Drift Tires?

[s14brent]

st115...225/45f 235/40r.

[nistech]

i m using ES100 s rigth now i m gonna try ST115 next

[santacruisin]

i'm gonna use the st115's this weekend at Thunderhill for drifting. I'll let yall know how long they lasted. I've used Toyo FZ4's in the past at DDNorcal. Hard to comment on the longevity cuz the road surface was so shitty.

[revat619]

Originally Posted by sideview_180sx

I hope you realize they are H-rated, that would suck for road noise. why not get the Ventus V4 Es H105 cost a lil' more 420 treadwear rating and W-rated.

Road noise?!? What is that?

hahaha you cant be serious. When was the last time you cared about that?! Please explain this phenomenon of "road noise" that you speak of! NOW!

Back on topic....

I'll be running st115s very soon. I've never tried them before, but i've heard nothing but good things. Federal 555s (or something like that) are good drift tires though. The hold up forever and smoke really good. ES100s suck. They chunk like nobodies business. Pirelli P 6000s are OK, but they kinda chunk after a while too.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

coopers !

[SoSideways]

Originally Posted by revat619

Road noise?!? What is that?

hahaha you cant be serious. When was the last time you cared about that?! Please explain this phenomenon of "road noise" that you speak of! NOW!

Back on topic....

I'll be running st115s very soon. I've never tried them before, but i've heard nothing but good things. Federal 555s (or something like that) are good drift tires though. The hold up forever and smoke really good. ES100s suck. They chunk like nobodies business. Pirelli P 6000s are OK, but they kinda chunk after a while too.

Road noise sucks when you have no interior and you drive around daily in the car, including visits to parents' house 60 miles away and back often.

For that reason alone, I haven't tried the Dunlop FM901s.

The Falken ST115 is supposed to be virtually silent, so that's a good thing.

Also, there are a few people saying good things about Hankook H405 HRii tires, which I currently have in the rear. They grip pretty awesome so far, and I've put about 3000 miles on them so far, with 1 night of street drifting on them, and a few runs at the 1/4 mile track, and there has been virtually no wear on them, so... And did I mention they're cheap? $48 a tire for 205/50/15 from Tires.com, and free shipping...

[KiDyNomiTe]

FM901 - Suck, sidewalls are way to soft, wear too quickly, not very grippy, suck in the rain
ES100 - Used them a few times, I liked them compared to FM901s, wore fine, good in rain.
Azenis Sport - Best grip up front, in the rear they aren't that great, get greasy, and chunk up, but last a decent amount of time
Azenis RT615 - Used only in rear, great grip, lasted a decent amount of time, but for the price not worth it, but overall fealt great
Potenza S-03 - Great tire, especially in rain, only used in the front.
Kumho Ecsta MX - Use them up front right now, great grip, havent used them in the rear (need some 17s to put mine on)

ST115s I have yet to try but everyone I know who uses them loves them, and they last a good amount of time and nice and smokey
Ditto on Hankook Ventus (forget the exact brand)

[94cc0rd]

What's so bad about the ES100's? I have no experience with different tires but I was looking at ES100 and ST-115's... I guess the St-115's are better and cheaper??

btw: i'm looking for a daily driving tire... for drifting I will put my stock wheels on the rear...

[hellion240sx]

so who drift's on the stock 15's? or is it better to do it on 17 or 18's??/

[SoSideways]

Originally Posted by hellion240sx

so who drift's on the stock 15's? or is it better to do it on 17 or 18's??/

It's good to learn on 15" wheels for the fact that you can buy cheaper tires.

But as your skills improve and power of the car increases, it's good to increase the wheel diameter to 17" or 18" depending on preference.

[hellion240sx]

also doesn't anyone one like toyo's anymore?????

[hellion240sx]

so sideways, but why increase size if your good on 15? i don't know, thats why i am asking

[2iv0 sx]

so what are good daily drive tires? i was goin to go with 512 for 15s

anyones tried yokohama ADVAN? for 15s

[Irukandji]

"drift tires"?

Umm... I just run Falken Ziex 512's on front and free used tires on the rear.

Theyre 15's because I don't have the funds for 17's.

[gonzoes14k]

Dunlop fm901s !

[NI_YON_Zenki]

Any type of tire besides Bridgestones for the front of my car at 225 cause they keep poppin' off the wheel, It's consistant, annoying at that.. .. I am a big fan of the hankook series HRII setup for the back, although they are difficult to break, tho have been broken much. .. .

I will be a part of the Dunlop// ADVAN family come 06' baby ! ! !

[s14brent]

Originally Posted by 94cc0rd

What's so bad about the ES100's? ..

they chunk like no other once they're heated...they seriously like fall apart its pretty shitty. maybe use ES100 up front, but still i rather use st115 since its in the same price range.

[SoSideways]

I heard you were supposed to run those ES100 backwards, that way the tread don't just rip right off or something.

