Hey GTI (or Hot Hatch) Owners! What Summer Tires Are You Running?

"412GTI" (sixspeedab) 06/01/2020 at 19:20 • Filed to: tires

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Hi Oppo! The time has finally come to replace the original tires on my 17 GTI. I never really like these all-season and decided to go with a dedicated set of summer tires as I already run a separate winter tire set on smaller wheels. However, I’ve also never bought summer tires before so looking to see what fellow GTI or similar car owners have experienced.

A little about how I drive. 60-mile roundtrip commute 3-5/week, some weekend driving, occasional spirited drives. I would like to explore doing a trackday this year but we’ll see if that happens. Not looking for the best of the best or I’d just order PS4S’s, but something with decent grip and is good in the rain.

Here are some contenders I’m considering:

Not sold on any of these three, in particular, however, they seem like a good balance of affordability , dry/wet performance, and decent longevity . If anyone has a helpful recommendation, I’d much appreciate it. Cheers!

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:36

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I used to have Firehawk Indy 500 on my Mini. They were great so I bought another set but some of those were out of round. Another friend got 4 indy 500s and 2 of them were taller than the other but all of them had the same specs on the side...I would say go for these ones if you are fine with going in and getting them replaced once if QC has messed up.

They did have good dry grip, decent wet grip, were cheap and lasted around 30,000 miles with going to the tail 2 times.

dogisbadob > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:39

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I don’t have a hot hatch or summer tires, but you should include your tire size so that you don’t get recommendations that aren’t available in your size :p

TheJWT > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:40

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I have a very mild hatch with Toyo Proxxes T1Rs and they’re fantastic

Arrivederci > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:43

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Continental ExtremeContact DW.  I had them on my BRZ and on my first NC Miata.  Great summer tires that have a decent longevity.  Good in the dry and really good in the wet.

MrSnrub > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:45

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I put Firehawk Indy 500s on mine. Only $500ish and improved wet and dry grip over the stock all-seasons noticeably

Verdog ~ manual Bro, Bro - HellHawk Equipped > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:47

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Not Hot, but have a hatch(ish) ... These Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ are awesome.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 19:53

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Michelin Pilot Sport 4S . Th ey cost a bit more than the General G-Max or the Firestone Indy 500s because they’re worth it. Better ride, better handling, and better life expectancy. I understand the want for something cheaper, but I do think you get what you pay for.

My FoST came with Eagle F1s which worked okay, but they had these weird cuts in the tread that immediately filled with rubber after a track day, almost like they were designed to do that. They rode weird and noisily too. But the PS4S is such a better tire all around. If you plan on keeping this car for 5 years or more, spring for the Michelins. There’s a 150$ rebate on them right now, so it actually is about the same price for my FoST to get a set of Michelins over a set of Eagle F1s or Contisports.

Doubly so if you plan on d oing any autocross of track days - the other tires can cut it, for a bit, but they will lose more life than a higher spec summer tire that will grip rahter than slide and scuff. N o w if you want to see how tail happy you can get - General G-Max was my tire of choice on the FiST. I could hold tail slides for days and often left track days in close competition with FR-S/BRZ twins for who got the most sideways. It worked fine enough. No complaints form me. But the PS4S is worth the premiums and then some.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 20:02

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I love the Bridgestone S04 Pole Positions I’ve had on my summer wheels for the past 5 years. They’ve handled a 1000+mile road trip and a track day with aplomb.

Haven’t had any issues with them in the wet until this year, and I am going to replace with another set since they have worn low enough they replaced.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 20:09

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I’m looking into buying my first set of dedicated summer tires and I’m having a hard time finding better performance/$ than the Indy Firehawk 500s, I haven’t read a bad review about them yet and they’re like 3/4 of the price (for me in Canada) of their competitors 

CompactLuxuryFan > Arrivederci 06/01/2020 at 20:10

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These changed their name to ExtremeContact Sport a while back. Curious why OP is considering those other Continentals instead...

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 20:26

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I have the Azenis and love them.  Gmax for winter

wpudvah: GTI, Super Beetle, now with more 80-Series > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 20:26

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I got the PS4S, no regrets. enjoy your car!

412GTI > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 06/01/2020 at 20:27

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Interesting, I haven’t seen the rebate but that might sway my decision. Don’t get me wrong I’d love to get the PS4S but the majority of my driving is mildly putting around or doing long stretches of highway..so not sure if I needed the best.

412GTI > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/01/2020 at 20:28

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Yikes that’s interesting. I’ll take a look into them more, thanks! 

412GTI > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/01/2020 at 20:28

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Thanks, I’ll take a look at them! 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 20:29

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Those dont look like summer tires to me, unless you are talking UHP all season . If you can find them in your size, the Dunlop Direza DZ102 is a great tire if you care about longevity and still want to have fun . I like my 200TW tires but I wont bother suggesting those if you care about longevity lol. Although to me getting 15k out of tires sounds pretty darn good and we dont get rain here in Socal so I can run them till bald. 

412GTI > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 06/01/2020 at 20:35

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They seem very popular on GTI’s/R’s, so I’ll take another look. I think the Falken’s might have somewhat better wet traction from what I’ve read but not sure.

412GTI > MrSnrub 06/01/2020 at 20:36

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Thanks! These seem like a popular recommendation .

412GTI > CompactLuxuryFan 06/01/2020 at 20:40

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My mistake, I was looking at ExtremeContact’s, selected the wrong one. They’re most likely my front runners. 

Arrivederci > CompactLuxuryFan 06/01/2020 at 20:54

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News to me, lol.  The Sports look nice.  I remember the old DW’s gripped nicely for a 340 treadwear rating.

Milky > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 21:28

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I bought the Indy 500s too, mostly because of the treadwear rating. Got a year on them and they are holding up well, we’re long commute buddies.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 21:34

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Gonna recommend Indy 500's again. A great tire for the money. The turn in, then once the outside tread blocks grab is nice.  

412GTI > Milky 06/01/2020 at 21:36

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Excellent! Thanks

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 21:37

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Most high performance summers have a stiff sidewall so they all ride a bit harsh, making the daily commute feel a bit worse than usual. But the PS4/PS4S rolls quietly and smoothly. Even if you aren’t taking it to the limit, it will make for a ride improvement. Hell, lincoln put them on the MKZ for the sport package. It was wholly unnecessary and just to say they pulled more lateral G than a BMW , but still, they got away with it!

412GTI > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock 06/01/2020 at 21:37

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Lots of love for them! Are you happy with the wet traction? That’s the only negative I’ve read so far. 

412GTI > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 06/01/2020 at 21:47

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Thanks for the info! Lots to consider but so ready for a good tire

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > 412GTI 06/01/2020 at 22:24

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W et traction as a given is less then dry traction, but break away is pretty linear & does not snap when it does loose traction. It called fun levels of traction.

facw > Verdog ~ manual Bro, Bro - HellHawk Equipped 06/01/2020 at 23:05

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My S60 is neither hot, nor a hatch, but I have Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires as well, and it’s really astounding how much better they are than the Michelin P remier A/S tires (which are similarly priced) that they replaced.