Crazy_Schizo

Thanks for all the input guys! Perhaps I should have added a bit more info too on my planned driving and budgetary constraints:

- Since my grandmother passed away last month, I do not think I'll be able to store my offseason vehicle in her garage any longer. Likely, this means that the S2000 will only see sunny days now, and I'll be driving the Subaru on rainy days. Wet traction should not be much of an issue.

- Since I'll be done with school this May, I REALLY hope to be able to find the time during the weekends to autocross and track the car. I'm very interested in getting to know how to drive this car much more to its limits.

- With that being said, I think I'll remain on street tires, as I don't know how much space I'll have to keep a second set of tires around.

- Budget isn't much of a concern to me. My lovely parents gave me a lovely gift at Christmas, the gift of rubber (no not THAT kind of rubber!). They are willing to replace the tires on the vehicle with OE tires, or anything within a reasonable price of the OE tires.

With all that I've read here, I think I'm leaning more towards the RE-01s. I really appreciate all the input guys! Thanks!

jguerdat

100% agreed. There's still the issue of ultimate grip and safety envelope - the better the tire, the more likely you are to avoid a bad situation. I always try to buy the BEST tires I can afford rather than something that's "good enough". RS2s fit the latter, as do many all-season tires (although certainly not as well as the RS2s - lots of shades of gray).

And then there's just having fun...

jguerdat

Good point but...

I've been driving competitively since 1974. I've run many brands/types of tires over the years and have an internal database of what works and doesn't as well as a lot of contact with the outside world. I use Tire Rack's surveys and tests to bolster comparisons and evaluate what is "best" (it's a moving target, like computers, digital cameras and cars). Contact with local and Internet folks get you much more real-world info. Everything is a trade-off and it takes time to figure it out.

I've run many a tire that Tire Rack would rate as Ultra-High Performance and have made my own comparisons of a number of them. I've learned that Kumho 712s and Yoko Es100s are simply not a good choice for performance-oriented driving, even on the street. Comparing that type tire with the all-seasons I run (the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S) comes up the all-season tire being as good or better than the summer tire only selections. Believe me, I've been around the block a few times and have the old age to show for it.

In summary, I haven't driven every tire out there and I never will. I have learned to categorize and make assessments based on a number of factors. There are reasonably valid generalizations that can be drawn and one of them is that, for tires, cost helps separate the categories. It's not an absolute but works fairly well. Once you've decided on that, you can use input from others to help fine-tune your choices. I've bypassed tires based on others' experiences and will recommend my choices similarly. One size doesn't fit all so one needs to take all input into consideration. My word is far from gospel but I do have a few clues as to what it takes to make a good choice.

How's that for a response to a simple one-line question?

Triple-H

I have RS-2's, I speak from experience. Based upon that experience I absolutly DO NOT agree with you.

You can put down the RS-2's all you want, but they are not just good enough, and to even mention them as being like an all-season tire just proves you do not understand the Z212 RS-S from Hankook.

Nickfromny

Hoosier R6's with set of stock wheels and the tire trailer to haul them.

jguerdat

You didn't read what I wrote. Maybe I wasn't clear enough. Doesn't really matter - we all make choices and have opinions. After all, opinions are like arses - everyone has one.

Triple-H

I did read what you wrote, and I agree, some of your opinions are like arses.

Triple-H

FYI

I found a new, GREAT tire supplier this morning. They in fact have slightly lower prices than even Edge Racing that I have used for the past couple of years. PLUS, they are located in PA, as in lower shipping costs.

Hankook, Toyo, and Bridgestone are all brands they carry.

The Tire Shoppe
91 Ben Franklin Hwy West
Birdsboro , PA 19508
Joe Specht
Phone 866-208-6551
Fax 610-404-0013

JSpecht@cjtire.com

http://www.thetireshoppe.com

Triple-H

Me ordering up 4 of these today...