How hardcore of tires on DD?

The S2000 needs new tires. I'm debating whether to go with a more hardcore 200 rating tire (rivals, Direzza ZII, Potenza RE11) or something still performance, but toned down a bit; 320 rating like a G-Force Sport or Extreme Contact DW.

Car is mostly DD, but I plan to do plenty of auto-x. Maybe a track day or two, but if I do those more regularly will invest in a spare set of wheels and tires.

Strongly leaning towards the BFG G-Force Sports. Back when I did the Skip Barber school, all the cars were running those and they performed quite well. Should be up to the rigors I will put them to even if they give up a bit of grip, but balanced against lower price, longer life, and better hydroplaning resistance.

If you are already committed to a spare set for race tires... get something comfortable and sporty that will last you a while.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: If you are already committed to a spare set for race tires... get something comfortable and sporty that will last you a while.

This. I vote for the continental dw. Brother has them on his rx8 and is a big fan. Perfect DD performance tire.

Another vote for the conti dw, I have them on the Z4M, which doesn't get tracked, and they are a great sporty DD tire, great in the wet, but they could handle Autox or track days occasionally with no problem, and will wear much better than Rivals etc.

I'd go hardcore. I run that class of tire on my daily drivers, and still get 20k or so out of them. That's almost two years in my case. Just fine by me.

I'm running on Toyo R1Rs for daily rubber - but that's because I'm still burning off the race tires from the Targa Newfoundland. It's kinda fun to have a scrutineering stamp on the sidewalls of your daily...

I'm a big fan of the ZII. It's a pretty impressive tire for all-around use, including heavy rain.

If you drive the car less than 10k miles per year, you can get away with streeting EPS tires. More than that, and you should get separate track wheels and run UHPS/MPS tires on the street.

I vote Conti DW. Spectacular tire in wet conditions, which is one of the main reasons I bought them the first time. They are the first tire I've ever bought more than twice too, which is a measure of how much I like them. They seem to last pretty well, aren't noisy, and don't really have any bad habits.

I leave the Star Specs on the meotter five months out of the year.

I LOVE the Conti DWs I recently put on my NC Miata.

Comfy, quiet, good feel, talk to you at the limit, great in the wet and awesome dry grip.

I honestly don't see the need for a stickier tire on a DD.

I ran Z1's and ZII's on the Mazda2 and loved them. Great in the dry and great in the wet right up until they weren't which was about 13k miles and something like 30 autocrosses. This put me on new tires about once a year but meant that I was always on good rubber and never had to change tires to go play or at the end of the day. Loved it.

A6 if it doesn't rain much where you are

Everyone complains about how harsh the Comp-2s are. I don't see it. They're one of the cushiest tires I've ever used. I've used R-comps to DD, as well as a few different EHP summer tires, as well as plenty of high-performance all seasons(and round/black's too). The BFG's are AMAZING in the rain. If the conti is any softer in the sidewall than the comp-2's, I wouldn't touch them. The BFG's plain STICK, too. Turn in and initial grip isn't as strong as my Z1SS's were, but once warmed up, mid-corner is just as good. Considering how inexpensive they are, they're worth their weight in gold, IMO. Be forewarned, they DO run VERY wide. The 225's I run on my pig are easily as wide as many other 235/245's.

Yet another vote for the Conti DW. I have a set on my daily E46 with at least 20k - and closer to 30k - on them. Great in all but snowy conditions, and I autox half a dozen times a year on them. They still look and feel great.

I have DZ-I Star Specs on DD#1's Impreza wagon, and they're a year old and going strong. I have all-season / snow tires for both cars that are on from December to March or so.

The main issue I have with a lot of the higher performance than continental dw tires is they need some time to warm up when it's 60° and below and they suck in the rain. Oh and they're typically noisy. This gets old quickly for me. I'd rather give up a small bit of grip/performance to have confidence in the rain and quiet tires when above 50 mph.

Re11a's they are the best max performance tire for a daily driver. Have them on the wife's mr2 and can't say a bad thing about them.

I would say that it depends on how much you drive daily and how serious you are with auto-x. If you're not serious about winning, you can just go with the Extreme Contact DW's and be done. If you want to win, you should get a summer tire slightly harder for daily use and get ZIIs or Rivals on a spare set of wheels. I have Extreme Contact DWs on my Camaro and they're really good on the street and the autocross course.

I've been really impressed with the wet/dry performance of the RS3's down here in the wetlands of central Florida. I've put about 12k miles on them and they were used autocross tires when I bought them. Still decent life left

Daily driver miata is on ZIIs in the summer, no regrets so far. (ZIIs replaced RE11s) but I haven't had them in an extreme downpour highway situation (in the several months they have been on the car)

I went A/S for my DD and summer for my toy. Conti DWS for the Volvo and Pilot A/S 3 on the BMW. Absolutely zero complaints with either. Would buy both tires again in a heart beat.

My reason for A/S is 35-40 degree mornings. I had summer tires before and it was too slick till I warmed it up.

SnowMongoose wrote: I leave the Star Specs on the meotter five months out of the year.

I ran star Specs 24/7 on my 318ti.. I even drove on them in winter through snow.

Not committed to getting a second set. But, if I find the HPDE bug bites me again, then I would pick some up.

Not hard core about bringing home trophies, but I like to make a good showing.

Who is the manufacturer on the Comp2? Or is that the BFG G-Force? I was leaning toward those over the DW as a very comparable tire that is supposed to be almost as good in the wet, but withe noticeably sharper turn in.

Don't need all season because I will use the van in the winter.

Yeah, BFG G-Force Sport Comp2's. I think they punch above their class. Rumor is its the old PS2 compound, they're way better than the old GFS's.

Just bought my second set of Dunlops. I've got two full years (probably 8 to 10k street miles) and probably about 20 autox's out of the first set of Star Specs, and only bought the second set (Z2's) because no one could tell me for sure Dunlop would still be making 14 inch tires when the Z2's were phased out. (The preliminary size list for the Z2's replacement indicates they will). I will probably get a few thousand more street miles and a couple more autox's from them before its time to change them out. Allegedly, the Z2's actually wear a little bit better than Star Specs.

For reference - this is on a 94 Miata.

As a slightly less aggressive option, based on a recommendation from the Tire Rack, I put these on my SE-R: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+Z+III&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=25YR7HTRZ3&tab=Sizes Pretty decent as a DD tire and respectable at autox. Cheap enough I never felt bad beating on them.