Well I'm about 75% sure I'm going with RT615s. 215/45F 255/40R

I heard from one erson that after a few heat cycles the tire hardens and becomes VERY unsafe to drive.

I've heard from many that the tire is great in the dry decent in the wet and can get a fairly good amount of miles on them if no beat to hard and maintained well.

Which is it? Anyone with experience?

The other tire I was looking at is the Hankook RS2 215/45F 245/40R

Thanks all.

 

well, when the RT615 heats up, like any tire, it decreases in it's grip capabilities. On my set I got about 7K and thats with aggressive driving before having to replace them. So if you baby the car and dont drive it spiritedly much, you can get a good amount of miles from it. Lastly, the 615>the RS2 IMO.

 

I don't track the car. Just drive to work mostly. Highway. I like to take off ramps quick. Maybe Ill do an event at some point.

 

. Don't believe a word that this person says.

RT-615's are fairly decent street tires. I put them on the 2nd tier of street tires along with RS2 and similiar tires. 1st tier are AD07's, RE-01R's, Z1's.

Wet performance is decent, but hydroplaning resist sucks. A lot of slip angle, so tons of warning as they approach the limit of grip.

 

i did not have them on my s2k, but i had them on my civic in 205/50/15 size and absolutely LOVED them on the street. i could literraly point the car where i wanted and go as fast as the car could go! now like others said hydro resistance is not too good and once worn VERY unsafe in wet conditions.

i drive about 5k miles/month and i had them for ATLEAST 6 months with very hard driving and one track day.

i will say this, as good on the street as they are...they weren as great on the track once they heat up they begin to slide. understeer in my case.

i would however def reccommend them for summer street tires!

 

^^ yeah i saw a bunch of guys at an autocross spray water on the 615s after each run. said they get too gummy if they get tooo hot.

in any case im planning to get these once my current all seasons run out.

2 of my friends swear by em. cheap and performance.

 

LOL it's a street tire, not a race tire. I've been daily driving the same set of RT615's for just about a year through 110 degree temps and yesterday in the snow/ice/slush with no problems. It's not advisable to drive them in the snow but it only happens once a year here in TX if even that.

 

i've never used the 615s and i've never owned an S but on my old swapped impreza i had the 1st gen azenis and they were way better than i expected for what i paid for them once they warmed up. and since i've heard nothing but good things about them from people who have used the old azenis and the new 615s i'd hafta make the assumption they're a more than decent street tire (especially for the money!)

 

My friend uses RT-615's on his 06 STi and he absolutely loves them. Great tire for dailing driving/occasional spirited.

The tire offers more grip than your traditional street tire, but you will be sacrificing longevity.

Stickier tire = Softer tire

Softer tire = Faster wear

 

I agree from most of what the others have said. As for any tire that heats up, you will start to lose grippage. With that said, you will need to do alot of aggressive driving to get it to that limit.

I actually just switched out my 615s on my rears yesterday as they were toast. IMHO, they had great dry traction and so/so wet. As far as going over any puddles, expect the hydroplaning. It was very scary on any puddle I hit going over 45mph. With about 40-50%, maybe 60%treads left, I felt alot of bumpsteer which felt a little scary as well. As for any tire being driven cold which is bad, these truthfully felt even worse if you don't warm the tires up correctly. Once you get them warm though, you are planted on the road. They had maybe 40% treads before I decided to switch them out as the bumpsteers were just making me nervous, especially going on an on ramp that had bumps...felt like my tail was ready to swing out if I hit a good size one. As soon as I switched the 615s out though for my new rubber, the bumpsteers where gone so I ruled out other possiblities for the cause of bumpsteer. I hope some of these info helps you out as they are from my experience. I had the same tire setup as what you are looking in, too. This was done on mainly DD in the spring/summer/fall and a few spirited drives. No tracking.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps.