Tire reviews

[scottzg]

Hi, i've run 8 sets of tires on my legacy now, and figured i'd share some opinions. I average about 10k per set. I don't really know what the literature or expected reviews on tires should be, but i can drive well enough to have some imput. Notice that i've listed a whole pile of sizes, and i don't really differentiate tire size differences or tire differences.


Starting with the oldest:


185/70r14 michelin mxv4+
I liked these. The were vague and wierd feeling with 'normal' air pressures, but with 40psi they were quiet, got good mileage, and wore well; i got 8k out of them and they were already partially worn when i got the car. They didn't have much overall grip, but the car was very easy to predict, lots of warning when you were losing grip, and would slide and stop sliding very smoothly.

195/65r14 michelin mxv4+
take offs off an accord. That guy stuck some giant chrome things on, really classy. These guys didn't seem to grip any better, but were less smooth in how they would lose traction, making them slightly less fun to drive. Like the previous ones, they would glaze the outside edge of the tire after a good run on a smoother road. The rubber could be 'pushed' off the shoulder too, which made the outside edges look wierd. The 185s did this too, but no other tire ive had does.

205/55r16 re92
I had a couple sets of these, i'd buy them attached to wrx wheels, destroy the tires, and sell the rims. When i first came off the mxv4+'s, they seemed like a grippy responsive tire that was just a little louder. When i returned to them from the es100s they seemed like a quiet, smooth thing. My beef with them (aside from wearing pretty quick, especially with a wunky alignment) is that they're just kind of vague. Its like your suspension is dealing with moosh in the first inch of travel, and running the pressure up a little, which cured it for the michelins, just made them noisy and ungrippy. They're good tires for people who like to go around a freeway onramp fast and then enjoy their stereo. I noticed the effective gearing change with these guys. Freeway speeds were nice, but the car didn't pick up as well from a roll from idle in 1st. Oddly, the 0-60 time was quite a bit better, according to my g-tech, since i could hit 60 in 2nd.

215/50r16 yoko avs es100
harsh riding and almost digital in their grip/slide. Grippiest tires ive run on this car, but not really a good choice for learning the boundaries of the car since the let go pretty abruptly. Harsh translates to lots of feedback and really splendid turn in, these poor guys died in 2.5 months. I enjoyed them a lot, but they're too expensive to run compared to the benefit of a harder tire. I bet if i ran a stiffer suspension i'd appreciate them more, with these lower profile tires you can really feel the suspension compress under you.

195/60r15 mxv4+
you might not be able to tell, but i like mxv4+'s. these came on some legacy turbo rims. pretty much the same as the others, but turn in was noticeably improved.

205/55r16 potenza re950
meh. kind of expensive, kind of jelly rollish, not as quiet as the michelins. i got 2 flats in them, got a record 20k out of them, but mostly due to my being careful not to overdrive the front of the car. They were pretty easy to drive, but i had trouble getting the rear end to break loose for some reason with these guys. I figured it was because i was developing suckitis until i got a new set of tires. A lot like the re92s but not quite as vague.

205/50r15 kumho exsta ast
best tires ive run yet. comming off the 950s the gearing change is very obvious, the car feels like i've gotten rid of a big husky passenger. This makes startng from a idling roll quite a bit easier and although im turning more revs, i dont have to drop gears as much pulling hills in 5th. A good bit grippier than the 950s, almost harsh riding (and responsive) as the es100s but much easier to slide and hook back up. A very good compromise. I think half the benefit is from the unusual size, but these seem to be pretty solid tires as well. I've only run them for a little over a week, and taken them for 2 fun runs, but so far so good.

[deadlydave]

Perhaps we should make this a tire information area? Maybe a sticky?

195/60r15 Bridgestone RE92's
Quiet and good to learn the limits of the old legacy. That being said, as my driving techniques advanced, the tires got rather irritating. They squeal upon hard cornering and felt mushy, delaying turn-in. These were decent in snow.

195/60r15 Douglas Performance GT-H's (Wal-Mart Specail)
I was actually pretty amazed at these. They had slightly crisper turn-in than the 92's, and were pretty grippy in the dry and wet, for a cheap-o tire. They were quieter and easier to drive on. When they started to loose grip, you lost it quicker than the Potenza's, but there was no squealing. Traction was decent in less than 4" of snow, beyond that the tred would pack itself, and the wheel wells with snow.