If you have a set of ES100, you should try it out, and report back on here.

[KiDyNomiTe]

Originally Posted by hellion240sx

so sideways, but why increase size if your good on 15? i don't know, thats why i am asking

For the same reasons real race cars use bigger tires. You can carry more speed with bigger wheels and tires (to a point).

A perfect drift setup is not the smallest and shittiest tires int he rear, its somewhat the best you can find in the rear. Grip = good in drifting.

[JDMark]

i run dunlop direzzas on my 15s, theyre schweet
pretty good wear and smoke, good grip, good price
im gonna run these all around until i find somethin better or go 5 lug/17s

[santacruisin]

Originally Posted by santacruisin

i'm gonna use the st115's this weekend at Thunderhill for drifting. I'll let yall know how long they lasted. I've used Toyo FZ4's in the past at DDNorcal. Hard to comment on the longevity cuz the road surface was so shitty.

Well Thunderhill was fuckin AWESOME! Low driver count meant a shitload of practice time for me. Luke's car was amazing and the tandem runs with Luke and Todd were exciting.

As to tires...
First I ran Proxes FZ4's in the rear with Dunlop Sp Sports in the front. The Dunlops made great grip for a used tire but understeer was pronounced when they wore down. The FZ4's also gripped exceptionally in manji's and clutch kick transitions and after two hours of drifting and hot laps around the track they still had enough good meat to be put in the front when the dunlop's ran out of grip. I used the FZ4's for the rest of the day up front and understeer only occurred due to driver error in drift initiation.

The ST-115's took the most abuse. At lunch time I put them in back with the toyo's up front. For another two and a half hours of consistent drifting and hot laps on the track they held up fine never sacrificing their grip characteristics. I really worked these ones too b/c when I spun out I would put the car in first and floor it just to smoke it up and have fun. At the end of my session the tires were visibly worn but still meaty enough to drive three hours home. I still gotem on now and they stay consistent in grip.

SO the FZ4 and ST115 tires are damn good for drifting in my opinion. THey're relatively cheap (runnin 225/40 18's all day) and they last under heavy abuse. Hope this helps yall.

[hellion240sx]

well all i can vouch for are the toyo fz4 as well. great tires in wet or dry conditions! i feasr the rain because bad experiences with the 15's, on 225-40-18 now. i drive the shit out of them. haven't had a chance to take them to the track yet. i was thinking of buying a set of azenis or just sticking with the toyo's. think i will try a set but i will be getting some 245-40-17 or 255-40-17. haben't decided yet. ahhhh hell i might just stay with the toyo's since i feel hella safe driving on them!!!!

[vik]

I have ran Es100's backwards and they still chunked like a mofo,
best setup for me yet is SP9000 or Potenza S03's(when I can afford them) in front and St115's in the rear for life...

[SoSideways]

Originally Posted by vik

I have ran Es100's backwards and they still chunked like a mofo,
best setup for me yet is FM901's or Potenza S03's(when I can afford them) in front and St115's in the rear for life...

FM901s in front? Well, I guess if you stretch them they aren't that bad huh? Cause a lot of people say their sidewall is like jello.

Hmm... well then I have no clue about the ES100s. I've heard you have to scrub them and wear them down a little first, then run them backwards and you'll be fine. Obviously some people drive harder than others, and the guys that drive harder are chunking them I guess.

In either case, anyone try the Hankook HRii's in 215/45/17 or 225/45/17 sizes yet?

[vik]

dude Im talking out of my ass the Dunlops in the front were SP9000's 235/40's on a nine I always get these confused, they really felt pretty good.

[Azntypezero]

A good tire to run drift events would be something out of a junkyard. Used tires are always good while doing a drift event. But if one is looking for something that has grip while drifting a new set would be advisable but one dosent have to go all out on tires if one is using the tires for drifiting purposes. A person has to learn the subtleties of sliding before buying new tires.

Also there are alot of factors one forgets to see while researching about tires that last long for drifting and for street driving. Such as does one have the right suspension geometry, tire pressure, spring rate, speed rating, diamter, width and wheel balancing settings? Another factor one could also look at is the horsepower one is putting out in a car and driving style. These would adversly affect the way tires would last.

What do I recomend for a tire? The Falken ST-115 is a fantastic tire. They last a long time compared to the 512s. Also the Yokohama ES100 is a well manufactured tire with great grip and for the purposes of drift.

In overall it is better to research and go out and get yourself known in the local shops that have knowledge about this subject. It is better to be out in the field face to face with somebody than to rely heavily upon the internet for information. They are all pretty nice people if one is nice to them.

[vik]

Another knowlegable individual once said...
you copy and paste you go to jail bat boyeeeeee!!!!!!!!

[Azntypezero]

Me copy and paste that was my own creative writing sir.

[vik]

Im just jankin your chain man, btw dont take anything I say personal cause a lot of people do...

[Azntypezero]

Me of course not. No offense taken.