Help me pick out the right tires
 

So i'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on some new tires. And thought i could ask for Zilvia's opinion on the topic.

I'm Looking for a 255/40/17 Tire for the S13. It's a weekend/fun only car that only sees a few thousand miles a year so tire wear isn't too concerning.

The setup on the S13 is a 2JZ-GTE, Automatic, Single turbo, 450whp 400TQ. Full boost about 3500RPM

Looking for a Tire that will hold the horsepower and is still a fun street tire as that is what the car will see 90% of the time, with a little drag racing duty and an auto-x or lapping event.

I've narrowed it down i believe to the following tires.

Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Toyo Proxes R888
Federal 595 RS-R
Falken Azenis RT615K
NITTO NT01
NITTO NT05


Any other tires you could recommend? When i start reading reviews people talk more about lap times falling off, or tires getting greasy or hot. But i don't plan on strictly tracking the car. And there isn't a whole lot of information as to what tires hold horsepower down the best.

What is the weather mostly like in the area that you live? Dry and sunny? I just picked up some Yokohama S Drives after reading the reviews on them, they sounded pretty good to me

I would say Dry, As it's not a daily driver. If the cars caught in the rain i can limp it home. but 99.99% of the time dry. The issue is sometimes the temperature gets cold (40F) so obviously traction is an issue in the beginning and end of the season.

The re-11 has been superseded by the re-11a.

You can also look at Direzza z2 (star spec version is on the horizon), Bridgestone Rivals, Hankook RS-3 (upgraded version in the next few weeks). Rs3s don't like the cold at all, so I'd avoid those.

I put Z2s on my coupe and I like them a lot.

Have you looked into these http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ce+T%2FA+KDW+2

I run them on my Evo for summer tires. They have been working great for me as spirited back road driving tires. Seem to have a nice mix of stickiness and overall tire life.

I yes, i forgot to mention the RE-11A / RE-11 setup. I looked a bit at the Z2's i may have to look again

I had them back when i was on a stock KA and really liked them, i just dont think they will hold any power.

Easy.
Yokohama Advan Neovas

I think you are going to have a hard time finding anything in that size that will hold the power you're making. Radials are your best bet, but no one wants to daily on those.

Thing is i don't have a problem with drag radials, i just don't like the way the 275/40/17's fit, and no one makes a 255 Drag Radial, only 245's And i'd like to have something i could have something besides straight line fun.

A 275 street tire is going to appear different than that of a radial. I like the NT05's personally. They are cheap and have good initial adhesion. Over time and heat cycles they tend to lose their stickiness.

My buddy is running the r888's on his supra. Hooks up very well on the street. It actually dead hooked 2nd gear on a night with temps in the 50's. Supra is tuned on proefi and put down 811hp just for a reference. Also was the first trip out on these tires, as we put these on for the dyno to save the et streets.

Even a 275 street tire is not going to hold that power.
There are a few DR's that operate as a decent street tire.

I thought the Z2 are the replacements to the Star Specs?

Personally, I'd take the feddy, 615s and NT05s off that list. Those are lower tier compared to the likes of the R888 and RE-11s.

This would be my list for grip street/track tires:
Yokohama Neova AD08
Dunlop Star Specs/ZII
Potenza RE-11
Michelin PS2
Ventus RS3

I prefer the AD08s and Star Specs over the RE-11/PS2 due to them being symmetrical thread pattern. I can flip the tires and get more life out of them over the asymetrical RE11/PS2. But realistically, RE-11 > AD08 > ZII > PS2. I haven't had any first had experience with RS3s but everybody I know who've ran them raves about them and puts them up there with AD08s without the AD08 pricing.

NT01s and R888 are kinda on their own mix since they're pretty much one step away from being drag radials. I've daily'd NT01s before but that almost never saw rain and when it did, car was always driving on side roads where it never went over 50mph.

I've driven 595 RSR they're BA. I don't have those but this is the fitment on a xxr 527 17x9.75 just so you could at least see what it looks like
http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/...psjms6lp86.jpg

http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1fa60e76.jpg

That size sits pretty flush on the wheel

Tom, I never said a 275 would hold that power, but it'll do a helluva lot better than the 255 if he gets them hot enough.

At 275's he's at the point of diminishing returns though, as wider tires don't offer any longitudinal grip if you can't get their temps up.

Yeah I wasn't replying to your post. I'm just saying at that power level if he wants grip he will need a tire with a race compound.

The z1 star spec was replaced by the z2. There is a z2 star spec coming in the next year.

I have no problem putting power down on pretty much dead M/T Drag radials, i just dont want to run another drag radial as i want the car to be something i can toss around a little more, as well as lowering the car.

I wasn't too sure as i saw mixed reviews about the 595 RS-R's but the price is what gets me if they are terrible i won't take a huge loss as i would on a set of R888's or Michelin not workings.

I think i'm currently leaning on Trying the RE-11's The NT01's do look promising however still. I've also seen alot of high power street Supra's putting down 6-800WHP on R888's but usually in the 285-315 range on a car that is at 3400lbs +