New tires help.

Too late. I suppose I will find out now.  I couldn't pass up on an outstanding deal from Tirerack for the Firestones. They gave me an installation credit.

  Unbelievable price. $100 a tire shipped. I also found a place that does mounting and road force balancing for $28 each tire. Probably the best tire deal ever. 

well, let us know how those tires go.

i'm into toyos and would have recommended them

Posted by: @refirendum

well, let us know how those tires go.

i'm into toyos and would have recommended them

  Absolutely and thanks for the recommendation. I love Bridgstone tires because they generally have a great feel to them even for budgeted  tires for road cars. They say these tires are known for being responsive so I suppose they will feel like the tires the car came with but with more grip. I miss the stock tires, they were magical. I just hope I do not lose and perceptible acceleration. Hard to find tire sizes that I need these days.  

did you get Firestone or bridgestones? just curious as you say both above did you get RE71Rs? that is what I am likely going with to replace my aged RE11s

Sounds like you got a great deal. I wouldn't *think* that the slight difference in size would give you an unbiased noticeable difference in acceleration. I don't know much about that particular tire to comment on if the larger sidewall will make a difference based on it's stiffness as it relates to performance handling. That was one of the more noticeable things for me when switching tires that were otherwise very similar in the past.

I went ahead and looked at some paper disadvantages. That little bit extra diameter will change the gearing, hopefully not by much but since the 2ZZ needs all the help it can get it could change acceleration. Another disadvantage is the difference in tire weight.  Each front tire is 1 extra pound  and for each rear 2 extra pounds of unsprung weight. Not good but not the end of the world. Good news is although they are reinforced tires they have a higher load rating because of the higher sidewall.
 I will soon find out but from what I read these tires have feel with stiffer sidewalls and responsive driving so maybe they will make up for it other ways. 

That was fast.  I had to find a load rating chart to figure out my air pressures. All of that information I had on SW was lost and it was very hard to find the load ratings for the OEM tires but I found them from looking at images of the tire side wall. For posterity they are 81 for the 185/55/15 and 85 for the 205/50/15. Next I had locate a load rating chart and I found a great one from a Toyo tires PDF to get a better guess for the tire pressures I need to optimize the handling and so I do not ruin the tires. This chart actually had both standard and XL load ratings with PSI which is exactly what I need.  Matched up the numbers for the XL, compared them to the standard load and came up with a good starting point. It looks like I can now use the factory 26psi front and 32psi rear.  These tires are certainly stronger then the Falkens so they don't need an extra 4PSI over the factory pressure. I have an appointment Saturday to get them mounted. Im just going to bring the wheels, I do not trust them with the car. 

I love mine, but they are still easy to break loose when its really wet and/or cold out.  But on a hot dry day, 😍 

Posted by: @neomr2

I love mine, but they are still easy to break loose when its really wet and/or cold out.  But on a hot dry day, 😍 

It was your review and a few others when the tire first came out that grabbed my attention. I have done some other research on them and it seems they are very popular and universally liked. Every decade or so you will get a tire like this from one of the manufactures and then it evaporates back into too many choices.  I notice that the drag guys love these tires for the street because they hook up and the autoX guys like them because of the lateral grip. They will not have the same grip as the falkens or some other max performance tires but thats perfectly fine, im not after any lap times, just want drivers enjoyment. 

 How long was the break in period?  

I looked at the Indy 500s when I was looking at tires for my BRZ.  I decided against them because they run narrow for their size and was afraid they would give a stretched look on my wheels.  They're a decent all around tire from everything I had researched.

On the weight aspect, I wouldn't lose any sleep on that and it shouldn't be a major part of the decision.  Grip (dry only or wet depending on usage), feel and sidewall are more important.

I think one thing is people get caught up with wanting the grippiest highest scoring auto-x tires for their car that rarely sees back roads, much less an auto-x course, that they daily drive or they might drive it on weekends.  I've been caught up with that before, but have gotten out of that mindset.  Tire technology has came a long way and there are tires out there that will still provide more grip than the driver has skill, will get decent mileage from and doesn't suffer from the cold weather downfalls of the extreme performance summer tires or the heat cycling. 

Posted by: @nocoolname

I looked at the Indy 500s when I was looking at tires for my BRZ.  I decided against them because they run narrow for their size and was afraid they would give a stretched look on my wheels.  They're a decent all around tire from everything I had researched.

On the weight aspect, I wouldn't lose any sleep on that and it shouldn't be a major part of the decision.  Grip (dry only or wet depending on usage), feel and sidewall are more important.

I think one thing is people get caught up with wanting the grippiest highest scoring auto-x tires for their car that rarely sees back roads, much less an auto-x course, that they daily drive or they might drive it on weekends.  I've been caught up with that before, but have gotten out of that mindset.  Tire technology has came a long way and there are tires out there that will still provide more grip than the driver has skill, will get decent mileage from and doesn't suffer from the cold weather downfalls of the extreme performance summer tires or the heat cycling. 

I noticed that also that these tires are narrower by comparison to other brands of the same size. This was a bit of a blessing in disguise because I would prefer to be on the thin side of things. If they made a 195 in a 16 inch for the front tire that would have been more ideal but all they have are higher profiles than the 205 and this is for most makes. When you get locked in with wheels you run into issues with tire sizes. It was a common belief that you get more size choices once you go  taller  but that is not the case unless you want wide and tall. Very hard to do plus sizing and my biggest regret was not purchasing a set of SSR comps in factory sizes. 

Agree also on not needing autoX tires for the street. It was comical having my car lean so hard around turns and this was with coilovers and sway bars. Also when the tires slip if you try your best to shake them loose there is no audible warning of any kind. it would feel like you stepped in molasses. Extreme max performance are over rated for street driving because the limits are way too high to have fun. 

@dev

I really didn't notice much of a change in performance from day one other than when I was playing with F/R tire pressures.  I think the firm sidewall will more than make up for the unsprung weight when spirited driving.

Posted by: @neomr2

@dev

I really didn't notice much of a change in performance from day one other than when I was playing with F/R tire pressures.  I think the firm sidewall will more than make up for the unsprung weight when spirited driving.

Thanks. I have had other performance tires particularly the Goodyear Eagles that had a long squirmy break in. The previous Falkens were good on day one but I never pushed them too hard until they had miles on them. 

 Im also thinking that the firm sidewalls should add to the liveliness of the car which is what im after. 

I removed all of the wheels and loaded up the other car Pulp Fiction style with old sheets. I checked under the car for any control arms that might have been damaged and its all good.  

 I did make an interesting observation. Both rear tires were worn but still had enough tread depth. The insides were a little more worn then the outside which is normal because of the -2 camber. 

 What was the most interesting is the drivers side rear is showing signs of over inflation with more wear in the middle than the sides. 

 How can this be when both tires were inflated the same. 

 The best possible reason I can think of the light weight battery. The other side is more engine heavy compared to the other side which is the transmission and the battery. Keep in mind that the 2ZZ weighs more then the 1ZZ and with my 3lb battery instead of a 27lbs battery not to mention I no longer have a factory intake which adds to more weight. 

 It makes me wonder if Toyota got the weight balance right from the factory so much so for a light car to matter.  I did notice pulling from that wheel when accelerating so its possible one tires was far worse than the others.  

Any thoughts?