If I buy the 1st gen I'm looking at I'm going to need some new tires.

Looking for all season performance tires in 185/60/14 for original 14x5.5 alloy wheels.

Requirements:
1. Temp range 15-100 degrees.
2. Excellent wet traction
3. Good dry traction
4. Good Response and turn in.
5. Forgiving at limit.
6. Reasonable noise level.
7. Reasonable comfort level.
8. Snow performance not a issue.

I'm considering the Bridgestone RE950. I've heard very favorable reports on the RE-950 from the Miata crowd.

Is the 950 a good choice for the Protege? Anyone with any experience with this tire?

Any alternative choices to consider?

 

Gene, I had the Potenza RE950 185/60/HR14 on my '88 GTX a while back and I can vouch for them, they appear to be excellent all-season tires. Of course all-season tires are always a compromise of many factors but the RE950 seem to meet all the requirements that you mention.

Of course, one site you cannot miss when researching tires is www.tirerack.com; even if you don't buy from them, they have an excellent database with customer-supplied ratings of the tires. The RE950 scores, with a sample size of 685 surveys:

Dry Traction: 8.9
Wet Traction: 8.7
Hydro Resistance: 8.7
Snow Traction: 6 (but you said that was not an issue for you)
Cornering Stability: 8.6
Steering Response: 8.6
Ride Comfort: 8.3
Noise Comfort: 7.9
Tread Wear: 8.2

The question for you should be: can you find a tire that exceeds these ratings? If the answer is yes, I'm sure someone will post a response. Good luck.