My Bridgestone RE-01R's are finally reaching the point of needing to be replaced. I thought the dry grip was outstanding!! Wet grip was good, though I've experienced some hydroplaning at highway speeds as of late (to be expected with diminished tread depth). Tires were pretty quiet when new, but have become a bit more vocal, not obnoxious loud, but not really quiet either. I live in Knoxville, TN, so we don't see much freezing temps during the year and when we do, I try drive a different car.

My question to all you tire experts out there is what tire to replace it with? I'd like more tread life while maintaining as much grip as possible in a NRF that won't cost too much. I'd like the tire to be reasonably quiet. I've mostly been looking at the ultra-high performance summer tires at Tire Rack, but I'm not opposed to ultra-high performance all season tires. I found some tires that seem to fit my bill, but they didn't have them in the stock 205/45/17 size, which I'd like to stay with.

Sooo, what say you guys??

 

If you are interested in the same type of tire in the extreme perfromance class, then the usual suspects are:

Dunlop Direzza Z1 star spec
Yokohama AD08
Bridgestone RE-11

 

The RE-11 and AD08 come in a 205/45-17. There's a 215/40 Direzza Z1. There have been a few tire comparos around, they all sound fast. The RE-01Rs are last season's max performance tire. If you go to a slightly harder compound with greater treadwear, they won't be quite as grippy. But then daily driving isn't a timed event, so..

 

I'll be in the same situation sometime next track season and will probably go with the RE-11's, as I have been very happy with the RE-01's.

 

Yeah, I'm excluding the extreme class this time to get some better tire wear. I only go to the track once or twice a year, and though the 01R's were tremendously valuable, probably not worth it for the tread wear for so few track outings.

 

As a former east Tennessee resident (and frequent Dragon driver), I suggest looking into replacing your RE-01R's with the discontinued Hankook Ventus RS-2's for only $75 a tire. They don't come in the 205/45/17, but they are available in 215/40/17 and 215/45/17.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....el=Ventus+R-S2

In my opinion, it would be difficult to find anything much better than that tire without paying twice as much.

 

+1. Smoking deal.

 

Great deal! Thanks Ice Man -I just ordered a set for my Justa in 205/50/16 for $68 per tire. Can't beat that!

 

A number of the track junkies at mpg use the RE-11. You should talk with them next month about how they like it now. They seem to really like the tire when I talked with them about it a couple of months ago.

But I thought you are going to r-comps next year. BFG g-force r1 is my choice there based on my current research.

 

Dunlops run about $40-$50 cheaper than the other ones, about $121 per tire. I think in normal driving you can expect 15 K - 20 K from the set with regular rotation.

I have not used the Bridgestones or the Yokos.

The RS2 are on clearance but the tirerack ratings seem a little below average. I have not used them either.

 

I will be going with R comps for the track on my lighter wheels, but I'm thinking the RE-11's will be perfect for the MINILITES on the street. Now that I know how to change the wheels over quickly...

 

Is there any clearance issues with the 215's? I thought i had read somewhere that you might get some tire rubbing in the rear. If not, would you recommend the 40 or 45 series?

 

I just picked up the Dunlop Direzza Z1s in 215/45/17s and slapped them on today so they're not even close to being broken in yet, but they're very nice. I still have to tweak with the tire pressure as they're currently set at 38 psi and a lil noisy, but they seem to be fairly grippy. I also considere the Ventus RS-2s and the Falcon RT-615s, but the Z1s seemed to have better ratings and reviews. It's a definite improvement over OE Continental Contisport RFs I had.

If they're going on the OE 17x7s, I'd go 215/40. There's a slight chance you may have rubbing if you go with 45 series...but you can always throw on spacers.

 

I had the Z1s for a year, including 4 track days. Super loud and very stiff sidewalls, not much softer than runflats. Awesome grip, predictable break away, and did not grease up much toward the end of hard sessions. My take is that they are too stiff for a car as light as the MINI. Just finishing up a set of Kumho XSs. Similar grip to the Z1s but a notch softer at street pressures. Liked them very much. Just bought a set of the RS2s mentioned above. $300 for a set was too hard to pass up.

 

I think I'm going to stick with the stock size. I'm really not interested in having to go with spacers or or any other issues. I'm just lazy that way!

After looking around on Tirerack, Ive narrowed my choices to the either the
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport (Ultra High Performance Summer) or the
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (Ultra High Performance Summer.

They also have a closeout on the Yokohama S.drive (Ultra High Performance Summer) for $79.

Any opinions on these tires?

Thanks!

 

I considered the Yoko S-drives too...but I'm still trying to feel the max performance my Mini can dish out...and that's why I chose the Z1s. That's a good price for the Yokos.

 

FWIW - I've run 215/45R17 on Goodyear F1 AS, Nitto Neo Gen and Kumho Ecsta on my car and had ZERO rubbing, even on my TSW springs with pretty substantial drop on the rear and 4 passengers in the car. No spacers, no fender lining mods, nothing. I love having the extra width. Looks and works good.

But a buddy has had some rubbing on his lighter coupe with the Z1's in that size - which have a much wider section even though they're also called "215". So.... take that for what it's worth.

 

For r56, the Z1 in 215/45 17 size fits well.

 

These come in 205/45-17:
Hankook Ventus V12 EVO K110
Nitto Neo Gens
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2

 

I think that's going to be the ticket for me. I can't find many complaints about that tire, on the contrary it gets many raves. Seems to be a really great all-around tire!

 

MINIJET finally got some new shoes. I ended up going with the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. Got them from Alex at the Tire Rack for $86 a pop. Today I went up to the Dragon to test the tires out. They are fantastic. Ok, they aren't RE-01R's, but they are very good. Quiet, ride very nice, and have terrific grip! When they reach their limit, they break away into a nice predictable, gentle slide without being to vocal about it. if I can get 16-20k miles, I'll be very happy