What are we liking these days for performance street tires?

02Pilot said:

I've had the BFG Sport-Comp 2s on a couple cars and been very happy with them except that they don't last quite as long as I'd like. Went to the Comp 2 A/S on my 128i to see if I could get a little more life out of them - so far been quite happy with these too. Both are exceptional rain tires, BTW.

I just picked up a set of General AS-05 for my GTI, they are supposed to compare well with the BFG Comp2 A/S. Ive had good luck running the Generals truck and snow tires, so Im eager to see how these work out. 

ProDarwin said:

KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) said:

I think you're all overthinking this.  Tires are either for competition use (treadwear limits and class rules being your only concern) or street use.  Street use should never approach the limits of any new tire.

You never spin the tires in the rain?

I agree, you don't need to corner at 10/10ths on the street.  But one nice thing is having that overhead if you need it.  Also 5/10ths of a good tire is a lot better than 5/10ths of a E36 M3ty tire.

This.  Tires are safety devices, I want good ones.  Especially in the rain.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) said:

Street use should never approach the limits of any new tire. So while the ECS is great if you are tracking in the wet, and the RE-71 is awesome in the dry, for a DD a competent all season is really all you need at which point treadlife and cost are your guiding factors. 

I make a similar argument, but I think there's performance envelop grey area for mildly irresponsible behavior where a summer tire still exceeds what an all season can do. There's no question all seasons have really improved and I might change my tune in 5-10 years. There's also the question of the "extra" capabilities available in case of emergency avoidance, particularly if you've already used up 7/10ths. I don't think a 200TW tire is ever needed on the street, but they do have a nice responsiveness/fun feel. The great thing about the Firestone Indy 500s mentioned by others is the responsiveness, extra headroom and low price. Additionally, if you wanted to do a random autoX or track night, you have something that could work.

I'm still very impressed with the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 that I put on my Ralliart wagon last fall.

If they came in a size for 15 inch wheels, I would buy a set for my miata. 

I found them acceptable for autocross on the Ralliart, which is good since my usual combination is a set of RE-71S on an ES 99 Miata sport.

I wonder if anyone has any experience with the Firehawks doing track laps? I'm going to need tires for my WRX, and I only have one set of wheels.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm still very impressed with the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 that I put on my Ralliart wagon last fall.

If they came in a size for 15 inch wheels, I would buy a set for my miata. 

They do come in Miata compatible 205/45/16 and 205/40/17, but there are other options for similar money in 15" sizes.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I've done open lapping with the Indy 500's in the past in my Legacy Wagon and E28, they hold up fine. The Hankook RS-4 I run now handle constant lapping better and have a performance edge but for a tire that is regularly used on the street with occasional track/autocross they are great.

I'm debating a set of these, Falken RT-615K+ or Conti ECS for my second set of wheels for the E28 as rain tires/drive to event tires and getting a budget R-compound tire (Nankang AR-1) for dry track sessions in the future.

Anybody have first hand experience with the General G-Max RS? The feedback I've found generally puts them as comparable to, if not overall slightly better than, the Indy 500 as an affordable performance street tire.

Indy 500's for a street car with an occasional autocross.  RS4'S for an autocross or track day car that occasionally goes on the street.

With a 4,000 Lbs.Crown Vic running 225/45/17 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s in Four Autox events, Two being in the rain, The tires has only burned through 4/32 Tread. Highly Recommended on this side.

Another vote for the Indy 500's as well. They felt like the older RE-11, but a little quieter.

Just mounted a set of Falken Azenis RT-615K+ on the S2000, and so far have not been able to find their grip limits in  the canyons, even at extra-legal accelerations and through light sand leftover from snow mitigation.  They seem like they might be a hydroplane risk at anything resembling a downpour though (much more so than the Direzza ZII they replaced). 

I'm leaning towards the Firehawks for the new wheels I'm funding from leftover Caddy LS stuff.  Only negative I have heard is that they run narrow.

In reply to 84FSP :

I want to add that I'm quite impressed with the Firehawks in the rain, at least when they're fresh.

Soon after I bought them, I drove at highway speed in a Florida level of very heavy rain (which makes sense if you've ever experienced it), and was amazed at their ability.

I was running Continental Extreme Contact Sport on my last NC. 

Might be off topic at this point but i got curious and looked at the Tiger Paw sizes and noticed they seem to all be on closeout at Tire Rack with pretty reasonable prices.

