S550 Budget rain/street tire

[MBalboni]

My track nights were all under dry conditions this season. Although I've driven and tested my car on wet pavement after rain and still have no complaints. I live 25 min east of Portland and picked these tires specifically because of the reviews concerning performance on wet pavement, not to mention that I'd read the V2's were significantly improved over the originals which is true in my experience. If I was going to race in the rain I'd buy rain tires but I don't plan racing under those conditions. That said we do get unexpected rain here and I'd take these tires on a wet track without hesitation. Obviously if there is standing water or if it is pouring traction sucks regardless. All my tire purchases since we moved from Bend have focused on wet traction b/c of the climate here.

 

[TeeLew]

Thanks for the suggestions. Conti ECS02 seems like a great option for my needs.

Any thoughts on the Firestone Indy 500 or the Falken FK510? They also look to have good rain performance and are significantly less expensive.

I've run the Firestone. It's not a bad bang/buck, but it's not a great tire. Here is a subjective review.

Medium grip, reasonable ride, noisy as hell (squealing when sliding and tread noise), reasonable manners in the rain

You're not going to set any track records with the tire, but it's also very progressive in its breakaway characteristics, so you're unlikely to get caught out by it, either. It's a relatively soft sidewall and the breakaway/sliding/recover transitions are all kind of mushed together. This makes it easy to drive. Ultimate grip is well off a 200TW tire, but it's not awful. It's a better overall tire than the Pirelli my car came on. I didn't experience any drop in grip in cooler weather, but I don't live in the cold. I did take a trip over the Grapevine in cold/rain/ice conditions when they were pretty much used up and even then they didn't kill me. Wear was about 17k miles total, I believe.

They're a completely acceptable, "I'm going to take these out and burn them up." tire if you're not worried about lap time.

 

[Rodpwnz]

I've run the Firestone. It's not a bad bang/buck, but it's not a great tire. Here is a subjective review.

Medium grip, reasonable ride, noisy as hell (squealing when sliding and tread noise), reasonable manners in the rain

You're not going to set any track records with the tire, but it's also very progressive in its breakaway characteristics, so you're unlikely to get caught out by it, either. It's a relatively soft sidewall and the breakaway/sliding/recover transitions are all kind of mushed together. This makes it easy to drive. Ultimate grip is well off a 200TW tire, but it's not awful. It's a better overall tire than the Pirelli my car came on. I didn't experience any drop in grip in cooler weather, but I don't live in the cold. I did take a trip over the Grapevine in cold/rain/ice conditions when they were pretty much used up and even then they didn't kill me. Wear was about 17k miles total, I believe.

They're a completely acceptable, "I'm going to take these out and burn them up." tire if you're not worried about lap time.

Are you talking about the 10 year old Indy500 V1?

Or the newly released Indy500 V2?

 

[TeeLew]

Are you talking about the 10 year old Indy500 V1?

Or the newly released Indy500 V2?

Definitely the earlier one. I didn't even know there was a V2.