Tires for Florida driving

[girlbonne]

Can anyone make a recommendation for tires for my 2003 SSEi? Driving particulars are: warm weather, mostly local with several long highway trips per year. Thanks very much!

[sandrock]

Even though I bought them used, I have had pretty good results with Goodrich KDWs. They have a decent amount of stickiness and wear well...twice as good as Eagle RS-As (which, anyone on here will recommend you steer clear of them. 20k miles and you WILL need new ones again).

Can't wait to buy the Goodriches new

[wjcollier07]

Because we see a fair bit of insane rainfall, GY Assurance Tripletreds still have full recommendations, just the same as if it were in the north. They're VERY good in the dry, excellent in the wet, and even good in the snow and ice.

Also, for about the same price, and possibly a slightly quieter ride, Bridgestone Turanza Serenity tires are supposed to be just as fantastic. Not as good as ice, but from what I've gathered, they're more of the southern version of the tripletreds, with, as mentioned, a slightly quieter ride from the less aggressive tread pattern.

Here's a link to both on tire rack.

Bridgestone Turanza Serenity

Goodyear Assurance TripleTred

If I had to choose, I'd go with the Bridgestones for Florida.

[SSsuperchargedEi]

i tend to roll with bridgestone/firestone for summer tires on all of my vehicles.

[LeSabreUltra]

I always go with Michelins for my cars. Goodyear isn't a bad choice either.
.
.
.

[dbeast420]

I've been running bridgestones on my 99 since I've had it with no complaints.

[girlbonne]

dbeast - thanks for the reply.

Is there a particular model Bridgestone you've been using? I priced the Turanza Serenity and they are $160+. Could be a little more tire than I need. Thoughts?

[Greyhare]

My suggestion is to start by setting your priorities.
What do you want from a tire? Dry grip, responsive handling, quiet ride...?

This will help you decide what type of tire is best for your needs:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/dg/MenuServlet?search=tdg

You can then see what is in your price range. Look at the actual tests if available; the surveys and comments are useful but take them with a grain of salt.

When you have narrowed the choices down we can give better feed back.

I would go with one of these:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... enza+RE-11

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... +Star+Spec

But my needs may be different from yours.

[2000Silverbullet]

Autocross tires. Figures coming from Mike!
Good recommendation about selecting a tire that meets your needs.

If you are looking at spending less than $150 for a tire, you should have bought a Honda.

[girlbonne]

OK Silver, I get your point - just not famiiar with pricing scenarios.

Do you know if Falken tires are an unadvertised, but good quality brand? Thx.

[2000Silverbullet]

I have no experience with Fulken Tires.

Google says:

Falken Tire Corporation The Falken Tire brand, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, launched in its native country of Japan in 1983 and was introduced to the North American market two years later. At its inception, Falken was created as the flagship high performance radial brand under Ohtsu Tire and Rubber. Now, over two and a half decades later, Falken continues to focus on UHP (Ultra High Performance) products and utilizing professional motorsports racing to further develop and improve passenger vehicle products for worldwide distribution.

Falken Tire Corporation, based in Fontana California, is the corporate headquarters and west coast distribution center for North American operations. Additional Falken Tire distribution locations include warehouses in Tennessee, New Jersey and Texas.

Falken’s current products range from the track inspired and enthusiast targeted Azenis series to the maximum performance and luxury sport FK452. The award winning all-season performance Ziex ZE912 provides sure footed grip in any weather condition while the S/TZ04 encompasses cutting edge styling and ultra plus fitments for today’s light truck and SUV’s.

Future product development includes the expansion into rugged all-terrain, winter performance and premium touring categories.

Considered a marketing maverick in many regards, Falken Tire prides itself on its in house branding and creative capabilities. Housing a fully staffed advertising department and motorsports team allows Falken Tire to fully maximize exposure on internally operated American Le Mans and Professional Drifting programs.


Year Founded: 1983

Number of Employees: Over 125

Parent Company: Sumitomo Rubber Industries

2009 Product Line-up includes: Azenis RT-615 FK-452 Ziex ZE-912 Azenis ST-115 Ziex ZE-502 ZE329 Ziex ZE*512 Eurowinter HS439 Ziex S/TZ04 Ziex S/TZ01 Landair H/T Radial A/P

[BonneMe]

Falkens are pretty good, the Azenis RT 615 was THE street tire in AutoX about 2-3 years ago. Now the Dunlops + Bridgestones are kings, with the new Kuhmo becoming a 3rd challenger quickly..

I have the Dunlops listed, AMAZING tire. They're on track for about 20k-25k out of them. Performance is as good as it gets for a street tire. I might even take them out to Brainerd intl raceway, or Road America this summer...

I prefer the BFGoodrich traction T.A over the GY Triple Treads, performance is better in the dry, and just as good in the wet, better on ice, treadwear is same, and can usually be had cheaper.

[dbeast420]

dbeast - thanks for the reply.

Is there a particular model Bridgestone you've been using? I priced the Turanza Serenity and they are $160+. Could be a little more tire than I need. Thoughts?

I'm running Turanza LSTs mounted,balanced and road hazard IIRC just a little over 500 out the door @ wal-mart. Last summer someone decided to slash the 2 fronts,with the police report and the road hazard only cost me 45 bucks for both replacements.

[wjcollier07]

dbeast - thanks for the reply.

Is there a particular model Bridgestone you've been using? I priced the Turanza Serenity and they are $160+. Could be a little more tire than I need. Thoughts?

It should also be mentioned that the Serenity has a 740 treadwear warranty, and would probabaly last 50k easy. The tripletreds have an identical wear rating and have an 80,000 mile treadlife pro-rated warranty, so, I think if you break the price down to how long they'll last compared to a cheaper tire with something like a 360-400 treadwear rating, you'll see you're getting a lot more tire for your money, also without the hassle of having to fork the money out half as soon as is absolutely necessary.

Treadwear is so excellent on a 740 tire that at 6,000 miles when the tripletreds on my 93 were rotated a month ago, the shop made a comment about them actually showing no measurable wear yet...yet, this is obviously dependent on how you drive!

[Jrs3800]

The harder the tire like the 740 the better the wear.... My tired are usually in the 400 wear rated area... More grip due to it being a softer tire, but that makes it a fast wear tire..

[00Beast]

IDK how you can get quieter than triple treds. Mine are silent. Another vote for them. I did some impressive burnouts on them, and they still look great.

[WhiteArrow3800]

I wish I could say more about the Falken's I bought two years ago, but I only managed to put maybe 2k miles on them which happened to be on the way to Florida. But they rode a ton better than the stock Goodyear RS-A. I never got a chance to really drive them in the rain. But they were cheap, $89 per tire if I remember correctly, plus I got a deal at the shop for buy 3 get one free. I originally wanted Falken ZE-512 but they weren't in stock and they gave me the deal on the Falken ZE-312.

[Jrs3800]

I have driven a few cars with Falkens and have been impressed... They seem to do well in most situations much like their big brother tire Sumitomo...

[its840]

ya sumitomo owns falken.. and all i can say about the falken tires.. DO NOT buy then 912's.. they wear out so freaking fast.. and from the factory the outer edges have less tread then the center of the tire.. so no where will ever warranty them out for you.. they will claim alignment wear.. hahaha BS its just the way the tires were designed..

[01bonneSC]

I run these, very good tire! Cant beat the price either!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... +Signature