Sam Strano

Toyo T1R, Bridgestone RE-01R, Falken RT-615, Yokohama Neova, Dunlop Direzza D1.... That's a list of latests and greatest tires being used for SCCA Street Touring classes which do not allow R-comps, and require tires with a treadwear rating of at least 140.

That said, having seen and durometered the Toyo.... It says 140, but I don't buy it. The compound was softer than the compound on a set of brand new Hoosier Radial Wets in the softer H compound. Seems to be the same compound as the RA1 and R888 but built to suit the rules.....

Kobie

My next tires will be the Toyo R888.

Sleeper_08

Have you thought about BFG KDW2's?

They seem to come in the sizes you are looking for and offer a good combination of dry performance and wet performance.

Here is a link to Tire Rack http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ce+T%2FA+KDW+2

Jazzer The Cat

Thanks for all your wonderful info pepes

I have looked at tread patterns, tread depth, treadwear, as well as what would be a reasonable life expectancy. It would be nice to get a year out ofa set of tires, soif I can get 10,000 miles,I will behappy. The truely ultimate high performance D.O.T. rated tires, are well..... basically slicks! This would be downright dangerous in wet or rain conditions. I am going to steer away from the Hoosiers,BFG g-Force R1's and a few others that would be too risky for year-round driving.I have pretty much narrowed it down to the following three tires (but will remain open to other possiblilties):

A. Falken RT 615's
B. Yokohama Advan Sport
C. Toyo R888

The R888 being the strongest candidate of the three (thanksKobie [sm=smiley20.gif]). Will do some research on the temp/traction numbers and see what willwork best for me, but I like what I see with the Toyo R888's.

Thanks again, all

Jazzer

Norm Peterson

An oldertire that's not quite up to the level of the ones in Sam's list is the Kumho Ecsta MX.But it was one of the better "Street Touring" tires of its time and a few people still run them. They *may* maintain their grip better over more heat cycles than some of the newer rubber, particularly when used on a heavier car.


re: the off-topic stuff - Jazzer is after opinions from cornering enthusiasts, and from what I've seen of the 4.6 section, it's heavily skewed in the drag racing direction (no obvious handling oriented posts there in the first five pages as of a few minutes ago ought to be enough evidence). Soooo . . . this forum may be becoming the "handling forum" by default, and sometimes you have to ask the question where you can reasonably expect useful answers.


Norm

Argonaut

I have the Falken 615s. Did AX in the rain last weekend and Pocono north in the rain today. They work pretty darn well. Good grip.Give you lots of warning before breaking away. I bought them as a learning tire (rather than jumping right into R-Compounds) and have been very satisfied. For the price they are a great deal.

Jazzer The Cat

Thanks Argonaut

I have been doing research all day and have come to the following options:

1.The R888 is "OK" in the wet, but hairy in heavy rain or puddles (the conclusion after many, many reviews I read today). This is a year-round driver, so not overly excited to find myself doin' the hydro-on-the-highwayif I am not at 100% attention 100% of the time!

2. Keep my existing PS2's (stillgood life left on them) and get an additional set of 18"x9" and 18"x10.5" wheels and install the R888's on those for summer.

Does anyone here have practical DD experience with the R888 in wet/raining conditions?

Option 2 is a more expensive way to go, but will offer the best possible solution as I REEAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYY want some super-sticky meats on my car. Especially since I am about to pull the trigger on some Griggs SLA'sup front (I already have all the other items on this list). This is kinda all hindging on my current 9" wheels working with the SLA set-up.

Jazzer

shooter23

I personally would stick with the PS2...nothing is going to ride the same as them. I sell tires all day long and I dont care what you say, but nothing is going to ride like them. I just got back from Michelin Proving Grounds where I got to test drive the PS2 and those are what im going to be putting on when I wear out my KDW's.

blackS197

Top of the line Falken Azenis or Hankook Ventus. Those companies show up correct at the drift events.

Jazzer The Cat

Thanks again for all your thoughts and recommendations

I have been doingalot ofresearch and given this much of my time as of late. I have decided to pick up anadditional set of rims, get them widened from 9"s to 10"s and 10.5"s to 11"~11.5"s.Wrapping them in Toyo R888's on 285/30/18"s & 315/30/18"s.Barring a couple of unknown issues at the moment, I will begoing SLA up front in the next week or so, and will see if I can get actually get a10" wheel up there [sm=signs003.gif].

I willcontinue to usePS2's on existing wheels and use them as winter tires. I cannot bring myself to runR888's year-round as I don't store my car, and running them in the wet is less than my ideal cruise. I have also been speaking to John Griggs and he wants to get me on the track to do my driving rather than HWY 1 (to which I whole-heartedly agree).

I appreciateeverybody's input, and will keep "The Great bank-windows in cyberspace" (Mustang forums) up to date on my progress, as I would not be TRULY egomaniacal if I didn't

Jazzer The Cat