looking for a vote on tires

[willy]

wanted to get some new tire for next year and wanted to get a vote on the 3 tire I was looking at 1- Nitto nt01, 2-Kumho Ecsta XS,
3- Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 , wanted good handleing and grip ( do Autox some ), but also just driving around. Not worried about noise or ride ( could not hear them over the coupe anyway) but would like to last more that 5k miles. thease are also in the budget all cna be had for a set around 650-750. thanks for the input.

[tcoon]

hey Willy I have run a set of Kumho XS on my corvette Z06 for several years with great results...good grip, good wet performance, and don't flat spot after sitting. Liked them so much I bought a set for my 33 hot rod and they have worked well there as well. I also have a few sets of Nitto 555's and these are great for street, occasional track use. Nitto nt01 are more pure track use and will likely not last well on the street. most important...Have fun!

[willy]

right now have nitto 555 but made a mistake and did not get the 555R, the normal 555 are no better than regular street tire with harder rubber treadwear of 300

[Jeff Kleiner]

Unless you run a very small (comparatively) tire you're not going to find Star Specs in suitable sizes.

I'm on my second set of XS after running the first set darn near to the cords in 7,000 miles which included hundreds of auto-x runs and a number of track days. They love heat and even when competing on 90+ degree days I never did get them TOO hot. They really drop off below about 60 degrees though; fine for street use but on course you can't push 'em too hard at low temps until you get some heat built up. Even when they were quite worn they did not "go off" and in fact their grip actually increased as they wore. I had no reservations or second thoughts about going back with them again.

Cheers,
Jeff

[jkrueger]

The only tire of your choices i have experience with in the Kumho XS. I ran them on my V8 powered RX-7 for a couple of seasons and for a One Lap of America race. As Jeff said, they are great when they are warmed up, but cold be careful, they do not have much grip. And cold and wet, you might as well be on the rims. The next two One Lap races I ran, I switched to Michelin PS2s just because the Kumhos were so bad in the wet and cold. But they are great tire in the warm and dry.

JC

[Made_In_America]

Have you looked at the g-Force T/A KDW 2? I run these on my Mustang and they are head and shoulders above the Nitto 555's I used to have. I just wanted to throw this our there?

[willy]

made in america- no have not checked into the g-force have the nittos 555 ( but not the R spec ones ) think that is my problem, looking like everyone likes the Kumho XS and that is even the cheapest out of my pic's, see only one problem with them is when they are cold but read they heat up in a couple minites of driving and I only drive the coupe in dry , summer days. It is a major headache finding the right tire so many types and all seam to be good ??? just hate to lay down the $$ and find out I got the wrong ones.

[LuckyWinner]

I have the Nitto 05s. Not on the street with them yet but heard good things and love the way they look.

[SuperCoupe408]

I had the KDW-2's on my truck before I sold it, and let me tell, they were amazing tires, but that is to be expected from BF Goodrich.


We're running the Goodyear GS-D3's on the coupe, also had them on the roadster as well. Love these tires. I know not 1 of your choices, but still a nice tire. They were also badass looking.

[trublue]

I can second the BFG rec. My 17"/ 245 G-Force Sports really run well on the MK3 Roadster.

[Garry Bopp]

I vote for the Kumho Ecsta XS. I had a set of BFGoodrich gforce tires on my coupe. I will admit they were quite old by the time I actually got the coupe on the road. They wouldn't hook up until 3rd gear, during a run through the gears. I finally replaced them with the Kumho's and they had much more grip and were actually quieter on the road. These tires hook up well in second gear. I've got quite a few track miles on them as well and work well there.

Garry

[STLMARSHALL]

I have around 4000 miles on the Kumho XS's on and off the track. I agree they are great warm and dry tires. In 2011 I chose to autocross on them (over slicks) in a steady rain and they were terrible. There was no traction to be had. In 2012 I chose to try the Hankook slicks for a rain race and they were much better than the XS's. I went for a cruise on Christmas eve at about 32 degrees and they were almost as bad as in the rain. Driving on the street in the rain normally is not a problem. I am only talking trying to get race levels of performance out of them in challenging conditions. In dry conditions I have seen a peak G load of 1.37 G's one time and often see 1.25 G's measured on my android phone. The same program measured my pickup at .78 G's in a 4 wheel drift so it seems pretty accurate. In comparison my Hankook race tires pulled 1.8 G's peak during an autocross run.

The NT01's are very good tires. I witnessed how good they perform in the cold and the rain. I was shocked how soft the rubber still was on a friends tires during a race at 30 degrees. They will be my next set of autocross tires and I have thought about trying them on the street to see how they hold up. I am told they last well on road courses and don't lose grip with many heat cycles. They might just be streetable for a low mileage car.

[tt400]

Does anyone have any experience with either the Toyo Proyes 1 or R1R?

[willy]

Saw over on the Hot Rod Forum they were using the Falken Azenis RT-615K also a idea ?? anyone know anything about them?? are also not to $$, like I said before somany tires out there once you choose one you see anoughter.

[QSL]

Kumho Ecsta XS User here. Only 500 miles so far, but running 530hp and plenty of hook up.

[STLMARSHALL]

Saw over on the Hot Rod Forum they were using the Falken Azenis RT-615K also a idea ?? anyone know anything about them?? are also not to $$, like I said before somany tires out there once you choose one you see anoughter.

Very true as long as you stay 275's or smaller. As soon as you go larger than 275 the choices narrow quickly. Make a list of tires in a 315x17 and you will see how small the selection is.

Tire rack has these tires in 315 x 17:
1. Kumho XS $252
2. Eagle F1 $420
3. Sumi HTR Z $169
4. BFG Drag Radial $188
5. Proxes 888 $ 282 Track
6. Proxes TQ $ 176 Track

Tire buyer has:
1. Nitto 555R $196
2. Nitto NT05R $ 203
3. Nitto NT05 $ 235
4. BFG Drag Radial $244
5. Nitto NT01 $ 251 Track


I have around 400hp and can't use full throttle in 1st or 2nd on the XS's. It normally hooks well in 3rd at all speeds.

[Gbeck]

Nobody mentioned my favorite: Nitto Invo. Grippy, quiet, good in the wet and ride decent. I got almost 30,000 miles out of a set on my Mustang.

[turbonut48]

I have the Nitto 555r. I dont have experience with any other brand tire in the large, performance sizes.
I like them. I even got caught in rain on the highway. No problems.
Only 2500 miles.
Man are they soft. I can make a mark with my fingernail, in the tread area.
They throw a lot of stones tho.

The Nut

[willy]

Thanks for all the input, came across these at tirerack they are the new replacements for the Direzza Star Spec Z1 (long name), they are the Direzza Z11 , so got them, they are said to have the same rubber compond as the Z1 but inproved tread, hope I got the right one, read a lot of good from the Z1's, will have to give a report on them.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Looks like the Direzza Z-II is not offered in the sizes we would most often see on our cars; largest 17" is a 255/40 and the largest 18" is 275/35. What did you get Willy?

Jeff

[willy]

the Edelbrook rims I got are only 8" so am limited ther so am running 245/45/17 would have probly went with wider if the rims were wider and only got the rims becuase was offered a set of 5 (1 edelbrook run about $325) for $50 with only one with some damage but makes a good spare. I know I am always looking for the deal65 Coupe 002.JPG