Tires Nexen or FEDERAL

I drove about 8k miles on a set of RS-Rs. They ride fairly stiff and produce a hum. Wet traction actually not bad at all. Dry performance was obviously exemplary.

I currently have the Federals for autocross and the grip is fantastic...

Upgraded the tires late last year to Federal 595 RSR, they are $300 INSTALLED at a local shop, which is crazy cheap IMO. The car grips so well.

I've been quite happy with my Nexens on my E39. They're quiet and smooth. Oh yeah, grip in the snow is quite good too.

I run Nexen N'Fera SU1 tires on my GTI in the summer: https://www.nexentireusa.com/tires/high-performance/n-fera-su1 Best budget tires I've ever tried. They are wearing nicely, grip in dry and wet is great. I was VERY surprised about the wet weather performance. I'd buy them again and again, no questions asked.

Federals are awesome! I generally rock the 595's. The lateral grip is off the chain, and last forever, things are made with unicorn farts. Every build, every car, gets those tires when I do a wheel package. And I've never had anything close to any kind of problem with them.

I started on Federal 595 SS, As I progressed as a driver I changed those out for the Federal RS-RR, Both great tires for cheap and id recommend for a Grassroots style of drifting or open drift days.

One of the front tires is leaking a small amount of air (5-10psi/ month) out of the valve stem and one rear lip is bent but still holds air.

Don't get Nexen. I got 2 for my SiLs car and they started to come apart in less than a year, side wall. Looked online and others had the same issue. When I contacted Nexen they did not seem to care.

Nexen tires are cheap for a reason. While they may serve you just fine to putt down the highway they are inferior in about every measurable category to most reputable tires, lateral grip, braking, acceleration.