Compendium of Tire Reviews: Please sticky

Update -

First "torrential" rainstorm on the Hankook RS-2 Z212s.

The metro-Cleveland area got a rather spectacular downpour yesterday afternoon, right during my afternoon commute.

I'm barely 200 miles into them so far, so they've still got quite a bit of break-in distance to go, but even given their current status, I was very impressed with their road-manners yesterday, albeit the assessment was limited to surface-street speeds.

Even at 45 MPH, I was able to shoot-through standing water of 4 to 5 inches deep (and appx. 2 to 4 car-lengths), with no noticeable traction loss. Similarly, dipping only one side of the vehicle into the wet, under such conditions, did not result in any untoward pull or other unacceptable behavior.

Wet cornering, with road-debris aplenty, is very stable, at least at the rather reasonable speeds I dropped down to, given that these tires are still breaking-in, and that I was on public roadways. Further assessment of this factor will require clear, scouted roads, and also, of course, for the tires to complete wearing-in.

I unfortunately did not get any significant highway miles logged under such conditions. The storm here typified what we NE-Ohio residents see during the summer season - it can be pouring down cats and dogs in one township, and in the next, be completely dry.

I'm still exceedingly happy with these tires, and very thankful of all of your help, respectively, in the decision process.

My fitment details are:

225/40/18

18x8 Prodrive PFF7

Inflation pressures (current, not-yet optimized) are 40F/38R, hot

#1) Continental ContiExtremeContact 215/45/17 Ultra High Performance A/S

$385 shipped (TireRack) 3,000 miles since mounted

#2) CT

#3) Commute, spirited

#4) 80/20 (hwy/city)

#5) Stockers

#6) These tires are way better than stock, especially in the rain. No hydroplaning as of yet. No tramlining. A bit noisier due to aggressive tread design but nothing intolerable (don't even notice it anymore). Definitely recommend, especially for the price.

good to know. I'm going back and forth about RS2's and RT615's and wet weather is my concern. Thinking of even trying RE01's as well.

Unfortunately, due to my limited experience, I can only report what I've seen on my current set of RS2s.

More wet-weather update for you, though:

Again, torrential downpours in the Metro-Cleveland area.

I'm now at around 400 miles, and still taking it easy, but the conditions were just-right yesterday for me to do some higher-speed testing (I was on a stretch of higher-PSL suburban roadway when the storm hit its peak).

At around 55 to 65 MPH, I'm seeing pretty much the same kind of stable wet-behavior as I saw at appx. 45 MPH, as previously reported. Granted, I didn't go tackling quite same depth/width of standing-water scenario at such speeds , but even with 2 to 3 inches of standing water to cut through at these higher test speeds, I still found no untoward behavior. Same goes for dipping only one side of the car into the water.

Still no highway testing, but given that my latest runs were at typical highway PSL, I am fairly confident that I'm satisfied with the performance of these tires under such conditions (particularly as if Anna were in the car, I'd have backed-off a bit, too).

Again, thanks to everyone who contributed their experience/knowledge to help guide me toward these tires.

PS: I'm still running at 40/38 - f/r, hot. I am waiting for a bit more break-in on these tires before I start probing their limits in the dry, and will optimize pressures at that time. If anyone has any good suggestions, I'm all-ears! again, my fitment is 225/40/18 on 18x8 - and I'm a 5MT GT sedan.

#1) 225/45ZR-18 BRIDGESTONE POTENZA S-03 POLE POSITION $129 bought 7/07 from tirerack.com. driven ~2000 miles

#2) Vermont; driving anywhere from N. NJ to BOS to Central NY and of course back to VT

#3) Daily driver, spirted

#4) 80% HW 20% City

#5) RE050A

#6) noticably stiffer side walls on the PP. Noticed flat spots on both the 050 and S-03 after getting the tires up to temp then leaving the car sitting in the same spot for 24 hrs or more. Of course the flat spots immediately dissappear when the tires warm back up

#1) 225/40/18. Hankook rs2

#2) San Diego, CA and Los Angeles

#3) Daily driver, spirted

#4) 60% HW 40% City

#5) re92

#6) No lack of tire howling and lower speeds. at higher (freeway) speeds it's not as bad. The grip is phenomenal in the dry. hasnt rained yet in socal with them on so cant comment on the wet. Before the re92s would complain at decent-speed 90 degree turns. now the car just grips as i envisioned an AWD car would. I tried to do donuts (empty business park parking lot at 2 in the morning) and the car would just not let go. it would just hold on and screech.

for the next set of tires i'll probably get the same ones, but wider. this was a test run to see if i liked the tires before i got a wider size. these passed with flying colors. Comparable tires are waaaay more $$.

