Syncmaster

I am looking for a decent budget tire that has stiff sidewalls. After searching I came across this one. I am leaning towards Sumitomo HTR Z3, BFG Comp 2, Conti DW, or these. I know the other 3 are pretty decent in the rain but can't find much on the Federal. I don't plan on racing in wet conditions or anything, but make a 200 mile trek a couple times a month in Illinois, and in the summer sometimes take the S, so don't want to get in a hairy situation driving in the rain.

Any first-hand experiences?

s2000Junky

In my experience they are a good choice. when I was in the days of running budget tires on this car, I tried a half dozen before I was happy with the Federals. They have a good deep tread pattern that disperses water as well as offer good wet grip with some of the added sipes in the tread. They are also a softer compound for the category tire (240) so dry traction is pretty darn good. The sidewalls are twin ply like an extreme summer construction so they feel solid, and improve with mileage as the tread depth reduces. The negative is these are heavy tires. But hey, there has to be a sacrifice somewhere for a inexpensive tire. I think id rather it be heavy then handle like crap or get poor traction like some of the other choices.

Manga_Spawn

Another good review for them here. Both me and Junky live in Seattle so plenty of rain. You still have to be careful as with any tire in the wet with this car but they never gave me any scary moments. I would run them again but I now have a daily so I don't need to drive the S in the rain.

Syncmaster

Thanks for the input guys. Still on the fence, but I'll have to make a decision sooner or later. I have narrowed it down to the following... In 245/40/17 all around, I can get the Federal 595SS for ~$370 shipped. I can get BFG GFORCE Comp 2s for $382 shipped (after the $70 rebate card). So basically the same price. Which one would YOU go with?

Also, FWIW...

The S is definitely NOT my daily. The only time I would really be in the rain, is if I were driving it and got caught in the rain. This could be on an Interstate trip, so would just want to make sure I am safe. These tires would be going on the SSR Type C RS 8.5" + 49 wheels I picked up last week.

I currently run OEM AP2v2 wheels w/ RE11a. I totally realize I am downgrading in terms or dry performance by going with any of these options, but I will probably keep the OEM wheels around if I take it to a road course anyway (I don't like autocross, so thats out). Outside of that I do spirited driving and make the 200 mile trek every so often to visit family - just looking for a solid, affordable tire to meet that need, and one that I won't have to replace super quickly due to wear.

Manga_Spawn

Never run the Gforces so cannot comment on those. I would buy the federals again so I guess I would go with the tire I know.

Syncmaster

Since you personally had these, a couple of more questions if you don't mind. 1) How many miles did they last before needing replacement? 2) The only other issue I've heard of with these is the inability to get a proper balance causing vibrations at speed (well at least I saw a post somewhere about it). Did you ever experience any issues w/ balancing or vibrations with the Federals?

Manga_Spawn

Never had the issues with balancing. I wonder if that is more due to people stretching them on to wide of wheels since they are popular for that use as well.

I think I put 8k miles on them (probably more but not sure) before buying AD08r's for track duty and since bought a daily so I sold the federals. They still had plenty of tread and showed very little camber wear. If the wear stayed even I think I would have gotten over 15k street miles on them maybe a little less if I did some drives. I know Junky put a lot more miles on them so maybe he can comment on this as well.

s2000Junky

I had a similar situation to Manga with the Federals, being I put a similar mileage on them with still plenty of tread, even after a track event, and then moved to an extreme summer. I would totally run them again if I chose to run a budget max summer.

Never had any balancing issues.

Syncmaster

Thanks I appreciate the feedback guys - really helpful to hear it from those with first-hand experience. I can get a set of of (4) 245/40/17 installed w/ lifetime balance from a local shop for ~$450. I may have to give them a try.

DavidNJ

Is less than $200 (over maybe 25k miles) worth going with the Taiwanese tire over the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, generally thought to be the best high performance tire available?