i posted this on the tread and butter section a few days ago, but no one responded. i'm thinking that more people read this section and i'll probably get some help here.
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apparently the general feeling about the oem tires for the tc (Potenza RE92) is that they're crap. well after driving for about 2000 miles, i'm gonna have to agree. especially in the rain. did a quick search on tirerack.com and it looks like the Yokohama Avid H4S is a way better tire (are these the new stock tires on the tc?), and at 96 bucks a pop. i'm thinking about getting those, but i dunno how they look.

what do you people think? there's a lot of post on here about the crappy tires, but not alot of posts on suitable alternatives. anyone find a tire that's a lot smoother and handles better than the stock?

 

falken azenis, although rain sucks in those.
kumho ecsta MX by far the best value for money - rain handeling is superb.

 

Toyo, Kumho's, or Falkens

Do NOT get Bridgeston Potenza's again
- They are crap rubbers

 

yes the re92s are cheap. the SO3s aren't: 150$ a pop for 16" miata rims.
The SO3's are really sticky, but tread life is less than 12k miles...

 

I'm down to 2/32 on my front tires
- Bridgestone Potenza's -

I had them rotated just so I can have handling
in the snow and rain

I have about 17K miles on my tC.

Potenza's I got quoted for $380/piece @ the Dealership
I was like naaaah

I'll put on Toyo's, Kumho's, Yokahamas, or Falkens

 

i would also try bridgeston fuzions. i heard those are pretty decent tires for the price. ive never had any experience in them though.

toyo proxes 4s arent bad. i have them on a spec V and they handle well in both dry and wet.

 

my dream tire: YOKOHAMA PARADA spec 2

 

might as well get yourt money out of the stock tires, sucky as they be!

 

so the stock tires are crap? I don't drive hard, so I wouldn't know about the handling side. However, I do hear that they only last like a year or so. Is that true?

 

stock tires are worst then poor you can go to tirerack and read up on them. Worst tire rating that I have ever read.

I have:
Yokohama 100 ES AVS, these are great dry tires OK wet, very frim ride with some road noise, mainly at lower speeds.

I have also tried: Kumho MX, not as firm ride, maybe less dry grip.

both are 225x45 of 17s.

These are really max performance tires on the cheap. I have no clue on normal performance tires or OEM replacement type...

 

Kuhmo Ecsta Supra 712's - hard compound, last long, relatively inexpensive

 

everytime one of these comes up.. people can guess what I'll say

Pirelli Pzero Nero m&s.. works extremely well.. grip in wet/dry same.. snow/ice.. decent, can do up to about 3 inches of snow.. pretty impressive for a performance tire. No difference in cold weather to warm weather. quiet tires, smooth ride.. sharp steering.. worth it to me...

 

i think someone shoud start a poll.
yokohama parada spec 2
nitto neogen
falken ziex
falken azenis
kuhmo ecsta supra 712
kumho mx
bridgestone s03
pirelli pzero nero M&S
anymore? copy and paste

 

go to www.tirerack.com, and first of all see what type of tire you are looking for(all season, performance, summer performance, etc.) it all depends on what type of conditions you do the most driving in. Then once you have selected a type of tire, you can compare all of them in that one catagory. You can see the dry traction, wet traction, snow traction, noise level, ride comfort, etc. You can also read tons of reviews on them. I do this before I get any new car tires, and the reviews on the site are EXTREMELY helpful

 

parada spec 2: not great in rain
falken azenis: not good in rain
bridgestone s03: good tires, stock on s2000
prielli pzero nero M&S: good tires

my recommendation for ultimate street performance tire:
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 : best street tire available on the market. BUT..this is only for the people that intend to drive very very hard. they have the tread life equivalent to the s03's...but they are better..why else would they come on a Ferrari Enzo. and they arent even r-compound. downside...for 255/40/17....about 250/tire. i drove my friend wrx this weekend in the rain...and even in the worst conditions...these tires gripped like crazy. i couldnt get them to squeal.
*they are so grippy the stock axles on a wrx can't handle them....i.e. pop the clutch on that awd and you break axles cuz the tires don't spin*

 

pzero neros and loving them

 

P zero is a better tire for sure but um ain't cheap.... the Kumho 712 are cheap, my AVS were like $120 installed! but yes I wish I had a set of P zero....

 

BFG recently released their newest tire in the g-force family, the g-force sport. I got them for $120 ea installed at my local americas tire co. Unbelivable grip, though not as well as the falken azenis they replaced. On the bright side, I have 10k and 1 auto-x on them and they are 5/32, still whisper quiet.

Another one to consider would be the new Avon 500.

I was lucky enough to get a screw through the sidewall of the RE92's at 10k miles... one guy that rode with me during an autocross said that the amount of traction i was getting was like i had donut spares on all corners

 

Hmm, I have over 18k miles on my 225/40-18 S-03s on my Matrix, but then again, its mostly freeway mileage. I still have over half tread.

 

Mine is all city, I have 2/32 tread left on the old front tires, now the rear tires.

Potenza's are just plain junk tires.
Plus the dealership I laughed said $380/piece

I'm probably going to slap on Kumho's or PZERO's soon