205/55/r16 Hankook Ventus RS-2's
The dry grip on these things in more than 40 degrees fahrenheit was insane. These were my auto-x/summer tires, and were shamelessly agressive looking and feeling. Grip was excellent in the wet too. When the tires did finally run out of traction, break away was sudden, but the tires would squeal right before. Treadwear was not so good, but they stood up well for the time I had them. Looks aren't really a factor in me buying a tire, but they looked mean.

[rougeben83]

Sure :) Listed w/ how I've used them so far.

215/45/17 Continental ContiExtreme street/autox/rallyx
Very good all around tire. Quietest out of any tires I've driven on so far. Traction in dry is good. Predictable breakaway characteristic; autox these tires and they had good steering response but not as high total grip vs. a summer tire. Traction in wet is also very good (driven 5 hours in downpour through PA-NJ, handled like a champ) never hydroplanned despite hitting 90mph. Ride, supple, not harsh. In snow, it is a little less grippy than even a more M+S oriented all-season, can induce slide and oversteer via gas pedal alone. Loose surface traction is decent, but not as good as a more chunkier-treaded tire. Wear so far has been good.

215/45/17 Kumho Ecsta Supra -summer only
Also a good tire, pricepoint is one of its strong suits. Slightly more road noise than the Conti's. Ride is just as supple. Grip is good, probably slightly higher than the Conti's, steering response is the same. Haven't autox this yet. Wet traction is also good.

225/45/17 Falken RT215 Azenis -autox/dry weather only
Dry grip is extremely good, stiffest sidewalls out of all the tires so far, excellent steering response. Breakaway characteristic is very predictable and progressive. Very noisy ride due to treadpattern (or lack of it), ride is also a little more jarring than a street tire. Reputation of getting greasy once tire temps begin to go up, but these are only on the track and never on regular street driving. Didn't bother driving these in the wet on the street - some say it handles just fine, but I wouldn't suggest that they will handle anything more than a damp surface, the siping and tread just isnt there. Tire wear...don't factor it when you buy these tires. You WILL be replacing them sooner than a regular street tire.

205/55/16 BF Goodrich Traction T/A V -street/rallyx
Good tire, dry traction is good for an all-season. Wet traction is also good, no hydroplanning. Steering response is slower vs. the 17"s - combination of taller sidewall and less stiff construction is likely. More biased towards a soft ride. In the dirt, tends to lose traction very abruptly.

205/55/16 Dunlop Wintersport DS-2 -street/rallyx
Good dry handling for a winter tire. Excellent wet weather traction (thunderstorm, highway speed) Ride is good due to softer sidewalls. Noise is a little less than the Ecstas, but not as quiet as Conti's. Loose surface traction is very good, but breaks away not so progressively.

205/55/16 Hankook W404 -street/rallyx
Noisy tires, average dry handling. Wet handling is good. Good snow traction. Tire pattern lends itself to getting gummed up by mud, so not really a good choice if you want to double these as fire-road/light trail tires.

[Airgne]

205/55/16 or 225/55/16 Dunlop Direzza DZ101. One of the best tires i have ever owned or put on a car. This tire is sticky when it needs to be and quiet. In the rain the best control i have ever felt from a tire. In the snow not so good since it was not made for it. I highly recommend this tire for use on any suby that likes grip and control.

205/55/16 or 215/55/16 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D. Now these tires are great tin the snow if you know how to drive in the snow. NNot to much to say about them other than great grip and control.

After 5yrs in Japan you learn what type of tire to use on a car, weather you want grip of slide. Hope this helps.

[SilentRacer]

215/45/17 Kuhmo Exsta Ast. Awesome performance tire, couldn't say enough good things abut them.

205/55/16 Continental Contitouring Contact. Crap, squeal like pigs on turns. Budget tire, don't buy unless you have to.

[J-Rock!]

I used to ride on 205/55/16 bridgestone potenza no luck with them, they ride nice but it seems like they get out of round real easy.

Now i ride on BFG g-sport 205/45/ZR17 and i love them, stiff sidewall great grip dry/wet, a little noisy and a little pricy but i love em and The Kumhos are my second choice great all around tires for the money you pay!!

[jey]

185/70/14 General Ameri-G4S: 8k miles:
Dry traction is average, very squishy sidewall. Good wet traction, and a great snow tire! I rallycrossed with them once and came back very happy. Noisy tire though, and the tread wear definitely does not live up to the 520 that is indicated (only 8k miles!), but that has to do with the way I abused them.

