Car: '04 MSM, stock
Climate: Houston TX (hot and rainy)
Intended usage: Daily driver, *maybe* two autocrosses per year.

I would really like to ditch the stock 17" RacingHarts to go to a 15" for weight savings and ride comfort. I am primarily looking for 205/50R15 or 205/55R15 (closer to OEM size on 17's), but can be flexible.

The current wheels I am looking at are the Kosei K5R (15x8) or the Koenig Milligram (15x7.5), grey color for both (car is red). I would like to have something different than the Storms or 6ULs and my current preference is towards the Milligrams.

It seems like the availability of certain tires has changed in the past year, so I am looking for help.
For tires, I am looking for an UHP summer tire. The car is primarily street driven in dry conditions, but this is Houston and I could get caught in a storm that will dump several inches per hour. Looking at Tire Rack, it seems like the best candidates are the Yoko S.Drive or DZ102. Is there another tire that I am missing? Is there a compelling reason to go to 16s?

Thanks for the help.

 

I liked Nitto Neo Gen's for a daily driver turbo miata. Similar tire to what you're looking at that's a nice compromise between grip and wear. 15's are the way to go for sure; much better selection, pricing, and performance.

 

I think you should highly consider the Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec in 205/55/15. I absolutely loved these tires on a 15x8 wheel. They lasted me very long without any cracking or damage, and they are very sticky.

 

55 profile? You guys are crazy. Get a 205/50 for sure.

 

What exactly is wrong with a 55 profile tire? On a 15x8 wheel, my sidewalls were stiff and the meaty look was fantastic.

EDIT: I may be mistaken about the tire size. I guess it was a 50 profile. My bad.

 

I was actually going to recommend either neo gen or z2, lol. I am a midwesterner and have driven in a thunder blizzard on summer tires, so I may be more be more tolerant in my foul weather tire selection than most.
As for wheels; 6ULs and Storm S1s are my favorite, but it sounds like you have a certain aesthetic in mind.

 

Too tall and if it existed at one time, it doesn't appear to now.

https://tiresize.com/tires/Dunlop/Direzza-ZII.htm

 

Yours is the second recommendation for the Neo Gens I have gotten. They are marketed as an all-season UHP. Is that giving anything up vs the UHP summer tires?

For a daily driver? I haven't considered that.

@Hank, which tires do you run?

 

Hi, didn't realize it was you; I'll share my thoughts from our messenger conversation here for posterity I guess?

For a DD the 300 utqg Neogens are decent but there is not much grip compared to the 200 utgq ZII starspec, which itself is an older tire with less ultimate grip than a Hankook rs3 (200tw) and then there is the new generation of rubber like the Bridgestone re71r (rated 200tw but they're LYING) which has awesome levels of wet and dry grip but is very soft and short lived. There's compromise with all of them so you have to decide to some extent what you really want. I just got a set of the Kumho v720 thinking they were rs3-like but they're extremely soft and have more grip than the 100 treadwear Nitto NT01s they replaced. Oops, but sweet... I can't decide! I've also only had them in for a couple days so idk about wear really yet.

Run away from the dz102!

 

I like both of them as well, but wanted something a little different since they are so popular.

More converstation for posterity:
One of the things I would like is something that will at least last a couple of years daily driving. My total annual mileage is usually less than 3k (I split driving time with my truck). So I would realistically like for them to last for 6000 miles plus 2-4 autocrosses. I do drive the car in the winter (or what I like to call "less hot" for Houston), so the cold temps would pose a problem for the Star Specs given that I would drive the car at temps below 50 and let it sit outside while I'm at work. The temps get down into the 30s several times in Jan / Feb, but that is usually only for no more than a couple of weeks. Top down cool weather driving is my favorite! Based on the above conversation, it looks like my choices are narrowed down to the S.Drive and Neo Gen.

 

Stumbled across yet another potential tire choice. Looks like Kumho has a relatively new tire out, the Ecsta PS31 ECSTA PS31 - Kumho Tire USA, Inc.
Anyone have any experience with them?

 

I've used S.Drives on both my NA and the wife's NC. The NC is driven daily, except for snow. We commonly have winter temps in the 40s, with overnight lows in the 20s. The NC is garaged in winter, but the S.Drives have handled the temps fine. Ultimate grip isn't up there with the really sticky tires, and, they get greasy fast, but IMHO it's a good DD Miata tire. I've switched to ZIIs for my NA, but it's not a DD.