NASIOC specific tire review (please respond)

[phillepe]

1. Cooper ZEON ZPT

2. Rapid City, SD

3. mostly highway, some autocross

4.90% Normal driving, 10% Autocross.

5. I like these tires. better than stock by yards! It hasn't rained yet so I'll let everyone know about the traction in the wet. But the Dry traction is great for an allseason UHP tire. I hope it holds up when I autocross them tomorrow. I took them for a "spirited" drive the other day, and they held up pretty good in the tight corners. I haven't been able to break them loose at while driving at normal speeds, but i did get them spinning on a hard launch.

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[Maximpaul]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)
Pirelli P-Zero Nero 225/45/17

#2.) what is your geographic location
Southern CA

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)
Canyons

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving
25/75


#5.) your review and personal comments
Decent grip, could be much better. Adequate over short distances, but overheat very easily and quickly, and severly lose grip. I can't make it all the way up my favorite 5.5mi hill without major tire fade. Horrible treadwear, they were at about 50-60% when I got the car three weeks ago, and my fronts are already totally gone, and rears are low on tread, too. They're decent daily driver/ spirited drive tires, but they fall short under hard usage.

[jftam]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

Kumho SPT KU31, 215/45/R17

#2.) what is your geographic location

Vancouver, BC, Canada

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

1 AutoX and 1 track day

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

80% city

#5.) your review and personal comments

My first set of high performance summer tires. My old tires were Bridgestone RE950 all-seasons with about 30-40% tread left. I've got about 1000 km on the SPT's now.

Initial thoughts on getting the SPT's, they felt more comfortable. Going over bumps was not as crashy as the RE950's surprisingly. Unfortunately, turn-in does not feel as sharp, but given the increase in comfort, it's worth the trade off IMO. Does this mean that the Bridgestones had much stiffer sidewalls? I'm running the SPT's at 38 psi front / 37 psi rear and they feel softer than my RE950's with 35 psi front / 34 psi rear.

Noise levels, the SPT's are quieter, but the RE950's are much more worn so hard to say if it's a fair comparison.

Grip during regular driving around town, I surprisingly did not notice anything different from my RE950's at first. Didn't know what the fuss about summer tires was and started to wonder why I didn't just get the Pirelli P-Zero Neros M&S.

Then I went to track last week and man what a difference! I'd done another HPDE in April on the RE950's and was slip-sliding everywhere and couldn't really keep up. With the SPT's I was holding my own and had a TON more fun. On one particular sweeper after a straight, I had to moderately brake with the RE950's or else go off onto the dirt. With the SPT's, it was a small tap of the brakes to set the car and let car drift to the edge.

The turn-in response on the track was more than adequate, with a small amount of chirp-chirping at the limits. It did get a bit squirmy on a couple of occassions under heavy braking, but easily corrected.

Overall I'm quite happy with the tires and you can't beat the price!

Wish I had more tires to compare it to, but I'd have to say the SPT's are the ones I like the most. Ranked as follows (car mounted on):

1. Kumho SPT's (WRX)
2. Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S (wife's 2001 Celica GT-S)
3. Dunlop SP5000 (my previous '99 Civic SiR)
4. Bridgestone RE950 (WRX)
5. Bridgestone RE92 (WRX)
6. Michelin XGT-V4 (Civic SiR)

Wonder if I can keep the SPT's on during Vancouver's mild winters?? Hmmm...

[Erod45]

#1 What tire?
Yokohama AVS Db S2 205/60/15 on a 99' OBS

#2 Where are you located?
Houston, Texas

#3 What type of driving events?
None - just to places I need to go

#4 Highway/city driving
80% hwy/20% city

#5 your personal review

I orignally had the BF Goodrich Radial T/A that came stock on the car, so that is what I am comparing it too. First off, these tires are dead quiet compared to the BFG's. I was thoroughly impressed and Yokohama's claim of it being quiet is very true.

These tires have a much better grip in the dry compared to the BFG's. I can take corners about 10mph faster now with hardly any tire squeal. I know I can probably go faster, but I didn't want to push it, since I was in a public street. I had minor suspension work done about 20,000 miles after the Yoko's were placed (KYB GR-2's, 18mm rear sway bar, rear strut tower bar all on stock springs) and I feel that I should've have done that alot sooner. The car now handles alot better than before and I am finding myself continually pushing the car more as I drive, trying to find it's limits. The car doesn't lean as much as it did prior to the suspension changes. It corners flatter with hardly any body roll.

