Can someone do a comparison between these four tires in terms of DRY grip, WET grip, and treadlife.

1. oem s02
2. kumho ecsta MX
3. Toyo T1-S
4. RA-1
5. S03

Thanks. and for clarification (question for Jim), the oem s02 for the rear would be 225, 50, 16 and all the others would be 245, 45, 16, correct?

Last question, any adverse or different reactions from running OEM s02 FRONTS and non-oem REARS such as the ones mentioned above?

Thanks.

 

You would need 5 cars exactly the same and somebody to do the test. We do tire tersting but we do not carry two of the tires listed. The MX is a very sticky handling tire but does not come in the 245/45R16 size. I have sold them in the OE sizes but I have not seen any feedback.

Jim

 

i will not buy tires in the OE sizes if its gonna be less width than the OEM S02.

i guess i can cross out the Kumho from my list then.

do you have any feedback with the Toyo R1-S in terms of dry grip, wet grip, and treadlife in comparison with the OEM s02? same for the RA-1 and possibly the S03?

Thanks.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jim@tirerack
The MX is a very sticky handling tire but does not come in the 245/45R16 size.

 

thanks for the detailed description.

i find it hard to believe that Kumho MX, especially in a thinner size for the rears, would have more dry traction than the S-02's. AND at such a substantially lower price.

Can this be true, or is it just a subjective opinion?

 

I would be curious to hear form more people who have used the Khumo MX's on stock size wheels. Now, when we are taking they are narrower on the rears, how much thinner are we talking? 1/4 inch? Less, more? I mean, is it really that big of a difference?

I'm just wondering.......we just ordered these tires for our turbo Beetle and I must say, they are really really nice and I'd love to have a set on my S2000, especially for the low cost involved!

Ryan

 

I have used all these tires except the MXs (but a bunch of my friends have used the MX). The MXs are basically very similar to the S03s although the S03s can take more abuse and also are a little more quiet than the MXs. Wet and dry grip are similar.
The T1-S has a very soft sidewall, is very quiet, can not take a lot of track abuse, has very good wet and dry grip. The S02 is the most aggressive street tire and second only to the RA-1 for cpmetition.

Of these tires:

T1-S is the most comfortable all around, 3 season street tire

S03 is the more aggresive tire, can take lots of abuse, excellent wet and very good dry performance

MX is similar to the S03 but is a little louder and not as tough

S02 is the most aggressive street tire, comes pretty close to an R-compound. Very stiff sidewall. Excellent in the dry, excellent in the wet with more than 3/4 tread, the tire becomes pretty bad in the wet after about 1/2 the tread is gone.

RA-1 (unshaved) Good in the wet and dry. Full tread depth causes some tread squirm which does not inspire confidence. Soft sidewalls like the T1-S (you will need somewhat higher pressures for autoX than you might use with the S02s for example). I run RA-1s unshaved on my car on the street and for competition.

So get the RA-1s if you compete, the S02s are next most competative tire. The S03s (or MXs) are a good alternative, they give up a little dry performance but have good wet performance throughout their tread life (unlike the S02s). The T1-S is a step down but is very comfortable tire and a pretty good all around hi-performance street tire.




[QUOTE]Originally posted by jyeung528
Can someone do a comparison between these four tires in terms of DRY grip, WET grip, and treadlife.

1.

 

I have kumho ecsta MX's in oem size and they are great - very sticky. However, my car didn't have S-02's when I bought it so I can't compare to the OEM tires.


correct me if i am wrong but isn't the size difference between OEM and aftermarket tires due to the OEM front tires being narrower than a typical 205? In order to keep the correct offset when using an aftermarket 205 you have to go up to 245 in the rear.

 

I know most people have pre 04 cars, but still:

Kumho Ecsta MX comes in the exact right size for the OEM 04 wheels. They even come up on tirerack.com when you specify your 04 s2000, and Max Performance Summer.

And they are way cheaper than the RE050s

-geekd

 

Here is my opinion on the t1-s....

http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=196521

Im going back to S02's or R-comps