Happy New Year and Thanks!!!

[civic si hb]

Yeah the +38 give it that concave look.....

I wish they had a 8.5 with a more aggressive offset. That way you could still have the look without having as much stretch on the 9.5. I'll have to keep looking some more. I'm trying for a 18 x 8.5 with concave but without the stretch as much. I liked they way Brett's Evo looked alot.

[Kevinoffroad4x4]

you need those wheels shawn. they look amazing.

[TrueRedMS3]

Hey, I'm looking for tires for my 2009 mazdaspeed3. The stock tire size is 215/45/18 and I'm looking for something about that size, but a little bit different size would still be considered. I want pretty decent summer tires, but I'm not looking to spend too much since I'm in college and can't afford the more expensive ones. I'm not gonna cheap out, but my car has only 20k miles on it and some of those were with my snow tires and the summer's are already worn out. What do some of you guys suggest? I'm looking at these 2 tires currently:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo+K110&partnum=145YR8K110XL

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Exclaim+UHP&partnum=145WR8EUHPXL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Mazda&autoYear=2009&autoModel=MazdaSpeed3&autoModClar=&tab=Reviews

I know there are vendors on here and people who know a lot more about tires then me. Any input on what tires or where to get them from is appreciated. Tire Rack is usually pretty good on prices, so that's why I was looking there.

[Motostar Performance.com]

I can't speak to the performance of the Hankook's as we don't stock them. We do stock the General's, and for the money the Exclaim UHP is a solid all season performance tire. However they are on closeout with the TR because they are soon to be discontinued. You can also plan on a $12/tire shipping charge from the TR so keep that in mind.

The new General Performance tire is called the GMAX AS-03 and looks to be even more of a performer than its predecessor. Motostar Performance has them on order, and will be debuting them on the forum when we have the pricing and high quality pictures to post up.

If you are used to driving your MS3 in an aggressive manner I would discourage you from changing the tire size or the speed rating from what the MazdaSpeed folks had issued from the factory, especially with all the power going to the front wheels like your car has!

Here are the tires that we have in your size 245/45R18

Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum 100W BW - http://www.kumhousa.com/Tire.aspx?id...18be802&cat=24
$149.00/tire. In stock.

Falken Ziex ZE-912 100W BW - http://www.falkentire.com/Tires/Pass.../ZIEX-ZE-912-2
$155.00/tire. In stock.

Falken FK-452 100Y reinforced BW - http://www.falkentire.com/Tires/Passenger-Car/FK452-3
$175.00/tire. In stock.

Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport 100W XL BW - http://www.bridgestonetire.com/produ...za_RE760_Sport
$180.00/tire. In stock.

Let me know if you have any questions about the choices, have a good evening!


Gene

[TrueRedMS3]

Thanks a lot Gene! Haha I totally spaced on a certain part though, I meant to say the stock tire size is 215/45/18, not 245/45/18. I was looking at "maybe" getting a 225/40/18 instead of a 215/45/18. So the General UHP is more of an all season performance tire as compared to something like the Hankook? Also, I know the sidewall of a 225/40/18 is a little smaller then a 215/45/18, but with the tires being a little wider why are 225/40/18's cheaper then 215/45/18 in the same tire? Is just due to the sidewall or is there something else I'm not seeing/understanding?

[Boosted Euro]

Could be a more common tire size?. More common size so more are made so cheaper price .

[TrueRedMS3]

Yeah, didn't think of that. Thanks for the input.

If it's more helpful I'm only trying to spend $130 or less per tire. I don't think I need something like Star Specs since I only really have 1 mod that adds hp to my car (and only a little at that haha). I haven't had to replace too many sets of tires on cars so I don't really know from experience what tires are going to be good for my car. While I don't track it, I do once in a while go over 115mph, so I do need a tire that can handle higher speeds and the temperatures they create on the tire.

