I am getting ready for some track days at Blackhawk farms and Road America and I have to replace my S03's. They don't make my size anymore so I was looking for some advise. I need 215/40/17 and 265/35/18
I was interested in anyone with experience on the track with Toyo T1S vs
kumho ECTSA MX. My brother drives a C5 corvette and the Kumho's are awesome they also get great reviews on tire rack. Any opinions?
Thanks!
Mark
Short answer: In your case, I recommend either the
Falken Azenis RT-615 or the
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, instead of either of these tires. Both the Falken and the Goodyear will give you better performance than either the MX or the T1-R (Toyo's replacement for the now-discontinued T1-S). The Goodyear is similar to the S-03; the Falken is stickier on dry pavement, but worse in rain and wears a LOT faster.
Now, for the long explanation...
First of all, the tires you're asking about are all "street tires". When people mention "track tires", they are usually referring to special "R compound" tires whose rapid treadwear makes them unsuitable for daily driving. The tires you're asking about are street tires that can be used every day.
Lots of very good tires are available for the NSX, and my summarized recommendations are bolded below. I'll confine the discussion to summer tires, under the assumption that you do not drive your NSX in snow or frigid cold (or you have winter tires for that purpose), so you do not need all-season tires.
Summer tires tend to break down into three broad categories:
a. Specialty tires with exceptional traction and handling on dry pavement. These tires are almost like track tires. Their downsides are that they tend to wear rapidly and are not all that great in rain or on wet pavement. The best of these overall is the Falken Azenis RT-615; other decent choices include the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD, Bridgestone RE-01R, and Yokohama Advan Neova AD07. (The latter two are not available in North America in NSX sizes.)
b. Top-of-the-line tires with excellent traction and handling on dry pavement, outstanding traction and handling on wet pavement, and very good treadlife ("very good" being a relative term on the NSX
). The only downside is that they tend to be expensive. The best of these include the OEM tires for the NSX (Yokohama A022H and Bridgestone Potenza RE010 for the '91-01 sizes, Bridgestone Potenza RE040 for the '02-05 sizes) and the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. (The Goodyear F1 GS-D3 won the
recent comparison test of eleven top-of-the-line tires in Car and Driver.) Other decent choices include the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, and Dunlop SP Sport Maxx.
c. "Budget performance tires" which are designed to offer good performance at a lower price. With the best of these, their performance (both dry and wet) is quite good although not at a level of the tires in the previous category. The best tires in this performance category include the Kumho Ecsta SPT, Yokohama ES100, Avon Tech M500, Dunlop Direzza DZ101, Falken FK-452, Toyo T1-R, Bridgestone Potenza RE750, and BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2. All offer similar performance. The first five tend to cost less than the last three, and the Kumho SPT tends to be the least expensive of all of these.
So then it's a matter of deciding which tire
category is best for you:
a. If you want the absolutely best traction on dry pavement, and you're willing to give up wet traction and treadlife for it, then go with category (a) and the Falken Azenis RT-615.
b. If you want excellent dry traction and wet traction and treadlife, then go with category (b) and either the OEM tires or the Goodyear F1 GS-D3.
c. If you're willing to accept somewhat lower performance in exchange for a lower purchase price for your tires, then go with category (c) and the Kumho SPT. (Personally, I don't see much point in spending a lot of money on a high-performance car like an NSX, only to then degrade its performance in order to save a few bucks on tires, but hey, different strokes...) (It's also worth noting that if you're going to use your car for an occasional track event, you should probably avoid this category entirely.)
All three of these tires - Falken Azenis RT-615, Goodyear F1 GS-D3, and Kumho SPT - are available in 215/40-17 and 265/35-18. The OEM tires are not available in 18" sizes.
I'm running Neovas AD07's right now?