Update: last week I was at my GFs house. their road had been freshly paved maybe 3 days prior.

i parked on the street and parked uphill. I started off a little stronger than usual to overcome the hill.... and all 4 tires ripped out a little of the tarmac. there are now 4 indentations of the rs2s in the pavement. grip is crazy.

falken ziex 512- 215/45/17 all season 12,000

pgh, pa

normal commute

30/70

RE92

these tires are toast. very soft tire. outter edges are worn bad from city driving. will never make it a mile if it snows.

^ Yikes, only 12K miles? That's the worst I've heard so far..... The 512s were never good on mileage, but they'll typically go at least 30K before going out.

What was your inflation pressures? Hot? cold?

Was this the XL rated version?

42K on My original RE 92's.

I winter down

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Season, $170.00 ea at Goodyear. (yeah I know, too much, but at the time the RE92 had been cut by road construction debris and, tread was wearing on the others and I was at Goodyear.).

2. Southern Viriginia

3. No driving events.

4. 90% city

5. Bridgestone Potenza RE92

6. 12/26/2007 - 3 months now. I like them. They feel as if they are better in the corners and that they do not roll over as muh as the RE92's did and less drift in a straight line. No snow yet. No complaints about in the wet, but then no enthusiastic driving in the wet either, just hard in freeway exits. As a strictly subjective opinion, I can do about 45 in curves I was taking at 40 before.

#1) Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge, $599 installed @ America's Tire (matched TireRack price), High Performance Touring/All Season, Driven 50 miles

#2) Southern California

#3) Commute

#4) 50/50

#5) Bridgestone Potenza RE92A

#6) Cornering and general ride are the first things I've noticed since switching. The sidewalls are carbon fiber renforced which seems to make the car track better. The have some of the best ratings for snow, so I'll update this once I get a chance to run them in snow.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/goodyear/gy_eagle_redge_ci2_l.jpg

#1) Hankook Icebear W300's 225/50/R17 98V XL B (Winter's) $1053 Paid (Winter Tire and wheel package, mounted on 17x7" MB Weapons, balanced and package included Locking Lugs and Hub-centric rings) from discounttiredirect.com, they are listed though individually @ 120.00 per

#2) Cornwall, VT

#3) General Use in the winter. Sole reason of purchase was to replace summer tires and to get a good tire that was dependable in the deep snow and possibly ice.

#4) 50% "highway" if thats what you want to call the major VT roads I drive on, 50% pothole infested dirt roads with major frost heaves

#5) Bridgestone Potenza RE050 Summer tires

#6) As for these tires I've had them for a week. They were very good when there was no snow on the ground in terms of almost no road noise, handling and taking the bumps. I will say they did become a little, and I do mean a little squirly at speeds of 80+, however there was a slight dusting of snow on low maintained roads in sub freezing conditions. As for what they are meant for, in the layer of ice (on the bottom) and 3 inches of snow today the tires performed remarkably well. When traveling on the highway at speeds just below 55 mph in 2+ inches of slush with snow still coming down they were very stable. Even when I intentionally tried to see if I could get the car to pull in a general direction (other than straight) by driving into the mounds of slush in the center of my lane and the side of the road (IE drivers side tire in the center of my lane and the passenger's over the white line) at speed, the car never pulled and maintained its course (I was even brave enough to let go of the wheel for a few secs to see if there was any vibration at all, which there was none).

So far I am very happy with these tires and I will provide more feedback on them when we get more snow and the conditions are worse

I'm now at about 1K miles on my winter combo - Dunlop SP WinterSport 3Ds in 225/45/17 sizing, on 17x7..5 Sport Edition A7s (one of TireRack's many '04 WRX-STi fitment winter packages).

Current set pressures are 37F/35R, cold.

