i purchased my s used almost 2 years ago and it had khumo ecsta's on it. i've replaced the rears twice since then, both with khumo's. i have a second set of wheels and will be painting them and installing new tires. i had planned on getting the S03's - then i saw the price. they are double the cost of the khumo's - $200 apiece for the rears while my last pair of khumo's were $212 shipped.

i've read other tire discussions and what i'd like to know is whether or not the S03 is worth the extra money. i could take a small grip hit for half price and stick with the khumo's. if, however, the S03's blow away the khumo's, then i'd be willing to spend the extra money. i'm not interested in speculation - such as "these were great on my g35" - i need real-world s2000-specific data.

a buddy with a z3 m has the toyo proxes t1-s and he said they are great; the s2k crowd said they are light but not too trackable. i don't track. the tread looks aggressive, and the price is about 50% more than the khumo's, which is easier to stomach.

thanks guys.

 

S03s are better wet grip than the Kuhmos. Kuhmo also makes a MX tire that is more in line with high performance tire such as the S03, more $$$ also. The T1S is being replaced witht the T1R. The knock on the T1S is the sidewall stiffness. (one of the softest on the market). Long story short, if you need the wet grip S03, dry only Kuhmo MX.
Chris

 

My $.02 in real world!

Best street tire for the S is the SO2,W series (OEM 16")period.

SO3 is a better tire in the wet,but not so good in the dry.(both cost about the same,and tread life is about the same)

Best compromise IMO:Fuzion ZRi (245/45/16 and 225/50/16)
Better than SO3 in the rain,nearly as good as SO2 for dry cornering,longer tread life than both,and more silent,and comfortable,for $85.00 each.

 

SO3 , Great tire and prefer them to S02s. I have had a couple sets of SO3s on a couple cars and they are great.

 

S03's are Ok, but the S02's is less compromising in the dry. Anyway you look at it, the Kumho's are way sub par. The car will carry at least another .1 G's with the Bridgestones.

 

From your experience:
"SO3 is a better tire in the wet, but not so good in the dry" and "Fuzion ZRi is better than SO3 in the rain and nearly as good as SO2 for dry cornering"

Do you mean that Fuzion ZRi is better than S03 and it costs a lot less and longer tread life too ?

Or you mean: "Fuzion ZRi is better than SO2 in the rain and nearly as good as SO3 for dry cornering" ?

 

ok, first i've heard of the fuzion - any more input on these from anyone?

oh - look at this - they're made by bridgestone. interesting...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...n&tireModel=ZRi

everyone rates these tires well, except for the s2000 owner near the middle of the page: http://www.1010tires.com/TireReviews/Fuzio...e_reviews3.html

thanks for the replies guys.

 

I have been driving(sometimes quite hard) for about 8000 kms.(+-5000 miles)on my ZRi,and they still look and feel brand new!

-Dry pavement:#1=SO2,all the way.
#2=SO3 and ZRi are about equal;I like ZRi better,because,more
predictables.

-Wet pavement:#1=ZRi by far.
#2=SO3.
#3=SO2,and if it's below 50*F.forget it.

You can buy two sets of ZRi,for the price of one set of SO2.
One set of ZRi will last you as long as TWO sets of SO2.

I don't like SO3,because they feel squirmy.

In normal driving situations,(city,highway.and twisties spirited driving)you are not likely to reach the limits of ZRi,and they feel safer,because they are more predictable,than SO2.

I said normal driving situations,on a rce track,SO2 would be faster(dry and warm weather.

My $.02.

 

on side note what do u all thinkg of Yoko ES100 good price and ive heard they are pretty good tires of course not on same par as s03 and the MX but at that still good tires anyone had experience with them I have S03 right now great wet tires if i had an extra 700 sitting id do the s03 again

 

I am happy with the ES100s. Not great, but a good tire for the price. I have to really push to get the back end to step out and then it is very predictable and easy to catch. I am running a Comptech Comp front bar, middle setting and Koni SA rear full soft front 3/4 to firm.
Chris