205/55/16 Bridgestone Potenza RE92: 24k miles:
Not a lot of tire for the retail price. The sidewalls roll a lot unless you inflate the tires to at least 40 psi. After half the tread is gone, they are unsafe in the snow, and rain performance starts to decrease significantly too. Tire has predictable characteristics though.

205/55/16 Continental ContiExtreme Contact:
Got these used and put the last few thousand miles on them. Also squishy sidewall, so overinflate them if you want performance. Not too bad even with the tread worn down, but the outer treads do take a beating and wear prematurely if you AutoX on them.

205/55/16 Kumho MX:
On my second set now - very happy with these tires. Definitely the best balance of a tire that is competitive for Autocross and excellent in the rain and even sleet/slush. Love the grip so much that I tried to see how late in the year I can manage to keep these on before I switch to boring all-seasons, and for kicks tried to see if I would ever get stranded if a system of unexpected sleet came through. With AWD I learned I wont get stuck, but dont drive these out into a snowstorm! Obviously wet performance decreases as the tread wears down, but alter your driving behaviour as that happens and its fine - still better than all-seasons.

205/55/16 Bridgestone Potenza G 009:
In the rain and slush, traction seems above average for an all-season, predictable. Dry traction seems average for a performance all-season. Dont expect summer-tire performance. Braking and turning on ice seems above average, but once the snow gets deep there isn't much to write home about. It'll do for the occasional snow that we get, but definitely no replacement for snow tires if you get a lot of the white stuff. If you care about noise/ride, don't even think about this tire. These are the noisiest and roughest riding tires Ive ever used - far worse than the Kumho MXs even. I wonder if I have defective tires - they seem to vibrate at high speeds too! Definitely trying something else next time.

[rougeben83]

Goodyear F1 GS-D3 225/45/17 Street
Aggressive summer-only tire. Stiff sidewall, not as stiff as azenis, but impacts are more pronounced in the cabin than an all-season 17". Noise is only pronounced on concrete/broken sections, on asphalt they are quiet...GY probably tuned them that way. Steering response is very neutral, good traction, have yet to make squeal. Will likely need a more controlled environment (i.e. track) to push them near their limit. Wet handling and traction is just like in dry...i.e. very good.

Update: I take that back about the stiff sidewall. When cold, the tires responsive very quickly. Once warm however, the sidewalls become a lot softer (often I can get a slight jiggle out of them if I nudge the roof of the car after driving an hour)...great for long distance traveling, not so great in terms of steering response.

[WinterKnoll]

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R 205/55/R16

The best tire I have ever owned..period. Amazing dry traction, stiff sidewall, great wet traction as well. These tires are so grippy and responsive, I can't believe the difference. They also remain very quiet, which I was happy with. Can't comment on wear since they are relatively new. I will definitely be getting another set once these wear.

[chuckthefuk]

205/55r16 re92
"I had a couple sets of these, i'd buy them attached to wrx wheels, destroy the tires, and sell the rims."


I just grabbed a set of wrx rims w/ re92's

Loud, Hard rubber, does not grip, terrible stop skid, terrible cornering, terrible when the rear wheels break free.

I was running 205/55/r16 michellins on stock LGT rims before the wrx rims and god what a difference.

RE92 = NO FUN!

[A1Fiddler]

-OHTSU Zexius xi-326
-205/55/R16
Horrible tires. They break look under dry and wet conditions very easily. They hydroplane horribly, and almost spun me out in a corner.

-Falken ZE-512
-205/55/R16
Great tires, especially for the price. Good dry and wet traction, they don't hydroplane, and are comfortable. Highly recommended.

[aznguy0087]

225/45 17 g-Force T/A KDW NT On my BBS RK. And they ROCK! extreme grip in the dry, and great grip in the rain. So mush better then the pirelli P6 that I gotten with the wheels. They are Ultra-High-Performance summer tires, with great tread wear 300. Nothing but smiles on my face every time I drive, and I feel safe when I drive these instead of the P6. Thats my 2 cent

[deadlydave]

I've got 2 more for you:

235/45/r17 Kumo Excsta ASX All season performance - Decently quiet with excellent road manners. Worked very well on dry and wet tarmac and even on snow, I would never have guessed, easily better than the RE92's on snow, even in the wrong size as I had them. At autocross they were acceptable, but the sidewalls were on the soft side. On a two driver car, i took tires with less than 4k miles on them and basically destroyed them in a day, so these are a great street tire, but on a track they can't take the heat.

