suggestions for 195/50-15 tires

[chadr]

I'm needing to purchase tires for my 90 VW Jetta which I take to track days and the autox, and drive on a regular basis. I don't think I want to get separate street/track tires yet but maybe I'll do that one day. So what I'm after is just a good set of summer tires to replace my 5 year old toyo proxes4 all season tires. The selection of tires on tirerack.com in this size has really gone done from what I remember last time I purchased tires.

Based on price and reviews on tirerack.com I may just go with the Yokohama S.drive :

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... iameter=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any other suggestions for tires or where to purchase for the best deal?

Is there any reason to switch from 195/50-15 to 205/50-15? The 50 profile is really pretty low on a 195 size tire so I figured a little extra sidewall could help smooth out rough pavement.

At the last autox I noticed many of the Miata's were running this size tire so I was hoping to get some good feedback here.

Thanks,
Chad

[Loren]

What is the factory tire size for your car?

You want to look that up and see what the diameter is. Ideally, you want to stay pretty close to that to keep your speedometer accuracy and not change your gear ratio much. Within 3-4% is good. (smaller diameter = better accel and lower top speed)

For width, wider is going to give more grip, so wider is better up to a point. 205 isn't crazy wide and will probably fit on your car. If you're not changing wheels, look at the fitment on your car now. How much clearance is there for extra width on the inside of the fender and to the strut on the inside? If you're running 195's and have significantly more than 5mm of space inside and out, you can run 205's without issue.

Best dual-purpose tires right now are Hankook RS3 (only available 15" size is 225, I believe), Toyo R1R, and Dunlop Star Spec. Maybe another one that's not coming to mind right now.

[chadr]

185/55-15 is the stock size per tirerack.


Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Size: 195/50R15
UTQG: 200 A A
$105 each

Dunlop Direzza DZ101
Size: 195/50R15
UTQG: 300 A A
$72 each


I'm wondering how the performance of the $72 Direzza compares to the Star spec version. I probably should spend the extra $$ and live with the lower treadwear based on the survey results I see online (if I can believe they are truly honest results posted on tirerack).

[Loren]

The DZ101 does not compare in any way to the Star Spec!

You're looking at the Tire Rack website. Look at their tire tests. They've tested any tire that's worth having. Dig in the test reports and you'll find raw numbers. Things like "lateral G's" in the dry and wet, slalom speed, braking distances. Look at the numbers, the numbers don't lie.

[chadr]

Thanks for the advice. I ordered a set of the star specs in the 195 size. Hope this tire lasts me a little while. I'm planning to go to the go rally track next weekend for the first time so I'll likely have these tires on the car by then.

[Loren]

You'll have fun there, it's a neat little track. Not too fast, so it's not "intimidating", but there are some close guardrails and walls.

I think you'll be happy with the Star Specs vs. Proxes4's.

FWD car, so be sure to keep plenty of air in the front tires when driving aggressively. (start with something like 45... you might end up as low as 38-40, but that's a good place to start)