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Before you spout out use a search, I did. I have ready opinions and reviews until I couldn't see straight. I still can't make up my mind.
I am looking for Summer Performance tires that are Good in the rain. But I would like to get more then 10~12K miles out of them. What have yall used and abused?
EDIT: I am wanting to move up to 15s on the NA. Figured I would keep the All Season Tires and current 14's for winter use.
Kumho SPT they last at least that long on a Miata and are great in the rain and they're cheap to buy. Most the other really high performance summer tires will probably not last to 12K miles on the rear and most of them suck in the rain. Are you wanting to race on these tires at all or just grippy street tires?
Grippy Street Tires.
You can get the kind of mileage you're looking for out of T1-Rs if you don't track them too much. They're great in the rain in my experience. The SPTs do sound like a nice street tire, though, and they're cheaper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CraiginTX
+1
I love my T1-Rs They are AWESOME in the rain. Decent on the track which I might see once or twice a year and I can get that mileage out of them easy.
They suck in snow though! :burnrubr:
I'm running the Toyo Proxes 4 - sort of a high performance all-season tire. They're plenty grippy for street driving, they're great in the rain, they look really good, and I've got about 20K on them so far - with plenty of life left yet. I haven't raced on them or anything, though...
Yeah, mine sucked in last week's snow too. Of course they are not M+S rated. Surprisingly good in rain though. I'd buy them again.Quote:
Originally Posted by black roadster
Interestingly, T1-Rs DON'T suck in clold rain. I was out in the sleet/snow stuff we had last week, but before there was anything stuck to the ground besides cold water, and I was really surpised by how much grip I had. WAY more than I expected for 34 degrees and raining. Just stay off the frozen stuff...Quote:
Originally Posted by Darron65
Craig
Toyo T1's, had them on the NB and they were sticky and never slid in the rain or hydro'd
I have liked the Hankook RS2's that I have for both regular and wet driving
You may want to look at General Exclaim UHP from Tirerack. It gets good reviews on tirerack and several peoples on the pointy board seem to like them too. ::2Cents::
I've got these in 16's on my NB and I love 'em! Especially for the price. Wet traction seems good, but I really don't drive the Miata much in the rain . That's what the truck is for ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by apex2apex
The Miata is my wifes daily driver and she is skitish of it as is after spinning it out in a rain storm into oncomming traffic. Luckily she did not get hit but she was shaken up. I bought the current tires right after that incident but was in a hurry and could not wait to get good tires so I got what they had. Now it's time to do it right.
Anyone had any problem with Konig Heliums? I saw this deal on Good-win and am seriously considering it.
http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda...t/61-0057.html
Looks like an attractive, lightweight package for a decent price. I've yet to try the T1-Rs, but many Miata owners on the ::Batman:: board seem to love 'em for daily driving, often citing their great wet handling.
I will note that Azenis rather suck in freak, albeit predicted, snowstorms! Otherwise, they handle wet conditions rather nicely in my experience.
R-S2s seem pretty decent in the rain as well. Both prefer warmer outside temps, though. Both are true 3-season tires in our region as far as I'm concerned.
Would there be any advantage to a 205 v 195 tire?
I almost bought the Heliums - very nice looking rims. I ordered my wheel/tire package from Goodwin and was very pleased with their service. My stuff was delivered early, and when I called to report one (1) gimpy wheel center that wouldn't snap in securely, they sent me a whole new set. Kudos to these guys.Quote:
Originally Posted by HudsonHawk
It'll hydroplane easier... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by HudsonHawk
I'm on my second set of Kumho SPTs on the RX-8. They work great in the cold and in the wet, and even handle snow/slush very well for a "summer" tire. J-Fo and I used these at a rain event last season and datalogged over 1G lateral grip on wet concrete.
I got about 15-16k out of them on the RX-8. That's with two autocrosses on an abrasive surface and a very aggressive alignment.
Given the same model tire, the sidewalls will be taller, and it will be a little heavier as well. I went from 195/50-15 Yok ES-100s to 205/50-15 T1-Rs and if nothing else, the tires LOOK significantly larger.Quote:
Originally Posted by HudsonHawk
I would have stayed stock size, but was in a bit of a pinch and NO ONE had anything in stock. If you're ordering from Goodwin, you may do okay - but I had a heck of a time finding anything in stock in town (or at any of their distribution centers).
Even Tire Rack, Edge Racing, et al were out of stock in either 195s or 205s in the T1Rs, RS2s, Eagle F1s...
