Ford Fiesta ST Forum banner

Tire Whisperers--your thoughts, please!

5952 Views 17 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  Makemfast
I need new tires. I popped one of my ZIIs (right rear). My rears were previously the more worn fronts, and I'd need to replace both (fronts just got rotated in and have a decent amount of depth). But ZIIs are out of production, and I can no longer buy the size I'd need. So rather than mixing tread patterns or compounds on a daily and possibly screwing up the handling balance, I'm faced with buying a new set and passing on or selling my fronts to someone who has better use for them.

Current top options (for a 15x6.5 Sparco), mixed performance driving duties.
  • Toyo Proxes R1R 225/45/15 - $141 ea
  • Dunlop Direzza Sport ZII Star Spec 205/50/15 - $114 ea
  • Bridgestone RE71-R 205/50/15 - $120 ea
  • Yokohama Advan NEOVA AD08-R 205/50/15 $116 ea
  • Hankook VENTUS RS-3 Version 2 - 225/45/15 $121 ea
  • BFG G-Force Rival S 205/50/15 - $129 ea
  • BFG G Force Rival S 225/45/15 - $144 ea
From a purely cost standpoint, I don't like the R1Rs. They also seem to wear too fast according to most and would make a poor daily tire. The G-Force Rival Ses are also a bit too much money, personally. I'm mostly between the RE71-Rs and the RS3 V2s. I know people have done 225 on a 6.5 wide before, it's not ideal, but it's not the worst thing either. I have a long-ish school commute (60 miles per day), but that would mostly be on my winters anyways.

Guide me, O Gurus of Grip! School me, sultans of street tires, ye theoreticians of the traction circle. For I am weak, my right rear has a slow leak, and I need these by the end of the week.
  • Like
Reactions: 1
1 - 2 of 18 Posts
The RE71Rs are the hot ticket Autocross tire around here (SoCal) lately, all the guys I know who are in that scene swear by them. They'll definitely blow the RS3 out of the water in terms of grip, but will also wear faster in normal street driving. (However, I hear that the RE71s handle quite a few more heat cycles before dying, so they may be the longer-lived option if you do heavy cone dodging or trackdays.)
I believe they make them in stock size and know for sure they make them in -1 (16") sizing. (I just put 16"s on my car and they were among the options Tire Rack showed me.)
1 - 2 of 18 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top