Best 195/50-15 tires

[mike472]

This question hasn't been posted in a while at least in my brief search for same.  I would sacrifice a little Extreme Summer performance for a little softer ride and wet grip.  Any ideas?  I see Yoko S-drives are being superseded by others.  What your take on the current best tires out there and a brief opinion on why.  Going on Rota R20's 6x15 Alpina reps

Thanks

 

Mike

[Son of Marty]

Look at Tire Racks performance comparison I have found it to be very accurate you just need to decide which areas of performance you want and the order that's important you.

[1936spyder]

I had the same Rotas on my '73 with S-drives but had an issue w/1 of the tires which seems to happen randomly w/them. This was after I had done a complete suspension refresh and I mean COMPLETE. Yokohama seems to have QC issues w/them (they've been made for years, the moulds probably aren't what they once were), as I learned from EDGE Motorworks after they played w/ my suspension and rebalanced the tires. They recommended Dunlops so I went with some Direzzas on my '74 tii and am happy so far...

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[John_in_VA]

TIRE DECISION GUIDE

https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/tire_decision_guide.html

 

TIRE RATINGS CHARTS & REVIEWS

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/

 

Looks like 15 choices from Tire Rack - there are other vendors.  
I've had Bridgestone Potenza (Extreme Performance Summer) for ~10 years.  They've been good, but are hard now.  I'd lean toward the Vredestein or Conti Touring tire with my next purchase.

[Gordon]

I'm running Yoko S Drive 195/50=15 tires on 15X7 wheels on my tii but I understand that Yokohama has introduced a new tire to replace the S-Drive, the Yoko Advan Fleva V701 which supposedly has great reviews. I really like the Yoko S-Drives but I have no experience with the new Yoko tire. 

 

[Chris_B]

The Bridgestone RE-71 is a helluva tire, but not for your daily driver (unless you are independently wealthy and can afford to replace them when they wear out). I have a set Toyo Proxes R1s in 225/15R15 on my 325iX (sadly, a size apparently not available in the new Proxes R1R, which is OK because at the rate I drive that car it will be a long time before I wear them out), also a helluva tire.

[Einspritz]

Re71s as my daily driver (E30 M3) now on the,second set, got ~ 30k on the first set.

 

Very much worth the money for me; one of the things I never go on the cheap. The other is brakes.

 

BUT you have to have the suspension set up correctly so you don't unduly wear the outside edges.

 

And It depends on how much you drive yearly.

 

I now figure all choices on current 2002s will probably never see the wear bars in a decade.....,..so buy what fits your wants/needs and go with that.

[irdave]

I had them on the same wheels.  I found the sidewall to be extra flexy; might be great with really stock-ish suspension.  I also have them on my current set up, 205/55-15 on 15x7 at first, and now 15x8.  On the 15x7 again very flexy.  Mounted them on the 15x8 and it's much better.

 

So I might look for something else in that size on a 6" wheel.

[roadhog0]

I've run a set of S.Drives from new to dead and loved them. Got about 25k out of them. I then put on a lightly used set of BFG gSport Comp2 and have had them on for a few years and probably 10k. Not as happy with them. They're harder and less sticky. Just an OK tire. I'll probably replace them in the next year.

[Chris_B]

9 hours ago, Einspritz said:

Re71s as my daily driver (E30 M3) now on the,second set, got ~ 30k on the first set.

 

Wow.  I haven't worn a set out yet, so your experience certainly is more authoritative than mine.

[vs_sat]

Michelin pilot sport 3


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[Chris_B]

Great tire. Not available in 15" (or 16" or 17")

[Gordon]

I'll bring a six month old thread back to life.  Vulcan tire carries the Vredestein tire line and they have a summer high performance tire, the Sportrac 5 195/50-15 V rated for $75 each  which is a great price compared to Yokohama and Dunlop.  Anyone have experience with Vredestein Sportrac 5? 

https://www.vulcantire.com/tire_detail/sportrac5_t.htm_22237

[g_force]

I had the Vredestein Sessantas on an M5 for about 30k miles. They were quiet, stable and wore well. The sidewalls weren't mushy, but the tires also weren't the grippiest.  Better than the mushy, slippery, cheap Falcons that were on the car when I bought it. Not as good as the Pilot Sports, Re71s and Direzzas I've had on other cars. But, I was pleased with the Vreds for cheap tires.

 

All of these data points are on cars that weigh 500 to 2000lbs more than an '02 and in much lower aspect and bigger width sizes, so it's not a direct comparison. But, it's a (subjective) data point.