Hey guys i just bought some work kai and am lookin for a good tire to match. Hoping to find something good for city driving but and give me enough grip on track days , sooooo many options please help thanks

 

If you want other peoples opinions, then that's fine. Anyway, check out TireRack.com, they have reviews on all tires as well.

 

It depends on your budget & personal expectations. I agree with Monchie that you should give tire rack a look. They have a huge library of info & reviews.

 

You've got to pick one or the other.

Either you'll have a tire that's great for the city and lasts a long time but can't take the abuse at the track, or you'll have a good track tire that will wear out relatively quickly driving in the city.

With that being said, my best suggestion would be Dunlop Direzza Star-Specs. They're 180 treadwear and can take a beating at the track, just don't expect them to last that long if you're putting a lot of street miles on them.

 

He speaks the truth.

I was recently presented with this same situation. My research yielded the following in no particular order:

Dunlop Star Specs
Continental Extreme Contact DW
Hankook Ventus V12
Yokohama S drive
Falken FK 452

I went with the ventus because the price/performance/treadwear ratio was the best of the bunch. If I didn't have to daily the rx8 more than 10 miles, I would go with the star specs.

 

I've seen a lot of V12's come apart and start chunking at the track once you start pushing them. Another option is the Nitto NT05 I think they're 200 treadwear.

 

I dont have a ton of experience with dual purpose tires but i must say i was very impressed with the life and performance i got out of my Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position tires. I got 35k+ miles out of them, many track days and many many autocross. I never corded them. I probably could have kept running them but they were getting a little low for a street tire. They were quiet, smooth and compliant on the street, grippy and predictable on the track. No complaints.

I know a lot of new tires have come out since these did so im not sure how they compare nowadays but FYI.

 

What u guys think bout toyo proxes t1 sport tires?? No review on tire rack but read a good review bout them on a uk forum

 

NT05's are great track tires as they handle heat very well, as well as no chuncking. I've used them as a Track/Daily tire and while I liked them. They are not great in the rain, and they do wear a bit fast. I would go with the Hankook RS-3 or the Dunlop Star Specs for a dual purpose tire...

And I have used all 3 of those tires for over a year..

 

Michelin Super Sports are supposed to be great on track from the perspective of (lack of) chunking, predictability,and stability under braking. Although they will be down on grip a little when compared to something like the Dunlop Star Specs or Hankooks, they are still quite fast.

I can say they are subjectively awesome on the street, including heavy rain.

They will outlast the Dunlops/Hankooks. But they are expensive.

 

Also, the OP hasn't stated if the tires are summer-only. Living in Toronto, I wouldn't reccomend the Hankooks for year-round, or even 3-season driving. They really suck in the cold, or in the rain, and suck even more in the cold rain.

 

I want to add that the best way to keep tires from burning up during daily driving is to have a zero toe alignment. Negative camber will not burn up tires, but anything more than 1 mm of toe will increase wear. I am currently running Kumho XS (265/35R18) all around on 18x9's for daily driving and do not have any bad wear patterns starting after about 1,500 miles. I know that isn't many miles, but I have always gotten more mileage out of tires with zero toe. Toe is easy to adjust with common tools and can be measured at home with a string box setup. It is also so easy to set up that I plan on adjusting to an aggressive alignment before an event, but then back to zero toe for the street.

PS. The Kumho XS is not very good in the rain or below 40 F, so I am not really recommending them unless you want great dry grip for autocross. I was more or less saying that alignment specs (specifically toe) can have more effect on tire wear and longevity than the actual tire choice.

 

I have these on my '8. I switched to them from Bridgestone RE050As last year, done about 4,000 miles on them so far. They compare pretty well to the RE050A but they are softer in ride. However, they are a bit quieter on the road.

I've used them once for autocross and once on track. Can't compare against anything for track use, as it was my first time, but for autocross I'd have to say that whilst they didn't quite have the same quick response and feel, grip levels were almost on par with the Bridgestones.

Can't comment on winter use, as I swapped them for my winter set during Nov-Feb.

 

I put Toyo Proxes on my Integra GS-R before I had the 8, and I agree with HwAoRrDk's comments, although I never took them on the track. They had good grip, and stable, gradual breakaway when pushed, but they were softer and not as crisp for quick steering movements. They must have a softer sidewall. Increasing the pressure helped a bit, but they didn't feel as crisp as the tires I had on before.

I'm looking for a summer-only tire for my 8 now too. My stock rubber is about worn out, so I don't know that I can make it all the way through another summer. I do have snows, so summer-only is what I'm looking for. I don't take the car on the track, but I do like really good performance, so I'd love to hear recommendations from you guys before I spend lots of money on tires that I'll be riding on for several years to come.