OK so spring is going to come at some point and since 2 or my 4 summer tires have cords showing and the other 2 would hydroplane in a 1/4 inch of water I need to get some new tires. Any sugestions, here are my criteria:

1. Fit on a Hollie (15 by 5.5 inches)
2. Streetable and water friendly
3. Decent auto X performance
4. not too loud
5. Not too expensive

I do not care about snow performance as these tires will only be on the car when the temps are above 55 degrees.

 

I like these a lot
Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grid

 

Sorry Carol all seasons don't do as well in the summer as summer tires

I do have the Potenza Pole Positions on my list.

 

Keep an eye on the marketplace here. There are often good deals to be had.

 

Silly me. I only have 4 tires!!!

 

That's what I have but I can't imagine they'd be sporty enough for your X needs.

 

Allen go to the Rack of Tires & look at Uniroyal UHP tires. That's right Uni Roy & AL. They are a pretty decent price & from what I've gathered a decent tire. As you by now know there are not a lot of choices in 15" tires anymore. Maybe it's time for a set of 22" DUB's. Maybe John can photoshop these on your MINI.

 

That is the issue I am running into the stock size is just weird essentially there is only one summer tire that comes in the stock 175/65/15 and while it was a good tire I am looking for something better. The 195/55/15 has a decent selection: Yoko S Drive, Dunlop Direzza, Bridgestone Potenza, etc. Just not sure about the online reviews they tend to be fan boys or people who just hate the tire and it is hard to know who is telling the truth.

Chuck those dubs would give me some added ground clearance for the snow I should have thought about that.

 

Personally I would go with a 205/50/15. Lots more rubber on the road for those autoX runs. I think that is the biggest that would fit in your Holies without issues.

If you get those DUB's we'll have to hack the fenders for clearance. Although they are the right color.

 

See and I thought you would tell me not to go any wider than a 195, I learn something new everyday!

 

Get with the times man. 205 is the new 195.

 

What do you guys think about theVventus V12 Evo's from Hankook, any good?

 

Looks like the Kumho Estansia, I have never seen those in person but people loved the Kumhos.

 

Yokohama's installed this morning. Thanks to my AutoX pal Stewart. 195/55/15's look really nice.

 

I think you will like those Allen. Did you get the gangster walls?

 

Just put summer Yokos on my web-spokes and proper winter tires on my X-lites. Just in time for spring, huh?

 

Trust me it will snow again. Hopefully it will wait until next January.

Did you take advantage of Discount Tire's $100 off on snow tires sale?

 

I was so tempted the last couple of days to put my summers on, but I don't think the temperatures will stay warm enough for a few weeks more...

 

Good point. Cold weather & performance tires don't mix well. That being said I'll probably swap mine out this week sometime & be very careful in the cold temps.

 

I just could not take the noise of the snows any longer. Snows get so loud when it gets warmer than 50. Plus the orange wheels look so much better than the steelies. These Yoko's are really nice 195 / 55 is a much more appropriate size than the 175/65's that come stock. Drove them in the rain on some twisties today and they felt great!

 

The problem with the 15" wheels, in general, is lack of tires these days. If anyone is willing to drive to Warren I am happy to hook them up. I suppose the plus of having a tire store is that I can do that :D

 

If you think 15 inch tires are scarce you should try & find 14 inch or 13 inch. Miata guys are having a hard time finding 14s & when we looked for 13s for Eric's Datsun 510 they were damn near impossible to get.

 

Chuck they sell those tires 2 places, the kids department and go-cart shops

After driving my tires a bit on dry roads I am just astounded at the traction. I just can't wait to get a day of AutoX'ing in with them. My old tires would roll over and slide all over the place, I hope these offer more bite.

 

I have loads of 13" tires but its not like you can come up with 205/60R13s any more.

Sadly, they are too costly to produce on a mass scale and building them means you cant build the 16/17/18" tires that you can make money on.

I have been in the tire business 13 years, I have seen lots of tires come and go. I remember mounting my first run flat in 1998, no special equipment, no fancy tire machine, just an old school machine and 3 tire bars. We used to sell something like 100 295/50R15s a month, good luck finding one of those locally these days :D

 

Well like anything else as time goes by things change. I really shudder at the thought of 17 or 18 becoming the normal sizes.

Wish I'd have known you had those 13 inch tires.