Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires 215/50/16 Tires, anything better then the KDW's

Mark - Oh, wow, I'm really sorry about that. I thought it was weird that you would make that mistake. I kept reading it and seeing Kuhmo 712. My mistake, completely. Recap:

Kuhmo 712 : outclasses by the

Fuzion ZRi: sticky, ugly soft in the corners, really, really cheap

Avon Tech M500: something like the Fuzion. No experience here.

Yoko AVS ES 100: supossed to be less sitcky then the Fuzion, but a little stiffer sidewall. Costs a little more.

Hankook Ventus Z212: sticky, a little bit soft, pretty much and auto-x tire but cheap enough that if you want max performance on the street for less, this might be it. Better than the Azenis in the rain, worse on the auto-x course.

Falken Azenis 615: Spec auto-x tire. A little sketchy in the rain, but handles and sticks like mad. Demon is the only I know running them on a street Contour (last-gen 215s, actually, IIRC)

Bridgestone S0-3, Toyo T1-R, BFG KDW2, Yoko Advan Neova AD-07: great, pricey, sticky responsive summer tires. I don't have enough first-hand experience to say one is better than the others. There are more tires out there in that range, too. Neovas are the fastest, but 17"+ only, IIRC.

Falken Ziex ZE512: sticky, crisp, rain-use summer tire advertized as an all-season. My limited experience (2000 Eclipse with 215/45R17s) shows they are lousy in the snow, but not quite as deadly as a real summer tire. Decent wear, and great prices. Pretty much like the expensive tires above only less sticky by a little bit, and cheaper by a lot.

No sweat, I think we were both just on different pages. It definitely helps to have real world experience with the tires that we comment on. I'm having the most success now with the Dunlop Super Sport Race 225/45/17's that I'm running now, but will more than likely go back to the ZE-512's if the DSSR's are truely discontinued like I've heard. That is, if I don't get persuaded to try another tire before then.

Mark

I love the Bridgestons S-03s on my car. They have incredible grip in the wet and dry. Pretty quiet too. Only thing downside is that they are pretty expensive.

Dont buy firehawk gta's......I bought new ones then had a blow out one month later.. ride like crap too

I got it for you!

Falken Azenis RT-215. 205/55R16 from discounttiredirect.com is $85 each right now, with free shipping! Incredible crisp handling makes up for the tall sidewall, and they're a very wide 205. Not the best in torrential rain at high speeds, but not dangerous either, from what I hear - no personal experieince, but lots of people on the SCCAforums.com can help you out if you're worried. I wouldn't imagine you see a ton of rain in Cali anyway. These are much stickier and better handling than the KDWs or even KDW-2/S0-3, but may wear a little quicker. And cheap to boot! They are low in stock, closing them out, so you might want to bite now. So if you want to feel like you're driving a race car everyday...

The new Kuhmo ECSTA SPT looks to be the replacement for the Supra 712, and it looks a lot better. The Fuzions may not be this good. It's right on par with the AVS ES100 in the dry, and absolutely spectacular in the rain according to tirerack's tests. They also seem to give you good tread width in a 205, which Fuzion doesn't. The tread looks just like the new Hankooks which are also supossed to be good in the wet.

Kuhmo ESCTA SPT:


Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212:


Yokohama Advan Neova AD07


Anyone else see a similarity? Looks like the figured out how to make a great rain tread, and everyone is using it. $90, $109, $226, pick your price point for 225/45R17!

I have run through 4 sets of tires on my car,

215/50R16 KDW -from factory -24kmi
215/50R16 KDW -from tirerack -27kmi
205/55R16 KDW -from tirerack -22kmi
225/50R16 GSC-D3 -from tirerack -28kmi

All of my tires have been run down past the wear bars so the wear milage is rather inflated.

I liked the KDW for wet traction and handling, but then they always went out of balance by the end. BFG kept assuring me the next set would not do that.

205 is just plain too narrow, maybe with a LSD and some suspension tuning.

225 have the bulge look, and tend to plane a bit more in my opinion.

215 is perfect width for a stock svt, and 17s are probably the perfect diameter, but I haven't opted for the upgrade.

The Goodyears are by far the best, but you will piss off the people installing them on 6.5 rims. I have never had this stable of a tire in sweeping corners. Down side is ofcourse cost and low temp traction (not worse than the kdw).

Personally I would recomend you stay with your 17s and if you don't mind the lower profile go with these.

Under $400 shipped after rebate. Do watch the load rating though. Get them installed for ~$40-60

Not bad for Y rated sick tires.


Oh forgot one thing, don't autocross these tires, they will perform fine, but they will wear like hell.