Gotta put yet another set of rear tires on the S2000...I'm running BFG G-Forces right now. Had Eagle F1s on the turbo Miata, and liked them. Ran Potenzas on the Honda for a little while (still have them on the front, actually).

What's the hot thing right now? I don't feel like pouring through all the reviews on http://www.tirerack.com. I'd also prefer not to pay $300/tire for Potenzas. I don't mind paying more when I get something for it, but it seems to me that those BFG G-Forces are tough to beat for $179/tire.

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 1:14 PM. Reason : this will be the 3rd set of rear rubber to be on the car since I bought it <8 months ago...haha]

1/6/2006 1:11:18 PM

what size? The F1 GS-D3 is good, the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval is doing really well I've heard.

1/6/2006 1:26:45 PM

255-35/R18

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 1:27 PM. Reason : yeah, i liked the F1s i had on the turbo miata]

1/6/2006 1:27:33 PM

the F1s are nice and will probably be fine on the S2000. they have a soft sidewall though so they were too smushy on the R32 imo. wet/rain traction was amazing

1/6/2006 1:28:41 PM

Duke, I'm about to put new tires on my S2000 too...cost aside, what did you think of the Potenzas? And were they the newer Potenzas (RE04's I think they're called) or the S-02s? My wheels are R16, so I guess the correct Potenzas are a lot cheaper...$164 ea. front, $177 ea. rear. Everyone on S2ki says you just can't beat them if cost isn't a factor, at least without going to race specific tires.

3rd set eh? Nice How many miles have you put on in those 8 months? I bought mine 7 months ago and have put over 13k on it, heheh. Only one set of tires though...guess the supercharger hurts those rear tires a bit, lol

1/6/2006 1:36:27 PM

buddy's got a Falken Azenis on his FD, they're pretty nice

1/6/2006 1:40:08 PM

azenis would be great, but dont expect them to last

1/6/2006 1:42:38 PM

PS2 or Potenza s03. 2 best tires out.

1/6/2006 1:49:42 PM

my Potenzas were S-03s (I still have them on the front, although they're getting worn down...just not quite enough to replace). They felt fine, but to be perfectly honest, I don't really have that great of a feel for them. I only had them on all 4 wheels for the first few thousand miles I put on the car, so I wasn't pushing it all that hard. Plus, all of my driving was around NOVA and on the interstate between there and Raleigh, so I didn't see many curves, anyway.


I've put about 18k miles on the car in those 8 months. I'd guess about 3-4k to finish off the Potenzas on the rear when I bought it, then another 14-15k to totally destroy those BFG G-Force TA KDW2s I replaced them with. I mean, they are well past the wear bars--all but bald. It's to the point where the car skates on really wet pavement at highway speed (I didn't realize how badly they were worn until driving back to FL from NC in the rain the other day).



the fronts are 225-40/R18, the rears are 255-35/R18. I've thought about going slightly lower profile on the next set, but maybe I should just leave well enough alone (not my strong suit, I'll admit.)


By the way, that tire wear is not from doing burnouts or anything. I think I've left a light with the tires spinning once or maybe twice since I've had the car. That's just from cornering hard, accelerating and braking hard, and doing a little powerslide here and there.

Quote :

"PS2 or Potenza s03. 2 best tires out"

Yeah, but even though I'm not on a college budget anymore, could you really justify paying 280-300/tire when the BFGs are on closeout for 180/tire? I mean, I'm sure a stopwatch could tell the difference on a track, but I wonder if there would be an appreciable difference the other 99% of the time.


[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 2:00 PM. Reason : asdf]

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 2:08 PM. Reason : asfd]

1/6/2006 1:51:44 PM

Quote :

"but I wonder if there would be an appreciable difference the other 99% of the time."

Two words: FUCK NO.

In my world, a nigga gotta eat too, and I honestly don't think that little bit of difference justifies that much more money.

