good handling but low grip tires for tail happy daily driving

I seem to have bought in on going the route of just 'choosing the best handling UHP all season' (someone talk me out of it?)

Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus seems to have a little less grip and a little better subjective feel than Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate (which I saw some other reviews praising). Going to sleep on it at least (curse of death as I change my mind every 12 hours) but right now the Pirelli seems to be the ticket.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=266

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=216 - "Hot on the heels of the Michelin [leading due to large amounts of grip] was the Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus, posting objective numbers just a small percentage behind the Michelin's and delivering what was arguably an easier to drive and more complete package. Where the Michelin sometimes felt edgy near the limit and out of phase in fast transitions, the Pirelli was always balanced with a soft, easily approachable limit that was easy to come back from if the driver pushed too far"

but generally speaking, those plus Fuzion UHP Sport A/S and Federal 595SS seem to be the standouts to me.

Apexcarver's account of some quality issues and the extremely high cheapness of the federal 595SS has me shying away from them a bit. I do wish more of the 'big tire tests' included them though.

In reply to ol doc gully :

It's really a minor thing. 2 minutes and a razor blade and you can ensure you don't have that problem. I got them because there aren't any options in my size between that and a r888 (13's)

Ive had six sets of 595ss. No long term quality issues, and the tire shop hasn't ever said anything about casting flash. So, may be an isolated incident?

Shop for S197 Mustang tires, you will find lots of used in that size.  I even have a set, you see after they set for several years they harden right up.  The beauty of them is they never wear out, even with track use.  

Just kidding but really it is exactly what I'm running, for a tail happy DD.  Mustangs are not all crowd plows, there are a lot of garage queens.

I've had BFG Sport Comp 2 and Yoko S.Drive, enjoyed them both as a street tire and it sounds like they would meet your needs. I needed to park my Miata outside over a winter and bought the absolute cheapest performance all-seasons I could find, Hankook Ventus V2. They were hilarious fun, probably the most fun tire I ever hd on the car. 

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) :

Any problems with balancing long term, as they wear etc? it was mostly those kind of quality issues I was referring to - but I've only seen it mentioned as second hand news in other places, so... not the most reliable news.

In reply to ol doc gully :

None noted in my experience. 

People have given recommendations on various tires so I won't comment on those but I will say get the tallest sidewall possible. If you can fit 60 series tires, those will do exactly what you want.

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I've had BFG Sport Comp 2 and Yoko S.Drive, enjoyed them both as a street tire and it sounds like they would meet your needs. I needed to park my Miata outside over a winter and bought the absolute cheapest performance all-seasons I could find, Hankook Ventus V2. They were hilarious fun, probably the most fun tire I ever hd on the car. 

Thanks for the input! Looks like the hankook ventus v2 are a high performance all season, which is solidifying that general category as the target (hoping the ultra high performance bring even a bit better steering response/handling). Hankook Ventus S1 Noble (UHP A/S) does look like a good option I hadn't had on my list - added. I may be at the point of splitting hairs...

BFG sport comp 2 (and I believe yoko s.drive) are both ultra high performance summer tires, and probably excellent, but really that 'hilarious fun' is exactly what I'm looking for.

Here's how I'm seeing it so far - in order of preference

I've not really kept up the max perf summer list; when I combine what I'm hearing here with tirerack test results the UHP All Season category does seem to be geared towards what I'm after, so at this point I'm mostly sorting through those for the best handling without focus on tractive capability.

(comments text is mostly paraphrased from various tirerack comparison test reports)

In reply to akylekoz :

Haha - and what tires came OEM?

(apologies if I've missed or not responded to anyone - I really really appreciate all the input)

BFG does offer an all-season version of the Sport Comp-2 now.  I haven't driven it, but based on your parameters it may be something to consider.

Yup, its on the chart - good lookin out!

It could be isolated on my 595s

In reply to Apexcarver :

Yeah, no worries. Like I said, I had heard other suggestions of quality issues, but it was second hand, so who knows. Definitely seems to be more than a couple people with nothing but great experiences, so I think its fair to say quality issue concerns should generally not be considered a detractor for the Federal 595SS. 

At the end of the day for me its the uncertainty of how they will stack up relative to the others, mostly just because they are not in any tirerack tests (not that they are a God, but just a dominating source of tire info and reference). If price was higher on my priority list, then they would be my choice no hesitation, but as it is I am willing to pay more if I think it has a better chance of getting me to what I want; and I have now come across some options that give me that feeling.

Another vote for the Firestone Indy 500s (340tw)

thashane said:

Another vote for the Firestone Indy 500s (340tw)

Interesting - any reasoning why? Its hard to factor in without some context.

Your post also made me think to include treadwear in my table so just added for all the tires. Surprisingly the Federal 595 is only 240 (though it is also hard to find reliable info/numbers on those on the websites that list them). 

ol doc gully said:

thashane said:

Another vote for the Firestone Indy 500s (340tw)

Interesting - any reasoning why? Its hard to factor in without some context.

Your post also made me think to include treadwear in my table so just added for all the tires. Surprisingly the Federal 595 is only 240 (though it is also hard to find reliable info/numbers on those on the websites that list them). 

To be fair I haven't run them on a heavy rwd car, but I've had them plenty of sideways, and it was very linear. They have plenty of grip for backroad twisties, almost too much depending on how tight the roads are. But I don't think they are as sticky as the Michelin pilot sports.