Good performing agressive tires?

[drzenitram]

I think I'm going to limit my performance upgrades to a set of good tires, a front strut bar, possibly the set of sway bars and the 8hp/8lbft carbon fiber intake since I don't really want to deal with hearing exhaust anymore(greddy evo2 on my eclipse) and I figure these performance upgrades will just make the car even better at what it's already good at!

Anyways, what kind of tires are y'all putting on your fits? I'm sticking with the base Sport rims and I'd like a tire that isn't so soft I'd have to replace them all the time(geforce T/A kd's I used to have), but provides a quiet ride with good grip. Also it would be nice to keep them under the $100/each bracket.

Whatcha think?

[kenchan]

im running ziex912's. 195/50/15.

these are a/s tires and grip fairly well in 40F+ temps wet or dry.
anything under it's not the best grip. under 10F it's like crap.

check The Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels for more info on tires.
they dont carry the falkens that im running but they have a lot of different tires with
survery results, test data, etc.

[SHG_Mike]

well a good performing aggressive tire is going to wear, its just the nature of grip. I think the 300 treadwear range is an ok average wear rate with about 15-18k miles before they are done. Dunlop Direzza DZ101 are great sumer tires, as well as the Yokohoma S Drive.

[MINI-Fit]

Yokohama S drive did not get a good review by EVO magazine late last year, it's OK but you can do much better.

First search various tire vendors for-
195/55-15
195/50-15
205/50-15

Then you will have an idea of what might fit your stock 15x6 wheels.

If you want very aggressive then look at Extreme Performance Summer tires or Max Performance Summer tires, treadwear will be about 180 to 200. Don't expect them to do well in cold temperatures or for them to last much longer than about 1 year to 15 months but they are very grippy and handle very well. Some are better for wet as well as dry.

A new tire is coming soon from Bridgestone. The Potenza RE-11 but the one it replaces, the RE-01R is quite good and comes in 195/50-15 and doesn't cost that much about $106 each.

If you want tires that last longer about 240 to 300 then they might not handle quite as well but there are quite a few to choose from.

Falken Ze-912 is a good All Season street tire but doesn't handle as crisply,
It's well priced and comfortable for daily use.

A quick check shows
195/50-15
Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 $68 each 200 treadwear Max Perf tire
Toyo Proxes T1R $72 each 280 treadwear Max Perf tire
Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 $93 each 280 treadwear Max Summer tire
Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R $106 180 treadwear Extreme Summer tire

195/55-15
Dunlop Direzza Dz101 $49 each 300 treadwear Ultra HP summer tire
Toyo Proxes T1R $80 each 280 treadwear Max Perf tire
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 $84 each 200 treadwear Extreme Summer tire
(good handling wet or dry)

205/50-15
General Exclaim UHP $64 each 380 treadwear Ultra HP Summer tire
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 $116 each 240 treadwear Ultra HP Summer tire
Falken Azenis Rt-615 $73 each 200 treadwear Max Summer tire (sold out)
Kumho Ecsta MX $81 each 220 treadwear Extreme Summer tire

[kenchan]

hey MINI-Fit!

[MINI-Fit]

Originally Posted by kenchan

hey MINI-Fit!

Hey, Kenchan.

Here is the scoops on the RE-11

Bridgestone has an RE-011 but it is not the Extreme Performance Summer tire and it's not that good.

You are looking for the RE-11 which replaces the RE-01R but it comes in the Spring for Japan and maybe maybe maybe in 2009 for the US.

Tirerack doesn't have much on it for now, no press briefs and little or no info at all until I asked about it.

Good part is that it comes in many good sizes for smaller cars.

No discounts yet on the RE-01R, maybe next year or as stock runs low. Meanwhile it's a capable tire for performance driving.

Those of you who can get the RE-11 let us know how it performs for you.
: hyper:

[sortanewinatl]

I have ziex 512's... the predecesor to the 912. It is a good tire. Great balance of performace, treadwear and noise... and it's cheap. Edge Racing has them...

I had the same tires (well, not the exact same tires) on my previous VW GTI, and after those, I had Hankook RS2's (someone mentioned them in this thread). The 512's didn't do as well with the extra weight (that car was fat in the rear) and 300ish HP. I was very disapointed with the RS2's... noise/ride and treadwear were all better than expected, but they just didn't grip the way I expected a max perf summer tire.

[SD_MR_FIT]

my next tire which ive seen STICK night and day are the hankook rs2. those are grippy. i loved my k106 for launching but not for corners.


i would get the hankook rs2. its an all around great tire, from my experience.

[eldaino]

bfgoodrichs g-sports are pretty decent...they hit a nice middlespot between a super-ultra-maximum-total summer tire and a high performance all season like the ziex912's. my wife had them on her protege 5 and they were quite fun.

[coupdetat]

This topic has been dead a while but I thought I'd add that the RT-615's are absolutely incredible. I have the Falkens with Tanabe GF210s' and the Progress RSB. Cornering ability and steering feel is mind blowing compared to the same suspension on stock tires. My major complaint is ROAD NOISE! These are some noisy tires! Then again I drive around with the windows down all the time in the summer so it shouldn't be too big of a deal. Also, the treadwear is really low and I'm hesitant to take it on road trips. Seems like a waste to drive on straight highways when you could be using that tread to tear up back roads.

[MINI-Fit]

Originally Posted by coupdetat

This topic has been dead a while but I thought I'd add that the RT-615's are absolutely incredible. I have the Falkens with Tanabe GF210s' and the Progress RSB. Cornering ability and steering feel is mind blowing compared to the same suspension on stock tires. My major complaint is ROAD NOISE! These are some noisy tires! Then again I drive around with the windows down all the time in the summer so it shouldn't be too big of a deal. Also, the treadwear is really low and I'm hesitant to take it on road trips. Seems like a waste to drive on straight highways when you could be using that tread to tear up back roads.

For long trips it is a waste to run Max performance Summer tires- better for some lower rolling resistance cheap All Seasonn tires like the stock ones.

Yes, the falken 615s are good as are Hankook Rs2 both good handling autocross or light track tires that are OK for street use but like you said they can be noisy and a little rougher handling for street use.

That's what is so good about the Bridgestone RE-01R, it handles well in wet or dry AND it's relatively good for street use, good on comfort, not bad on noise and not too rough at all. Bad part is soft rubber and faster wear and not too cheap although the 195/50-15 tire is only $106 which is a bargain.

[jman245]

i had the g-force sport in a 205/50/15 and returned them because i felt too much roll on them.i swithed to azenis and love these!

[NJ Drive]

I'm on RT615s right now and just did my first autocross in the Fit with them. I've used them in the past with my other cars and my experience with them on the Fit has been no different. Probably the best performing non-R compound you can use right now in a 15" sized tire.

Conditions alternated from damp to dry patchy areas, temperature was around 40°F. No way warm enough to get proper heat in the tires but they were good enough to enable me to be 0.1 seconds behind a nationally competitive H Stock '07 Mini Cooper. Not bad with a bone-stock Fit with only 750 miles. For what it's worth, the Mini was also on street tires, but is fully prepped for its class.

[coupdetat]

Anyone else notice the huge increase in steering feel? Do you guys think this is more because of the wider tire (205 vs 195) or because of the stickier compound over stock?