1/6/2006 3:26:36 PM

^^Heh, wasn't accusing you of being a burnout whore, just didn't realize how many miles you'd put on yours. I thought I had a lot! And except for launching at AutoX, I never break traction when launching, and I've blown through my BFG tires in the same amount of time (they were on the car when I got it, I'd have to check to even see what kind they are). I'm having the same "skating" effect on the interstate...it's pretty scary. I was really tired one night on the way back from VA to my apartment in TN and hit a particularly wet spot and

I doubt you'd be able to tell that much of a difference, and if you're putting that many miles on it that quickly...sounds like the BFG's are a good option. You're not even AutoXing or anything right? So the chances of needing that extra little tiny bit of performance probably aren't worth that much extra $$, like you said.

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 4:14 PM. Reason : .]

1/6/2006 4:14:23 PM

yeah, i'm not allowed to participate in any kind of motorsports until i get out of flight school. totally gay.

in reality, i'd never get caught, and they prob wouldn't really care about auto-x or even track days, except they don't know shit about motorsports and just make a blanket rule to cover it all, but i have tons of other stuff to keep my schedule full and my bank account empty.

1/6/2006 5:39:23 PM

just put some all seasons on there and call it a day

1/6/2006 6:41:00 PM

Sorry but the F1's suck, just like about every other 'performace' tire from goodyear. They came on my car new, and I recently replaced and was instantly reminded how bad they were. You couldn't pay me to own another set, especailly for thier costs.

There are much better choices, both at that price point and even less;

Falken 451
BFG KD
Sumi HTRZII
Hankook Z212

1/7/2006 12:11:39 AM

real ballers ride on drag radials year round

1/7/2006 12:15:10 AM

I have the Sumitomo HTRZII's on my 7. They're alright. I only got them because they're Z rated and I had a hookup to get them for about $90/tire. I think a good set of Azenis would be way better.

I've got a friend who swears by his Toyo T1-R's, but the reviews I read of them didn't think they were that great. But he used to have Dunlop FM901's.

1/7/2006 12:32:21 AM

S-03's

1/7/2006 11:16:05 AM

just man up and buy some victoracers...

1/9/2006 2:26:27 AM

i just put falken fk-451 and they are nice and sticky, great in the rain, low noise and have a sexy tread design. i love these tires. pretty cheap too at $124/tire.

1/9/2006 8:55:45 AM

SO-2 and 3 are good.

i used the 3s at BeaveRun on a SCed S2k. it did as good as it could.

1/9/2006 11:56:40 AM

Mickey thompson et street radials, thats the way to go. I have been on Nitto 555 r's and et street radials, there is no comparison. Mickey thompson's for me.

1/9/2006 2:51:46 PM

I had G-Forces on the ///M3 and fucking loved them. Good tires for the money.

1/9/2006 4:55:18 PM

I have BFG G-Forces on the back of my 240 and havn't had any traction issues yet

1/9/2006 5:13:40 PM

^^^haha, on an S2000? i believe i'll pass on that one!

[Edited on January 9, 2006 at 5:14 PM. Reason : ^^^]

1/9/2006 5:14:00 PM

the Potenzas just cost too much and have such shitty treadlife ratings for me to justify buying them with how much i'm driving the car right now (and how relatively little i get to take it to backroads and let it rip). their treadlife rating is less than half that of the BFGs that I just roasted in 15,000 miles (except for the S03s, which are about 2/3 as good as the BFGs in that dept). Maybe if I get out to southern california this coming fall or winter where I can run the canyons (and hit the track, since I won't be under the stupid flight school rules against motorsports) I'll get some REALLY, REALLY hardcore gumball tires.

I think I'm either gonna go with another pair of BFG G-Force KDW2s, or a pair of Falken Azenis. Tirerack doesn't carry Falken, so I haven't been able to read any reviews of them. Anyone know of a place I can read about them? A lot of people swear by them, I know, but I think that BFG is tough to beat as an everyday ultra-high performance tire that doesn't cost a ludicrous amount of money.

1/9/2006 9:03:24 PM

Azenis man, another one of my friends with a Turbo II just bought some...

