It doesn't surprise me that the Ventus tires were no so great, I had a set that came with rims on an old car and they were pretty disappointing.

 

Sid,

Not to freak you out but I have the Dunlops Star Spec, and they are AMAZING freaking tires, and I have had Toyo RA1's on another car... Ok they are not as good as the RA1 in overall dry traction, but they (Z1) feel REALLY REALLY good in the dry, and I Auto-X on mine ... AWESOME TRACTION

But in the heavy rain that light tread pattern, aquaplanes pretty bad, I know I have had some all to close experiences with them at 80mph in heavy rain on the freeway... I mean in normal rain they are Ok, but not a GREAT tire in the rain. And the wear is pretty quick with such a low tread wear... So don't expect to much in mileage

Just my two cents.... But overall a GREAT f-in' tire.. and I would choose them any day over the other mentioned... ANY DAY !!!

Other tires you might want to look at if you want to go more towards racing:

1) Nitto NT05
2) Toyo R1R
3) Bridgestone RE-11

 

I found the new tire tests and they are good as you say on specs; if they had thesize we like I'd get a set.

 

None of the above. I would pick: Toyo Proxes R1R 205/50/15

 

Yup, R1R.. 205 in the front and 195 in the rear for more rotation... that is my next Auto-X tire

 

I went to the tire shop today to have them installed, and I am so glad I asked to see the tires before they started.

The idiot at the counter had ordered the DZ101s instead of the Star Specs I told him to get. I had even written down the exact tire: Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec --- 195/55/15

He said, "But they are Direzzas, that's what you ordered."

I'm glad I am dealing straight with the owner now, instead of the idiot working the counter.

So now I have to wait until tomorrow.

 

federal 595s best bang for the buck.super cheap. grip well.


con-road noise.

 

Have you considered their respective diameters? A 205/50x15 tire is 23.07" while a stock 195/55x15 is 23.44 and a 195/50x15 is 22.67.
Surprizing as it may seem the 195/50 works better, using air pressure to even things out a bit. Smaller rear tires will have less traction if they are the same brand and model but better handling by by having a little better weight distribution.
Anything you do to raise the rear end on a FWD car yields more oversteer than most like. In either case rotation is encouraged so experiment a bit in an empty parking lot with tire pressures before going to competition.
good luck.
PS make sure your A?X rules allow different size tires as many don't.

 

Yea not sure as to what size tire I will be useing either a 50 or 55 seires in the rear, plus you to have to factor in that my Fit is already raised about 0.6" inches in the rear due to the Tanabe GF210 springs, even if I was to go with 50 it would only make my rear lower 0.2" inches, or if I go with the 55 it would raise it about 0.2" more.. with respect to having a 205/50 in the front. Plus I plan on getting Skunk2 coil-over's about the same time I need new tires.. Hopefully

But yea oversteer is the name of the game in Auto-X, plus if you check out J's Racing Super ITB'd K24 Fit, they are useing 225 in the front and 195 in the Rear, most Japanese Tuners use something similiar for added traction, since alot of them produce over +250 whp to the front wheels. I just needed them for more traction in the corners , since I barely have 90 whp...

And as to the rules I will triple check but I think in SCCA ST class you can use up too 225 width on a 7.5 inch wide rim, but I believe any size tire can be used as long as your lefts to rights are similiar.

 

Raised in the rear? GF210's drop the car about 1" in the rear from stock

 

Hahaha.. Ok I worded it odd... But yea what I meant by raised 0.6" is with respect to the front. Since I believe the drop on the GF 210's is 1.5" in the Front and 0.9" in the rear.. split the diffrence 0.6" inche (raised in the rear).

Most Spring Companys do this to put more weight on the front tires, for more traction and better feel handling. It is a typical thing done in FWD cars.

 

lol ok, I see what you mean


Well I put my order in for the Khumo XS today; 205/50/15's. I have heard nothing but good things so far and the price is great.

 

Got the Star Specs today.

Full review coming later.







And yes I know I am missing a center cap. They are hard to find since this wheel has been discontinued for years.

 

Sweet!

Do let us know how they hold up after 500 miles or so---that way any mold release agent on the tires will definitely have gone from the tread area (that stuff detracts a little from the tire's true ability).

 

Let me know how they work for you... I have heard good things

 

looks good! i wouldnt mind getting a set of these.

 

My RT-615s will be slicks soon. I'll be ordering a set of R1Rs soon. 205/50/15.