Summer Tires

[Matt D.]

I'll stick with my Yokohama ES100 215/45/17 for ~$100 each...

[john]

Until I see any traction problems, I will stick with what I have. Why do AWD owners worry about traction? Most of us cannot even chirp a tire anyhow. Until anyone can make serious HP, why waste money on tires ($100/tire) when the money could be spent more wisely on some performance upgrades? $100 X 4 (tires/car) = used 550's and SAFC. What would benefit you more?

[Matt D.]

I am not worried about straight line traction... You can never have enough laterally.

Well, unless all you do is go fast in a straight line. :razz2:

PS - Read the sig. :bounce:

[john]

When I go fast in turns all I do is roast the toes of the front tires. Dsms aren't for handling anyhow. I cannot read your sig unless I highlight it. It must be black writing. If you have your suspension setup right (ie. camber, oversteer vs. understeer) tires still dont matter too much. All I see playing a role is tread wear.

[Matt D.]

Stiffer/shorter sidewalls and advanced tread patterns will increase lateral traction, as will bigger/wider wheels which allow for a bigger contact patch. It's pretty difficult to tweak stock suspension...

[520Talon]

AWD doesn't help you turn or stop. You still need good tires. S-03's are awesome I use the 730 the predisesors(sp?) to the S-03's. They grip awesome wet and dry, where well, they would probably do ok on the track but might be a little hard. The new Perelli Corsa + is supposed to be the hottest daily/ track tire out now. They are not that great in the wet either.

[CVD]

For handling, your biggest limitation is always going to be your tires. Those are #1. All the suspension reaplacement and tuning in the world will not make up for garbage tires.

If you think that suspension is all that matters for handling, you have obviously never had more than one set of tires on your car. You can mod your suspension to the moon and use garbage all season tires, and I would bet you lots of money that a stock suspension car with hoosier race slicks will rape that car around any course.
As for traction, Im only in the 12's and I have traction problems in my AWD.

Tires are VERY important in every aspect of how a car behaves. This is the one area that you want to put a lot of thought into and buy the very best that you can afford if you are serious.

[A//// Guy]

Wait a minute CVD I thought your old "winter" tires were awesome. They prove your theory correct though.... That was fun.

[CVD]

Yeah, my old "winter" tires were a summer only tire with hard tread badged as an all season. Not as good as my Yoks in the summer, and total shit in the snow. That is why I hated them so much.

Dont ever buy Dunlops. :razz2:

[john]

So, the toyos I had would handle better than the shitties I have on now with a better suspension? In my expierinces suspension has played a bigger role than tire. I burned through a good pair (front 2) of toyos with my alignmemt fine because the radials were coming through the toe. The middle of the tire had half its tread left while the inside had none. When I had the allignment done they said it must have been from hard cornering (which it was) as they didn't have to adjust it. If I had a better suspension setup I would still be using those tires and I would have better handling. In the integra we just sold, it was dropped and had shitty tires. The tires never gave out once in a turn. You couldn't really hear them squeal either. Yes, the integra was slower but it could take a turn a good 40 mph faster than my dsm without crying at all or any body roll. Yeah, when you get decent hp through a AWD traction becomes an issue but from what I remember, his car is going to stay pretty stock. Assuming these are for the new car of his. If anyone bought a dsm for the pure reason of handling bought the wrong car. Unless you auto X or make higher hp, I think there are better things to do with the tire money.

[MATCHBX]

Better suspension is merely an enhancement item for your tires. Your tires are ultimately making the contact with the ground. If you put better tires on your car without changing your suspension, it will handle better. It won't handle the best, but it WILL handle better.

[Kracka]

Sumitomo HTRZII's....cheaper than the ES100's and equal or better performance (says the people who have had both on their car). I have 2 summers on the Sumitomo's and couldn't be happier, I figure I should get at least one more good summer out of them, possibly two. They are really great in the wet too. Do some research online about your possible choices, but of course stay away from the 712's, you'll get maybe 10k miles of good performance out of them, after that they are junk. Falken Beta's also look like good tires, when I am due for a new set I am going to look at them and the Sumitomo's.