wider variety of weather then the Toyo's might be worth it, but DFW area shouldn't see a whole lot of snow and mush.

We usually only get ice! I want Potenza's so bad I can't stand it, but they are way out of budget! I am looking at $580 for the Proxe's and hopefully less than $500 on the Nitto's! If you think they will fair the same all around, I may just get the Nitto's. As for road noise, my exhaust and/or stereo take care of that; so no worries about that! How well did the Nitto's (I assume you had NT555's) do in the cold weather? We don't see a lot of it, but we do get it and I would rather be safe than sorry! :wink:

[StealthShark]

We usually only get ice! I want Potenza's so bad I can't stand it, but they are way out of budget! I am looking at $580 for the Proxe's and hopefully less than $500 on the Nitto's! If you think they will fair the same all around, I may just get the Nitto's. As for road noise, my exhaust and/or stereo take care of that; so no worries about that! How well did the Nitto's (I assume you had NT555's) do in the cold weather? We don't see a lot of it, but we do get it and I would rather be safe than sorry! :wink:

LOL! Nitto's do respectable in the cold, not as good as the Potenza's, but well enough. The only major thing to remember in cold, as I'm sure you already know, is that cold tires = hard tires = crappy initial bite. As long as you get them warm they should do you just fine. And I know what you mean about the $$$$ for Potenza's. I shredded a left front 235/35/19 a couple months ago and had to come out of pocket $345.00 for that 1 tire. But damn they're a great tire.

[mac11]

Where are you looking to purchase these tires at? I personally would go with something totally different for that kind of money.

also, what size?

[kartunez]

Where are you looking to purchase these tires at? I personally would go with something totally different for that kind of money.

also, what size?

My size is what is holding me up! I am getting 235/40/18; biggest I can get without major rubbing issues! I am either ordering them from Brian at wheelwarehouse.com or getting them from my local guy.

[mac11]

and you want all seasons?

[kartunez]

and you want all seasons?

Not so much all seasons, as much as wet/dry performance. Both listed have very high ratings for both wet and dry, but the Proxes have a good rating for snow. And for under $600 for all four tires; that is not too bad. My current tires are just under $400. They have lousy dry traction, but their wet traction is awesome; Capitol N5000's!

[mac11]

Neither of those tires is going to be very good in the snow. I think you could get more grip for the price.

[mac11]

They don't last very long, but they are stickey as ****...

http://www.vulcantire.com/cgi-bin/tiresearch.cgi?stock=615&f=azenis_rt615_t.htm

[kartunez]

They don't last very long, but they are stickey as ****...

http://www.vulcantire.com/cgi-bin/tiresearch.cgi?stock=615&f=azenis_rt615_t.htm

That is an issue, I put 20,000 miles a year on my car. Those might be nice for some track rims, but those will be on 17" Motegi Trak Lite 2.0 Teflon black (http://www.motegiracing.com/wheels/details.asp?parent=90&wheelid=90&name=TRAKLITE%202.0%20Teflon®%20Black&pic=2312&style=2312&desc=1-piece%20forged%20alloy,%20painted%20center,%20machined%20lip)

[mac11]

too bad they don't make those in 9.5" wide for a reasonable price.

[streetcreeper]

I had toyo's on my car and hated them

[kartunez]

too bad they don't make those in 9.5" wide for a reasonable price.

Yeah, I can get those Motegi's for about $100 a rim! Can't beat that for runnign on a 17 weighing only 14 lbs! :wink:

[kartunez]

I had toyo's on my car and hated them

Which Toyo's and why?

[Kdm y0]

Falken Azenis

[mac11]

Falken Azenis

which ones?

[Kdm y0]

http://www.vulcantire.com/azenis_rt615_t.htm

they are amazing... best thing is, is when you halfway thru the tred, it gets to stickier rubber compound. They are O-K in the rain, but not the best. But for the money, forget hancook vetrus or whatever... the azenis sidewalls are a little stronger.

[mac11]

it doesn't change compounds at any point. They are actually said to get harder once they get heat cycled and are towrds the end of their treadlife. That is not an issue if you are tracking them and getting them up to temps.

and if you look that is the same tire i linked further up.

[Kdm y0]

sorry thanks for correcting me mac, i didnt mean to double post the link. I just personally think the tires were junk, and it needed two links to the same tire to convince someone to go with falken.

