i've been running goodyear eagle f1 gs-d3 (215x45x17) for a few years now asnd need new ones. i love these tires, but wonder if there's anything as good, or better thesedays. i'm interested in the goodyear eagle f1 asymetrics, yokohama advan neova ad-08, and bridgestone potenza re-11 tires. does anyone have any experience with these? i'ld love to hear first hand experiences. thanks.

 

I have gone through two sets of Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star specs and they are good performance tires. Great turn in feel. They handle turns really well even when they are cold or in the wet. However, they have a tendency to heat up too much and lose a little grip. Also they seem to chunk due to devulcanization after a few too many heat cycles. I get around 6K-7K miles from each set with regular tire rotation. BTW, they are noisy.

I think I may try either the Bridgestones or Yokohamas next. Friends have the RE-11 and they like it initially. I do not have first hand knowledge of them though. Both the Bridgestone and Yokohamas are more expensive than the Dunlops.

 

personally... I have never been disapointed by replacing goodyears. I've used Bridgestones and Michelins to replace them and always been much happier. My current mini came with goodyears much to my dismay... as soon as they wear down i'm getting something better!

 

what about the kumho extsa XS asymetrical tires, anyone tried those?

 

personal preference - Falken Azenis RT-615

Have had them on for 2 summer seasons now, and they are still holding strong. Fantastic Grip, Wet or dry. Haven't had any overheating issues yet, but will report back after the 7200 mile road trip they will be taking me on in a week.

 

Michelins Pilots---expensive

 

I just put on a set of Nitto Invo's in 225/45. I really like them. I had Nitto Neo Gens before that which were also great, but the Invos are supposed to be quieter and more comfortable without losing performance.

 

Being that you live in Vegas, I'd be looking at the Kumho ECSTA XS (which won Grassroots Motorsports street tire shootout), Yokohama AD08 (also great), Bridgestone RE-11, Hankook RS-3, Toyo R1R or the like... These are all very sticky choices. The ECSTA XS is a relative bargain, as are the Hankook RS-3's. Any of these would work for the odd track day, too. While I have never been on the Dunlop Star Spec, there are a lot of people that love them.

I have to say, I've always been impressed with the Hankook RS-2, as well. On the track, we've seen up to 1.2 G's sustained on them, and they always started and ended a session the same way - excellent. And, they weren't bad on the street, either, especially in the dry. At full depth to about half wear, they offered decent wet traction. Beyond the halfway point, though, you just had to tiptoe a bit in the wet.

I have to concur with galoki - I've never met a Goodyear product that I liked. When we were rockcrawling, we could always count on winching someone that was running Wranglers of any sort for lack of grip, cut sidewalls, etc. And, they've never lasted long as OE equipment on any of our vehicles - we always looked forward to swapping on some BFG's or Yokohamas. I know a lot of people love the F1 GS-D3's, but I've found them squidgy on the pavement in the MINI's I've driven that wewre equipped with them. I think there are better choices...

 

very cool, thank everyone for all their thoughts and experiences, especially the texas boys. now i have more homework to do and budget to balance. i appreciate everyone's time.

 

ordered the dunlop star spec, will get them next week. thanks again to everyone.

 

While the Star Spec perfromance numbers are a little better, the RE-11 info in the TireRack tests seems to indicate that they might be a much more civilized street tire, and excellent in the wet.

Anyone have experience with the RE-11 and Michelin PE2? I'd be interested in a comparison of road noise, and handling. I assume the PE2 does not handle quite as well, but it is hard to tell. The PE2 test on TireRack is a year older and done with a 2008 BMW E90 325i Coupe. The RE-11 test was done in May with an 2008 BMW E92 328i Coupe. Are there significant differences in performance between the E90 and E92? Or, perhaps weather conditions and people were different for the two tests.

For example, the Star Spec is also in the RE-11 test and got a 7.22 in Noise Comfort and 7.20 for Ride Comfort. The PE2 only got 7.09 for noise and 7.07 for ride. Comments on NAM lead me to believe the PE2 may be quieter with a softer ride than the Star Spec.

 

Not those 2, I've got Star Specs and PE2s. The Star Specs are my track tires.
You can't compare the noise ratings across categories. The Star Specs ride surprisingly smoothly, but are noisy producing an annoying low rumble. The PE2s are really quiet and really smooth. If they're rating the Star Spec above the PE2 for noise, something's different in the test, or you just can't compare noise ratings across tests.

The star specs are probably only as noisy as some runflats, the PE2s are quiet. The PE2s don't give up much in the way of handling the Star Specs feel a bit more planted, but the PE2s are pretty good, so I've decided to use PE2s for my street tires. Thoiugh after looking at that test I'd be interested in trying the RE-11s.

 

Just drove 2000 miles on my Invos from California to Colorado and back and they were superb. Quiet yet sticky and got lots of inquiries from the unique tread pattern. Only thing is I've got to raise my suspension a bit more, had some rub on the biggest dips in the road.

 

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

+1 on the Star Spec, as long as you can tolerate the road noise. When I first got these tires I kept thinking my alignment was off because it was so noisy.