These tires tend to hydroplane a little more than the BFG's. Before, I can bulldoze through a pubble of water at hwy speeds with hardly a twitch in the car or steering wheel. The car still bulldozes through those puddles, but the car tends to veer off towards the puddle with minor steering wheel corrections needed. It also handles much better in the wet than the BFG's. Before I was able to throw the back end out for a power slide, but with these Yokos, it takes a little more effort to do that. Matter of fact, it has been a while since I was able to throw the back end out in a downpour. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, especially for a Suby owner.

These tires are lasting a very long time. I got them in the summer of 2003 and I still have them on. I am now in the market for some new tires, but it has been 2 years since I have had them and i have logged on about 40,000 miles on them. Not bad for a performance tire. I think their treadwear is 360, which is very good for a performance tire.

Overall, I would get them again, but they are a little pricey. At $80 a tire, I think I am going to try something a little less expensive as to not to hurt the pocket book.

[snvin]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)
Sumitomo HTR+ in 225/45/17

#2.) what is your geographic location
Northern New Jersey

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)
None - Car is my daily driver and has not been tracked yet.

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving
Half and Half

#5.) your review and personal comments
I have been on these tires for 6,000 miles now. My car is a 2004 WRX wagon, which is a Cobb Stage II. So far, I haven't used these tires on snow/ice, but when I do I will post again. In dry weather, these have been pretty good for the money. Initial turn-in is not quite as good as a pure summer tire (turn-in on Yoko ES100s was much better), but it is still way better than the stock Bridgestone RE92s. At first these tires were a little squirrelly (maybe for the first 1,500 miles) but once they got broken in I became much more confident in them. My fronts are showing wear after 6,000 miles, but not an unexpected amount, considering frequent quick starts and hard corners. Based on what I've read, I plan on replacing these at 15,000 miles, but I tend to replace tires early. Even if replaced after 15,000, I still see this tire as a good value. I have read many reviews saying that road noise becomes unbearable at around 15K, but so far, compared to ES100s, these are quiet by my standards. Also, I have taken a couple pretty brutal potholes, and no bubbles.

Edit: 10K on these tires now. They're as good or better than RE92s in the snow... even with that mileage on them.
No complaints about uneven wear, excessive wear, noise, or anything else a handfull on tirerack.com said about these.

[slickvic]

please answer these questions

#1.) Michelin Pilot Sports 245/40/17


#2.) Midwest


#3.) Track days and autox


#4.) 50% highway 50% street


#5.) When comparing these to a 225/45/17 Falken Ziex 512 they are significantly superior in dry traction (go figure right, both being vastly superior to the re92s) and seem to provide more crisp steering inputs which I believe is due to the stiffer sidewall. Wet traction is about equal for these two, which I was a little surprised at. These do make more road noise, but it isn't too bad.

[nate49509]

[quote=Luke@tirerack]please answer these questions

#1.) Hankook Ventus R-S2


#2.) Michigan


#3.) Auto-x, street


#4.) 30% city/ 70% highway


#5.) So far I'm loving these tires. They have tons of grip that you can really feel. They ride quiet, and don't feel hard like my Azenis were. The sidewall dosen't feel as stiff, but its never been a problem. They also feel pretty secure in the rain and standing water. I'd give them an 9 out of 10.

[GC84ever]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

Pirelli PZero Nero M+S (215/45/17)

#2.) what is your geographic location

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

Friday night AutoX

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

30% hwy, 70% city

#5.) your review and personal comments

Well these are awesome tires. Lots of grip in the dry and in the wet. I don't find them noisy in everyday driving. But these are not good autoX tires. I think they might be a little soft for the demands of autoX. After a couple of night of really hard driving the outside edge wore down alot. It was really noticable when driving in a heavy down poor. they didn't feel like they were gripping as well in the wet anymore, still have grip don't get me wrong. But the lost grooves on the sides made a difference.
now the big question, would I buy them again? Yeah. It's a great tire!

[againstdan]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

nitto neo-gen 225/40ZR18 92W on 18in prodrive P1

#2.) what is your geographic location

Inland Southern california

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

Canyon runs and agressive street driving

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

50/50


#5.) your review and personal comments
these tires are great, the grip that i have experienced from these tires is spot on. they offer a great smooth road feel and communicate to the driver very well. wet grip is outstanding! they are wearing very nicely and look damn good also. great bang for your buck tire!

