I finally got a new set of tires on the car and was oh so tired of spending 800+ dollars per set of bridgestone s02's in the 265/35 rear and 225/40 front but was absolutely addicted to the amount of grip this setup provided.
This time I said ah well and went with the "cheap" kumho 712's 225/40 front and 255/35 rear and was more than pleasantly suprised. I've been doing some aggressive driving in anticipation of the dragon even comming in the next few weeks on some of my favorite back roads and was completely ready to be dissapointed.
These tires at the moment are 8/10's what the s02 setup was giving me and are much more confidence inspiring at the limit. While running narrower tires in the rear has made the car a little more tail happy than my previous setup, it is oh so predictably so. Since the diameter of the tires are also closer to stock i've gained back what seems all was lost in acceleration due to the 265's being almost .5 inches greater in diameter.

I am extremely pleased with this setup and will be purchasing the same again next time.

 

interesting...

do you mind if i ask what size wheels you were running these on?

 

18x7.5 front and 18x9.5 rear

 

thank you.

how would you say these compare in grip to the S02's on OEM rims? i ask b/c i'm in the process of acquiring a set of ASA FR1's 17x8 and 17x9 and am considering running the 712's.

 

S02 are much better in dry weather. But these tires although not superior in dry like the S02s, they give you a chance in the rain. These and the Yoko. ES100s probably a good bargain if you aren't an extremeist for the performance.

Also, on persoanl experience, these tires suck in snow.

 

Argh... It's been a little while since i've put any significant number of miles on the stock rubber but the s02 setup i was running on the 18's was subjectively sticker than stock.

Mind you when you run the 712's at least in my expereince you will loose a little bit of responsiveness when you turn as the sidewall feels like it flexes a little more than the s02's . If you are running 17's though, I would imagine it would still be as good or better than stock

 

understood...

one of the local members here is planning to sell his ASA's soon... i'm intending to buy his and use Kuhmo's with them for my 50 mile/day commute, saving my OEM rubber for events demanding higher traction.

i was curious since the ASA's are notably wider (1.5" F & R), if the increase in contact area compensated some for the decrease in dry traction. the improvements in wet handling will be a nice benefit, and being a TRUE Southerner most my life, i've seen snow on roads down here 2 times in my 33 years.

(btw -- long standing joke in these parts is that true Southerners are folks who have never lived above I-10... regretfully, i now live about 2 miles N of I-10, but still under I-12... )