[kartunez]

But I bet they don't get crap for mileage! I personally will never use Falken again, they may be a great tire, but I have shelled out way to much money on them and have had nothing but bad experiences; all with the Ziex and FK451's! They were the only tire available in the 18" that looked to be worth a crap 8 years ago, boy was I wrong. I had one go completely bald in less than 10K miles while the other three looked normal, and then two other tires tread separate from the side wall with about 15K on them with plenty of tread on them. I had my alignment checked and everything was fine, just junk tires.

[vacillator666]

I agree that the Falken's suck on longevity mainly because they are Z rated tires and the treadware is like mid 300's. I had the Ziex 512 on my Eclipse and they were balding at 10-15k miles and I took all the preemptive measures in order to prolong tire life. I just picked up some Kumho's Ecstas for the Prelude and they seem to do really well, still a Z rated tire but the treadware is in the high 400's. I have only had them for 5k miles or so but when I have to rotate them I will let you know how they are wearing.

[Kdm y0]

My personal opinion is this... my regular summer daily driven tire is Falken 452.. im not sure if they retired the tire yet or not. But its great runnin around town with, plus they are excellent in the rain i found out. But i ran one autox with them, and they def fall short of the azenis obviously.

[Turismo Maxwell]

See, I'm running into a similar problem now. I just recently made the jump from All-Seasons (Falken ZE-512s) to separate summer/winter sets.

I'm running the Hankook Icebear as my snow tire, and I'm happy as hell with them. But now I'm stuck on my summer tire, which I'll be looking into around April or May.

Current summer considerations:

Falken FK-452
Falken Azenis ST115
Toyo Proxes T1R
Nitto NT555

I like my Falkens, though the Azenis you mentioned earlier seems to be more drift-oriented (per the Falken website), which is not something I do much of. =) I like my traction. I'll have about 500-600 to spend.

-Max

[kartunez]

So far my Proxes 4's have been great, no complaints! I know they are not there greatest tires, but they are working perfect for me. Now I just need to get to the track to really work them out!

[mac11]

See, I'm running into a similar problem now. I just recently made the jump from All-Seasons (Falken ZE-512s) to separate summer/winter sets.

I'm running the Hankook Icebear as my snow tire, and I'm happy as hell with them. But now I'm stuck on my summer tire, which I'll be looking into around April or May.

Current summer considerations:

Falken FK-452
Falken Azenis ST115
Toyo Proxes T1R
Nitto NT555

I like my Falkens, though the Azenis you mentioned earlier seems to be more drift-oriented (per the Falken website), which is not something I do much of. =) I like my traction. I'll have about 500-600 to spend.

-Max

if you are doing dedicated summer tires you might as well go balls out on the traction. sticky tires are one of the most noticable suspension modifications.

This is what I would look at for summer tires. in no particular order....
brandtireprice in 215/45/17 (if available)
falkensrt-615$95 (WOW!)
toyo - t1r $165.99
nitto - pass

kumho -mx 109.00 ($105 in 225/45/17)
yokohama - neova ad07202.00 (225/45/17 - run wider than advertised)
bridgestone - re01r 161.00



Please post if you have a source for better prices on these tires! Will be helpful to the entire forum!


I will take the kumhos as the dollar for dollar winner any day of the week. The ultimate grip tire goes to the yokos but they are almost as expensive as an R-comp. The bridgestons come very VERY close to the grip level of the yokos for a cheaper price. There is also rumor that Kumho and Falken both are on the verge of releasing an updated version of both of their current tires listed here. They are by far the oldest design of the list with the kumhos being the oldest.

[Turismo Maxwell]

Hm, these are sweet, do you think most of them would go at least 2 summers. $1200/year on tires would kinda suck. Hell, REALLY suck. =)

So you don't think the Bridgestones are all that bad? Hm. Kris is running the Potenzas on his 350z in the summer, and he was actually considering buying something else, despite they're being brand new because he dislikes them so much on anything shy of bone-dry pavement.

-Max

[mac11]

Hm, these are sweet, do you think most of them would go at least 2 summers. $1200/year on tires would kinda suck. Hell, REALLY suck. =)

So you don't think the Bridgestones are all that bad? Hm. Kris is running the Potenzas on his 350z in the summer, and he was actually considering buying something else, despite they're being brand new because he dislikes them so much on anything shy of bone-dry pavement.

