Recommendations on Summer Tires and Sizes

[OldPip]

I live in eastern Canada so I have a a set of both summer and winter tires mounted on rims. My summer tires (Potenza RE050A) are just about dead so I have to replace them. I don't track the car, I just like driving a small spirited car as my daily ride. My last ride was a Cooper S. My mechanic had suggested either the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s or the Continental DWS06 while Tire Rack seems to be leaning towards the Pirelli P Zero Nero or Vredestein Quatrac Pro all in 205/40R 17. Can you provide any recommendations, and can I change the size to 215/45 17 without any rubbing as the potholes up here are brutal. Thanks,

 

[SteveS]

First you need to decide if you want a true summer-only tire like the RE050A or an all-season. Of the ones you listed, only the Pirelli is a summer only tire. However, experience from other users here has shown the P Zero Nero not to be well liked, as it has softer turn-in and takes away some of the steering feel we all like the Fiesta ST for. Although they have higher treadwear ratings in the 300s, the Firestone Indy 500 and Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 seem to have made people happier. When I called Tire Rack the advisor I spoke with highly recommended the Indy 500s, so I got them at a sharp discount and have them waiting in the shop for when my wife wears the last nubs of tread off the Potenzas.

In the all-season range, I don't think the DWS06 comes in the OEM size. The Michelin PS AS4 is well-regarded. The PS AS3 was one of the two OEM tires on the Fiesta ST, and when I did the Ford Performance Racing School that came with the car, they had the PS AS3s on.

I've never tried a 215/45 so I can't speak to that.

 

[Capri to ST]

I currently have and recommend the Yokohama Advan Fleva V701. My goal for summer tires is to duplicate the quick turn-in and agile handling of the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, which has been unavailable in the OEM size for quite some time. The Yokohamas come close to that.
I tried the Firestone Indy 500s before, and while the ultimate grip was quite high, I found the steering a little vague. I heard the same complaints that @SteveS had heard about the Pirelli P Zero Nero, so I stayed away from those.
Note that when you go to Tire Rack and search for OEM 205/40R 17 size summer performance tires there are only six choices. They list three categories of summer performance tires in general, Extreme, Max and Ultra high performance summer, and the six tires that I see as available are in one of those three categories.
I also have not tried any other size, and can't comment on that.

 

[NATYPE]

I'm loving my DWS 06+ tires. Have them in 205x45 on 17x7.5 wheels and the performance and fitment are great (stock suspension for me). I had two sets of Indy 500's in different sizes and equally found steering feel and turn in pretty vague like @Capri to ST mentioned. I'll be swapping out my Proxes R888R's for the Fleva's when the time comes. Two of mine are filled with bolts, nails, etc. from daily driving them through downtown construction.

 

[MikelSS]

I currently have and recommend the Yokohama Advan Fleva V701. My goal for summer tires is to duplicate the quick turn-in and agile handling of the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, which has been unavailable in the OEM size for quite some time. The Yokohamas come close to that.
I tried the Firestone Indy 500s before, and while the ultimate grip was quite high, I found the steering a little vague. I heard the same complaints that @SteveS had heard about the Pirelli P Zero Nero, so I stayed away from those.
Note that when you go to Tire Rack and search for OEM 205/40R 17 size summer performance tires there are only six choices. They list three categories of summer performance tires in general, Extreme, Max and Ultra high performance summer, and the six tires that I see as available are in one of those three categories.
I also have not tried any other size, and can't comment on that.

I agree with the Yokohama comment as that's exactly what I did as well, and although the turn-in is not as good as the Potenza's, it's close and ends up not being a factor after a few drives.

 

[Capri to ST]

I agree with the Yokohama comment as that's exactly what I did as well, and although the turn-in is not as good as the Potenza's, it's close and ends up not being a factor after a few drives.

It's good to know that someone else had the same experience with the Yokohama's after looking for the best turn-in that they could find.
The OEM Potenza was the king of turn in, and I looked for it for a long time in OEM size. Some websites would show it as available, but when you actually tried to order it you wouldn't be able to, so I finally gave up. I called Discount Tire and Tire Rack, and neither one of them could track it down.I ended up calling it the Bigfoot of tires, as in it was reputed to exist but no one had ever actually found it.

 

[SteveS]

What happened with the RE050A was they discontinued the entire line for about a year, then reintroduced it, but only in larger sizes. I think that's why places like Big O and Discount Tire still list it, but when you call they don't have it.

 

[Capri to ST]

What happened with the RE050A was they discontinued the entire line for about a year, then reintroduced it, but only in larger sizes. I think that's why places like Big O and Discount Tire still list it, but when you call they don't have it.

That's good to know, because I really tried hard to track it down. Out of curiosity, I checked it again on Discount Tire Direct, and it says out of stock, call for ETA, as it has for about the last two years. It's sort of strange and unhelpful that they still list it in our size when it hasn't been available for such a long time.

 

[OldPip]

Thanks for all your input folks. I am going to give the Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 a try. I will let you know how it turns it in a while.

 

[Snrub]

The best tires in the class are Continental ECS 02 and Michelin PS4S. I like my Firestone Indy 500s, but I'd like to try the Conti ECS 02s when I need replacements next year. I'm running 205/45/16, so the Contis are the best possible option.

 

[OldPip]

As it turns out I ended up going with a 215/45 17 Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus. I like it so far. The turning is pretty good, but the car feels a bit like it is pivoting on the centre point. That may be because the tires profile's are 45 instead on the Pontenza's 40 or perhaps I need to bump up the tire pressure. One nice advantage of the 45s it that the ride is much smoother especially important when the roads around here are in terrible and it used to feel like I was riding in a brick.
Thanks for all your feedback.