[gabner]

-- Tire Poll -- Daily Driver with Good Wet Traction and reasonable treadwear

Ok, So I've read all the threads and still need help deciding which tires I should get.

My situation and what's Important to me?

2005 LSS Elise. (Thanks Uncle Sam)

I am a daily driver in Seattle.
I drive 100 miles RT to work. I commute 3-7 days a week. I can hear you cringe
I end up driving in the rain a lot, so rain performance is important.
I've never tracked the car but I do enjoy spirited driving.
I'd like to maintain the go-kart feel of the car, (stiff sidewalls?).
I'd like to be reasonable and balance grip, price, and treadwear. Am I unreasonable to look for a tire that lasts 15k miles or more? With a minor sacrifice in grip?

Azenis 615RT
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11R
Bridgestone Exalto PE2
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Toyo R1R
Toyo R888 (Screw Treadwear, you gotta have maximum traction)

 

[Michael_In_Hoboken]

My driving habits are similar to yours and I recently put on a set of the BS RE-01Rs. My impression so far:

- I like them. They're not great for the track, although, I may put a trackday or two on them

- My old stock 048s were definitely tighter on dry road, but these are pretty decent...and much better then the 048s in the rain

- You gotta love getting double+ the mileage out of them on the street compared to the 048s

I've heard that the new RE-11Rs are supposed to be better then the old model

 

[Uncle Sam]

You don't say which suspension you have; the front wheel width on the base suspension limits tire choice a bit. For rain and a street tire with longer life, I would choose a GY F1 DS-D3 with the LSS rim widths. The bargain tire in my opinion is the Kumho Ecsta SPT. Both of these have high wear ratings and I have had a good personal experience using them; the others I have not.

 

[Hello Kitty]

I bought the General Exclaim UHP tires, and I really like them. And now that they are worn down, I like them even more, because they will only cost $90 each to replace!

 

[HiroY]

Regarding the RE-11Rs, you may want to refer to my other posting if you are running LSS rims:

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/bridgestone-potenza-re-11-lss-wheels-70282/

Don't know if this new tire will work on LSS rim size...

 

[mjf]

I'm in a similar boat as you. I just ordered R1R's.

 

[gabner]

You don't say which suspension you have; the front wheel width on the base suspension limits tire choice a bit. For rain and a street tire with longer life, I would choose a GY F1 DS-D3 with the LSS rim widths. The bargain tire in my opinion is the Kumho Ecsta SPT. Both of these have high wear ratings and I have had a good personal experience using them; the others I have not.

Thanks Uncle Sam, which of the other tires have you tried?

 

[gabner]

The stock tires on my 2005 LSS Elise are now at the wear bars @ 6500 miles.

Anyone have rough estimates on what kind of miles I should expect to get with each one of these tire choices?

Azenis 615RT
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11R
Bridgestone Exalto PE2
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Toyo R1R
Toyo R888

 

[mjf]

I end up driving in the rain a lot, so rain performance is important.
I've never tracked the car but I do enjoy spirited driving.

R888 is supposed to be a great track tire, an alternative to the AO48, why is it getting so many recommendations as a wet weather daily driver tire?

I don't think the increase in daily driving performance you'd get from the R888 is justified by the decreased tire life. And if you don't care about the cost, why not stick with the AO48 LTS ?

 

[Uncle Sam]

Thanks Uncle Sam, which of the other tires have you tried?

Just the stock Yoko A048s. The Kumhos were my everyday tires and cost about $300 for the set! They were not bad in the dry and very good in the wet. The Goodyears are a great rain tire. Both of these should last over 15k miles. As for they other tires, I don't know because I haven't tried them.

 

[Icedog_16]

You don't say which suspension you have; the front wheel width on the base suspension limits tire choice a bit. For rain and a street tire with longer life, I would choose a GY F1 DS-D3 with the LSS rim widths. The bargain tire in my opinion is the Kumho Ecsta SPT. Both of these have high wear ratings and I have had a good personal experience using them; the others I have not.

