The age old debate about tires and what to use, everyone loves to offer up their opinion, so I'd like to read about what what others have to say. My car is used more on the street than the track, but I want to get back to doing some track days now that I am settled in SW Florida. I'd prefer traction over about everything else since my car is boosted and it is a handful on the track (and the street when boost is turned up). I have been running the Hankook RS4 tires for 6 years or so and they need to be replaced.

If it is any relevance, I am running Enkei PF01 17x8 fronts, 17x9 rears. The RS4 tires are 235/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear. I am not partial to any one brand of tire, so I'm open to all suggestions.

 

Tire Rack reviews are probably a better guess since few of us have tire experience with more than one or two tire types/brands and even fewer side by side comparisons.

R-S4 (rated #1 of 12) are on closeout so there may be a new tire on the way. Set of these is under $900 or $300 less than my RE-71RS (rated #4 of 12).

Comparing tires is like comparing motor oils...

-- Chuck

 

Yeah good call. I'll do some digging around on the tire sites and see what's out there.

 

Buddy, you need an alignment.

From what you're saying, you'd probably be better off with something that favors heat capacity and longevity, as well as decent street manners.

The RE71RS is a "super 200", which is great for setting one flying lap. I assume the street manners are pretty good. They're supposed to do well in the water too. So they might work well for you until you actually get to the track where they will be comically grippy and hide all your mistakes for a few laps...and then grease up and start to wear at an alarming rate.

Kumho V730 is much more of an endurance tire, but is bad in the wet...so may not be the best for southern FL. Not as fast as a super 200, but more consistent.

Falken Azenis RT615K+ is another good choice for endurance and consistency. Its not super fast. But its better than the V730 in water.

Here are probably the best 3 choices for you:

Continental ECF good road manners for a 200TW, good wet traction, and good consistency.

The RS4 is the jack of all trades.

Or the Yokohama Advan Neova AD09. Great wet traction and tread life. Good grip. Good consistency.

Check out the grassroots motorsports article about 200TW tires. Hopefully that points you in the right direction.



Tire rack reviews are great if you kinda already know what you want. I think a lot of people who are just looking at the graph numbers use Tire Rack. Which is why so many people come away with the RE71RS, regardless of if its actually the best tire for them.

 

LOL yes, obviously. I haven't had the alignment checked in years, and the whole front subframe and engine has been out and back in a couple of times during this time.

Thanks for all the good information too.

 

 

bad take, chuck

 

615k+ is the softest tire I would recommend for street. Dont bother with super 200. Similar to your rs4 except they're much more consistent throughout the life of the tire and much cheaper. I've ran a few sets of them for dual purpose. I ran 265 square and the problem with street was keeping them up to temp in canyons in winter and even commuting when it was below 40F. Anything warmer was fine. I'm in Arizona and regularly drive in temps from 30F - 112+F. They also hold up great in 100+F track days for 30min sessions.

V730 is somehow even worse in the wet than they look like they'd be. They also kick up a lot of rocks when very cold and obviously hot. I ran them a short while to dial in fitment. Probably 2sec faster on a 2min lap than 615/rs4 but I only ran them in canyons. I just mounted a set for track use only tho.

I wish I had experience with Continental extreme contact FORCE.. it maybe a really good choice. I finally switched to Continental extreme contact sport 02 235/275 on street and they have so much more straight line grip especially on the first pull. They don't have to come up to temp. That being said, they won't hold up to an advanced driver or even intermediate in hot temps.

For context my s2k is 2,880# in street form with driver. SC running 370whp for track and 460+whp for street. Intermediate driver no areo.​​​​​​​

 

All I can say is that I have Michelin PS4S on both my E36 M3 and my S2k. I love those tires. Not a good or useful metric for you though

 

LOL....