-Max

The bridgestons are great tires. Probably #2 in ultimate grip on the list. I don't know where you are getting $1200 from. The birdgestones @ 161 each are $644/set plus shipping and mount/balance So you are looking at around $800.

Any of the tires on the list should last at least 2 summers. The guy I know that has the Kumho MX's has used them for 2 full summers now with a few hundred of the miles being on the track.

[Turismo Maxwell]

I don't know where you are getting $1200 from.

Was doing some quick math, based on if the Hankooks I've got now, and the summer tires I get were to only last me one summer. At roughly $600 each set, that would be about $1200/year.

But so far, the Hankooks are still like new, so I think I could get 2, maybe 2.5 winters out of them. As for summers, I might just take your advice on the Bridgestones.

-Max

[chaosripper]

kumho mx tires are pretty decent for the price

[Turismo Maxwell]

Are they? The Bridgestones are about $60/tire more, but I'm willing to spend it if I'm getting my money's worth. I corner hard and expect my car to stay with me. Anyone else got an opinion on Bridgestones over Kumho? I'll admit, the tread pattern on the Ecsta MX seems more conducive to channeling water away.

-Max

[mac11]

Are they? The Bridgestones are about $60/tire more, but I'm willing to spend it if I'm getting my money's worth. I corner hard and expect my car to stay with me. Anyone else got an opinion on Bridgestones over Kumho? I'll admit, the tread pattern on the Ecsta MX seems more conducive to channeling water away.

-Max

This list is entirely comprised of maximum performance summer tires. They trade wet grip for ultimate dry grip. That is what they do. There is nothing sacrificed in dry grip with these tires though. You will get better wet traction with a less aggressive tire, but what is the fun of that?

Out of the group I have the most experience with the Kumho's and have nothing but positive to say about them. I also have much hands on experience with the falken's and again, can't think of a bad think to say about them either. I know a fellow that is a former Pro7 racer and is currently running Nasa time attack and uses the falken's exclusively and loves them.

As an aside, You and your friends shouldn't be worrying about how hard you can corner in the rain. You should be going slow in the rain. Take it from a dumb ******* that plowed into a concrete wall at 70MPH. No amount of tire under that car would have changed the outcome. And second all the tires on this list will stand up to anything you can do on the street because its not 10% of what they put up with on the track.

For the EXTREEM low price I would go with the falkens, then the MX's then the hankook RS2's, which I don't think I listed.

[Turismo Maxwell]

You and your friends shouldn't be worrying about how hard you can corner in the rain. You should be going slow in the rain.

"Me and my friends"? **** you.

At what point did I say I race in the rain? Hell, at what point did I say I do much of ANYTHING in the ****ing rain? I asked about wet traction because, oh, I dunno.... MAYBE because we GET A LOT OF RAIN. For god's sake, two out of the three main rivers in the city already crested we've gotten so damn much of it. This isn't a track car we're talking about, it's my daily driver. I'm not going to spend cash like this on a tire that's going to go skiing if I hit a water-logged section of road at 45mph on my way to work.

I asked for opinions on tires so I -or anyone else who reads this- can make an informed decision. At no time does that give you the right to insult me [or most especially "my friends"] like that. Kris babies that damn car of his, but 300hp at the rear is still 300hp at the rear. Period.

Kiss my ***.
-Max

[mac11]

"Me and my friends"? **** you.

Uhh, yes. You were the one that mentioned your buddy with the 350z and his distaste for the bridgestone tires on his car. Am I missing something??

At what point did I say I race in the rain?

At what point did I say you raced in the rain?

Chill out dude. Way to take that way the **** the wrong way.



I asked for opinions on tires so I -or anyone else who reads this- can make an informed decision. At no time does that give you the right to insult me [or most especially "my friends"] like that.

How exactly is it insulting you telling you to take it easy in wet conditions and backing that up by saying I made the mistake of not doing it?

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/mac1183/rx8/rx8accident13.jpg


Unbelievable.

Kris babies that damn car of his, but 300hp at the rear is still 300hp at the rear. Period.

Kiss my ***.
-Max


If he's got 300HP at all times that means his right foot is squarely planted on the floor. Horsepower potential is determined by the throttle. Ease back the throttle and you ease back your power. Period.

[ExemptedNut]

+1 for nittos.

I had toyos on my xd2 and wasn't a big fan. I think they are overrated

[Malik112099]

had nitto 555s for the longest on my 19s and recently got 18s so i went with the kumho ecsta AST's and they are AWESOME!