225/45/r17 Yokohama AVS ES100's Summer max performance - Superb summer tire, awesome in the wet and dry. Sidewall is a bit soft, but adding extra pressure negated that. ON the road, they're a bit on the loud side, but the ride was still not too bad. They handled far, far better at the limit than the above posted Kumho's, even though these tires were 10mm narrower. They've lasted through most of this past summer, and have half a dozen autocrosses on them with tons of tread left.

[rougeben83]

Bridgestone Blizzak REVO1 205/55/16

Snow tires/Rallyx. Very soft sidewalls, and soft tread compound - your typical American snow tire. Ok in the dry, but have noticeably less grip than a good all-season. Steering response mushy. Wet handling good, no hydroplanning, but these still have near new tread. Easily gummed up with mud, not really a good choice for a wet rallycross. In dry dirt, it will probably be a better choice. Excellent reputation in light-semi deep snow (up to 6"), soft compound has a lot to do with this. Had no problems going through 3" of snow/ice/hail.

[Huffer]

Hankook W300 Icebears 205/55/16 - 4 winter seasons

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/hankook_icebear_w300_lg-1.jpg

While not as aggressive as a Nokian WR or even the Hankook Winter iPike, the W300 is still an excellent tire for the first two seasons, with good bite and lateral control in slushy conditions. On ice, it performs just as any non-studded tire would - skidding. In the dry, it is about the same as a decent all-season - the sidewall is a bit softer, due to the rubber compound. But there is great resistance to hydroplaning (probably due to the large sipes).
During my first three winters with these tires I could easily shift into 3rd and take the outside lanes on slushed up freeways, and still drive around 20mph faster than other traffic. Even with AWD however, it was very easy to break the rear end loose if you turned too quickly - but I think that has more to do with a moving road surface than the tires themselves.

If you drive a lot (longer distances) - you would likely only see about 2-3 winters from these tires. I am probably going to use these up into spring and then ditch them for a set of Hankook Winter iPikes for more aggressive snow play.

I do recommend the W300 if you see a lot of freeway or A and B-road driving, they're good enough to roll on year-round.

[CarlitoQC]

205-55/r16 Toyo Observe Garit KW. Brand new on my 03 GT. I have to say I got a few Subarus and some other cars, I used quite a few winter tires but these combine with Subaru AWD are just awesome. Best grip I ever got, only downside.. the car doesn't slide enough! oO Highly recommended. I also have only good things to say about the Toyos used on my ex-bd. 205-55/r16 Proxes 4 for summer or non snowy area, great under the rain and dry.

[phung717]

195-60-15 -> Bridgestone Potenza RE-92, the treading the tires aren't the best, after they are worn down a bit, they are terrible for the rain, and especially the snow. For tires which retail for over $100 a piece, i would never recommend these things. I must agree with someone who posted before me that they are good tires for me to learn the limits of the leggy.

195-60-15 -> Falken Ziex ZE-912, the aggressive tread pattern along with the tire compound i must say these tires are amazing. They grip nothing like the re92's. They handle water well, but i'm disappointed that i do not have the opportunity to give snow a try in these tires. I paid ~$67 per tire with the lifetime warranty from www.discounttires.com (http://www.discounttires.com). I will probably never get another tire unless it is the Falken. They are amazing.

[ShadowGT]

Falken Sincera SN-828, 205/55/16, $92 each USD from Discount Tires.

These are all season passenger car tires that are considered "better tires" by the Discount Tire store's medium of ranking tires.
They are T-rated.. so no driving over 120MPH.

The Sinceras have a tiny circular notch cut into part of the tire tread in a few places. When the circle becomes elongated it's time to rotate the tires. When the notch has worn completely through it's time to rotate again. Falken calls this "Sincera Special Eyes." For what it's worth, these are directional tires.

I have not taken these tires off the pavement yet but I have aggressively driven with these tires over the past few days through city, highway, rain and dry weather.

They are slightly noisier than the Sumitomos they are replacing. Not by much and with a car this age it doesn't really matter to me. I noticed the difference because I drive this car all the time. My wife road with me yesterday in the car and she didn't notice anything being louder.

You can definitely feel the road with these tires. I could probably roll over a quarter and tell you if it was heads or tails. One of the most noticeable changes was that I could really feel the road through the steering wheel. A lot has to do with that spine that runs down the center of the tire tread. Eitherway, it stood out as I left the parking lot for the first time was that I could feel every imperfection and texture in the road.

