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.
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