Three tires: Any opinions?

Not really fair to lump all tires that a company makes into one. Some Falken tires are bad, some are mediocre, some are great. I think you'll find that with any brand. The Azenis have proven to be competitive at autocrosses, as have Kumhos.



That said, I have the FK 451s on my car right now and I like them. They're not SO-3s, but they're decent. I had them when I went to a BMW CCA Car Control Clinic and they held up nicely in the slalom and skidpad exercises--eve in the rain, mind you. When the instructor took my car for a practice run on the skidpad, I actually got a little lightheaded from the G forces!



On the other hand, I can break my rear wheels pretty easily in the rain if I give it enough gas, but then again, this is a RWD car with decent torque on wet surface and a stiff suspension. On dry roads, it's quite a bit harder to break them loose. So I think for your purposes and application, you would be happy with this tire.



Someone mentioned Yoko ES100s. I had those on a WRX and I liked them, again, for the price. I also have them on my wife's 323i right now--no complaints.



Oh, have you checked out the Kumho MX? Don't know the pricing, but also popular for aggressive driving (autox, etc.).



Sorry for the ramble, but I hope it helps.



~Chris
 
I have Toyo T1 proxes on my BMW, got them when I bought my BBS rims over two years ago, and just yesterday replaced all four with the same tires, I can not praise these tyres enough, long lasting, serious tread pattern, excellent grip both wet and dry, and have a rim protector, they may not fit into your price budget, they are certainly not the most expensive tire on the market, donâ€â„¢t know how much they would be in the US, but would give the so-called best performing tires a run for their money. Have a look, *I* recommend them.



*Edit* they are W rated (167 MPH, not that my car will ever see these speeds:o )



PK
 
While *I* would really try to spring for the S03s :D IMO you oughta research what works well on *your* car. e.g., I had some high-end Toyos (forget the model, it was years ago) on one of our Audis and they were *awful*. Incredible hydroplaning and other handling issues, you could barely tell it had quattro. I replaced them with a lot of the tread still there (and this was on my wife's car, she did *not* want to put up with them).



Ask other Maxima drivers (ones who autocross will know about the maintaining traction bit) and the guys at the TireRack, who really do give geniune advice; they're not just trying to sell the highest profit tire (at least in my experience and I've bought dozens of tires from them).



But IMO the Maxima autocrossers will know even more than any tire salesman. It can be funny which tires do/don't work on specific vehicles- ask people who've actually driven (hard) on the combos you're considering.



Oh, and the speed rating isn't *just* about how high a speed you can maintain. The features that result in that also affect how the tire handles.
 
Brent13 said:
You might also want to check out the Yokohama AVS ES100. A really nice, moderately priced (under $100/tire in the size listed) performance tire. I've been running them for about a year and really like them. Good wet/dry traction and seem to be holding up well too.
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yup... had those on my gsr, and i loved them... really good for wet/dry... i could take onramps going 60 in the rain without any worries
 
Accumulator said:


But IMO the Maxima autocrossers will know even more than any tire salesman. It can be funny which tires do/don't work on specific vehicles- ask people who've actually driven (hard) on the combos you're considering.
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I know one other Maxima driver (99 5spd supercharged) that goes autocrossing. He has SO-3s for the summer (and autocross/drag) and he loves them, except for the price. For his 18s, the S0-3s are over $200 each.



I WON"T be getting SO-3s. They're just too much money. I am still leaning toward the G-Force Sports, since they have VERY good reviews...and they're also quite cheap.
 
Accumulator said:
Oh, and the speed rating isn't *just* about how high a speed you can maintain. The features that result in that also affect how the tire handles.
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This is a really good point. High speed ratings mean the tire has, among other things, higher heat resistance, which gives you a better margin of safety in general, and if the tire goes low on inflation without you noticing. However, the speed rating also increases the sidewall stiffness, making the ride more harsh.



I ran into this on GM factory-spec tires, on Goodyear GT+4's, where the standard tire was H-rated, but the special GM TPC version was S-rated, to give a better ride on my computer-limited-to-112mph GM car.
 
KUHMO ECSTA 712'S.



what a great looking tread pattern...and it seems your looking for a $100. tire.....there ya go!
 
My nod goes to the Hancook Ventus HR2's.



A bigtime sleeper IMO. I was reccomended them by a reputable member over at Team-Integra. He placed them above the Azenis and ES100 and they are a fraction of the price. We put them on my girlfriend's Saab 9-3 and while not a performance vehicle, the handling and traction increased a lot.
 
Accumulator:



Valid points you've brought up regarding your experiences, and totally agree find out what you prefer on *your* car, *I* can only speak for what I feel works well on my car, I have owned RWD cars for a few years now, and was unhappy with other tire brands, most of which have been named throughout this tread, I've owned AWD & FWD cars, some tires I like some I hate (particularly Khumo on FWD cars, serious under steer), guess its down to personnel preference and the feedback you get from driving, I've tried tires @ £160+each ($300) and didn't like them, for my style of driving, speed and weather conditions *I* find the Toyo's best suited for me.