BTW, Heliums look great on an NA...
Well, I bit the bullet. Called good-win and verified they had the special going on and still in stock. Placed my order and now I get to wait paitently (yeah right!) for them to arrive. (OPEN! OPEN! OPEN! OPEN! OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!)
:burnrubr::D
Awesome! You're good to go - those Heliums are downright purdy, and it sounds like those gumball Toyo boots will serve the little lady well.Quote:
Originally Posted by HudsonHawk
Hell, I might have to try a set of T1-Rs if my Proxes ever wear out... :rolleyes:
I'm kinda late, but I have 2 Miata's with T1-R's and I am very pleased with them.
I'm sure they were a contributing factor to saving Barbara's tailfeathers, after she got plowed by that semi.
I got them when Onlinetires had them on sale, for what I could get crappy tires for. I wish they would do it again, I get another stack.
Wow, looks like everyone loves the T1-R's.
So far out of all the tires I've used and abuse in less than 12k miles, the BFG G-force sport was the longest lasting and probably the best performing tire I've used for everyday performance. I think they lasted almost 25k miles, which is phenomenal with my driving!:burnrubr: Trying to remember all the tires I've used to compare against...Yoko ES100, Falken 512, Falken 329, Bridgestone re750, Kumho 712, Kumho 710, Kumho ecta mx...
I'm thinking about trying the new Falken 912 for my next set, which will be in about 2000 miles.
I've got the 912s on now. (205/50 15s on the stock 15x6 rim) They have a lot of tread left after about 10k worth of commuting miles. It could be the narrow rims, but they seemed to be on the edge of letting go when going around curves during hot days this summer, and that was when they were new. During the snow and ice day, they weren't terribly awful or real impressive. They held where it was dry and didn't do too bad on the sanded bridges. Going over unsanded overpasses was interesting - I held speed and a straight line, and the rear seemed to wag when I transitioned from the highway to the overpass and then again when I transitioned from the overpass to the highway.Quote:
Originally Posted by icepenguin66
I drove a friends NA with the 512s (215/50 15s on 15x7) and the warm weather traction was much better. I didn't have an opportunity to drive those in the rain or ice, though, since this was in the Mojave desert, and it didn't rain or snow much. I know others prefer the 912 over the 512, but I think I would prefer the 512.
Hope this helps.
Cool, I loved my first set of 512's. Great traction and lasted fairly long. The seconds set of 512's I burned up in only 9k miles somehow! I still have maybe another month of tread left to make up my mind what I'm gonna try next.Quote:
Originally Posted by Walsted
I love the T1-R's - especially for the price. However, I found that when they near the end of their lifespan they get VERY slippery. Even on dry pavement. It probably doesn't matter as much on a non-boosted Miata. But I was still slightly above the tread wear indicators on the rear tires and I couldn't get traction in 1st or 2nd gear. I would scratch in 3rd under hard acceleration.Quote:
Originally Posted by icepenguin66
I put some fresh T1-R's on and it was a night & day contrast. Loads more grip when they're fresh.
I used Sumitomo HTR Z-II's on my MR2's, WRX and C32 AMG in the past. That's a great bang for buck tire, as well. Has a good look to it, too.
EDIT: For reference - mine are 225/40-16
I'm thinking my next set will be Yokohama Avid T4s from tires-easy.com, $320 to the door. (http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/reifenb...120260&dsco=35) I haven't tried that shop before, but the price is right, I have quite a few months to research the shop, and the Avid S/Ts on my last car (Tbird TurboCoupe) were great three-season tires for the first two thirds of their alleged 60K treadlife - extreme hot or cold, standing water at interstate speeds, no problem. Set cruise for 65 at 635W, even in heavy rain, and if there wasn't traffic, not even need to shut off the cruise for the curve from 635W to 35E south, or 408 to 20W. (Not that I'm lazy, or anything like that.)Quote:
Originally Posted by icepenguin66
Once down to the last third of tread, though, the Avids would hydroplane like a speedboat on raceday. And if there is any ice or more than a tread depth of snow on the road, traction is lousy, no matter how much tire is left. I guess Yokohama's all season rating means all seasons in the desert, where there isn't any ice or snow, ever. But I figure there are more hot days in Texas than snow days, and since I was getting over 30K miles per set before they started to go squirrelly, I figure they will be worth it for me to try them on the Miata after the 912s wear down to the point of being unsafe.
Probably WAY more than you wanted to know, but hope it is helpful.