Hi all you NAMers,

Well, if you are reading this post, you are probably doing the same thing I am. Being bored @ work. Come on, admit it. You know you are .

Ok, but seriously, I am in the process of debating which tire to get, to replace the OEM pirelli run flats. The harsh ride of the pirellis did me in on saturday, and I just can't take it no more. The S-Lites have to stay for a little while longer, as I really don't have the ca$h to buy new wheels too.

My driving mostly entails a commute thru the Hollywood Hills everyday, which is usually pretty spirited. Maybe 2 or 3 track events per year, and a few AutoX as well. Any highway miles I pull are strictly on roadtrips, or the odd trip out the folks' place 20 miles away.

Through much searching here, I have wittled down the choices to 3 candidates. In no particular order, here they are:

Goodyear Eagle F1 DS-G3 (and I have a DS MINI so maybe these are the best )
Yokohama AVS ES100
Kumho ECSTA SPT

If any of you have these tires, it would be great to hear your thoughts on them. Or, if there is a tire I am neglecting to mention, please let me know.

Any and all help is very appreciated.

 

I have Kumho Ecsta tires. I can compare them to the Dunlop SP runflats they replaced.

Positive: In 5500 miles I have not had one flat tire while with the Dunlops I had 3 flats in less than 1000 miles. The Kumhos are relatively quiet and comfy. They are not affected by grooves in the pavement. However I drive the car as though it were a Toyota Avalon so I may not provide the feeback you need.

In Between: In cocktail conversation with a Mercedes dealer he reacted to my mention of Kumhos as though I were contagious. My fave MINI mechanic (Bay Bridge Motors in Oakland) recommended I try Bridgestones next time if want to enter the car in autocrosses. Naw.

Negative: None so far.

I haven't even gone to work yet and it's, yikes, 10:30!

Have fun with your new tires.

 

PS: I appreciate your grammar: "Trying to decide BETWEEN 3 kinds of tires" which seems to describe the process more accurately than "among". I believe this is because you are comparing them individually against each other. I think too many people automatically switch to "among" in reference to more than 2, but in context "between" can be more sensible.

Just kidding in my previous post. I don't have any work to get to today anyway.

 

I have used both the GS-D3 and ES100 in 215-45-17 sizes. The GS-D3 has more grip than the ES100 but has a "mushy" feel to them. The ES100 has a more precise feel during steering input. I only had the GS-D3's on for 3 weeks and replaced them due to the feel. I wanted to try the Kumho Ecsta MX but could not find anyone stocking them in my area.

 

Morknmini and sanddan,

Thank you SO much for your input. Hearing from others helps make my decision a little easier. Or is that a lottle easier, or maybe easier that my deicision makes? How's that grammar for ya ....hehehehehe....

Mork, rarely do I receive comments on my grammar, thank you for taking the time to notice . In this day and age, sometimes the simplicty of writing gets lost. I am certain I break the rules of writing ALL THE TIME here and other place (IM mostly), but I do find it fun to try and get it right for once

 

I haven't put new tires on my MINI yet, but I used two of the tires you're considering on my BMW Z3. I drove it VERY AGGRESSIVELY/SPIRITED on club drives through curvy mountain roads. It wasn't autocross, but it came close!

The Yoko AVS ES100 handled quite well. I went through two sets of them. They have terrible tread life. I got about 10K on the first set and 8K on the second set. They don't have very good wet traction at any stage, but they get real scary with about 5K miles on them. In fact, I dumped the second set at 8K because of the terrible hydroplaning.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 are fantastic. If they would fit my MINI I'd put them on without hesitation. They are absolutely incredible in wet weather. I never had a tire that gave me the confidence that the GY does. They have significantly better tread life than the Yokos. I'm getting about 20k on them -- which is better than most supersoft, supersticky, high performance tires. Can't say enough about the performance I got with them. Seemed like a lot of the Z3 drivers I know switched to them and love them.

Neither tire seemed to require much break in. I'd say the Yoko needed virtually none. The GY maybe a couple hundred miles.

I've heard some say the GY have soft sidewalls. I certainly could not detect that. They handled everything I threw at them. I had them the original 16" rims. Maybe when people oversized and went to 17" they had problems?

I know quite a few Z3 drivers using the Kumho ECSTA too. Mixed reactions from what I could tell. But I think they were growing in popularity.

Don't know if my BMW Z3 experience translates to the MINI... but the GY F1 GS-D3 was my chosen weapon in the end

Shannon

 

The GS-D3 is the tire. Yes, some sizes with some wheels feel mushy. The sizes with an XL (extra load) designation will feel better, less mushy, and wider wheels help too.

 

The 215-45-R17 tires will be noticably higher than your runflats. I just replaced my Pirelli's with the Goodyear F1 DS-G3 & I very much regret getting 215-45's. When I sit in my Mini I swear I feel I am sitting up higher & to me the tires are a bit spongy in the twisties. They have great grip & the ride is smoother but the feeling of hugging the road thru a twistie just isn't there. I am in the minority around here but if I had it to do over again (after having driven about 1000 miles on the Goodyears) I would get another set of Pirelli runflats. That said I would highly recommend looking into size 215-40-17 as the profile should be much closer to that of your runflats

 

You might want to check these tires out.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...r=40&tc=HANHV7

 

Gs-d3.