I only mentioned the speed rating as per the original post, I know this is irrelevant most of the time (lets face it, who goes to the shop @ 160 mph to get milk..lol)

What tires are you using/recommend for the Audi Quattroâ€â„¢s? thinking of buying an S3 soon.

PK
 
steck said:
KUHMO ECSTA 712'S.



what a great looking tread pattern...and it seems your looking for a $100. tire.....there ya go!
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I know someone from school that told me not to buy those because of terrible treadwear. He hates them.
 
Sorry to bring it up again, but just wondering if anybody here has tried those bridgestone fuzion tires. Just looking for more opinions as I'll be needing some new tires soon and $ is kind of tight. Should have bought a spare set of yoko AVS intermediates when they were being discontinued.
 
I have a set of the Fuzions on my Impala in 255/50/17. I cant give a full review because as of now I only have the rears. But, theyre a huge improvement over the BFGs I had on there before as far as wet traction and dry cornering grip.



I was able to get mine from a local tire dealer for $119 mounted in my size. I'm sure your size would be cheaper. Just google the Bridgestone Fuzions ZRi to find lots of reviews. Didnt find any bad reviews. Very good tire for the price. I've heard that theyre kinda of like renamed RE730s which was a very good tire. Good Luck!:up
 
I just read the 48 reviews for the Fuzion ZRi at TireRack. It seems that everyone was quite satisfied with the tire. What's more, is that the Fuzions are even cheaper than the G-Force Sports (only $80 each), which are also rated very highly.



I'm actually leaning toward the Fuzions now. Seeing that people with Mustang Cobras, WS6s, and several other F-bodies were very happy with grip and cornering ability, I can't see why I wouldn't like them on the Maxima.
 
White95Max said:
I just read the 48 reviews for the Fuzion ZRi at TireRack. It seems that everyone was quite satisfied with the tire. What's more, is that the Fuzions are even cheaper than the G-Force Sports (only $80 each), which are also rated very highly.



I'm actually leaning toward the Fuzions now. Seeing that people with Mustang Cobras, WS6s, and several other F-bodies were very happy with grip and cornering ability, I can't see why I wouldn't like them on the Maxima.
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I did a lot of research on the Fuzion ZRi and was very close to buying them, but went with the Falken 512's in the end. My needs were a little different, as I wanted an all season tire because we get a fair amount of rain during the winter in the northwest and I also read a tire review site and by far and away, the Falkens had the most reviews than any other tire. I figured if that many people have used them, then they couldn't be all that bad. So far, after about 1,000 miles, the Falkens have been excellent. Much better than a more expensive and highly rated Dunlop SP5000 that I had previous. You can't go wrong with either tire. Check out onlinetire.com for prices on the Fuzion. That's where I found the best price. Here's a hint. If you buy 2 at a time, the shipping cost is cheaper than if you buy 4 at a time. Go figure?
 
White95Max- The Fuzions sound like a pretty good plan.



PK1- Interesting about the differneces between cars huh? The Toyos understeered so badly on my wife's 1st generation Audi S4 that my wife and I couldn't stand them. As I recall, we replaced them with Bridgestones. When the wrong tire throws the handling out of whack you know it!





PK1 said:
What tires are you using/recommend for the Audi Quattroâ€â„¢s? thinking of buying an S3 soon.

PK
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I haven't bought any worth recommending for quite a while as I don't drive the S8 all that much and I ended up replacing the Goodyear Eagle LSs on my wife's A8 with the same thing due to weird circumstances (she'd need one tire replaced, then two more, etc. so it was never feasible to get four new ones).



I would *not* get the Goodyears, that's for sure, they're just mediocre tires. But they work OK for what she's using the car for these days and they're cheap (maybe she'll let me trade it in on something before she needs new tires again ;) ).



The Dunlop Sport 8000s on the S8 seem pretty good, but they don't work well in low temps (but that's what snowtires are for, right?).



Back when we had more "interesting" quattros (modified turbos) we ran stuff like the summer-only Bridgestones and Michelin Pilots, tires that are pretty "track oriented". They wore fast but handled well. But again, this was few years ago and I'm not sure what the best choices would be today. I'd check an Auid forum.



But I think you'll find that the OE tires that come on an S3 will be pretty good ;) Just don't get an "all weather" optional tire or anything like that.
 
They aren't listed there either. You have to send them a message first?

TireRack has them for $78 each and they would be here in two days.



BTW, TireRack lists the 255/50/17s for $105. How much did you pay for each tire before the mounting and everything?
 
Yeah well since theyre local to me they had them at the store by the afternoon. And my size were $119 mounted on the car.



I guess you would need to leave them a E-mail. But, Tirerack has great service too. What ever is best for you go for it. I dont think you'll be dissapointed in your purchase.:xyxthumbs
 
Well I really like TireRack so that's probably where I'll order them from. Their service and quick shipping keep my going back to them.



And after shipping, the 4 Fuzions are only $350!
 
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