I have a lot of twists and turns to drive through on the way to work and at 80-90 MPH the car remains to feel confident. Probably more so because of new tires. OK, I feel more confident.
Drove the same route in a rain storm and I had nothing to get concerned over.

If you like Falkens and you don't mind bumping down from the Azenis or ZIEX series this is the way to go. I would have preferred to have gone to a set of the ZIEX series but I couldn't find any and I needed tires quickly, I was determined to return to the Falken brand after having them on all my previous cars.

Overall, I happily recommend these tires to my fellow Legacy brothers.

[jey]

185/70/14 Kumho Power Star 768
These cheap all-seasons came with the 95 Legacy I bought and I thought I was going to trash/sell them right afterwards but it turns out they are not bad at all. At $46 each on Tirerack these are the economic-crisis tires to have - if you're running 14" wheels (they make these tires from 10" to 15" sizes :lol:) They are just as good as other all-seasons that are considered "performance all-seasons" in dry and wet pavement.

[jamal]

225/50-16 Falken ZE-912.

I'm on my second set of these tires, and have been really happy with them. For an all-season they provide really great dry traction while being usable in the snow. I usually end up driving in snow, ice, and dirt so I needed something that could do all of those things. Speaking of dirt, these did really well at a rally-x in my old car.

My only complaints are about the on-road handling, and I don't really have a reason for complaining given that they are an all season. The flex and don't grip as well as I'd like, but the solution for that is a summer tire, and I couldn't really justify buying a tire that would wear faster and require a second set of tires for what mostly amounts to commuting. Plus they're cheap. I paid $324 mounted and balanced (although that included a slight discount).

[98outbackpdx]

i have kumho solus kr21 i have about 2k on them they seem to be pretty good tires. have driven them on lightly graveled roads at 70 mph and they were pretty secure. tight corners in about 3-4 inches of dirt you can get the back to slide around upon acceleration, road noise seems to not be as bad as previous toyos on a 99 sus. got the tires for $61 at tirerack.com but the price has gone down to $54 a tire. btw the tire size is 205/70/15. i wanted to replace the tires i bought the car with, with yoko geolander at/s's but i did not have $90 to spend per tire (tirerack.com has almost any size of that tire in stock.)

the snow tires my gmapa have are Hankook i pike's on their forester and they seem happy with them.

had i pikes on a 1998 chevy astro awd and with 5 50 pound sandbags in the back for weight did great, the only thing i was wishing that i had gotten a meatier tire was in about 7-8 inches of slush and trying to pass trucks on the freeway. my mom drove with these all winter in the columbia river gorge to and from portland oregon last year (only reason she stopped was because they closed the freeway for about a week and a half), and had no problem, the only time i chained up was around town. my town is eather all up hill or all down hill, up hill wasn't the problem it was going back down was the problem, took the chains off still had no problem. you can still get the back end to slide around, (and smack a curb, did not pop the tire did not even get a leak, needless to say i put the sand bags back in.)

[kinkbmx4407]

i just put 4 new kuhmo ecsta asx tires on my car and they are great! traction is soo good and the car doesnt lose any grip in turns.
i am very happy with my choice :smile:

[MudRunner]

225-60-16 Goodyear Eagle RS-A:

Dry traction was pretty good, nice turn-in and steering feel. Pretty quiet, and lasted a whopping 70,000 miles. Other than that, they sucked. Rain? Bleh? Snow? *hurl*





205/55/16 Bridgestone Potenza G 009:
In the rain and slush, traction seems above average for an all-season, predictable. Dry traction seems average for a performance all-season. Dont expect summer-tire performance. Braking and turning on ice seems above average, but once the snow gets deep there isn't much to write home about. It'll do for the occasional snow that we get, but definitely no replacement for snow tires if you get a lot of the white stuff. If you care about noise/ride, don't even think about this tire. These are the noisiest and roughest riding tires Ive ever used - far worse than the Kumho MXs even. I wonder if I have defective tires - they seem to vibrate at high speeds too! Definitely trying something else next time.

225-60-16 Bridgestone Potenza G009 (new version is called the G019, slightly redesigned, but I've driven a car with them and they're no better)

Have around 47,000 miles on mine, and I agree with all of the above. Wet traction (to me, anyway) is pretty sucky compared to the General Altimaxes we have on the Forester. They ride pretty badly. IE: My car feels like my dad's BMW ///M Coupe with 18's and 45 rubber over expansion joints. Definitely swapping them out before this next winter.

I'll put up the reviews on the tires that we've had on the Forester when I get back from work.

