I spoke with Paul at Radial Tire - the TIRE shop in the DC area and I told him that I wanted some new tires and told him that I wanted tires that would work well on the track, but I wasn't looking for a track only tire, so R compounds were probably out and I didn't want to spend a fortune. He mulled it over for a moment or two and then he suggested getting the Falken RT615's. They are available in the proper 16/17" sizes and they are very reasonably priced. All of the reviews suggest that they are much better than a street tire, but not quite as good as a R compound and they'll last for a year or two, which is fine. Sounds perfect to me! I probably can't get 'em for a couple of weeks due to my schedule, but that's ok. Anything will be better than my hardened Kuhmo Ecsta 712s that, at this point, are pretty terrible!! Can't wait...
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I'm excited... Getting new tires for the NSX!!!!!!!
- Thread starter GOTTSPD
- Start date
Good luck with the new tires - I started running them this year and they are great! I run Advanced Solo with BMWCCA and Open Track with trackmasters and there is definitely more tire than driver. They're also fine in the rain.
GOTTSPD said:
I run them full time and my rain experience was at the track. Thinking of going R-compounds next year, but would keep 615's on another set of wheels for street and any rainy track days. They're so good in my opinion that if I don't find a good extra set of rims, I may just continue them for another year even for track. They should last a pretty decent life with proper pressures, etc. when running on the street. I've done 5 days so far this year (3 @ Lime Rock and 2 @ Watkins Glen with 1/2 day in the rain), and the tread depth looks pretty new still.
I run RT-615's on the street and I think they're great. :biggrin: I use a 215/40-17 in the front and a 275/35-18 in the rear. I haven't tried them on the track yet, although I plan to do that later this year. They have excellent grip. Good luck with your purchase.
Bob
Bob
Yellow Zonker said:
+1
The NSX is my daily driver and I run the same sizes on the street and the tires grip like no other on the track too! So far I have 4k miles on them including the time trials track event and have plenty of tread life left, I'd say at least 50%... amazing tires!
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GOTTSPD said:
Any other reviews on ride quality, grip, and life (specifically against the Yoko OE on the NSX)?
Also the 16/17 OE sizes are: 215/45-16 in Front and 245/40-17 in Rear.
Where you able to get these sizes?
Discount Tire only has:
205/40R-16 83W XL B $94.00
225/50R-16 92W XL B $118.00
and
205/40R-17 84W XL B $105.00
215/40R-17 87W XL B $112.00
225/45R-17 94W XL B $122.00
235/40R-17 90W XL OW $134.00
245/45R-17 99W XL B $124.00
The best matching sizes for the Falken Azenis RT-615 on 16"/17" wheels are 215/45-16 front and 255/40-17 rear. I don't know why those sizes aren't shown on Discount Tire's website. Most of the ITR folks get their Falkens from Vulcan Tire, which lists all the available sizes; you can also get them from Edge Racing.
The RT-615 is just about the stickiest street tire (on dry pavement) you can buy. It is designed to be somewhere in between a street tire and an R compound track tire. Its downsides are so-so wet traction (not as good as other street tires - not surprising, when you look at its tread pattern - but not as bad as its RT-215 predecessor) and short treadlife (its 200 treadwear rating is artificially high - IMO to allow it to be used in certain racing series which require 200 - and it wears more like you would expect from a tire with a 100 treadwear rating). If you're looking for a grippy tire that you can use on both the street and the track, or you just want the best grip on dry pavement you can, and you don't mind those two downsides, it's awesome.
The RT-615 is just about the stickiest street tire (on dry pavement) you can buy. It is designed to be somewhere in between a street tire and an R compound track tire. Its downsides are so-so wet traction (not as good as other street tires - not surprising, when you look at its tread pattern - but not as bad as its RT-215 predecessor) and short treadlife (its 200 treadwear rating is artificially high - IMO to allow it to be used in certain racing series which require 200 - and it wears more like you would expect from a tire with a 100 treadwear rating). If you're looking for a grippy tire that you can use on both the street and the track, or you just want the best grip on dry pavement you can, and you don't mind those two downsides, it's awesome.