[Motostar Performance.com]

Boosted Euro is correct, the 215/45R18 is less common as such costs a little more. Here are the options that I have available in the proper size and price range you are looking to hit.

Falken ZE912 93W XL BW - http://www.falkentire.com/Tires/Pass.../ZIEX-ZE-912-2
$125.00/tire.

Continental Extreme Contact DWS 93Y XL BW - http://www.conti-online.com/generato...ct_dws_en.html
$139.00/tire.

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A FZ 89Y BW - http://www.bridgestonetire.com/produ..._Pole_Position
$150.00

[Motostar Performance.com]

Hey we just got another in that you should definitely look at. . .

Kumho KU31 Ecsta SPT 89Y BW - http://www.kumhousa.com/Tire.aspx?id...d9dd99f&cat=18
$135.00/tire.

Given the attributes you want/need(summer tire, low cost etc.) this is absolutely the tire that I would choose, vs the other options listed above. I just sold a set of these to a buddy in the same $$$ situation, he bought 4 of these for his R32 and is eagerly awaiting the snow to melt so he can throw them on.

[TrueRedMS3]

Thanks a ton Gene. Let me just look at a few reviews for these and hopefully I'll be making my decision on a set of tires soon. If I do pick one you guys carry, I will be sure to let you know! The advice and input is greatly appreciated.

Also, the Kuhmo's got a bad rating from the 3 people who did write a review about them on tire rack. I know I'm taking a while to pick, but I just don't feel like rushing into a set of tires that are gonna either wear right out (within 15k miles) or are going to be more of an all season (which I don't need, I have snow tires on my stock rims for when the weather gets bad).

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+SPT

[Motostar Performance.com]

We at Motostar Performance take reviews from the TR with a grain of salt. Many people pick the wrong tire for their vehicle and style of driving that they do, and when they do not get the desired results they post bad reviews.

Look at the first vehicle in the review, an Audi A4 with average driving style, and they got 25,000 on the set of Kumho's Ecsta SPT's. The 2005 A4 had Continental Pro Contact 93H rated grand touring all season tires with a UTQG rating of 400 AA A for it original equipment. The the Kumho Ecsta SPT is a Ultra High Performance Summer tire, with a 97W XL and a UTQG rating of 320 AA A.

Link to the OE tire - http://www.conti-online.com/generato...ontact_en.html

Link to the Kumho - http://www.kumhousa.com/Tire.aspx?id...d9dd99f&cat=24

Did this customer make the right purchase for their vehicle? If they desired long wear choosing an Ultra High Performance summer tire is not a proper choice. The consumer got 25,000 miles on a set of UHP's, that in my professional opinion is excellent mileage for the type of tire that was selected.

You are doing your research which I highly recommend before investing in a new set of tires, but know that not everything written out there is accurate information.

[Darkdrifter]

I agree with Gene. We actually enjoy reading some of the tire rack reviews. For example I just looked a month ago at some Kumho V700's which is pretty much a track only tire. This person said the tire was great in the dry and not bad in the wet. Which is pretty right on. However they then followed it up with they are terrible in the snow. So what did we learn? As close to a full slick as you can get isn't good in the snow. Go figure. I could go on and on.

[Motostar Performance.com]

Here's a link to the V700 - http://www.kumhousa.com/Tire.aspx?id...a257ab7&cat=18

[kidcrash603]

My wife and I are super happy with the Kuhmo's we got from Gene, and I'm considering a set for my car as well!

[TrueRedMS3]

Haha yeah, you definitely can't just put all your faith in only one review. That's why I look to see what the general assumption is about the tire. I figure if a good amount of people are saying one things then there is probably a better chance of it being true then if just one person says something. Right now, I think I'm going to purchase the Hankooks I was talking about, they seem to get a lot of good reviews as opposed to bad ones. Also, other people on here have had them and liked them so that helped too. Sorry about wasting your time since you don't carry the Hankooks, but I do appreciate all the time you took to show links and respond to my questions. Thank you.