 

SPTs are brilliant in the dry... one thing though is the tire roar can be a bit louder than the other two....

i have about 8000 miles on the SPTs and they are wearing well.... cant say about the other two, but if you get rain in your area, and i mean alot, GSD3 is the one because i rode in my friend's 05 MCS in the rain on the track, and it just held all together without ever complaining

 

I have only been on the Goodyears for a week.... but I love them!

 

Have the Yoko ES100's and they are a great tire for the price point! They are way cheaper than the GS-D3's, and handle nearly as good...get them you'll like them! I just wish I could get them in 215/40/17, but oh well.

 

Jason, I've got the Kumho SPTs (see note about various Kumhos at end) on my MCS convertible - About 12k of spirited driving on 'em, including a track day at Laguna Seca last December... I selected them at the recommendation of Phil Wicks, who said they had good grip and feel, but were very durable. I got them a couple of months before the track day, and they felt pretty good.

When I came back from AMVIV this Spring, they started feeling "greasy" to me during twisty runs. A couple of "Parade Laps" at LV Speedway on the most abrasive surface I've ever encountered may have been the culprit - picked up a bunch of "clag" from the cars that had done qualifying before the lunch laps too - since then, I've been a little dissappointed with the performance and am looking to try something else now. The Goodyears you mentioned are on my short list, along with the BFG KDW2's. Still undecided.

Kumho makes a bunch of different tires with similar, but slightly different names, and sometimes VERY different performance: I had Kumho "Ectsa Supra" 712's on my Subaru and loved them, but they wore out very quickly. These are totally different tires from the "Ecsta 711's", that many people are familiar with.

The "Ecsta" SPT is also very different from the "MX". (I was going to try to be precise about the naming, but realized I'm too beat to look up the various names now. In any case, the 711's are different from the 712's, which are diffent from the SPT's, which are different from the "MX's". I think some or all of these tires also use various cobinations of "supra" and "ecsta" nomenclature, so don't rely on the naming for identifying which Kumho tire is being discussed.)

Anyway, I'll probably see you in Malibu tomorrow morning Jason, and we can discuss further then.

_Dave_


PS: Sorry about incoherent babble - spent most of the day dealing with air travel - woke up in Boston about 18 hrs ago...

 

215/45/17, GS-D3, on special for $88 at TR now. There may also be a rebate of some kind on a set of 4 as well, I didn't look real close.

 

I like the Yokohama ES-100's and have been through 3 1/2 sets of them.

I like how predicitable they are at the limits, and although there may be grippier tires out there, the yokos aren't going to surprise me and let go when I am not expecting it. First, they offer a scuffing sound, then a gently whine, then a loud howl, then they let loose. I like that kind of feedback.

 

I Have Yokohama Parada Spec 2, Size 215/35/18, This Is A Great Tire And The Tread Pattern Looks Cool. I Got Them At Tire Rack, Decent Price For A Great Tire.

 

Dave,

Thanks for the info dude. Excellent food for thought. I am sorry to report, but I will not be @ the breakfast tomorrow. I got the call on the way home that I have to work this entire weekend. Serious, bummer. Maybe I can make it to an event before we all head to Monterey.

At this point, I am probably just going to go ahead and post a bunch of pictures on a dart board, and whichever I hit 3 times, I buy .

 

I have yokohama parada spec 2 and I am having a terrible time with them. They make the steering wheel shimmer even though I have had the wheels balanced and aligned. I am about to trade them in for AVS sports under their ride guarantee.

 

Buy American! Goodyear is the only american tire compnay left.
Plus, it'll help preserve my pension.
Oh, and by the way, the GS-D3 is a terriffic tire!

 

K, the mind has been up. It is the Goodyear I will be going with. And I am just gonna go ahead and get the cheapie one @ tire rack. The diff between 88 and 135 is pretty big. So I would rather spend that money on beer and other fun .

And hey if the Goodyear ends up being mushy, oh well, that's one of the things that bugs me about my MINI anyhow. Harsh ride. But that is supposed to be the run-flats. Yay new tires!!

 

dude go with goodyears . last year i had the yoko's es100 , went therw them fast . this spring i got set off kumho ecsta 712 , love them. but after triing djafactor's mini at a lapping event in the rain, could not believe the traction those f1s had . plus in dry street driving there amazing. worth the money all the way.

just my 2 cents

cheers
mikie

 

Give Alex@tirerack.com a call for this great deal on GS-D3s.
Ask him any MINI tire questions while you are at it.
He knows Yokohama ES100s very well.
Both are great tires but the GS-D3 normally costs alot more.
Of the two the GS-D3 would be better for the type of driving you'd be doing.
My first set of upgraded tires for my MCS were ES100s.

Generally soft sticky great handling tires will not last while long wear harder tires don't perform as well. Tread pattern plays a big role in wet traction.

Keep your tire pressures up and have some fun.

 

Grammar these days seems to come down to knowing when to use "they're," "their," "there," "definitely," "then" and "than."
The abuse of these words insentence structure is painful, lol.

 

I dunno if the abuse of grammar bothers me as much as those dang run-on words