[ThrawlWRX]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

Kumho KU19 225/45-17

#2.) what is your geographic location

OC Southern california

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

Canyon Run's, Very spirited driving.

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

95% city/ 5% highway


#5.) your review and personal comments
These Tires were bought half used with the wheels on ebay... at first I had no idea but found out they were ultra summer. But they handle very well in the rain, and when I rally the canyon I deffinitly enjoy how they feel, with the 45 there is a little give in hard corners but the tires hold very well even on there last legs... I am very happy but they are very hard to find except in the UK.

[LongBeachWRBwrx]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

bfgoodrich gforce sports 225/50/16

#2.) what is your geographic location

san diego, ca

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

Canyon runs and agressive street driving

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

alot of canyons and some city on the way to work


#5.) your review and personal comments
my a hole nieghbor put a screw in my tire becaus i reported him for leaving his 3 year old home alone so i bought 4 new tires since I HATED the stock re92's that would always roll over and squeel like heck and slide all over the place. I went with the 225's and was eager as all heck to drive it and to my suprise they were awesome, i thought they wouldnt be so good since they were cheap 446 all four out the door, mount, balance, lifetime rotation and balancing with lifetime full replacement road hazard from discount tire ( americas tire co). Cosco had em cheap but thier road hazzard is prorated. anyways, i took some corners i would usually slide through, not a peep from these, no squell no roll over nothing it was like the damn car was on rails. I LOVE EM, thanks to the neighbor who put a screw in my sidewall, i love these tires. I have to learn how to drive the car aggressive all over again now, its great

[AnAnimal2]

Anyone else have the sidewall tear at the raised lettering on your Bridgestone Potenze Tires ?

It seems that the tires supplied with my Vehicle the Bridgetone Potenzas are Not what they seem at first glance . The Bridgestone potenza does give great traction in all conditions , but it seems that the tires , are not what they seem ,
1st ) you get the slightest nick , or just have the tire rub up against anything the black on the side wall comes off leaving you with White Marks of the tires underlying rubber , In all the years I have bought tire I have never seen a tire , that exposes the white color , underneath and leaves you with a ugly mess.
2nd ) There is a major problem with the Bridgestone Potenza tires , when I bought my Baja I knew I was getting a little truck (not really , found out my state classified the Baja a truck so I have to pay the same registration as A Ford 350, or Chevy silverado truck .yet all those large Suv get away being called a car and get cheeper registration fees)
Getting back to the tires we have three Subarus with the Bridgestone Potenza tires , two being Baja's well the bridgestone tires have no more than 1/8 inch side walls and what happens is if you scrap a curb parrallel parking you not only get the tire showing white , if you hit it right the raised lettering on the Bridgestone Potenzas will not only scape the tire but the raised lettering will tear out and destroy your tire .Seriously the raised lettering is a weak spot that will just tear out leaving you with the cost of buying a new tire .
Out of the 3 subarus with the Potenza tires we have had 3 tires destroyed , the first one happened when pulling off the shoulder onto the road the tires raised lettering tore on that one and ruined the tire. The first time I was ipset with my son figuring he hit something , He insisted he did not, the second time was just a minor curb scrap , and we lost that tire . Now it was my turn I was Parrallel parking and scraped the curb , it caught the " O letter " of the word Potenza and tore it off and ripped the tires sidewal, upon further looking there is only about 1/8 of an inch sidewall which is why the thing tore .
It worries me now that with the Bajas , I have driven them on the beach (got the white see thru rubber just from the sand abrasion, ) and have taken the Bajas on dirt roads . Not a good tire to have on an all wheel drive vehicle especially if you get off road and have your side wall rip open .
Subaru should DUmp BRIDGESTONE and put on a safer tire , I am also worried now on the highway with the cheep construction of the BRIDGESTONE POTENZA TIRES ABOUT A BLOW OUT FROM SOMETHING ON THE ROAD HITTING THE SIDEWALL. i ALSO HEARD YESTERDAY THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER PERSON WITH A SUBARU WITH THE BRIDGESTONE TIRES THAT EXPERIENCED THE SAME TYPE OF TEARING . (i SEEM TO REMEMBER , fIRESTONE MAKES BRIDGESTONE (REMEMBER THERE TIRES , THEY WOULD BLOW CAUSING DEATH )

wWATCH YOUR TIRES , A HAZZARDDOUS AND DANGEROUS TIRE IN MY OPION , i AM GOING TO SEND A LETTER TO THE NTSB AND SEE WHAT THEY SAY

[nate.the.great]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

Pirelli PZeroNero M+S
215/40/18


#2.) what is your geographic location

Chicago, IL


#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

Occasional track days. (I did one over the summer on these.)


