Triangle Man

Right, so it's about time to replace my G-Force Sports. They've been on the car for about 24k and they've about had it. They're worn down on the sides and one has a slow leak and they'll break away a bit under douchey acceleration in the rain. THEY MUST DIE.

I want a balance of wet and dry grip, with a smattering of ride quality and low noise. I'd like them to last at least 20k miles of me driving in a "spirited" fashion. (Read: occasional autocrossing and/or public road lunacy.)

So I've been poking around Tire Rack and the forums here and come up with a few tires I think I'm seriously considering:

Hankook Ventus V12 Evo:

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- Bang for the buck. They're super cheap, have a bunch of great reviews and basically stomp on things that cost $50 more apiece. They seem to be the best value for the money.

- Slightly worried about their life, though. A bunch of the negative reviews have said that they get nasty over the course of their use, getting eaten away more quickly than they should. This raises concerns about the quality of the tire to me.

- Still, the sheer performance-per-dollar ratio of these things can't be beat.

Continental ExtremeContact DW

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- It is hard as heck to find anything about these guys on this forum (these are the max performance summer tires, not the DWS all seasons).

- These things seem to be an all-around upgrade from the Hankooks, but are correspondingly pricier at around $30 more per tire. They seem to last a bit longer, ride quieter and more smoothly, have better grip and responsiveness and have really awesome ratings in the wet and dry. I'm having a hard time talking myself out of them.

- There really isn't much on them here on the forum and there's only one RX8 driver's review on Tire Rack. Was hoping to get a second opinion before I pull the trigger on 'em.

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec (what is with these tire names that go on forever, anyways?)

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- The priciest of my final three, and hopefully the best performing. These guys are in the Extreme category, a notch above the Hankooks and Continentals' Max. They have great reviews and everyone loves them. That said, their price of like $204 apiece is kind of pushing what I'm willing to pay.

- They do seem to be outstanding tires, but I am somewhat worried about tread life. Not in the Hankook's "the country that brought you the Hyundai Genesis' manual transmission now brings you this dubiously molded tire" worries, but in the "maximum performance equals low life" sort of fears.

- To go along with their performance, they have a corresponding increase in road noise and a decrease in ride comfort, it seems.


Honorable Mention:

Yokohama S.Drive - I initially wavered between these and the Hankooks, but the Hankooks seem to do everything they do better and for a lower cost. Could still think about them if there's something that's awesome about them that I don't realize.

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position - Could consider them, but they are a Max for about the same cost as the Dunlops, which are a step up. They're considerably more expensive than the Hankooks and the Continentals.

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 - Everyone swears up and down by the quality of Michelins, how they're so well made, but ultimately I can't cough up the cash for these guys.


Anyways. I seem to be gravitating more towards the Continentals, but the lack of information from RX8 drivers is putting me off somewhat. I could go for the Hankooks or Dunlops - or even the others - but I want some second opinions. Your thoughts?

HaydonGS

iTrader: (1)

I have the Star Specs and love them, they are quieter then the OEMs in my case but i have a decent amount of sidewall.

monchie

I have the discontinued Yokohama's right now. If i were to replace them with a new one, my choice will still be the Yokohama's. The s-drive has a good gripping treads and a good handling capabilities. My choice will be the Yokohama's s-drive. Good luck whichever you choose.

dezau

iTrader: (3)

imo ur comparing 3 very different tires here.
ok maybe not so much v12s and dws are kinda similar?
from what i read the v12s does a very good job for the price you pay
dws might be better in the wet as i've read

star specs... if u arn't taking part in any sort of track driving or some sort, just don't even think abt it. lasting less than 10k miles just isn't worth it.

don't really know much abt the yokos or bridgestone.
but yes the michelins are crazy good. i've had them for like 15k miles and it was everything one can ask for. if you found a good deal, this is the one to go for. depending on size, u can probably find them as cheap as 900 installed.

