http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

I was thinking about getting these tires and didn't know what anyone thought about them. I do auto cross and drag. So better grip is key for me. Im sure they would suck in the snow and rain but I really try to avoid driving my own car in the snow.

And if I have 195 tires currently on, will those 205's fit on my 16" wheels. I think they would.

 

No personal experience, but...

When I was researching replacement tires, I found that many people love the KDW's performance and look of the tread design. The downside is that it is an unusually loud tire (road noise). You can see this reflected in the TireRack surveys (click on the Surveys tab in the middle of that TireRack page).

What width are your wheels? 205's will almost certainly fit, and it is perfect for 7" width. The 205 size that best matches the OEM tire diameter (retaining the same odometer/speedometer readings) is 205/50-16.

 

I had a set of the original KDW's and can vouch for the grip and the noise.

 

Faster autocross tires:

205/45-16
Bridgestone RE11 $177
Toyo R1R $140

205/50-16
Toyo R1R $135
Dunlop Star Spec $126

215/45-16
Kumho Ecsta XS $108

 

i cant vouch for the KDWs but ive had my Dunlop Star Specs for a while and the are awesome. They are great in wet or dry conditiions and do great on the street too. I've put 10,000 street miles on them as well as about 8 autocrosses and they still have plenty of life.

 

Well I will probably be getting them soon then. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

FWIW, my favorite canyon carving tire of all time is the G-force Sport (on my highly modified Focus 2.3l). I recently went with the KDW 2 and I'll admit that I expected a little more stick to them, but they are "at least" as good as the Sports (They only have about 500 miles on them so perhaps they'll get stickier). Still they're the most impressive tire I have had, and definitely will be considered for my JCW.

 

I ran a set on my '05 MCS and found them to be harsh and incredibly loud, as in Goodyear Wrangler loud. Grip was nowhere near what I wanted relative to Falken RT615's and they wore out just as fast. At least the lack of grip was predictable. Forget about any traction in cold weather.

All that said they looked good.