Need Performance Tire Upgrade Recommendation

[Gunga]

OK, am looking to upgrade Tires on a 2006 SLE..

NOT looking for new wheels. NOT looking for off-set.
NOT looking for larger/fatter Tires.

Just recommends for great performance tires. 215/55-17
I’m into handling, not looks

[sydemoid]

Toyo Proxes 4..... hands down, I got a deal from my local dealer for $110 a piece.

I used to run Yokohama ES AVS100's.... pretty nice

But the Toyo has better treadwear, and they feel stickier.... plus they are all season, if you get any snow.... YOU NEED ALL SEASON TIRES!... lol

[CASTRO]

tires or rims?

for rims I'd suggest Enkie RPF-01's. HUGE performance from the lightness. Its used commonly in road racing and drifting events. Cheap too!

Tires: Bridgestone Potenza RE050 or even the RE070. RE050's come stock on many performance cars from the 350z to the S2000. Its amazing on grip and had very neutral handling characteristics.

The newest one is the RE070. That is what comes on the GTR, S2000 CR, Lotus Elise, Civic Type-R, etc. Its stickier than even the olr RE-01R (almost Racing Slick) tires.

The Bridgestone Potenza RE series tires have long been used in ultra high end sports cars including the original Skyline Family, NSX, Old/New Type-Rs.

[Sebas007]

if you get any snow.... YOU NEED ALL SEASON TIRES!...

All season tires are so weak on snow ! A bit better then summer tire. I guess 4-seasons tire have been created in California.

I like the Yoko's AVS-ES100 down side is the treadwear dissapear fast.
Also can be a bit noisy after their first half life

Toyo proxes T1-R have a nice water traction tire a bit less sticky on dry pavement than the Yoko's but nothing dramatic.

The cheapest and nice General Tire Exclaim UHP. I got those now and I'm really satisfied with those. They cost me only 85$ at TireRack.com
Rare combinaison of cheap and good quality.

[PXLpainter]

I love my Falkens - got 'em at a good price at Firestone last time. This is my third set and great in all-weather as well.

[theprodigy79]

I used to run Michelin Pilot Sports on my Solara and they were great, although the tread life sucked... They stuck to the road like glue and weren't noisy until very heavily warn. They're probably the best handling tires I've ever used, and that certainly says something...

The only down sides were their cost ($260+/tire), their relatively short life expectancy, and they are summer tires (if that matters).

Before I sold the Solara I had to replace the Pilots (they were warn out), so I did a lot of research to find a moderately priced tire that could offer excellent performance... I found exactly that with the Avon Tech M550 A/S. They have a great aggressive tread, long life, quiet/smooth ride and are overall VERY balanced functionality wise. They have a nice gradual break-away and hold very well both wet and dry. I was very impressed with them for the price...

Right now on my Supra I have Falken Azenis ST-115s, and they seem to do the job alright so far, but I have a bit of a pulling issue in the front left tire that I've confirmed to be something funky with the tread (my alignment is set and treadware is normal all around)... I've heard others have had similar issues with them as well...

[Aotoyota]

I have the yokohama v4s on mine, very durable and sticks to the
road like no other.

[rojamay]

Toyo Proxes 4..... hands down, I got a deal from my local dealer for $110 a piece.

I'll have to agree with Toyo for tires. I've had Toyos on several cars - from the Proxes on a Mustang to the Versada set I have on my solara now. Great tires.

[goretro77]

tires or rims?

for rims I'd suggest Enkie RPF-01's. HUGE performance from the lightness. Its used commonly in road racing and drifting events. Cheap too!

Tires: Bridgestone Potenza RE050 or even the RE070. RE050's come stock on many performance cars from the 350z to the S2000. Its amazing on grip and had very neutral handling characteristics.

The newest one is the RE070. That is what comes on the GTR, S2000 CR, Lotus Elise, Civic Type-R, etc. Its stickier than even the olr RE-01R (almost Racing Slick) tires.

The Bridgestone Potenza RE series tires have long been used in ultra high end sports cars including the original Skyline Family, NSX, Old/New Type-Rs.

RE070 comes on Lotus Elise/Exige?

[CosmicGrooves]

The Goodyear Eagle RSA's seem to be decent. They have good dry weather stickyness and good enough wet weather. We don't get much snow here so not sure about that. The noise has increased slightly, but I'm very picky and notice that whereas many would not.

The tread wear seems to be holding up pretty good. I think I've had the tires for about 1.5 years. They do wear down much faster if you peal-out, though... so don't do that too much.... of course my Toyo's wore down to nearly slicks due to pealing out on the factory 17".

Will I get these again? Not sure yet. They were the best tire I could find in the size I wanted... price vs performance vs long term reliability. But I guess 235/45/18 is a weird size because not many tires come in that.

[Sparky5e]

Thanks for the info in this thread. We all need to replace the rubber eventually and is good to hear peoples feedback. I know it is a matter of time and looking at Tire Rack I am leaning toward the Yoko AVID W4S or the Bridgstone Pole Position RE960AS Pole Position and upgrading to 18s. I am not one for summer/winter tire swaps so need year round tires.