I have an 03 S2000. Purchased it early this year. Only have 40,000 miles on it. Front tires are still the original bridgestone s-02's, the rears are sumitomo, not sure which ones but I'm not very impressed with them, they have about 15,000 miles on them. Anyways, I am going to buy all new tires. Still have the OEM rims as well.

So: The car is my daily driver. I probably drive around 1,000-1,500 miles per month. I'm in Mobile, Alabama so it gets extremely hot and humid during the summer. It also rains a lot. I drive on the interstate quite a bit as well. So, I need a tire that gets great traction in hot weather as well as wet weather. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I thought about going with the s-02's but $200 per tire is fairly expensive, but I am willing to pay it if it is the best tire for the car. I've heard good things about Fuzion tires but all I know is that they are made by bridgestone. I don't know a lot about cars and know next to nothing about tires. So any input is very appreciated. Thanks.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchRe...ter=16&x=67&y=3

Quite a few excellent choices for the AP1. Root around in the Tire Rack website, there is a lot of info in the way of test results, customer surveys, and customer reviews.

I'm on Dunlop Star Specs, which have fantastic wet and dry grip, but you'll want to replace them before you get to the wear bars to maintain hydroplaning resistance.

 

Another vote for the Dunlop Star Specs here. I just replaced the OEM Bridgestone RE050's on my 2008 AP2 with the Dunlops and I'm really happy with them. I live in CT but like you, I was mainly concerned with warm weather and wet road performance. I started out intending to buy Bridgestone RE11's specifically for their wet road capability in reviews and because I've had a lot of positive experience with Bridgestone over the years. But, after comparing the results of Tire Rack's tests, it was clear that the two tires are virtually identical in all performance respects for both wet and dry roads.

So, what I was able to boil it down to was this. The Bridgestones define the upper end of both performance and price at a little over $800 per set. For about 25% less or about $600 per set, the Dunlops have equal performance. So what are the differences? Well, the Bridgestones are supposed to have slightly better ride quality and a bit lower noise. They also win in the subjective looks department for me. But they are expensive and they have a lower wear rating @ 180 than the Dunlops. The Dunlops are 25% less expensive but noisier and a bit less forgiving of less than perfect roads but they have a slightly better wear rating @200. And the Dunlops are still a nice looking tire IMHO.

After a few weeks driving on the Dunlops, the two things I really notice as changes from the RE050's are more absolute grip and a change in trailing throttle oversteer behavior which is almost certainly related to the additional grip. They do seem a bit noisier and they do transmit a little more road shock but it's not a drastic change. I never had any gripes about the RE050's in heavy rain and likewise the Dunlops seem perfectly able to pump plenty of water out of the way at any reasonable speed and they handle predictably on wet asphalt. You may have cement roads down south and I can't help there as everything up north is asphalt.

Obviously, there are cheaper choices than either of these two tires but, how much cheaper? You can probably get a set of no name tires at $400 per set but, is a $200 savings really meaningful for the tradeoff in performance or the wet weather safety issues? If you want top tier performance at a very good price, you can't do better than the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs.

 

Thanks for the info. I've seen a lot of people who like the dunlop star specs so I'll definitely have to look into those.

 

Many s2k guys likes star spec. I like sumitomo htrz3, had them on my previous car and current on s2k. Their older ones wasn't that great, but htrz3 is great tire. Also I've heard vredestein sessanta tires, but I don't think many website carry them tho.

 

It really depends on where you set the priorities. If it is handling then the RE-11 and the Dunlop Star Spec would be the way to go. The RE-11 would be better in the wet and a little longer wear with aggresive driving.
If you are looking for better wear take a look you can take a look at the Bridgestone RE760 Sport. They will not handle quite as well but they are very good in the wet and they are quiet and smooth.
If I can help let me know.

 

I'm in a similar position as the OP - How do the 760's compare to the AP2 OEM RE50's?

thanks