Need some help deciding on a summer / autocross / lapping tire!

[P71]

On my FB, which weighs 2500 with me in it, I've gotten 4,000 miles and 75+ autocross runs plus 20 1/4 mile passes so far and they still look new, hardly any wear. I should get 15K and another 2 seasons of autocross easily. I also drive the snot out of my car and go on long drives through the twisty mountain roads.

[Turbo II]

Originally Posted by P71

Gotta read the article, when they re-ran the Rt's they went 34.x's as well

Will do! He only mentioned that one test.

Originally Posted by P71

I personally have the Azenis Rt615's on my RX-7 and I think they are wonderful for street driving and autocrossing.

On my FB, which weighs 2500 with me in it, I've gotten 4,000 miles and 75+ autocross runs plus 20 1/4 mile passes so far and they still look new, hardly any wear. I should get 15K and another 2 seasons of autocross easily. I also drive the snot out of my car and go on long drives through the twisty mountain roads.

I've only had them on mine for only a few months. I've did one very wet track day, which was 2 days after I put them on, where they did much better than I was expecting. On two dry day events and on the street/back road drives they definitely have been very impressive.

[Brent]

I have the RT-615's. I've ran that at the AutoX, at TGPR(in the rain) and VIR Road Courses for four 30 minute sessions each day, and about 2000-3000 miles on the street. They have performed very well for what they are. They start to get greasy and fall off towards the end of the day on a road course. It's a street tire though so it gives you warning before it does where a R Compound just grips, grips, grips... and then let's go without warning. The thing that surprised me the most about these was the wet grip they had when I drove at TGPR and it rained all day. Don't get me wrong, they aren't an all season tire, but the wet grip they provide for being a performance street tire impressed me. Most people I know of have been seeing around 10,000-12,000 miles out of these tires.

I picked up a set of Dunlop Direzza Starspec Z1's a while back for track use this season. They were reasonably priced as well and the way everyone has been talking about them... they are suppose to be the cat's meow. I'll be back in the states Mid May and I have my first track day May 22-23. I will have track events almost every weekend after that as well as some autoX's thrown in. I'm sure I'll post a review of them but that won't be for another few weeks and I'm sure you are trying to order tires now... so it prob. won't do you any good.

As far as the new XS's and the NT05's, I have some friends them this summer and once I compare my review with theirs, that's what I'm going to base my next street tire purchase on.

All in all I'd say they are all pretty close in performance and if you aren't racing, a second here or there doesn't really matter, but getting more seat and bettering your driver skills does.

[P71]

I've Top-10'd in autocrosses (60-70 car fields) in the wet on the Rt's. I think they're a better wet tire then Hoosier rain slicks.

[Turbo II]

Originally Posted by Brent

The thing that surprised me the most about these was the wet grip they had when I drove at TGPR and it rained all day. Don't get me wrong, they aren't an all season tire, but the wet grip they provide for being a performance street tire impressed me.

Originally Posted by P71

I've Top-10'd in autocrosses (60-70 car fields) in the wet on the Rt's. I think they're a better wet tire then Hoosier rain slicks.

As hard as it was raining at times and the amount of water on the track that day, and really having no time on them at all except for the drive to the track, I really wasn't sure what to expect. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised also.

[Rogue_Wulff]

All this discussion about the RT615 proves why it is the tire that all newcomers are measured against.
The price to performance ratio is just derned hard to beat.
It's part of the reason I plan to start next season with a new set of RT615's, and use them mainly for competitive driving, and keep good summer or all season tires on the other wheels for daily use. The minor amount of intial grip I'll give up, will be well worth it down the road, when they still work nearly as well bald, as they did new.
I'm hoping my current set (at the treadwear bars) will last the rest of this season. I got this set free, so instead of just buying a new set and running them full time, I spent about same money on a second set of wheels to finish off what I have, and still have daily use wheels/tires. They are too worn to be safely used on the street, particularly when the street is wet, but fine for autox/track use except for extremely wet conditions.

[P71]

My big beef with the newcomers is lack of size availability. Almost all of the dominating ST and STS cars run 14" or 15" wheels, so why aren't they making the new ST tires in those sizes? Nothing in 16" either. Even 17"s are pretty scarce, you pretty much have to have an 18x8 wheel to get a decent "new" tire nowadays.

[Rogue_Wulff]

Very true. The ST/STS classes are full of small cars that can't fit the majority of the newcomers sizes under their fenders, if you could even get the wheels to use them.
The RT615 is the only ST class-leading tire that I am aware of which is even offered in a 14" size. Granted, it only has one 14" size available, but that's still 100% more than anyone else.
More often than not, the newcomers either totally ignore 15", or go with a less than desirable size. The one new tire that really took me by surprise, is the Hankook RS3. I have seen one 15" size offered so far, and it's a 225/45-15.
ST/STS allow a maximum tire width of 225, why is it that Hankook is one of only a small handfull of companies offering the 225/45-15, while the other newcomers are opting for a 195/55-15.
Fortunately, the RT615 205/50-15 has nearly the same tread width as most 225's from other brands.

[Brent]

Hey, I won't see the GRM ST shootout for another couple of weeks so can someone help me out and post up the size of the StarSpec's opposed to the others tested. I'm having a few people tell me it's an irrelevant size compared to the others being tested, but they didn't know the exact size.

So.... can someone post the tire size of each brand tested?

Thanks.

[P71]

Falken Azenis RT-615 - 205/50/15 - 34.822 Avg / 34.739 FTD

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec - 195/55/15 (the *only* 15" Star Spec) - 35.209 Avg / 35.061 FTD

Toyo Proxes R1R - 205/50/15 - 34.522 Avg / 35.452 FTD

Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 - 205/50/15 - 34.266 Avg / 34.238 FTD

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R - 195/50/15 - 34.478 Avg / 34.430 FTD

Kuhmo ECSTA XS - 205/50/15 - 34.170 Avg / 34.030 FTD

[Rogue_Wulff]

For being the tire that has been around the longest, the RT615 still holds it own. Considering it can usually be found cheaper than the others, and has way more size offerings, it's no wonder that it has gained many a loyal follower.

[P71]

It's the only one with a 14" tire, it's the cheapest, it has the most sizes period, and it lasts the longest. Stick a few events on all of these and the RT's will still be hitting the same times, the others will have dropped off. Especially considering the RT's will last an entire season!

[albertomg]

For track (road course) use, you'd be better off in the Star Spec or the Kumho or Bridgestone. Star Spec and Kumho are cheaper. Those tires will handle heat better and stay consistent over 20-30 minute sessions compared to the 615. The RT615 is a better autox tire though b/c it warms up faster and has good grip when colder as compared to the other tires.

In the GRM test, they suspected that the Dunlop would do better if it were the same size as the other tires so don't take the test solely on face value. Read the article and pay attention to the impressions of the drivers as it will give you a better picture of all the tires and you can make a better decision.

[josh18_2k]

i do believe the dunlop's performance while cold is one of its selling points for autocross.
while it may not be the fastest tire in successive testing (where did the Kumho come from?!), they are known for their cold grip, which makes them outstanding in the wet, when you CANT build heat. also, most street tires wont build much heat at all in a standard autocross.

no idea about longitivity, thats just what i've heard from users.

[Heeley]

I appreciate all the feedback. I just found out that the star spec's are not available in Canada yet, so if i want em, i have to get my passport together, and make a drive across the border. That might just be more hassle than its worth. RT615's are readily available and not stupid expensive, so that might be the way i end up going