Welp Im considering a new set of tires for the Max. I have 17x8 SSR Comps +38 offset with 235/45-17 Sumitommo HTR+ (they came on the rims). I have a daily driver for my 80 mile round trip commute so no need for M&S or even great rain traction. I'm interested in one thing really, a street tire that can hold straight line acceleration. The catch is that they need to hold up to highway speeds and temps. I live a ways away from the city and will spend a good bit of time on the highway at 55-85mph to get to the racing action. I dont want them to get hot and chunk or feather or have a high wear rate just because they are at highway speeds.

I am considerind some R compound tires in 245/45-17
Falken Azenis 512 Auto Cross UTOG-200 $127ea shipped
Nitto 555R Drag Radial UTOG-100 $169 shipped

And some street tires 255/45-17 (will this size even fit in the fenders?)
Yokohama AVS Sport UTOG-180 234 shipped
Pirelli P Zero UTOG-180 216ea shipped

Im leaning toward the Falkens. The price is right, The UTOG rating indicates that they should do ok on the highway? This tire is praised allot for its sticky autocross performance. The 555R's UTOG is very low and would not take the heat of highway driving well IMHO. Would the larger size of the street tires make up for the compound difference against the Falkens or Nittos?

Thanks for your input.

 

how many miles are you putting on these, and how often do you plan on replacing them?

FYI, neither of the two R compounds you have listed are really R compounds.. they're agressive street compounds that do well at auto X...

for the ones you've listed, the 555R will do best for drag racing.. the ZE512 is too hard and is just another agressive street tire... very similar to the Kumho 712 or Yoko ES-100.

I would personally recommend Toyo T1-S or their RA-1. The RA-1 is a true race compound but is still (barely) DOT legal. they are what I use for road course racing and what many many spec Miatas swear by. they're tame enough that you can drive to and from the track with them, but I wouldn't want to use them for a daily driver. tread compound is VERY soft, but sticks great.

I did a little G-tech testing on my car the other day.. with my new Kumho ASX all-season street tires, I pull 0.92G lateral. with the Toyo RA-1 on the car, I pull 1.04G. HUGE difference in roadholding.
you can simply drop the pressure for them and get an excellent drag tire as well. they have a pretty soft sidewall, so they'll squish when you drop the pressure. many of the other auto X and road race type tires have a very stiff sidewall and dropping the pressure below about 25lb is just going to wear the outside edges and cause problems.

hope that helps.


Edit:
for the Toyos at a CHEAP price (best I've seen anywhere) go to www.aimtire.com there are some T1-S listed in your size on the specials page, or the RA-1 are listed under the Toyo Race Tires spot just below it.

here's a shot of my RA-1s, just so you can see the tread pattern. these guys mean business!

more pics here: http://www.mattblehm.com/pics/car/wheels/track_wheels/

 

If you want longevity you should forget about the Rs and Azenis.

Treadwear ratings are assigned by the manufacturer and not by some outside oversight agency, so you can't compare the treadwear ratings between companies reliably. A 260 treadwear from one company does not necessarily mean it has the same treadlife as a 260 treadwear tire from another company.

Forget the AVS Sports-old tire, not up to the standards of current max performance tires.

Tires I'd consider, Toyo T1-S, Bridgestone S-03, Goodyear Eagle GS-D3, Michelin Pilot Sport, Pilot Sport PS2 (supposed to have SWEET dry traction from what I've heard), BFG G-Force KD (KD means Key Feature Dry Traction, not sure if this tire is available anymore), Yokohama A046.

I've you really want to try some R compounds Toyo RA-1s wear extremely well for an R compound (road course guys are fond of saying "they suck, but they suck for a long, long time" meaning they arent quite as sticky as other R compounds out there, Victoracers, etc, but they last much longer).

 

Oops I meant Falkenr 215's not 512's.

Do you guys think the 255/45 will make it with a +38 offset?

If they last 15,000 miles thats enough.

 

255-45 is on the wide side for an 8" wheel, but as far as physically fitting inside the wheelwell you wont have a problem. People are running more extreme widths without problems.