#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

30% highway, 70% city


#5.) your review and personal comments

This is a really good year round tire. It performed very well at the track, and it performs well at freezing temperatures (7F). It's not noisy, and the wear well.

My complaints are... The sidewall is too soft. I would prefer something with a stiffer sidewall esp. because I'm running a 40 profile tire on 18s. I have a bend in my wheel now, and I think it could've been avoided with a stiffer sidewall. Also, I wish it had "curb feelers" to protect you from curbing your rim. They don't perform well in ice or snow, but that is to be expected. I just went out in heavy snow and this tire is bearable and safe, but no fun. I am going to run a set of dedicated winter tires this winter.

[fourdegrees]

please answer these questions

Q#1.) what tire are you offering for review

A: Falken FK451 225/45/17

Q#2.) what is your geographic location

A: Southeast AZ

Q#3.) what types of driving events if any

A: None

Q#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

A: 90% Urban, 10% Highway

Q#5.) your review and personal comments

A: I have recently switched from Bridgestone RE70s to the Falkens based on advice from this board. The Bridgestones had reached the end of their effective life, but I had also found them to be a bit on the harsh side due to their extremely stiff sidewall. I always appreciated their maximum grip though, and wanted to get a tire that was close to that perormance level, but not quite as compromised in the area of ride quality. For any of you who live in Tucson, or have visited, know that the roads are terrible. Small expansion joint bumps, washboard roads, and the constant presence of construction equipment tearing up the roads make it an easy place to expose less than compliant tires. Also, on long trips the car seemed to be making a real effort to reach 80 mph due to the rough riding tires. After my drive last night I can tell you that the Falkens handle Highway driving 100 percent better than the RE70s. There were a few times that I had to look down to realize that I was actually going 80 because of the compusure of the car. The tires smoothed everything out for me. Road noise was so minimal, that I could actually here my stromung exhuast at highway speeds, which I could never do with the RE70s. I haven't really seen any rain yet, so I can't comment on that area of the tires performance. I'll also add to the review when I get a chance to get out of town and drive some challenging roads for comparison. I have a feeling that the falkens will give a little to the bridgestones in terms of ulimate grip. However, I feel that they will perform admirably, without the cost of being so hard to live with from day to day.

[nutzkicker617]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

225/35/18 Yokohama Parada Spec 2

#2.) what is your geographic location

So Cal *pasadena area*

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

"spirited driving" on local roads and freeways

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

80% city 20% highway

#5.) your review and personal comments

They are great.

[semabe]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

205/55/16 Continental Extreme Contact

#2.) what is your geographic location

South Pasadena, CA

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

No events, occasional dirt for fun

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

80% Highway 20% City

#5.) your review and personal comments

I put about 35K miles on these tires before replacing them due to a blowout this week. My Impressions:
Dry: Overall, it is good for an all season but not up to the levels of a PZero Nero or KDWS. Initial turn in is mushy. It helps to put the tire pressures up to 36F/33R. Maximum grip is middling, but breakaway seems very predictable and easily controlled.

Wet: Grip is phenomenal, I put probably 20K mi on them in the rain last year. No hydroplaning whatsoever. Nearly felt like the ground was dry.

Snow: Deep snow driving is probably a 7/10....they get a little squirrely in slush but handle deep snow and surprisingly ice quite well. Not as good as a dedicated snow, but one of the best all seasons I've tried. Got me through 36" of new snow on top of a foot of crap with no issues.

Ride/Noise: Ride was nothing to write home about, RE92's were better in this regard. Noise was this tires achilles heel. Awful on CA's concrete highways. After 25k mi, unbearably loud, to the point where I thought I had bad wheel bearings. They also had a habit of flat spotting on cold mornings and that contributed to the experience. Also, with multiple balancings, they had a bit of a vibration issue. I think one or more may have been out of round but the tire dealer claimed they were in spec.

Overall: Decent performing all season for the money, will not buy again due to noise/vibration issues.

Recently replaced with Kumho Ecsta ASX, will review in about 2 months.

[Sideshowbob]

I want more RS-2 reviews!!!!

Also, anyone on the T-1R's yet?

[allythom]

Originally Posted by semabe

After 25k mi, unbearably loud, to the point where I thought I had bad wheel bearings.

