Miata Mailing List: February 1993, Message #86
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   From: (none)
Subject: Re: Tires Again
   Date: (none)

> From: Herb Samuels 
> Subject: Tires Again
> 
> I will be replacing my stock Bridgestone 325 tires soon.  There have
> been previous posts concerning three tires which those on the net have
> used: Yoko AVS, Yoko A509, and Dunlop D40M2 or its replacement Dunlop
> SP8000.  I plan to go no higher than 195 in size.  I am sure that each of
> these tires  will handle and stick much better than the stock tires. 

yes.

> What I would like to know is how these tires change the ride of the
> Miata.  Do they give it a firmer and harder street ride than the
> stock tires or is their ride about the same or perhaps even better.

i've got a set of 195/50-15 A509's and i am very happy with the
improvement.  the A509's are excellent in the dry and in the rain
(which was a big concern after the SF-325 "Hydroplaners").
i bought them from the Tire Rack as a package along with some 15" rims.

i picked the A509's because of their good reputation in the wet, and
because they're a pretty good performance tire that's still relatively
affordable.  the AVS-I, D40M2 or SP8000, and the RE-71s may be better
in the dry, but as i don't autocross, i don't think i'd see that much
of a benefit increase, given the added cost (these other tires are
roughly  $20-40 more per tire than the A509s).  also, i don't know how
the top-line tires compare in the wet, but typically, better dry
performance is achieved at the expense of some wet performance.

since the sidewalls are a lot stiffer, turn-in is crisper and cornering
feels a lot better.  unfortunately, i can't compare different tires
at the same size and aspect ratio, since i increased the size of my rims,
but i think the relatively soft sidewalls on the stock tires accounts for
some of the handling "vagueness" that i didn't like.

i was particularly concerned with how bad the ride would be on the
new tires/wheels, though, since i have to drive on some less-than-perfect
roads.  i think there's a small decrease in comfort, but it wasn't bad
at all.  i was afraid of a really jarring ride, since even with the stock
tires, the ride is fairly firm, but i actually like the firmer response
better.  i don't think you have to worry much about ride comfort.

hope this helps a little.