Dry/wet performance is similar to that of the 225/45/17 Falken ZIEX ZE-512s (at the same low ambient temperatures). Despite the 512s noted sidewall flex (even on the XL-rated models), I still feel that the 3Ds are a bit more squirmy both at-speed as well as when carving tighter corners. Nothing that would dissuade me from recommending the 3Ds - in terms of non wintry-precip. performance - for someone with my driving-habits, however.

As for the wintry stuff:

We just had a pretty decent blast of winter-weather here in metro-Cleveland, particularly in the near-eastern suburbs where I do most of my driving. I'm very, very satisfied with the 3Ds.

Even in this rather wide-footprint fitment, I had no trouble either staying out of trouble or staying ahead of "the pack" yesterday during the initial icy-precip. roadway situations (icy-snowfall continuing, with about an inch of hardpack snow on-road; most roadways were uncleared/untreated), as well as during today's work commute, where some of my frequented side-streets still had upwards of 4-6 inches of unplowed powder left-over.

I deliberately experimented with panic-stop as well as faster-than-prudent turns, and I can say that these tires were definitely predictable, and offered significant increases in safety margin than versus any all-season tires I've ever used under similar conditions, on any vehicle.

One note of caution is that there's definitely a break-in period/mileage to be had with these tires. We experienced our first significant snowfall of the season when I had only appx. 250 miles on the tires, and their performance was certainly not on the same level as they are, now.

--------

Update on the Falken ZIEX ZE-512s, 225/45/17 fitment, on the factory '05 LGT rims:

Wet and dry handling is MUCH improved over the factory RE92s (205/55/16), and I haven't noticed much slop at all, despite the heavier combination.

The sidewalls on the 512s are, again, undeniably soft (mine are the XL-rated version), but about 85% of the time, I don't drive nearly hard enough to notice this deficit. The only disappointing thing I've noticed (she hasn't, yet) is that at this sizing, they somehow seem to produce a harmonic-like road-roar in the cabin of her '05 WRX sedan, which was totally absent in my Legacy (likely due to our increased noise insulation).

I'm started the wifey's WRX off at 37/35, cold, F/R, In the dry and wet, they've been great.

In terms of wintry precip., overall, I was surprised that the tires actually handled as well as they did. It must have something to do with the vehicle-to-vehicle differences, but I think that the 512s, in the snow, are actually better on her WRX than they were on my LGT. Stopping on hard-pack is still far from great, but from reasonable speeds and in a relatively straight-line scenario, ABS intervention did haul me down in a reasonable distance (again, this is deliberately trying to upset the car).

Wrapping back to the noise issue - I can really hear the stuff being thrown up into the wheel-wells. The good thing about this is that it has the effect of audibly letting me know when I might be getting to the point where I'd get over my head, if I go any faster, something that other WRX drivers, locally, have mentioned.

^ That's what everyone's saying.

How are they fairing for your winter conditions - I'd imagine pretty nicely? I'm kinda afraid to go that route, here, as we see much more snow than y'all. Most reviews from end-users seem to confirm the CR report in that they're not as good as the 512s in the wintry stuff.

#1) Bridgstone Potenza RE01-R, 245/45/18 size. This is a true Summer tire and is very sticky!!!!! I LOVE them. I picked them up used (had one heat cycle on them) for $300. I have about 3000-4000 miles on them so far. One Track day event and one auto-x.

The good: Sticks like hell.

The bad: They wear out fast (they have a 140 treadwear rating) and are a little noisy.

#2) So Cal baby!!!! We have Summer and not summer, as long as I don't drive to Mammoth or Big Bear with these tires in the winter, I am good.

#3) I do it all. Track, auto-x and the daily grind

#4) 50/50 city and hwy

#5) RE-92 = THE SUCK

#6) Buy these tires if you want one of the best summer tires out there.

#1) What tire are you offering for review (size, model, type (summer, A/s, winter, race, etc), price paid, miles driven on tires, etc):

Continental Extreme Contact 215/45 ZR 17 (A/S)

Paid about 95/per from TireRack.

Have about 8k miles on them

#2) What is your geographic location: SW Missouri (Ozarks)

#3) What types of driving events if any (Track, AutoX, Commute , etc): Just spirited commuting w/ occasional long trip

#4) Percent of highway vs. city driving: 80/20 highway/city

#5) Tires used previously: Stock RE92s

#6) Your review and personal comments (Dry, wet, and snow, if applicable. Also, please compare to other tires used):

Overall: Grip is good in dry/rain/snow/ice. (well, good as can be expected on ice). In the dry, grip is very progressive and there is increasing squeal as I reach the limits (for example on a cloverleaf). Tires continue to fight for grip without letting go suddenly -- I really like this. Beacuse of this you can handle bumpy corners without suddenly losing grip -- the car keeps its poise. Very predictable tires.

