Hey Guys,

My Advans are about done. I'm looking to replace them now with something as good or better (if that exists).

I will use these tires for street and AutoX. While tire wear isn't the most important thing to me, I don't want something that will wear out in 5000 miles. I took the Advans 16,500 miles and expect to do the same with the new tires.

So, anyways....

If anyone could tell me about their experience with other tires, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Josh

 

Stay with the Advans you wont find a better tire for our cars without giving up something. You can go with something in a R-compound which is what you would have to do to get any more grip than the Advans have but will loose out on milage. Or you can get somethings that handles and grips sub par but will last longer. I really think Mitsubishi hit the nail on the head withe Advans. I have had 4 sets and will only put them on my Evo for street driving. Also everyone I know that has tried other tires(Toyo/Kuhmos) has said well there ok but the are not as good as the Advans.

 

I agree with the above post. I would have gone with Advans again, but I went to 18". I am running Toyo T-1Ss in 245/40/18 (thanks Adam @ Z1). A TON of grip and extremely quiet compared to the Advans. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a little longer life and less noise. Ultimately I think the Advan will have more overall grip. Good luck!

 

I asked nearly this exact question about 3 weeks ago and got several different answers. I went with Falken Azenis Sport RT215's, I wanted to stay in street tire class. The Falkens were highly recommened by several drivers in my area, and there was no concensus here on EVOM.

Unfourtunately I only have 125 miles on the Falkens, all street, and my first event is this Sunday (5-9), so right now I can't speak to the Autox performance. I have only been in 3 Autox cross events, so my input on that front will not be from an experienced racer standpoint, but of course the comparison to the Advans will still be valid. The Advans I replaced had about 13,000 miles on them. If you can wait until Monday before your decision I will post here what I think of the Falkens for Autox. So far on the street they are quiter than the Advans and seem to grip well, they also tramline less than the Advans. I have not pushed them hard on the street yet either.

Look here Monday, thanks.

 

Are you referring to these?

They don't appear to come in stock size, but look great from what I see and have a higher treadwear then the Advans (200)

 

I can wait until monday. I'm not in a super hurry, I could probably get another 2000 miles out of these tires, but I noticed they're beginning to make noise earlier in turns so it's going to slow me down while racing. My next race isn't until 5/16 so I have plenty of time to wait for your opinion.

 

Yes those are the ones, I ordered them from vulcantire.com and had a local shop mount them. My total with shipping for 4 was $494.00.

I had to get them in 245/45-17, they do not come in 235's.

 

The falkens are great dry tires, big thread blocks, strong sidewall and also wears well. But they are very heavy (because the the sidewall reinforcement). They are 28-9lb per tire that's almost 5lb heavier per tire then the advan, but they cost only half as much... Btw, I am also thinking about getting the falkens.

 

FYI, The falkens are NOT competition tires. So, don't be fooled by marketing. They are too hard to be "R" compound tires. As I've said on here many times if you want grip you have to pay something for it. Speed costs money. Or as Bell helmets used to say. "if you have a $10 head, buy a $10 helmet."

If you want a great summer tire, go with the T1S. If you are going to do an ocassional autocross these will work great plus the weight savings will help over the Advans. Those things are pretty heavy. Not to get too nit picky or to put anyone down, but most of the EVO guys haven't even begun to tap the full performance of the car. That is why they complain about grip. Real sticky tires are pretty good "crutch" for lack of ability. This isn't meant as put down, just an observation from a guy who makes his living selling race tires and has heard and seen just about every excuse.

BTW, if you aren't offened by the last statement, I'm the Toyo vendor on this site.

 

I also heard great things about t-1s. tswift,do you feel that the t1s is a better dry(summer) tire when comparing to the Azenis? I think the stock advan are pretty much the best non-R tires.

 

The t1S is much better all around. The Azenis has very bad wet handling charateristics.

 

i think i have to disagree with the wet handling characteristics..well part of it at least. I have the Azenis on my extra set of rims for autocross use only but i have not yet raced with them on in the rain. But, I did experience really, really heavy rain coming home from the 2 day driving school with the SCCA. I think it's safe to say that I was really confident with these tires driving home from this event. I experienced no hydroplaning at all with these tires on, and that's even speeds up to 80mph on the freeway in really heavy rain.

I cant say the same about grip on wet pavement, since i have not had the chance to autocross in the rain with these tires on.

 

I will definitely go with stock advan if you have the money or falken azenis if you are on a budget, the T1s are good tires but just dont have the grip of the Azenis or the Advan and the Azenis are way cheaper. They are not r compound but its the closest street tire that can compare to the R tires. Just look up the national autox result in stock tire classes. The top 10 spots are all Azenis. The results speaks for itself.

 

Per your request here are my findings.

The Falkens...IMO the do have a bit less overall grip than the Advans. It's not alot but it's there. After thinking about it on the way home I am even more concerned because I am coming off Advans with about 12K miles on them, not newer ones.

BUT, they did give the car a whole new feel. Understeer is greatly reduced for some reason. I don't think it was just me not overdriving the car for a change. Prior to Sunday I was seriously considering an adjustable sway bar to get the rear of the car to come out, but now I probably will not get one. They had a long, reducing radius sweeper that I am sure the Advans would have just been plowing on. The Falkens allowed me to almost drift the corner at a really good speed, at least it felt fast to me. They also felt real nice on slaloms, again because the rear came out just that little bit. I set the pressures cold at 43 f, and 40 r to start. They ended up at 46.5 f, and 43 r after runs in air temps of about 85 degress. I could have reduced the cold temps as there was no sign of rollover, at least on this course. A tighter course may have dictated otherwise, but then we would have been going slower then too. Braking seemed a bit slower on the Falkens, again not by much, but it was there.

A Subaru driver next to me in the grid sprayed his Falkens with water after his runs. He stated that in warmer temps these tires do better when cooled off or as he said "it feels like you are driving on Gummy Bears". He stated they in fact do not lose much grip when this sensation becomes pronounced, it just that he doesn't like the sensation.

In the final analysis I would say if money is no object get Advans (and a swaybar), but if you are going to beat on the tires, the Falkens are a real good choice. Toyo supposedly has a good tire for this combo of driving too.

 

The falkens for sure why pay 1g for new advans? you could buy some victo racers or RA-1 for the track at that price.