Im very close to purchasing these for my mini.
i am currently running falken 915's
i like them but want to step up to the next level of performance.
i am currently runnin 225/45/R17's
I am going to run the same size tires. i was wondering how anyone who purchased these wheels felt about the handling. Im not concerned with noise, or wear, just concerned with performance aspect of them.
I live in AZ so the wet weather driving isn't much concern either.

 

If you're not concerned about the wear, it's a great tire from a performance aspect. It's not as bad as some make it seem in the rain either, just don't be an idiot during a monsoon.

 

Great tires they last me about 3-6 months, but the best handling street tire I have tried. (stock RFs, Kuhmo Escta MX, Hankooks, PS2s) I had 215/40-17, I could not fit the 225/45-17 on H-Sport and Koni yellows-they rubbed on lower spring perch deal. Seen guys in San Jose fit the 235/40-17 RT-615s, but they had to dremmel plastic wheel wells and fender trim though. Check online for an article by Grassroots Motorsports rated them the best auto-x and track tire for street class in a shoot out also compared them to competition tire and did better times than most of them except the Hoosiers and Kuhmo. Think the article was called "Black Magic" I want to try the Dunlop Star Specs sound promising and good price, but limited sizes and I just ordered a set of Nitto NT-555 in 225/40-17, I will post thoughts on them later in "Tires and Brakes" section. Nor have I tried the new Z212 versions the previous Hancooks were good but kept getting flats durring street use.

Here is GRM article:http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=7&gl=us

 

yea... especially when they are worn... and don't ask how i know

 

They are beautiful tires for the price, they still get a tiny bit greasy when they are hot and they do wear quick, but what can you expect from a tire with such such a economical price for its performance. The sidewalls are softer than some tires in its class, which can be good and bad, and they are not tires that are amazing in straight line traction, but in the turns they are great I do not think you could find their limits safely on the street.

Rain performance on the new tread design I find is quite good, but when they wear down like any tire they start to decrease but it is still good I have have 0 issues in the rain so far.

I personally find people seem to exaggerate these tires performance on dry, and lack of performance on wet excessivly.

 

I promise not to drive like an "***" during a monsoon!

I was tossed between the falken and the Nitto 555. (cool tread design).

After hearing that a set of tires only lasted 6 months I'm wondering if I should get the Nittos instead.
I am for the most part a fast driver, usually 10-20 over the speed limit in most cases. Bit I'm not hard on the car as far as starting, stopping, but do get the occassional bug to throw it into the turns on twistie roads or a nice looking turn. With that said, I'm hoping to get 30-40K out of them. Is this reasonable? Or am I way off and should go Nitto for the longevity.

 

RT-615s will typically last about 15-20 000 miles under normal driving, but when you start to drive agressive they begin to wear very quick. Toss an auto cross or lapping day event in and that number could be cut in half.

 

sounds like the old super swampers I had on my jeep, worked great, but you needed a new set every 18 months.

i think I may lean more towards the Nitto's then. There a good looking tire as well. And I'm sure will last longer. they should be comparable to what I'm running now.

 

I'm in agreement with Broadway..I'm on my second set of Falkens and have not auto-x or tracked my car once and the last set lasted me around 15k to 17k and that's mostly highway driving and one trip to the Dragon. However for the price and performance you can't beat it. I picked these up at Discount Tire and paid around 110 bucks each...not a bad price at all considering tire rack is getting over 200 for less performing tires. Hope this helps ya out

 

guess thats not to bad, im only paying 85 each, (company discount) so i guess it could be worth it from a performance stand point.

 

Best traction of all the non-race tires I have tried, hands down.

But as noted before not much wear, I drive real hard and they last me about 5,000 on the fronts, forever on the back.

The tire wear is dead even across the tire so it is not an alignment problem, just a heavy foot and a lot of HP.

Bill

 

5K on the fronts

 

A lot of wheel spin will do that for you.

Bill

 

wasjust checkin out your pics, nice ride! i was thinking of doing the dash on mine body color and was wondering how the tan leather would look as well. sorry, but I'm gonna copy

 

weird... mine with regular rotation lasted close to 10,000 miles

 

You are correct, if I had rotated mine they would have lasted me 10,000 miles.

But by not rotating I bought 4 tires in 10,000 miles, if I had rotated I would have bought 4 tires in 10,000 miles.

Same overall purchase, but fresher tires on the front for the second 5,000 miles. The rears would have easily gone 20,000.

Bill

 

Grassroots Motorsorts Magazine:"Black Magic" Best AutoX/Track Tire Shoot Out Article. Here is GRM article:http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=7&gl=us