Issues: The things I absolutely hate about these tires and have me considering alternatives for the next set, as soon as I can get these to wear out:

--- Stability: The car is not very stable at speed on the highway. It wanders around in the lane, as much as 2-3 feet either way without giving me any feedback. It's almost impossible to put the car where I want it. It's just not planted. This behavior was better with the RE92s. However the issue with the RE92s as that snow grip sucked, and they flex too much in corners.

-- Availability: These tires are almost impossible to find outside of the internet/mail order channels. NO ONE seems to carry them. So if you're on a long trip and get an unrepairable flat, you're gonna be stuck while new tire(s) get delivered, unless you want to ante up for a new set, usually at expensive local-dealer / just-off-the-highway prices. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BUY 4 OF THESE, YOU REALLY SHOULD BUY 5. They're cheap, it will be worth it. Trust me. I'm on my 7th tire in 6 months, so I know of which I speak.

#1) Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge, $599 installed @ America's Tire (matched TireRack price), High Performance Touring/All Season, Driven 50 miles

 

#2) Southern California

 

#3) Commute

 

#4) 50/50

 

#5) Bridgestone Potenza RE92A

 

#6) Cornering and general ride are the first things I've noticed since switching. The sidewalls are carbon fiber renforced which seems to make the car track better. The have some of the best ratings for snow, so I'll update this once I get a chance to run them in snow.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/goodyear/gy_eagle_redge_ci2_l.jpg

So i've got a chance to run these in the snow a few times now. The preform very well for all seasons although they are still no substitue for winter tires when running in 2-3' deep stuff. I also wanted to mention that with 10,000 miles, they haven't worn at all!

--- Stability: The car is not very stable at speed on the highway. It wanders around in the lane, as much as 2-3 feet either way without giving me any feedback. It's almost impossible to put the car where I want it. It's just not planted. This behavior was better with the RE92s. However the issue with the RE92s as that snow grip sucked, and they flex too much in corners.

 

-- Availability: These tires are almost impossible to find outside of the internet/mail order channels. NO ONE seems to carry them. So if you're on a long trip and get an unrepairable flat, you're gonna be stuck while new tire(s) get delivered, unless you want to ante up for a new set, usually at expensive local-dealer / just-off-the-highway prices. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BUY 4 OF THESE, YOU REALLY SHOULD BUY 5. They're cheap, it will be worth it. Trust me. I'm on my 7th tire in 6 months, so I know of which I speak.

I've never noticed your stability/wandering issue. They aren't as solid as the OEM 050s but track just fine IMO. What PSI you running? I'm usually close to 40f/38.

Picked mine up (in stock) at Discount Tire.

I've never noticed your stability/wandering issue. They aren't as solid as the OEM 050s but track just fine IMO. What PSI you running? I'm usually close to 40f/38.

 

Picked mine up (in stock) at Discount Tire.

I run mine at 38/36. Running at the Subie suggested stock pressures is just way to splashy...i suggest inflating to higher pressures and seeing how you feel about tracking....cuz i have no problems at all....definitely the best tire for the buck...although i hear they're being discontinued. might need to find another option soon...

Another update on my winter combo:

Dunlop SP WinterSport 3Ds in 225/45/17 sizing, on 17x7..5 Sport Edition A7s (one of TireRack's many '04 WRX-STi fitment winter packages).

Current set pressures are 37F/35R, cold.

---

We had a lot of RAINfall yesterday, and these tires, at just-above freezing temperatures, were pretty decent at handling standing water at typical secondary-road speeds.

Even in extremely potholed areas, where there was significant water accumulation, there was no undue hydroplaning, and the one panic-stop I tested on such a surface provided excellent controllability with very reasonable stopping distances.

In wash-out areas with significant water accumulation over longer spans of roadway, caution, however, is warranted. I would say that they are definitely compromised in this respect when compared to the larger water-channel'ed all-season tires (evaluating the latter under more temperate conditions, of course).