I had exactly the same issue with my Conti Extreme Contacts. Horribly noisy, thought I had a bad bearing. Other than that, a pretty good tyre, I would agree pretty much word for word with what you said.

Replaced mine for the winter with Dunlop M3 Wintersports, so far -so good. Will post a proper review once I have some more miles on them.

[jirzyk]

Yokohama AVS Sports

225/45/17

no events to date (unless you count rallying snake hill after a few cocktails)

Location: New Enland Area USA

70 city / 30 highway (however, more highway miles than city)

Tires are good. Received great reviews on the net from people that drive spirited(...in real cars). Not as good as I thought they would be on wet, but good. Grab pretty hard, but can break loose easy if you try. Best of both worlds.

I drive an 04 WRX.

[Crashteam]

1. Sumitomo HTR+
2. 205/55/16
3. Spirted Driving only
4. West central Ill.
5 80% city 20% highway

Swaped these babys on last weekend, since then I was able to test them out on some twisty roads while, dry, A+ there, It rained, Good, solid wet traction A, And it snowed about an inch and a half, Great snow traction, Hardly even noticed you were on snow A+
Overall Sweet and inexpensive tires (Sears, 4 tires+Mounting/balancing= $480)

[Jim Sanchez]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 225/45-17

#2.) what is your geographic location
Tucson Arizona

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)
Street Only

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving
20% Highway 80% City

#5.) your review and personal comments
I bought these to reduce the road noise and roughness going over rough pavement. These things just work wonderfully for me. Quiet and MUCH smoother than the OEM stuff with great albeit different handling. Expensive but worth every penny.

[spitfirezip100]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)
Toyo Proxies FZ4 M+s 215/45/17 on Enkei nt03+m's in 17x8 (I know the tires are a bit small for the 8 inch rim, but I bought them and the wheels used for a really good price)

#2.) what is your geographic location
Sunny SoCal

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)
Track events

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving
40/60

#5.) your review and personal comments
terrible for the track. no traction at turn in, exacerbates understeer, severe chunking (very severe after just one all day track event with these tires, yes I know that understeer is what caused the chunking).. maybe it's because the tires are too thin for the 8 inch rims, but i think that they don't really have any sidewalls... squeal like a pig at relatively low speeds around corners... maybe good for mud and snow... I had michelin pilot exalto's before on my stock rims, and I think that they had much more traction and was an all around better tire.

[Moriarty]

Originally Posted by BeantownWRX

I want more RS-2 reviews!!!!

Also, anyone on the T-1R's yet?

I drove they ps2's on 18" X 8" SSR Comps. They were way to sloppy for Canyoun style driving. They would hit a bump in the middle of a high speed {lateral G] turn and bounce around, thus losing any grip. I traded them in for the F-1 gs d-3's. I will never go back. The only draw back to the F-1's is you can go into a corner so hard that your bottom lip starts to quiver a bit.

[SubaDuba420]

Falken Azenis ST115 size 215/45/17 on 17x7 rims

New England/RI (I have snow tires)

25% highway / 25% city / 50% fast flowing back roads

So far I have about 1,200 miles on the tires and I love them, no complaints so far. Performance comparisons are difficult as I had my RE92's for under 3k miles before I put the snow tires on and I can't really compare them to the snow tire performance.

That being said they have made a tremendous difference in the cars handling, very quiet, look good and considering the profile handle bumps very well. No squealing around corners, relatively firm sidewalls with good turn-in feel. Extremely happy considering the price, $70/$82 shipped each. Considering they cost 1/2 what the Goodyear F1's on my M3 cost they are an even a better deal, I'd say 93% of the F1 performance for 50% of the cost.

My opinion on the ST115's =

[sean10mm]

#1.) what tire are you offering for review (please include size)

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 215/45ZR17 91W

#2.) what is your geographic location

Northern Texas

#3.) what types of driving events if any (i.e. track, AutoX, RallyX)

None.

#4.) percent of highway vs. city driving

40/60

#5.) your review and personal comments

These are the first new tires I've purchased for my WRX. They replaced the stock RE92s. I was tired of their scary-bad wet performance and poor dry performance.

Wet performance: These tires are God's gift to driving in the rain. Their wet traction is awesome. Somebody called them "rain forrest tires", and they were right. Vastly better in the rain than the RE92s. The wet traction improvement alone is worth the money.

Dry performance: Much improved, as you'd expect. The handling of the car is literally transformed.

Noise/harshness: As quiet, if not quieter. Ride is marginally firmer.

To conclude: