OK, i have in mind these tires so far from tire rack:

Bridgestone RE050A Pole position - $656 (price for 4)

Bridgestone RE01-R - $758

Eagle F1 GS-D3 - $672

Dunlop Direzza star spec -$564

now, I hear good things about the RE01-R's but the price compared to the new dunlops is staggering..and apparently the dunlops are great too and some vouch its even better than the RE01-R's. at that price they might be right lol but seriously all ive driven on my MY06 has been the stock original RE050's it came with. ( this is the first time im getting new tires for the car ) maybe you arent but im excited lol.

ok lets say i dont get the max performance ones..and go choose between the RE050A PP's and the Eagle F1's. which one is better in your opinions? ive had a set of the Eage F1s on another car previously and loved them. also the PS2's but theyre crazy expensive IMO.

so i guess im looking for 2 opinions in the end. 1st is whats best overall between all 4 of them, and 2nd if it was between the:

Bridgestone RE01-R vs. dunlop star specs.
and
Bridgestone RE050A PP's vs. Eagle F1's.

Right now i think the dunlops are coming on top with price and just performance i hear about it. i think the tread pattern is a bit weird looking lol (thats just opinion aesthetic opinion though)

**** oh yeah, i have the swift front sway bar in my car, do you think going to 225/45's in the front would be better or worse than the 215/45 stock size? opinions! please!

 

I'min the same boat. Are you on stock wheels? You have a pretty good price range. There's a lot of great tires for the budget you have. Majority will say RE-01R, I say eagle Gs-D3. Also, you might also want to look at the Michelin PS2. Let us know what tire you go with at the end, good luck

 

yeah the PS2's are just too expensive to justify compared to the eagle F1's or even almost any of the other ones ive listed. PS2's will end up in the price range of like high $700's to $800 when i can have very comparable or even better tires for cheaper.

 

My experience with the eagles is limited...nonexistant on S2000s. But I have a set of 16" RE050A PP and LOVE em. A member in New Orleans has a set of 17s and LOVES em. Fact is, I have never talked to or read a post by anyone who had the pole positions and didn't love them, unless they had just migrated to a much more expensive tire or from RE01-Rs for economics. Then they still Love them FOR THE PRICE.

RE01Rs are only a little more up front but you will go through them a LOT faster than the RE050A PP. Just my .02

 

If you are looking for the best performance tire the RE-01R and the Dunlop would be the two best. The other tires you mention are going to give you longer tread life and better wet traction. Bridgestone does have a rebate of 100.00 for a set of four tires starting 04/13 on the RE050A Pole Position. I do not like the GSD3 on the S2K because they run very narrow.
If I can help let me know.

 

Do you know when this expires?

 

I just went through a set of re-01r in 8K miles (tread is gone) and ordered the new dunlop star specs this morning. I'll get them friday and post a review once i get them broke in.

I ran 225/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear with stock suspension and stock sway bars and loved the way it handled. car handled very neutral with the occasional front end push. I had to try really hard to get the back end to break loose

 

You havent considered the Yokohama ES100's? They snatch going forward and hold on to the road like a bum to a dollar in the corners! Just sayin you might wanna consider them.

 

I've heard otherwise....

I, too, would like to know about when the rebate expires for the Bridgestones..

 

i had Eagle F1's GS-D3's on another car and thought they handled great in the wet and were good on dry comparable to the ps2's. but if jim says they run narrow on the s2k i might have to reconsider. i want something decent in wet and wont kill me lol the s2k is my DD but im gonna have a winter set so this is strickly for daily driving from now till winter. im really tempted by the dunlops direzza star specs right now but are they good enough for wet driving? not like performance wet driving lol i usually drive speed limit or a like 5 below in rain ( my tires are also almost bald at this point btw so it feels so dangerous in wet) can i go 225/45 in the front and 255/40/17 in the rear on stock AP2 version 2 wheels? i want to try that setup too and since i have the swift sway in the front it shouldnt hurt right? oh yeah and im thinking about the sumitomo's HTR-ZIII's also. cheap but people apparently vouch for them to be good tires. even better than RE050A polepositions.