After reading this thread I was looking into Falken tires overhere.
Seems that the RT-615 is not available.
However, there is an offering called the Falken FK452 tire.
Is this a similar tire. It is quoted here as a 'ultra high-performance' tire.
Seems that the RT-615 is not available.
However, there is an offering called the Falken FK452 tire.
Is this a similar tire. It is quoted here as a 'ultra high-performance' tire.
In the dry, on the street, these are the most MAGNIFICENT tires I have ever driven on. They are quiet and stick like they ooze superglue. I haven't gone crazy with it, but they don't squeal, don't roll over, and don't lose grip. I will be going to the track in the fall and I'll follow up with track experience then. I hope to never be able to tell you about the wet traction!
No, the FK-452 is a very different tire. The FK-452 is a "budget performance tire", similar to the Yokohama ES100, Kumho SPT, etc. It is an inexpensive tire, designed for fairly good performance at a bargain price. Its performance is not as good as the best all-around street tires like the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, Bridgestone Potenza S-03 and RE040A, etc. The FK-452 is not yet available in North America, but its predecessor, the FK451, is, and is very similar. (I am assuming that the FK-452 is the newer design to replace the FK-451, based on its name and its similar tread pattern.)MvM said:
The Falken Azenis RT-615 is designed to give outstanding performance on dry pavement. It is designed for performance (and treadlife, and wet performance) in between that of R compound track tires and the best street tires. That is why its tread pattern has very large tread blocks, just like many track tires.
Falken Azenis RT-615:
Falken FK-451:
Falken FK-452:
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Very ugly looking tire. :frown:
nsxtasy said:
I respectfully disagree. Outside of hydroplaning resistance, wet traction is on par with any high performance tire out there (if not better) and certainly much better than the average street tire. This applies to the 615's and 215's. I also disagree on the 200 treadwear comment.
i just installed the falken rt-615 on my car this week. i got 215/40/17 and 275/35/18. so far they grip pretty well. i haven't really pushed it to the limits yet, however i can already tell they are going to grip very well. they don't produce any road noise and the ride is just perfect. i'm just afraid they are going to last only a few thousand miles...i have -0.3 deg camber with an equally agressive toe.
MvM is in Europe.lutera said:
What do you mean, "outside of hydroplaning resistance"? Wet traction is all about hydroplaning resistance. And the tread pattern of the RT-615, with its huge tread blocks and low "void ratio" (few tread grooves), just does not do well with evacuating water from underneath the tread, which is why the RT-615 has a greater tendency to hydroplane at a given speed than just about every other street tire on the market. The same is generally true of other, similar specialty tires that have the same wide tread blocks to accentuate their dry handling capabilities, but are not very good in rain (e.g. Kumho Ecsta MX, Yokohama Advan Neova AD07, BFG g-Force T/A KD). Of course, at moderate speeds, the RT-615 and those other tires will do just fine in the rain; you just won't be able to go as fast in the rain as you could with other tires.W said:
And it does wear rapidly. You'll get only about one third as many miles with the RT-615 as you will with a tire like the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, which has a 280 treadwear rating. Part of this is due to its extra-soft rubber compound (part of what makes it grip so well), and part of this is due to its shallow tread depth (the RT-615 comes with 8/32" of tread depth when new, compared with 11/32" for most other street tires including the F1 GS-D3, so the RT-615 has only two thirds as much usable tread depth as other street tires).
The RT-615 is a great tire on dry pavement. It grips extremely well, better than just about any other street tire, and it's not all that expensive. But its downsides are not-so-great wet traction and rapid treadwear. I highly recommend it for anyone who cares primarily about grip on dry pavement and doesn't care much about wet traction or treadlife.
nsxtasy said:
This is why we clarify what we mean with the terms we use. My usage of the term wet traction differed from yours. By what you say above, one could interpret that a snow tire has better traction than most summer tires but I know what you are trying to say. Besides, the rain that I experience is more like a shower, so hydroplaning isn't as much of a concern as it is in many other areas.
nsxtasy said:
You won't be dissapointed. :biggrin:
MvM said:
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