I wasn't gonna bother the board with this one but I have been driving myself nuts looking at tire options.

In Sum, I am seeking a high performance dry tire with good wet capabilities. Size either 215/40/17 or 215/45/17. Wear and road noise secondary but will gladly accept increased wear and less noise.

Background -

1)When I picked up some used rims they came with Falken Avenis RT 615 (215/40/17). Loved them ! Great dry tire but would like more wet capabilities.

2) I live in Florida - hot and humid and when it rains it typically rains hard for short periods of time. I don't track or autoX the car.

3) suspension - stock springs, bilstien shocks and 19mm rear sway.

4) I got about 15,000 miles out of the rt615.

Is there an extreme, max performance wet tire out there that will be close to the rt615 in the dry?

 

Would say the Hankook RS2 .. they go head to head with the RT 615. not quite as good in the dry but better in the wet. .. Also havent tried the new Toyo TR1R yet so I cant say on those.

 

I've really been pleased with the Nitto Neo Gen's. They are cost effective, have an aggressive tread block and although I haven't tested in the wet yet--waiting for rain--they are supposed to have superb water traction. I've got them in 215/40R17 on my aftermarket 17x7's.

http://www.nittotire.com/#index%2Eti...n%2Etechnology






My wheels weigh 17pounds

 

if you're looking for good wet weather traction and similar dry traction to the 615's i'd say the bfg kdw 2's. I'd think that they would last about the same amount of time as the 615's as well.

 

Falken FK452's are exactly as Leo @ Edgeracing described. I live in a very rainy climate with a fair amount of snow fall so I knew I wanted to go with dedicated winters and summers but the summers needed good rain traction. The only way to get the tires to spin in the rain is to stomp it in first gear. There is absolutely zero hydro plaining. Dry traction will take the car to the limits of handling and they are very quiet! Leo also recommend the Toyo Proxes T1r's which are supposed to have better dry traction but shorter treadwear life, I have to admit I'm a big Toyo fan but I just bought my JCW and new wheels also winters so I cheaped out and saved the $15 per tire with the Falken FK452's. I might try the Toyo's next just to compare but I'm highly satisfied with the 452's especially for the price from Leo they would be hard to beat!

 

After way too much thought , I opted for the Hankook SP-2.

Apparently they are comparable to the RT-615 in the dry yet better in the wet. The tread pattern visually looks as if they should be significantly better in the wet. How much better is a good question and I will soon find out.

 

Just to update - the sp2s were a 4-6 week wait so I reread threads, commentary, pms and opted for the Goodyear Eagle GSD-3 (215/40/17).

While its too soon to formulate an opinion (30 miles on the tires), this was the right tire to buy living in Florida and my driving style. My biggest concern was the fact that I'm use to the Falkens stiff side wall (i.e. little to no roll up in a turn) and while I haven't pushed these hard yet they seem to track similar to the Falkens. Of course these should be 100% better in the rain and huricane season is just around the corner.

Thanks everyone , for helping me do it right.