8 replies to this topic

[mcfizzle]

Figured I'd try this out, since I end up scouring the internet (lotta time on ZT) for info on tires, how well they perform, real-world treadlife, etc. etc. Since I spend most of my time on here when it comes to actual vehicular srs bzns, I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread for tire notes and reviews. Every time you try a set of tires, post something like:

- Brand/model/size
- Use (track/autox/drift)
- Any other necessary specs, your car set-up

Then just give a rundown of how well you liked them. Pics, whatever.

So when you're thinking about trying a new tire out, just pop in here, search, read what other JZXP members had to say about them.

Or if this is a stupid idea then flame me for a while before this gets closed and thrown away forevar.

Last one I tried with any actual real track time was Hankook Ventus HRII late last summer in my SR 240 out at Packwood. 225/45 on a 17x9" wheel with about 1.5* neg camber in the rear. Fronts kept biting, but that's because I'm kind of a dumbass. On the rear they were somewhat inconsistent with grip levels and I've heard they are prone to chunking... However the treadlife is beyond long, I did between three and four dozen runs on a hot, fairly rough lot surface and had way more than enough to drive home on and a number of street sessions after that. Plus they are fairly cheap, so if your thing is a single set of tires that will last (low on cash/spare wheels/etc.) then they are a pretty solid choice. You just have to make sure you keep them hot, or they become kind of a crapshoot.

[Foompla]

WTF. just wrote it up and it got deleted.


Hankook Ventus 195/50/15
Use: Daily Driving
Specs: Just Dropped (read: massive negative neg camber)

Theyre alright tires for daily usage, less than 10k miles on em, lasting as long as tires with a bad alignment would. They put out alot of smoke when your fucking around. However, and I do want to stress this, they are COMPLETELY USELESS in the snow. Dangerously so. I really think its just because of the thread pattern tho.

Honestly, I wouldnt buy them again because there are so many other options in that size. I want to give the 512's a shot next.

[rayray]

Dunlop SportMAXX 235/40/17 all around

used for street = mainly day to day driving plus highway runs

car setup: lowered, not slammed. lots of camber and quite a bit of rear toe in. on tein HA coils. setup for grip rather than drift

pros:
- great street/daily tire
- decent dry hook up
- great rain traction
- great bang for the buck
- quiet

cons:
- bit on the soft side
- wear pretty fast if you plan to drift these or got extreme camber/toe

my 2 cents: great all around daily use tire. has all the pros of a street tire that isn't an ultimate super dollar all summer tire or R compound.

notes: track day would have benefited from a wider rear tire setup with less camber. even with stock 1J it was just spin spin spin the wheel and slow drifts. super stable at 150+mph. toss it into a turn hard and it'll still hook.



Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 245/40/18

borrowed a set for the rear. same setup as above

haven't driven them long enough to really evaluate the pros and cons.

on initial thought, it felt just as confident on turn in, overall dry grip is high, and lots of feed back. obviously sacrifice a little bit of wet performance but what do you expect. i would say stiffness is about normal for this tire in this group. if i had a choice for street tire for my cressida it would be this. not for daily though unless i had cash to burn. commute is 60+ miles a day



Falken 615 (the old ones, not sure if they are the same as the current spec) 255/40/17

set for the rear. same setup again. 225/235 tires up front using mixed brands

pros:
- good dry grip, probably a bit much for a stock 1JZ for drift
- looks racer-ish, kudos points from people (jdm tyte dawg!)
- price won't break the wallet
- don't wear as quick as i expected

cons:
- stiff tire
- lets loose easily under certain circumstances
- terrible wet traction. i could ease into it in 3rd going straight with a 3.9 rear end in wet conditions and it will break loose (fun but really not a good wet tire at ALL... plus camber/toe settings weren't optimal for straight line)

notes: seemed to grip better and feel better overall when running lower air pressure (like 25-30psi) but eventually succumbed to uneven wear. overall, didn't like it. didn't inspire confidence at all. very little feed back. sometimes wondered if the rear was gonna hook at all when coming in pretty hot into a turn

heard they updated these, but i've never ran them since. i bought my set back in 2005.

[driftaholic]

I'm interested in some of the cheaper brands on onlinetires.com like Achilles and such

Personally I prefer Federal's though there was a batch that seriously delaminated at 99% tread, ruined my day.

[CelicaDRIFTER]

I'm interested in some of the cheaper brands

Ling Long
Capital Negotiator
wut other cheapy brands are there? LOL

i know some copy tread patterns of the name brand tires too.

[Keith]

We have something similar on a local forum. Copy/paste below. I'm waiting on some Diamondbacks & Sunnys but they are backordered. Hoping they are decent as they are literally half the price of most commonly used tires, but I'm not holding my breath.


A few…

I’m leaving out reviews for FM901, ST115 & ES100 as they are no longer in production.

Up until 2010, these were all used in the 215-245/17" range at around 300 whp . Driving style is moderate, I’m not really a lap after lap after lap guy. I check my pressures and watch my tire temps for consistency and max life.

Maxxis MA-Z1 (not “drift”)
Wear: 9/10
Grip: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Consistency: 9/10
Comments: Mid range $$ but will last making them cheaper in the long run. Behave almost the same from 0-100psi, 0-1000 degrees.

Dunlop DZ101
Wear: 8/10
Grip: 7.5/10
Price: 7/10
Consistency: 9/10
Comments: Very similar to the FM901, slightly better in grip.

Falken FK452
Wear: 8.5/10
Grip: 7.5/10
Price: 6/10
Consistency: 9/10
Comments: Were my favorites before Maxxis. Too expensive given the market.

Falken RT615
Wear: 8.5/10
Grip: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Consistency: 9/10
Comments: Always well regarded.

Federal SS595
Wear: 7/10
Grip: 6.5/10
Price: 10/10
Consistency: 6/10
Comments: Different sizes known to behave differently (esp 18”). Grip characteristics change more than others as temp, life & psi change.

Hankook Ventus RSII
Wear: 8/10
Grip: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Consistency: 8/10
Comments: Very solid all around.

[liv2drift]

Potenza RE-11 used for daily/and track duty (drifting)
225/40/18 used in the front on a 9.5inch wheel. Awesome grip in my opinon. At drift park at fuji speed way my entry's went up 25kph or so to about 125kph (not the fastest but an improvment) from when i was using my previous set of tires. Not that great in the rain though but thats to be expected from the class of tire it is imo. Tire wear isn't that great though and its not a reversable tire, flipping it isn't an option. Too expensive for what you get imo, but if I was sponsored I'd keep them. If you're looking to stretch/fender clearance these aren't for you. They run a tad big.

ATR Sport (Achilles) /Sport IR6688
Someone above mentioned being interested in these. These are a great tire bang for buck in wet or dry weather. Cheaper than federal 595s and wear and grip is similar. Gotta be careful ordering them as one of the models runs bigger than sidewall marking (sports run true sizing, 6688's run like 5mm bigger or something like that).
I ran these on the front of my 100 Cresta w/ 215/40's on a 9j. Had pretty good grip for what it was. Didn't have a problem w/ understeer at all. At this point my entry's weren't as fast as w/ the re11's either. I mean I wasn't even trying to go faster so I'm not sure if they can hang or not. I've also run these in 225 - 245/40 in the rear. They have good wear and don't chunk. They lasted 2-3 runs at Fuji Drift park in the rear. These tires stretch pretty good if thas what you're looking for a well.

[mcfizzle]

Anybody have experience with Continental Extreme Contact?

[toyotatodd]

firestone primewells cheap and they handle auto x well