anyhow, i don't think any "good" performing tire would last 20k miles with spirited driving, maybe yes there would be, but the performance would be a big tradeoff.

v12s or the Conti DWs (gf has them on the GTI and it's petty good, noise, wet, overall grip) might sound like the best pick for u.
but if i were u, i would think abt the Nitto Invos, it performs better than those 2 but trade off is u get less miles haha.

hope my .02 helped

dezau

iTrader: (3)

btw u might wanna get tires from discount tire direct. they have super competitive pricing and free ups ground shipping. could also match prices too if you found sth cheaper online.

rx 8speciale

iTrader: (3)

the hankook v12 are great , love them, even more than my old set of falken 452

dezau

iTrader: (3)

heard the sidewall's really soft though? guess u can compensate that with higher psi?

Triangle Man

Think I'll drop the Dunlops, then. They have these amazing performance ratings, but I think they're really meant to be dedicated track tires rather than everyday driving ones.

I checked out Discount Tire Direct and their selection's a bit different from Tirerack but their prices are higher. Not sure if they'll also deliver to my local dealer like Tirerack will. The Nittos look interesting but also seem to have lousy life.

So then, I think I'm down to the Hankooks vs. the Continentals, with perhaps the Yokohamas lurking, ninja-like, in the shadows if I can find some kind of staggeringly good deal on them.

It really comes down to the little things. I'll sum it up:

- Hankooks are cheaper and deliver similar dry grip and handling, and plenty of people here love them.

- Continentals are more expensive, but they seem a bit higher quality and deliver on wet traction, comfort, unsprung weight, and road noise. That said, they definitely need more reviews from RX8 drivers and some other drivers have said they have a 500 mile or so break in period.

dezau

iTrader: (3)

Thus u shud get the con tis and let us know if it's good or not lol

REDRX3RX8

I'll have track pics in a few days with the Hankook's at 46 psi front hot, and still rolling under, but it felt sticky.

Also, +1 on the suggestion on the OP to buy the Conti DW's, since I haven't seen those compared to anything I know, but they sound great, also.

WTBRotary!

iTrader: (6)

Yeah I was looking at tires soon as well and I was leaning on the V12's because of the price and amount of treadwear, plus its a summer tire, Ive had fun with my Goodyear Eagle GT's (Performance All-season) and they actually handled REALLY well.

I was looking at the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports because they are the first performance summer tire with a 30K mile tread warranty on them, but those bad boys are $268 a piece on Tirerack... DAMN, I think Ill go with the V12's...

seidita84t

Just my .02, but look into federal ss595rs-r... now, pay attention, RS-R.... not the piece of **** regular ss595's, they're ridiculously inexpensive, grip like a mother ******, and wear pretty decent for what you're getting. Aside from service, we sell tires at my shop, and I've been around the block with options, I'm currently running these, and I love them. $ vs. Performance, you really cant go much better. I've got 3 track days, a whole lot of "spirited" driving, and about 8k miles on them now, and I'm at around 30% tread left. I was amazingly surprised at the wear, I bought them for ONE, track day, figured they'd get trashed, still rollin, happily. The dry grip is great, the biggest misconception is the wet traction, the directional pattern actually creates good wet traction, its only when its very cold, and wet, that they start to act a little pissy. Also, as to your concerns with ride quality, they seem (to me at least) less noisy than the re-11's, fk452's or pilot sport cups I've had. Plus, you can p/u a 255/35r18 (WILL fit o.e. wheels) for under $150 ea.

Triangle Man

I was hoping to go with the Continentals, really, but Tire Rack was out of stock and my currently-sucky rear tire is forcing my hand. That thing is seriously losing like 20psi or more every day. Good thing the air is free here on base XD

Anyway, I went with the Hankooks. They're cheap, better than the lame G-Force Sports I've got on there right now and and I can break them in in time for the Tarheel Sportscar Club's Autocross the Saturday after next.

Given the choice, though, I'd prolly still want to try the Contis, but what do you know.