What are the most expensive/nicest tires/tyres you've purchased for your car?

[Scott]

Yep, I used them for autocross, and you would be correct on the greasiness... only tried that once.

 

[edkwon]

those Falkens are great all season tires, I used to have a set for my old WRX as winter tires.

 

[The_Finn]

those Falkens are great all season tires, I used to have a set for my old WRX as winter tires.

Not RT-615s you didn't. They are most definitly NOT winter tires... you must be thinking another kind of falken

 

[Scott]

Not RT-615s you didn't. They are most definitly NOT winter tires... you must be thinking another kind of falken

LOL, you beat me to it, those tires would be ice skates in the winter! :lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[The_Finn]

LOL, you beat me to it, those tires would be ice skates in the winter! :lol::lol::lol::lol:

i speak from experience when i say they sure are. last year trying to eek out as much time as we could (also kinda lazy) resulted in my father and i having to drive home from my cousins in the snow... worst car experience of my life 30 min of pure hell

 

[Scott]

I watched a guy try to drive in a snow storm with a 20th Anniversary GTI on Pilot Sports, man was that insane... he had NO traction at all! Speaking of which, I think I will be changing my wheels over to the winter stuff in a week or so, the cold is really starting to show (more tire noise and goofy handling in the twisties on the way to work) on my summer tires.

 

[Nocturnal]

+1 for A048s, though I usually opt for Toyo R888s as theyre almost half-the price. The only real difference is the A048s are grippy out of the box, whereas R888s need a good heat-cycle through them first.

 

[NooDle]

^ You had to put them on your Astra, bit OTT?

yup, and after reviewing the invoice, it was even more expensive : 125? a corner, making 500? in all. Ouch.
For some reason my Astra has 195/60/15s instead of the standard 195/65/15, which limited my choice severely.
Because the "regular" tyres are rated to 210 kph (H), but my car is faster than that I had to get the "highspeed" ones that go to 240 kph (V)
Yes it is that quick. No I didn't do anything to it.

Car is on "winter" tyres now though. Some crappy brand i've never heard of, but they do work in the cold/snow.

 

[SL65]

205/50/R16 Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE001's @ $198 ($130 USD).

http://img201.imageshack.**/img201/5978/img0504smalloy9.jpg

Excellent grip in the wet and dry. And quieter all-round than the Dunlop tyres I had on before. HOWEVER - it wearing really fast and I will not buy them again. I'll probably look at Dunlop SP Sport Maxx or SP Sport 9000's for my next tyre. Anyone with experience with those tyres?

 

[Heyl]

Yeah, I've got the sp9000's, 225/45R17, I only had them for a week though before I had to change to the winter tires. (Continental conti viking contact 5, whew, long name)
Compared to the Kumhos that were on before, they are much better, really grippy both in the dry and especially in the wet. Pretty quiet aswell when you get up to speed, can be a bit noisy when you go slower. However, the Kumhos roared much more.

 

[No Boss]

I currently have a set of Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs, and yes I am an autocross guy. Great tires and I would recommend them for anyone who enjoys spirited driving. Fantastic grip for a true street tire with a 200 tread ware rating, especially initial grip before they are properly heated. It allows me to make my first run at a much higher rate of attack. Though it does seem they have goe up in price as I bought them at 150 flat per corner.

Link

How's their wet handling performance? They appear to have good aqua channel grooves. My only criteria for good sticky summer rubber is they have to be able to channel water well and not make my hydroplane if i hit some deep freeway puddles on a rainy day.

Those were my summer tires too. I got about 7k-10k miles on them since I bought them around midsummer, and have about 5k-10k worth of tread left on them depending on how I drive. The grip on these was RIDICULOUS. No matter how hard I tried, and damnit did I ever try, to squeal the tires, they never played ball. Always had constant grip. On the motorway they were quiet and in Comfort mode it was like riding on a big marshmallow. In the rain the were great too, never had a problem with hydroplaning or skidding. Great tire, $700+ for 4 at 18".

My witner tires are the same size, and they are Dunlop Wintersport M3's ($179 each):

These are my winters too. They have 0 grip in the dry, and haven't gotten the chance to run them in the snow yet.... but, c'mon. Look at them, I know they'll grab everything.

