Summer Tire Recommendations

Lord Tin Foilhat · Mar 16, 2015

I'm looking for a PERFORMANCE SUMMER ONLY tire for my rims (one of the 3 sizes)

215,40,18, 225/40/18, 235/40/18

I haven't shopped for performance tires in years so I'm not sure what is good out there for the street and occasional track (road and strip, maybe 2-4 times all summer). Last time the Goodyear Eagle F1s were the tire to get, which I had, and loved them.

I was looking at the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s and they look/sound good based on reviews and have a good tread for wet/dry. $200/tire

Also mentioning this is for a Cobalt SS/SC, FWD and going to shoot for 300hp MAX. So I don't need something made to handle 1000hp.
Any recommendations or opinions are welcome!

Donnie · Mar 16, 2015

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo2

Mook · Mar 16, 2015

Donnie said:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo2

v12 ftw.

SirMarco · Mar 16, 2015

When I had my GTO, I ran M/T Street Comps. I loved those tires. I had a few other buddies get a set and loved them as well. It's worth looking into. The price is right for them also.

Lord Tin Foilhat · Mar 16, 2015

Donnie said:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo2

damn, those are a lot less money too!

10sec · Mar 16, 2015

They're not very sticky though... That's like an "all season" summer tire. An RE-11 would be much stickier and more fun, but that's just me.

Mook · Mar 16, 2015

They're plenty sticky. Ran them on the supra.

Tho I think they were just the regular evo, not 2.

EmersonHart13 · Mar 16, 2015

Subscribed, I'll be doing this soon too.

Lord Tin Foilhat · Mar 16, 2015

10sec said:
They're not very sticky though... That's like an "all season" summer tire. An RE-11 would be much stickier and more fun, but that's just me.

I added a note saying this is for a cobalt pushing a MAX of 300hp :rofl:

So I don't need super sticky but the bridgestone does look better.

also just found these cheapo summer tires "Gt Radial Champiro UHP1" http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tires/gt_radial/product/submitProductSize.do?r=NVRINT&pc=12353

. Someone with a cobalt SS/TC uses them for auto-X and they perform really well for the price ($70/tire!) and was able to pull off 2.1 60ft

radioguy6 · Mar 16, 2015

I ran two sets of Potenza RE050As on my G35 and loved them, but for my DD, I cant justify the wear rating and cost anymore. I was lucky to get 15K out of both sets, and that was a stretch. I just bought a set of Potenza RE760s, so far I like them.

Lord Tin Foilhat · Mar 16, 2015

radioguy6 said:
I ran two sets of Potenza RE050As on my G35 and loved them, but for my DD, I cant justify the wear rating and cost anymore. I was lucky to get 15K out of both sets, and that was a stretch. I just bought a set of Potenza RE760s, so far I like them.

luckily i have dedicated Summer/Winter setups and I probably drive a total of MAYBE 5-10k miles a year since I got a work truck so mileage isnt that important but i would like to get at least 15-20k out of the summers over 3/4 years

Ti28 · Mar 16, 2015

I'm a fan of Nitto.

ChrisRac · Mar 16, 2015

Drove from Chicago to Alaska on a set of Sumitomo HTR Z and was pretty happy with them.

Intel · Mar 16, 2015

Dunlop Direzza, g-force rival, hankook rs-3 are what is run most in autocross and street tire classes. Wear well and grip well also.

I run the evo12 on the Z but am looking for more traction after it gets tuned this spring. Most likely will end up with the rs-3.

Donnie · Mar 16, 2015

10sec said:
They're not very sticky though... That's like an "all season" summer tire. An RE-11 would be much stickier and more fun, but that's just me.

Apples to oranges. You want something that will allow you to push the car much harder around corners. He sounds like he wants something more intuitive to a good daily driving experience and better traction out of the hole (FWDlol). The V12's will give him all of that, without the massive markup and trade-off in comfort of the higher tier performance tires.

