M758

I have Yoko AVS Sports on my Turbo S. Great tires. Very nice and solid for track and autocross duty. For me the tire has held up very well and I am very happy. They have worn down now and I plan on getting ES 100 instead as a cost thing. I don't need the extra grip of the AVS Sports anymore since I have my 944-spec car.

Don't be fooled however. No "street" tire has grip of an "R-Compund tire".

kwh29

I used to believe this until the Azenis came out.

In many situations, such as wet or poor road surface, the Azenis will be just as fast as a true R compund. In perfect conditions, the R tire (even the Toyo RA-1 and Yoko A032) will be marginally faster but unless you're actually racing and not just driving fast on back roads and DE days the R tire isn't worth it.

Now, I'm in the same boat as the original poster. I'm going with Yoko AVS ES-100 because of cost/wear/wet weather safety. The Kumho MX was my second choice, Azenis was third.

--Kevin H.

Ag951

I'm not sure about wet surfaces, but I've been in cars with Victoracer Rs and cars with Azenis Sports, and there is a definite difference on a dry skidpad.
The difference from crappy michelin pilots (stock on my RSX) to Azenis (now on my RSX) is a little more severe than the difference between the Azenis and the Victoracers.
They're close enough that you might want to use Azenis on a practice day to save money, but in a real competition, Azenis will cost you a trophy.
If you're not racing, of course you shouldn't be using Rs. I doubt M758 was suggesting using Hoosiers as a daily tire (drive to work, replace tires, drive home, replace tires, etc.)

GaryK

I have used both the MX and the Azenis Sport. They provide similar levels of dry traction, but both fall short of the Toyo RA1's I use on the track. I switched from the Azenis to the MX because of the limited size availability. I much prefer a 255/40-17 to the taller narrower 245/45-17 on the rear. I spoke with a Falken rep a few months back, who told me the Azenis will be superseded by a newer model soon, which will be available in more sizes.

M758

Well I'd agree that R tires are NOT daily driver tires. Some (not the hoosier) are tough enough to be driven on the road, but only for to and from the track and occasional drives.

My father run Yoko A032R's on his 944 Turbo. They have held-up ok as a street tire in very limited use. Most of his time in that car is spend going to and from the track so that is nice tire for him. They are noisly as hell however. Also the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups also seem to be tough enough for the street. I have seem a few guys also use them to and from the track and for light trips. THe Kumho Victoracer I think are great for driving to the track, but one event and they are bald.

Hoosiers I would not drive on the street at all. Carass is too thin and they are too expensive for any street miles.

I think the Toyo RA-1's are probalby similar to the Yoko & MPSC in terms of on street durabilty, but I have seen few using them.

I'd only get a an R-tire for a car that sees 80% of it time on the track or autocross. R-tires are a waste for street use.

ninefiveone

I run MPSC's on the street. NYC streets, no less!

kwh29

Toyo RA-1 work fine on the street, as long as it doesn't get too cold. They are scary in temps below 45 degrees or so. I used a set (on a Jetta...) for about 7k street miles and about 100 autocross runs two years ago.

--Kevin H.

Matt H

Ecsta MX is junk. Anyone in the DFW area is welcome to come by and flog my RX with them. Rain traction is so poor I almost dont drive it anymore. Anyone who thinks these tires are good should try something that really is good. Dry traction is acceptable but they have terrible wear characteristics and once they have about 5k miles on them you will need earplugs. Every wonder why they are so cheap?
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Ag951

Oh darn...bad rain traction. Next you'll say they aren't good for towing trailers.
Of course they wear quickly: they're performance tires. They're supposed to!
They have a stiff sidewall and really grippy, aggressive rubber.