Question about tires [Archive] - MX-5 Miata Forum (2024)

charlie321

2nd April 2010, 18:09

Hi All,
I was wondring if I could get some help from you all. I need to replace the tires on my 2001 LS. The car has 24K miles and they are the original Bridgestone Turanza, the size is P205/45R/16. I was wondering what kind of tires you have replaced yours with. Have you changed to something different or kept the same brand/style. I looked through the archives and could't find much on this. I visit and read the posts frequently, I just don't post much myself. I would appreciate any advice you folks could give me and I thank you for your help. I don't want to sacrifice handling by using the wrong tires. This car is never driven on snow and ice, I put her away for the winter months. :confused:

Charlie

mattsedona

2nd April 2010, 18:30

claas

2nd April 2010, 19:39

Charlie,

So many choices for good tires. It all depends on what your intentions for driving are. I have replaced my tires several times over the years and ended up with the Toyo Proxes R1R. (205-45-16). Do some reading on the forum, go to sponsors websites and start the research.

Old Putz

2nd April 2010, 19:42

As stated, what do you want out of the car?

I'm currently running Falken Azenis. I expect to get maybe 8,000 miles out of them. But oh, what a wonderful, fun, license-threatening 8,000 miles they'll be...:D

Little Bill

2nd April 2010, 19:49

I have a brand new never mounted set of (4) hankook venetus s2 they are 225/45/16. If you are looking for this size I will make you a smoking deal.

Bill

TheBigFish

3rd April 2010, 01:27

claas

3rd April 2010, 04:21

R1R...scary grip.

Scary, but ooooh so much fun. :jump:

Rich Velardo

3rd April 2010, 08:20

On my NB I had several brands and ended up liking the Goodyear F1 GSD3s well enough to but a repeat set for that car and then again for the new Miata. I now have Dunlop Dirrezza Star Specs on the '08 and like those a lot too. The Toyos are good tires as well. Note that these are all max performance, summer only, tires, but both the Dunlops and Goodyears are excellent in the rain so if you need an all weather tire for Connecticut then these will not work in near freezing temps or lower and they're pretty useless in light snow too.

Read the reviews & ratings on the Tire Rack site, they're very helpful.

Let me roll this on over to the tire & wheel forum...

2ndGearRubber

3rd April 2010, 22:14

desert red

4th April 2010, 11:40

Charlie,

If you have read through some of the tire threads in the past, you will undoubtedly know some of the questions generally asked that will help solicit the best suggestions for tires that will meet your needs. Amongst those will be (and not already mentioned); How aggressively do you drive? Is AutoX or track in your future? Is treadwear or budget a concern? Have you reached the break away limits of your current tires (suggesting more performance needs)? Will you be driving the car in temperatures much below 40 degrees (in wet or dry weather)? Are there certain characteristics that you value in a tire (quiet, comfort, transitional response, etc.)? You will get a hundred recommendations for tires covering a large spectrum of performance capabilities that match the needs of their owners. However, I think you probably would like some suggestions geared to your needs more than theirs.

patchelect

4th April 2010, 17:09

Actually the question to ask yourself is whether or not you like the tires that you have. If they have served you well with no complaints, then a safe move would be to replace them with the same thing. However, if you want to tread into deeper water where the sharks might be playing, then you need to read, read, read, and after that put your 8 or 10 preferences on a dartboard and throw!

At least you have a size that is plentiful, I'm limited to the 14" rims that came on the NA's and that is VERY limiting indeed.

charlie321

7th April 2010, 03:05

Thanks to all of you for your responses and helpful info and advice. I have been searching for as much info as possible to make an informed decision. I would like tires that would do well in dry, rain and wet leaves. The car will never and has never seen snow and ice. I do not drive particularly hard, just want it to stay glued to the road under normal driving conditions as well as a quiet and comfortable ride. I have four tires I am considering. The stock tires BridgestoneTuranza's have never thrilled me. I have owned the car since "06". It spent the first four years and 16k miles in Fort Worth Texas. It was sold new as an "01" leftover in Sept "02" and the owners traded it in "06" for an automatic due to health issues that prevented them from driving manual shift. I purchased the car from a dealer in Fort Worth and had it shipped to CT.