My next tires for the Outback will be a bit different... Yokohama Geolandar AT/S. Gotta make use out of that lift! :grin:

[hapatimmy]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/01/goodyear_F1_as_lg-1.jpg
I know evrybody has some great performance tires, or some great winter tires. But man, do I love these tires. I have nothing to compare to since these are my first fresh new tires since getting the car, but I love them on dry tarmac. I love them in the rain, and they did me well in the storm I was in in the mountains just a week ago.

[Navi271]

GOOD! looks like I have some replacement tires for my summer wheels! at least I will when I run out of tread on the tires I have now...

[mike-tracy]

I agree. I put them on my Forester, and they are ridiculously grippy. Couldn't be happier.

[Grafton]

205/50r16 (correct speedo issue) Fuzion HRi - All seasons, better than re92’s but still not the best, they are good in wet ok on dry and relatively predictable at the limit, but can be difficult to recover if you go too far. however as they wear down performance degrades, the set on my car lasted through 4 autocrosses and still have a bit of trea left on them

185/65r15 Firestone Winterforce – Studdable winters, I didn’t have my set studded however. It’s a very squishy tire it has ok dry grip good snow grip and good wet grip, however this is not a performance tire; not predictable towards the limit, however it is easily recoverable when you do break loose.

[B's Legacy Wagon]

[attachment=0:3qtcl6pl]yokhama S.drive.jpg[/attachment:3qtcl6pl]

Yokohama S.Drive any one have a chance to try these out before. been eyeing them to go one some 17" or 18" oz rims

[warrior]

Yokohama S.Drive any one have a chance to try these out before. been eyeing them to go one some 17" or 18" oz rims

I've heard and read great things about these but the only negative side is that they wear quickly in certain applications. However, the traction you get, the drive, everything else is better compared to the ES100's they replaced.


215/45/17 - Barum Bravuris 2 (http://www.barum-online.com/generator/www/de/en/barum/automobile/themes/pc_tyres/summer/bravuris_2/bravuris2_en.html)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/03/o5e3wn-1.jpg
I've had these tires for about 500km and I must say for the price they are amazing. I'm in love with asymmetrical tread patterns because you can rotate your tires much easier. This is popular entry level summer only tire in Europe, not so big in North America. I paid $430 CAD after taxes, it's Continental's sister company. Wet traction is great, dry traction is obviously better. I've pushed these tires pretty hard already and they have yet to break loose on me. The negative side is they're a little noisy on certain tarmac and super quiet on others.

205/55/16 - Continental ExtremeWinterContact
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/03/fmj5o2-1.jpg
My fourth set of dedicated winter tires and I don't think its worth the money that I paid for it ($630 CAD). Previously I had a set of Kumho KW17 winter tires and they inspired more confidence than these Continental's. The Conti's feel better connected to the road when it's dry but pretty squirmy in 3+ inches of snow. I never felt that with the Kumho's.

This is the my first winter on them and we didn't really have much winter this year and since it was a new tire, reviews were scarce, so I bought them blindly. I'd only buy these again if I can't find a better tire for the value.

[98outbackpdx]

update on my kumho solise kr21, after 20k miles they are pretty worn down. the tread is above the tread bars but i am starting to slide on wet corners. would still by them again if the price on tire rack went down $10 a tire. i might go with the yokohama geolander at/s because i can get them for $72 a tire.

[decke48]

kumho ecsta spt 215-45-17
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/06/ku_ecsta_spt_ci2_l-1.jpg
put 4000 miles on them, have good dry contact and hold well to pavement, wet is good, rarely hydroplane at below 55mph and hold desent in wet corner. loose dirt roads is ok, if you get on it or go to fast you feel them break loose. noise is low, and they seem to be wearing good. maybe lost 1/32 off them. would buy them again. wish the pricing when back down to $93 ea. now $102

[jaredc]

215/40/17 Sunny SN3800.

Chinese tire...start there. Dirt Cheap ~$60 apiece.

dang good dry grip...dang good wet grip. ive went 50mph around a circular off ramp (25mph speed limit) in a drizzle, with no sign of letting go.
They were on the car when i bought it. I was impressed with grip so i kept them.
they are quite simply the noisiest tire ive ever heard. they are incredibly loud to me, and i cant wait to wear em out to buy something better.
not bad for the price if noise isnt a great issue.

[98outbackpdx]

has anyone tried the Good Year triple assurance tires? they are kind of spendy, but they are a true all season, they are even rated as a snow tire. a lot of subarus in my area have the good year, and toyo eclipse tires.