 

[NooDle]

while we're comparing tyres, anyone have any experience with Pirelli's?
AFAIK they grip like mad but after 15k kms they're shot to shit....

 

[Nocturnal]

I had P-Zero Rossos on the SX and loved them. They lasted about the same length of time as the Paradas I had on the '5...

 

[edkwon]

Not RT-615s you didn't. They are most definitly NOT winter tires... you must be thinking another kind of falken

Yep my mistake, i was thinking of the Falken Ziex 912s, its been such a long time i forget the tire model number.

 

[TBoneUs]

Those were my summer tires too. I got about 7k-10k miles on them since I bought them around midsummer, and have about 5k-10k worth of tread left on them depending on how I drive. The grip on these was RIDICULOUS. No matter how hard I tried, and damnit did I ever try, to squeal the tires, they never played ball. Always had constant grip. On the motorway they were quiet and in Comfort mode it was like riding on a big marshmallow. In the rain the were great too, never had a problem with hydroplaning or skidding. Great tire, $700+ for 4 at 18".

Well you actually can get them to sequel/break traction, but if you are pushing them that hard on the street you better have assassins chasing you because that is way to fast for street driving.

 

[Twerp128]

The Miata is wearing Bridgestone RE960AS, which are great, next set I may spring for Michellin Pilot Exaltos. The 944 has Goodyear Eagle F1s which are OK. I've owned 4 cars over 4 years and have never ever had to buy tires, and I get a 15% discount at the Tire Rack, and my Uncle will sell me tires for cost if I'm in New Jersey.

 

[MadCow809]

Right now I'm on my second set of Bridgestone Potenza RE050 , they provide great traction in both dry and wet condition. The downside is that the sidewalls are quite stiff (RFT), therefore making the ride very hard and the handling a bit twitchy at the limit. Apart from that, I would give it 8/10 for it's high grip performance.

But soon to be replaced with these...


Pirelli P Zero Rosso

Another 130 owner recommended it to me, rekons that the softer sidewall and grippier compound will offer a better drive at the limit, so that's gonna be my christmas present for myself : p



They are about R4000 a pop, which is roughly about $400 USD per tyre ($1600 for four ). plus I have to replace them every 16month.

 

[H0nzik]

^The tyre in that picture is actually P Zero, not P Zero Rosso.

Noodle, concerning the lifetime of Pirelli tyres, the 15k kms is a bit of an exaggeration, but the 235/45 ZR17 P Zero Rosso on my father's Volvo V70R did only last about 20k kms and he certainly wasn't thrashing it. He now has the Zero Rossos again on his current A6 Allroad (245/45 ZR18) and they still have plenty of thread left after some 13K kms, so I would expect them to last longer on the Audi than on the Volvo. I don't keep too much track of how long do the P Zero Neros (205/45 ZR16) last on my car, as I always just buy a pair as needed, but I reckon they would last about 30k if rotated properly between front and rear. The factory fitted Michelin Pilot Primacy did sure last longer, but Michelins tend to be ridiculously expensive and their performance in the wet was hardly great, particularly with increased wear, whereas the Pirellis perform surprisingly well even if worn. So, the lifetime of the Pirellis isn't great, but I don't think it's anything that exceptional, when compared to the sportier tyres from other manufacturers. I don't think there are any of the tyres from the P Zero range available in the dimension for your car anyway and the wear shouldn't be that catastrophic when it comes to the less sporty tyres.

 

[edkwon]

Pirelli P Zero Rosso

Another 130 owner recommended it to me, rekons that the softer sidewall and grippier compound will offer a better drive at the limit, so that's gonna be my christmas present for myself : p



They are about R4000 a pop, which is roughly about $400 USD per tyre ($1600 for four ). plus I have to replace them every 16month.

Yep, sucks we can't have high traction and high treadwear and good price all in one. That's why i normally try to buy balanced tires for a car that im driving on the urban streeets 90% of my time, its a waste to burn away high end ultra hi-perf tires on the daily commuter grind.

 

[No Boss]

Well you actually can get them to sequel/break traction, but if you are pushing them that hard on the street you better have assassins chasing you because that is way to fast for street driving.

:lol: That's what I figured. It's probably a lot easier on the FWD GTI to break them loose than with the AWD. I do love these tires tho .