I ran these on the Neon. Were incredibly well refined on the expressway, handled well when wet, gripped great when thrown into a corner and despite the softer sidewalls, were exceedingly predictable and let you know quite vocally when they were at the limit. Put up with 425-450ft/lbs of FWD torque like champs for me as well.

They're stellar all-rounders.

Lord Tin Foilhat · Mar 16, 2015

Donnie said:
Apples to oranges. You want something that will allow you to push the car much harder around corners. He sounds like he wants something more intuitive to a good daily driving experience and better traction out of the hole (FWDlol). The V12's will give him all of that, without the massive markup and trade-off in comfort of the higher tier performance tires.

I ran these on the Neon. Were incredibly well refined on the expressway, handled well when wet, gripped great when thrown into a corner and despite the softer sidewalls, were exceedingly predictable and let you know quite vocally when they were at the limit. Put up with 425-450ft/lbs of FWD torque like champs for me as well.

They're stellar all-rounders.

Exactly! Nailed it with that explanation of what I'm looking for. I'm glad you also have some experience with these on a fwd car with some power. They are now on the list of possible choices :bigthumb:

sickmint79 · Mar 16, 2015

putzing around town, i'd probably get conti DW.

daily/autox/track, i'd without hesitation get dz2 star specs. wish i had them on my car now.

10sec · Mar 16, 2015

Donnie said:
Apples to oranges. You want something that will allow you to push the car much harder around corners. He sounds like he wants something more intuitive to a good daily driving experience and better traction out of the hole (FWDlol). The V12's will give him all of that, without the massive markup and trade-off in comfort of the higher tier performance tires.

I ran these on the Neon. Were incredibly well refined on the expressway, handled well when wet, gripped great when thrown into a corner and despite the softer sidewalls, were exceedingly predictable and let you know quite vocally when they were at the limit. Put up with 425-450ft/lbs of FWD torque like champs for me as well.

They're stellar all-rounders.

Yeah, I GTFO once I saw a 60' time and FWD.

l0wb00st · Mar 16, 2015

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=34WR8Z2&tab=Sizes

BS ISF · Mar 16, 2015

RE-11's! this is what I have on my isf. I have run v12's, conti's, Pirelli corsa's and now re-11. these are my favorite of the bunch. great dry especially if you heat them up just a bit and damn impressive in the wet. you won't be disappointed.

DanJ · Mar 16, 2015

I have the Evo 2's on my summer wheels. I only have about 3-4K on them but I like them so far. Not sure how they are long term. I know I'll cup them from the stock camber before I wear them out though.

HeavyG · Mar 16, 2015

lots of great suggestions...if i had the cash Michelin Pilot Sports.....nice grip and comfort

IDAFC21 · Mar 16, 2015

I've been running the first gen V12 evo's on my gto for about the last 4 years now and probably about 15k miles. They're still going but it may be time to replace the rears after another couple thousand miles here. They're not bad yet, but on the few cold mornings we did have here they were starting to struggle for traction. But I dont need to worry about cold asphalt anymore so I can probably make them last for awhile longer yet :rofl:

They've been great tires tho for what I've needed them to do.

SinisterSHO · Mar 16, 2015

sickmint79 said:
putzing around town, i'd probably get conti DW.

daily/autox/track, i'd without hesitation get dz2 star specs. wish i had them on my car now.

I bought continental DW for the g8 summer wheels because they had a good tread wear rating and great reviews. Plus they had a rebate and discount tire matched tire rack's price, including no sales tax.

It really comes down to what to want to do. yeah, super sticky tires are fun, but they're going to wear much quicker.

I could have bought sticker summer tires for the g, but combined with my snow tires, in hoping I won't ever have to buy tires for it again.

Donnie · Mar 16, 2015

tinfoilhat said:
Exactly! Nailed it with that explanation of what I'm looking for. I'm glad you also have some experience with these on a fwd car with some power. They are now on the list of possible choices

10sec said:
Yeah, I GTFO once I saw a 60' time and FWD.

Summer Tire Recommendations

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