[98outbackpdx]

has anyone tried the Good Year triple assurance tires? they are kind of spendy, but they are a true all season, they are even rated as a snow tire. a lot of subarus in my area have the good year, and toyo eclipse tires.

i ended up getting Hankook Optimo H727. they are the quietest tires. my grandparents have Toyo Eclipse tires on their forester and they are loud. my new Hankooks are so quiet that when driving on the freeway at 75mph you can whisper to your self and actually hear yourself, i could not do that with my old Kumhos. plus as an added benefit they are so quiet, i was able to hear clanking from the ABS sensor, and was able to get that fixed. granted they only have like 50 miles on them but tomarrow i will be putting on about 700 freeway miles driving to California. they have to be one of the quietest tire out there and it has a 100k mile tread life warranty. and i ended up spending only about $550 for an alignment $90, tires (installed $430) and an oil change $34 at the dealer. and one of the tire places wanted $550 just for some new nokian tires. i call that a bargain.

[Drakien]

Hankook I-Pike 205/55/16 (Snow tire) *Not Studded
Inexpensive for a good snow tire!
I ran these ALL year (about 10k miles), and went through about half the tread, but still do well in the snow that we have gotten this year.

NOISY!

Dry weather traction is not bad, a little "Boat like" around turns. I was able to do 45mph turns around 75-80 with no tire squeal, but I didn't dare go any faster because of body roll. The road eats these tires up, because they are soft.

Dirt Traction was good. I did take these to a dirty meet. They break loose when you want them to, but stick to the dirt well. I was able to do a bit of dirt drifting. Only slid off once. (to fast for the sharp turn)

Wet traction not so good. Hydroplanes a lot. Gotta be easy on the throttle when starting on wet/puddled areas. I can do donuts on a wet parking lot better than a snowy parking lot.

Snow traction amazing! I am able to accelerate on snow/ice almost as well as just dry pavement. Stopping is surprisingly good as well (Of course you still have to give yourself extra distance for stopping, but way better than the previous tires). If you start out slow and then accelerate you can get going pretty quick. Deepest snow I have drove in 6-8" and have not gotten stuck yet.

[03 Subaru GT]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/01/goodyear_F1_as_lg-1.jpg
I know evrybody has some great performance tires, or some great winter tires. But man, do I love these tires. I have nothing to compare to since these are my first fresh new tires since getting the car, but I love them on dry tarmac. I love them in the rain, and they did me well in the storm I was in in the mountains just a week ago.

I gotta agree with you on these tires. Just bought a set when I got my GT.

[prodriver1]

yokohama advan neova's! they were given a VERY good rating by grass roots motorsport magazine which is the ONLY car mag you will ever need its like porn and the bible mixed! :smt023 anyway they said the advans were the most informative tyre they have ever tested, it has buttery smooth progression and tells you exactly whats going on. a progressive tyre is a fun tyre and will tell you even more about the subarus amazing chassis balance.

[harrymaneuvers]

Negotiatiors: 195/65/15... cheapest tires I could find... something like $220 new installed. Not bad for the price but they did wear pretty fast... I got about 25k out of them before one of the sidewalls got a nasty bubble. They were pretty noisy but as far as NVH goes.

Current tires are Falken Zien ZE 512's. HUGE improvement from the negotiators. I have had them now for about 10k. Very even wear patters, great grip, great price... $280 with a 4 wheel alignment. Havent run them in the snow yet, but they perform pretty well in the rain.

[TGX4776]

Negotiatiors: 195/65/15... cheapest tires I could find... something like $220 new installed. Not bad for the price but they did wear pretty fast... I got about 25k out of them before one of the sidewalls got a nasty bubble. They were pretty noisy but as far as NVH goes.

Current tires are alken Zien ZE 512's. HUGE improvement from the negotiators. I have had them now for about 10k. Very even wear patters, great grip, great price... $280 with a 4 wheel alignment. Havent run them in the snow yet, but they perform pretty well in the rain.


where did you get your falkens for that price? i cant find them for less then 330 shipped.