1/9/2006 9:12:01 PM

I guess all I should say is take the tirerack user reviews with a grain of salt- but here is how I really feel.

The reviews on tire rack are bullshit, you dont know how those people treated their tires or what they drove on. Underinflation, overinflation, massive potholes, construction sites, dirt roads? Too many variables. A whole lot of people who neglect their tires and get shitty tread life from them get angry and post shitty reviews online when it wasnt any fault of the tire, the way it was made, the materials or anything else other than user neglect.

Anyone who ever worked day after day in the tire business can tell you that even consumers who are very aware of their tires arent really qualified to go online and give them a review. The other side of the coin is kinda bleak too, since most of the people who ARE qualified are biased one way or the other because of the influence of sales incentives or corporate partnerships.

[Edited on January 9, 2006 at 9:28 PM. Reason : all]

1/9/2006 9:27:36 PM

Quote :

"the Potenzas just cost too much and have such shitty treadlife ratings"

come on, man. you know that a shitty treadwear rating means a sticky tire. you can't have a tire that grips really well and have a good treadwear. you just can't have it.

1/9/2006 9:31:24 PM

I wanted to explain that in my last post, couldnt figure out a way to word it correctly.

Rubber technology has pretty much hit its limit. Getting the ideal long life super sticky all season performance tire just isnt possible, jesus himself could arrive tomorrow in a delorean time machine and say he needs them to save mankind and it wouldnt happen. And if it did it might take 5 years, 50 million dollars, and he would probably drive over a hammer in the middle of I-40 or something and get stranded the next day.

Totally out of curiousity, have you looked into the michelin pilots at all?

[Edited on January 9, 2006 at 9:40 PM. Reason : ../]

1/9/2006 9:37:07 PM

^^yeah, i know. I'm just saying that with where I live right for the next year or so, and the kind of driving I have to do mostly, I can't justify going balls out right now.

Quote :

"The reviews on tire rack are bullshit"

Yeah, I only read the ones posted by people with no-bullshit sports cars, preferably those who mentioned stuff about performance on the track. at least that way i know that the odds are against them totally being clueless.

1/9/2006 10:50:36 PM

Quote :

"Azenis man, another one of my friends with a Turbo II just bought some..."

fuck the azenis. i dont know, i like for them has gone downhill.

yes they are inexpensive, and yes they are more of a thread in the rain than most other tires. but they are just a waste of tire for the street.

there is really no need for them.

i would rather stick some 712s or ES100s before i put azenis on for some street driving.


when it comes to track, i dont even glance at the azenis. not even thought of as a track tire

1/10/2006 12:38:25 AM

Quote :

"yes they are more of a thread in the rain than most other tires"

uh huh

1/10/2006 1:01:19 AM

haha, i meant threat.

godddamn shit

1/10/2006 1:30:30 AM

i still haven't found what everybody's rage is on kumhos. ive driven several cars with kumhos and i thought they gripped like shit. i wasn't even happy with the victoracers.

1/10/2006 8:30:41 PM

kumho 712s were bad on one car I ran them on, much worse than even 2 yr old, bald Bridgestone RE730 Gen 2.

1/10/2006 8:53:30 PM

^^ Its about money

If a tire is cheap and it does ok (kuhmo), people will love it. If aother tire costs 2x as much and is the same people will bitch about it.

1/10/2006 11:59:45 PM

duke i ran potenzas on the Z for the first set. they didnt make it 12. the g force was the next tire i ran and i sold them with 15k on them and never had any bad things to say about them. i ran vir, cmp, and lowes with them and cant say one bad thing about them. i will warn that they are slower to heat then the potenzas. my vote is nittos or g force

1/11/2006 8:41:20 AM

F1's are garbage.....Goodyear replaced mine twice @ no chare on my Vette, Finally put me back on some GSC's and all was well.

1/11/2006 9:32:54 AM

I would have to say the BFGs. Either g-force or KDWs.
I have the KDWs on the GTI and maxima, and g-forces on the maxima as well depending on what wheels are on it.

1/11/2006 10:09:56 AM