what's the popular CHEAP track tire nowadays?

My back two tires are almost completely bald. i'm planning on replacing those two, and finishing the rest of the season with the RT-615's currently on the front before getting rid of those. Back when I originally bought the falkens, they were the super duper cheap option on the market, at $130 apiece. Now they're a bit pricier and fall into the range of other competitive tires.

nitto NT01 $~210 = I hear this R-compound can be used without shaving
nitto NT05 $~160 = Cheapest street/track tire I could find, compound similar to NT01
falken RT-615K $~180 = Commercials claim 1sec lap time improvement from previous gen
bridgestone RE-11 not available in 275-40-17

NT01 is the best when warm/dry but absolutely dangerous on the street if the roads are wet. I drove an Evo with them and it felt like you could end up on 2 wheels if i was a little dumber in the corners but will pretty much hydroplane in the rain at highway speeds even when brand new.

NT05 is still usable on the street and wear pretty well. The Z1's are a match performance wise but i hear mixed reviews on how the Z1's handle heat, some say great other say they get a little "greasy" compared to the 05's. Z1's have better street manners, if that matter...

Both are loud as shit, but i dont think you'll mind...:D

Jason

dan bought v12s from tirerack for sandstone with a $60 rebate but i don't see your size :(

I was going to suggest the Hankook RS-3, but they don't have it in your size...

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Originally Posted by bridge

dan bought v12s from tirerack for sandstone with a $60 rebate but i don't see your size :(

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Tire Rack gives some pretty awesome rebate deals. I got $120 worth of rebates from my last two sets of tire purchases.

I'm interested in some opinions as well. I'll be purchasing some tires for my Talon soon and I'll be on a pretty tight budget.

With the star specs being discontinued I think I'll be forced to go with the 615k's but they're not exactly cheap anymore in the K version.

I ran NT05's this year and liked them alot. My initial plan was to go with some NT01's but since I drive on the street a lot I needed a tire that wouldn't become useless in the rain.

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Originally Posted by Maximal

With the star specs being discontinued I think I'll be forced to go with the 615k's but they're not exactly cheap anymore in the K version.

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They're not discontinued, you can only buy them through tirerack online. Plus they jacked the prices way up, meh.

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Originally Posted by DocWalt

They're not discontinued, you can only buy them through tirerack online. Plus they jacked the prices way up, meh.

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You are correct. I heard at the NG they're discontinued but after doing some research quick it looks like tirerack is exclusive with them so every other site just listed them as discontinued. Guess that's what I get for listening to rumors. :p

i decided to go with the nt05's. $160 apiece and free shipping from discount tire works out to be almost the same price as the old rt-615's.

Let us know how you like them Pete. I'm not all that impressed with the dry performance of the star specs so thought about going back to the 615's with the new version but wouldn't mind going a bit cheaper if these NT05's perform.

I buy used Toyo R888 tires for the Talon. They are pretty sticky especially for the money (~$40-70 im my size). The Talon doesn't get driven much though. Usually only local AutoX and track days so they are perfect for me. Call John Berget tire and see if he has any in your size.

wow I can get Toyo R888 in 315/30R18 for $300 each...damn that's cheap!, my current FK452's were $330 each new.