[98outbackpdx]

has anyone tried the Good Year triple assurance tires? they are kind of spendy, but they are a true all season, they are even rated as a snow tire. a lot of subarus in my area have the good year, and toyo eclipse tires.

i ended up getting Hankook Optimo H727. they are the quietest tires. my grandparents have Toyo Eclipse tires on their forester and they are loud. my new Hankooks are so quiet that when driving on the freeway at 75mph you can whisper to your self and actually hear yourself, i could not do that with my old Kumhos. plus as an added benefit they are so quiet, i was able to hear clanking from the ABS sensor, and was able to get that fixed. granted they only have like 50 miles on them but tomarrow i will be putting on about 700 freeway miles driving to California. they have to be one of the quietest tire out there and it has a 100k mile tread life warranty. and i ended up spending only about $550 for an alignment $90, tires (installed $430) and an oil change $34 at the dealer. and one of the tire places wanted $550 just for some new nokian tires. i call that a bargain.

Had to buy 4 new tires because of some punctures. i had about 35k hard miles on them and had 6/32 left on the tires. i have driven in sand, snow, mud, 70 mph down a gravel road, and they are pretty solid. at first they kind of squirmed a bit and i had to rotate the tires a lot, but getting some miles on them helped. They seemed to do better on ice than packed snow. I loved the Hancooks so much that i bought them again. the price has gone up since i first bought the tires but i defiantly think they are worth it. If you only have 1 set of tires i would highly recommend these. also the more miles they got on them the better they seemed to grip in low traction situations.

[Dead91silvia]

205/55/16 Fusion HRi's

Love these tires! Have had 2 sets on my BD. They are a little loud but I have the stereo turned up all the time so I dont care. They last forever and dont start to lose grip till they are about 20%. Crazy awesome in the snow for not being a snow tire also! Also have a stiff side wall. They tend to lose a little grip on wet pavement when coming into a corner in a brake, but has never been a problem to me till they were toast...

I have Fusion HRi's on My GT Snowflake wheels, my Toyota work truck (205/60/15), my Moms Honda Civic (205/60/15), and had them on my s13 Silvia (215/45/17) and love them! Even with my Toyota truck with a canopy on it, it handles good! Super fun to drive!

They are on there way out of production sadly. They replaced them with a lower mileage (30K), softer compound tire and the reviews are not so good, so I will most likely not be getting them any more unless the old ones come back.

I did have Zexens when I got my BD and they sucked ball... I cant remember any more then they sucked, but that was also about 5 years ago...

[Baddog]

Had Conti Extreme Contact DWS's and they wore down pretty quickly. I am a spirited driver.

I am now currently running 225/45/17 Kuhmo Escta 4x's the dry grip is better then the DWS's and snow performance isn't half bad. Rain isn't bad either but didn't do as good as the Conti did.

When it's dry out I absolutely love my Kuhmos

[98legwag]

Have 205/45/17 Nitto Neogens.

Great dry and wet grip. I've put about 5000 miles on them and they are great. No experience with them in the snow yet. They are a tad noisy at times but the grip more than makes up for that. They are only supposed to last about 40,000 miles and are a soft tire. I love them.

Update- they are almost useless in the snow.

[04Legacy]

205/60/15's Firestone Winterforce

Great winter tires, performed amazing in the snow. Yes they do have a softer sidewall which increases sidewall flex, they are winter tires not Ultra High Performance Summer Tires. Because of that, You have to watch how fast you take a corner and how how you brake. Had tons more trust while driving in the snow with these then driving on my Yokohama All-seasons.

Put a good 1,000 miles on them from January to mid-march. Also cant beat $70 a piece :grin:

205/55/16's Yokohama Avid Touring S

Great for driving on the highway. Other than that don't use them. Had an Oh $hit moment with them this past winter, after that went on tire rack and bought my snow tires. Came one the car when i bought it.

205/55/16's Dumlop SP Sport 9000

They are nice and soft and will grip in nicely when needed. Used them for autox since i had them laying around and didnot care if i burned the tread off. Even though they only had 2-3/32's on them they did pretty good.

Bought them on my old set of wheels, and got to keep them when i sold the wheels.

[ruhrohh]

Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 225/45/17, 255/40/17 and Ventus V12 Evo 2 215/45/17, 245/40/17

Two sizes for each tire because I run staggered on my S2000.
These are my first summer/performance tires I ever bought and they are fantastic. Hankook upgraded the V12 evo to the V12 evo2 and there are really no noticeable differences between the two models. Both provide fantastic traction, treadwear is minimal (I drive about 4000 miles a year on the s2000 and the treadwear has barely decreased) and the price is extremely affordable. I highly recommend these tires for anyone who daily drives their car and has a dedicated set of wheels for the summer. Can't really provide any review for the track because I don't autocross or track my car in any way, just a fun street car, but I imagine they'd be great for the track too.