+1 on the Goodyears. In Seattle, I'd be all over them.

 

[mjf]

+1 on the Goodyears. In Seattle, I'd be all over them.

"In Seattle".

The weather up here is not well understood by people that don't live here.

From April to October we get pretty much straight sunny days. There might be some rainfall, but if you blink you'll miss it. From November to March we get mostly cloudy days with frequent drizzle. In a typical year there won't be any snow of any note. (there actually was snowfall over an inch this year for the first time I've seen)

We don't get the type of rain that Florida gets.

For the most part my AO48s were great for a year round daily driving tire here. Their downside was their cost, and how quickly they wore out. =( I'm switching to R1Rs which offer the AA handling I want at a slightly better cost and with a better treadlife, I'd also considered the RT-615.

 

[Icedog_16]

That's true. But, given the fact that you basically said that it drizzles frequently through nearly half the year, I'd still lean toward the Goodyears. I had them on my car and, while I never had the A048s, they were comparable to the AD07s and smoked them in the wet. The only thing is that you need to add air pressure (~3 psi, IIRC) to allow for the somewhat less-stiff sidewalls, but it all works out in the end.

FWIW, I also considered the RT-615s and passed. In part, because of the rains we get in the summer. And I'd swear that I recall hearing someone a while back losing it on the way to an autocross or something with those tires in the wet. But, I could be wrong. :shrug:

 

[mjf]

Here's some data I put together...


C = Track & Competition DOT
E = Extreme Performance Summer
M = Max Performance Summer
U = Ultra High Performance Summer
C>E>M>U

$259 .60-AA-A C Yokohama AO48 LTS
$197 100-AA-A C Toyo R888
$147 140-AA-A C Toyo R1R

$199 180-AA-A E Yokohama AD07
$180 180--A-A E Bridgestone Potenza RE-11R
$137 200--A-A E Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec

$160 180-AA-A M Yokohama Advan Sport
$125 200--A-A M Falken Azenis 615RT
$152 280-AA-A M Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3

$172 240--A-A U Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2
$298 300-AA-A U Goodyear Eagle F1 GS
$115 300-AA-A U Yokohama S.drive
.$92 320-AA-A U Kumho Ecsta SPT
.$90 380--A-A U General Exclaim UHP

(Prices based on a 225/45/17 tire. Prices obv scale for other sizes.)

Seems to me, if you're buying a car with exceptional handling it's a little wasted to go cheap on the tires and get just an A rating for handling.

Check out these charts:
"http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=C"
"http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=EP"
"http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=MP"
"http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHP"

Note that they don't sell Toyo so they're not included but the data they do have is nice to look at. =/

For more Toyo information I'd check out TreadZone (formerly thetireshoppe.com)


(edit: the links weren't working as links, lotustalk was converting them to mush, you'll have to cut and paste)

 

[VisualEchos]

Yokohama S-Drive

 

[mjf]

Yokohama S-Drive

added

 

[jeavis]

I really like my Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec. For street driving they are just as good if not better than the AD07's that I had before. Wet traction is better too though I haven't driven in a heavy pouring rain yet.

 

[darkSol]

I know you're going to say "WTF mate?" but I really, really like my General Exclaim UHP... they're sticky as hell... great in the rain and even drivable in (mild) snow.

General Exclaim UHP

Can't beat the price/weight either.... Front 195-50-16's are $69 each (17 lbs.) and Rear 225-45-17's are $90 each (21 lbs.). You'll save 4lbs. over LSS A048's

Full set of tires for $318!

 

[mjf]

I know you're going to say "WTF mate?" but I really, really like my General Exclaim UHP... they're sticky as hell... great in the rain and even drivable in (mild) snow.

added.

 

[gabner]

$137 200--A-A E Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec

MJF, can you please explain the "--A-A" portion.
Thx.
Gary