The four I am considering are:
Dunlop Direzza DZ101
Hankook K106
Falken 912
BF Goodrich GTire Force sport

All are around 100.00 a tire and available at Sears Tire Centers

Any feedback is welcome

Charlie

wallijonn

7th April 2010, 13:30

You owe it to yourself to head over to Rudy's website, The 'Rack, www.tirerack.com and do a search by product -> tires -> by size.

Look at the tire patterns you like, look at the type of tyre (UHP Summer, A/S), look for a "AA" wet rating, look at the UTOG wear rating, check "on" the ones you want to compare; read the reviews (select "Miata" as the car of choice.)

As a Bridgestone man I would recommend the Bridgestone RE760 Sport AS tyre which has a Hydroplane Resistance of 8.3, is rated "AA," and a wear rating of 340. $103 a tyre, with a $50 American Express prepaid card.

The top of the line tyre is probably the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 at $143 but "only" has a wear rating of 240, AA.

If you are into hard cornering then the tyres with the "XL," extra load, rating may be better (compare cornering specs.) That would be the Yoko S Drive, $90, the BFG gF Super Sport A/S, $95, and the Kumho Ecsta ASX, at $81.

You probably want to look at the tyres which have a hydroplane resistance of 8.0 and above. That removes the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 and the Kuhmo ASX. Next is Wet traction... the higher the better.

To me, it comes down to the Bridgestone RE760 or the Yoko S Drives. The Yokos are $360 and the 'Stones are $412 - $50 = $362. Ride & Noise Comfort tilt the choice towards the 'Stones.

The 'Rack drop ships to the installer of your choice. If you figure $40 for shipping then that will bring the 'Stones, or any of their other tyres, down to your $100 a tyre budget price point.

As I said, I'm a Bridgestone man, so I'm biased.

Scampi

8th April 2010, 18:11

MyGoCart

8th April 2010, 20:30

Thanks to all of you for your responses and helpful info and advice. I have been searching for as much info as possible to make an informed decision. I would like tires that would do well in dry, rain and wet leaves. The car will never and has never seen snow and ice. I do not drive particularly hard, just want it to stay glued to the road under normal driving conditions as well as a quiet and comfortable ride. I have four tires I am considering. The stock tires BridgestoneTuranza's have never thrilled me. I have owned the car since "06". It spent the first four years and 16k miles in Fort Worth Texas. It was sold new as an "01" leftover in Sept "02" and the owners traded it in "06" for an automatic due to health issues that prevented them from driving manual shift. I purchased the car from a dealer in Fort Worth and had it shipped to CT.

The four I am considering are:
Dunlop Direzza DZ101
Hankook K106
Falken 912
BF Goodrich GTire Force sport

All are around 100.00 a tire and available at Sears Tire Centers

Any feedback is welcome

Charlie

FWIW, I just took a set of Falken 912's off of mine after about 25K on them. Replaced them with S.Drives. Found a price of 86 at http://onlinetire.com and took that to my local Discount Tire place that had a set in stock. They sold them to me for $95/ea plus install (like 13/ea).

The S.Drives are stickier than the 912's, but they are UHP SUMMER. So, if you don't plan to drive it in the CT winter, they would work well. I replaced the 912's because the tread was worn, they were loud, and one had gone bad enough to be undriveable over the winter (roar at 40mph). I didn't realize how loud and rough they were until I put the S.Drives on. Now I don't feel every tar line in the pavement.

charlie321

13th April 2010, 14:39

Gord96BRG

13th April 2010, 15:55

they charge 95.00 for installation that includes a front end alignment.

Congrats on a great tire deal! (I just bought a set of Yokohama S.drive tires for my wife's 95 Miata)

However - be careful with that front end alignment - a Miata has fully adjustable suspension at both ends, and really needs a 4 wheel alignment to ensure you get it set up properly. You also need to avoid a "factory alignment", since the factory specs are so broad that a tech could get numbers within the factory allowed ranges and still leave you with a bad handling car that will wear it's tires out prematurely.

What you need to be asking for is a precision alignment - you give them the exact alignment specifications you want, and ask them to align precisely to those numbers ( +/- 0.1 degrees acceptable). From the Garage section (link at the bottom of every forum page), under Suspension you will find alignment articles, and the best for you will be Lanny's alignment page (http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html). It's invaluable reading, and will give you the precision settings (well within the factory alignment ranges) that you need to ask for at the alignment shop.

Good luck!