Tire Choices... Different Kind of Question

[Lisa Hlava]

I've had my ES100's for almost 3 years. They did really well when new,
and even at the '05 Convention track day. But, now, they're down to
between 2/32 and 3/32 of tread depth... not good. So it's definitely
time to get new tires.

The criteria? They must handle at least as well as the 100's did when
they were new(hopefully better), they can't be big buck tires(i.e.
S-03's), fit a 15 x 7 wheel/rim and they can't be "iffy" in the rain. I
had originally picked out the Kumho Mx, but after reading the Car and
Driver review about how they handle in the wet... nada, my 100's
already do that.

I've narrowed my 2 new choices to the Toyo T1-R in 205/50/15 and the
Goodyear GS-D3 in 195/50/15(my current tires are this size). Tirerack
and C&D gave the GS-D3 rave reviews, especially in the wet, while C&D
didn't really like the T1-R... though it did ok in the wet. I wouldn't
mind giving up a little dry performance in order to get better wet
performance, at least better than my current tire and better than the
MX's. I found a site that is selling the T1-Rs for $74.89/tire plus
about $32 in shipping. And we know that tirerack sells the GS-D3 for
$88/tire plus shipping. I guess that I should say that I'm not worried
about wet performance on the track or autox, but in daily driving.  I
live in Florida, and that means lots of wet days, wet roads, and mildly
flooded roads. I drive my twins to daycare and my oldest to school
everyday. I could just be selfish and go for a set of Azeni 615's...
but, eh... no.

So, I've picked 2 tires. A 205 .vs. 195... good .vs. great, but will
the difference in tire sizes balance the performance, i.e. much wider
tire .vs. much narrower? Oddly enough, they're both about the same
weight. I've never driven with 205s on my car, but can remember the
difference it felt when I went from 185's to 195's. What am I
overlooking, not seeing, or not understanding about the possibilities
each of these tires will offer?

Once the new suspension is in, I will be manically autoxing, and I've
checked out a group who does road racing at 4 different tracks in the
southeast.

Oh yeah, this is for my daily driver '91 SE-R.

I'm open to all suggestions, opinions, facts and experiences.

Peace,
Mark

P.S. Not to offend, but please don't advise getting a dedicated set of
wheels/tires for "track" days, not in the budget. I'll see your
mortgage and car payment(s) and raise you 3 kids in daycare;).