Strike_Zero said:

I'm running Federal Evoluzion ST-1. So far, they have been 90-95% of Pilot Super Sports (stock for my vehicle) at ~33% of the price. All with very minor downsides.

My thoughts are here.

I think I'm going to give these a shot as a street summer tire for my mk2 Golf.  I have dedicated track wheels / rubber, and the car doesn't see bad weather or winter use.  

They're silly cheap and available in a fairly oddball 195/40/16 that I want to run on a set of 16's that I just picked up for street use so it's great to hear somebody on here actually give them a nod as not garbage.  

Of note from earlier discussion, I run the Indy 500's in 235/35/19 on my 335D as summer daily tires as that's my actual DD and I love them.  

Since this thread got brought back up...seems like indy 500s have gotten expensive recently, to the extent that most sizes are within $10 of the conti ECS which makes it hard to recommend the indy 500s unless you need a size that the ECS doesn't come in.

Yoko AD08R is my favorite. Run it on a few cars. 
 

one of my cars has Continental extreme contact sport . For a cheap tire - I am happy with it. 
 

0 rain for me 

I have a few weeks and 1k miles on the fire hawks in 255/45/18.  They are a nice 15% better than the BFG Sport Comp II's I've been running.  Nice grip in the dry as well as good wet manners.

Where do I find previous Monthly Articles by Subject Matter? I am looking to purchase new Track Time tires (225x45-17 94Z) for a modified (313WHP, 12-inch Brembos on all 4 corners, Quaiffe LSD F+R) 2002 WRX Wagon. Wheels are Enkei RS-1  17x8 units.

In reply to dps214 :

Firehawk Indy 500s are a much better rain tire than the ECS. Better rain tire than the former EC DWs which are better than the ECSs and have almost as much dry grip as the ECS but better breakaway feel over its limit . The Firehawk Indy 500s are the best all around street tire I've driven on - absolutely spectacular in both the pouring rain with standing water and on dry sunny days... If they came in needed size for AW11 MR2 I would absolutely get them for it... unfortunately neither they or the ECS come in AW11 MR2 fitment size needed.

I did a track day in the rain on stock size Continental ECS with my stock suspension 2015 WRX and I was able to consistently get 1G in the corners. They are fantastic in the rain.

Have been caught out on my ECSs in temps as low as 31F with slushy rain.  They are remarkably competent.  No "glass-over" like I have experienced at low temps with other summer-only tires (traction goes from "there" to nonexistent with no progression).  To be sure, the limits are a bit lower when in near-freezing rain, but they're still incredible compared to an all-season.

Forecast calls for actual snow next week, so they're coming off for storage.  Not bad, tires.  Not bad at all.   About the worst I can say is they seem to chunk the edges of the tread grooves rather than wear smoothly.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Have been caught out on my ECSs in temps as low as 31F with slushy rain.  They are remarkably competent.  No "glass-over" like I have experienced at low temps with other summer-only tires (traction goes from "there" to nonexistent with no progression).  To be sure, the limits are a bit lower when in near-freezing rain, but they're still incredible compared to an all-season.

 

Forecast calls for actual snow next week, so they're coming off for storage.  Not bad, tires.  Not bad at all.   About the worst I can say is they seem to chunk the edges of the tread grooves rather than wear smoothly.

I agree on the ECS cold weather performance.  It's darn good.  I've been running them as summers on the E38.  My only complaints are that they're loud on anything other than glassy smooth pavement (louder than my Blizzaks highway speed).  And they're a bit draggy (same mpg as Blizzaks and they turned in pretty bad mpg numbers in the tire Tire Rack tests).  

Happy with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my Golf R.  Handle really well, ride well, good in the wet.  The Falken RT615k+ have been decent on the 996 Turbo.  I'm on my second set of rear tires, once I blow through those the fronts should be done too and I'll most likely try something else.  Either the Yokohama A052's , BFG Rival S's or the Falken RT660's.

Pouring rain at our last autocross last week. I was second in ES on Rivals, class winner winner was on Indy 500s. I was 1.273 seconds back. We're usually within a few tenths or hundredths apart. He was in the top 10 raw time. I think I was 13th.

I wish I could get the Indy 500s in a 15 inch. I can't run the 16s, since my 99 is limited to a 6 inch wheel.