Tyres why some rave about certain brands

[jenic]

T1R = Terrible 1n Rain
Will not buy them again, they were a cheap option when I had just bought my C2 a few years ago.

Good tyres I've had were GSD3's, F1 Asy2's, PE2's. All premium prices but worth it!

Loved my R888's but they put a lot of strain on the rest of the suspension I found, RS2's were pretty poor.

At the moment I'm running Hankook V12 Evo's, really good so far in wet and dry conditions. They are about as cheap as I'm willing to go now though.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Wild card - Falken ZE912's, great tyre!

 

[aucky]

On a saloon or a Clio?

 

[Ralphizzle]

Nothing but good words for: Uniroyal RainSport 2, Goodyear Eagle F1 (GS-D3).

Changing the worn fronts to Vredestein Sportrac 3, MoT is due.

 

[Russ_16v]

I think il be going for PE2's next, not tried them yet

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

On a saloon or a Clio?

I dont know what to tell you.

 

[aucky]

Falkens seem to receive praise from saloon car drivers but I've never heard of anyone fitting them to a Clio, thats all.

 

[domjolly]

Wild card - Falken ZE912's, great tyre!

had these on my 172 great tyres. Also love Uniroyal rainsport 2.
Currently have Yokohama prada spec 2 tyres they seem great in the dry but seriously poor in moist/wet conditions.

Surely there is no such thing as a perfect road tyre all depends on road,car and driving style among many other things

 

[Russ_16v]

Ooh just found bf goodridge g force profilers - had these on my first mk1,, and were very comparable to eagle f1's

 

[Mini182]

How about Kumho KU31's? They are not much more expensive than Toyo's T1R's.

But they out perform them in every way.

 

[GoldenMonkey]

I've always gone for contis! the one time I go for cheap tyres, my car spins out! Never again!

 

[TimR26]

I'm a fan of Goodyear tyres, they are cheaper than Michelin and Continental but perform just as well from my experience.

I used Michelin PE2's, ContiSport3's, Goodyear GSD3's and R888's on my 172. PE2's were good but too expensive, Contis were comparable but only lasted 6k, and GSD3's were as good in dry and better in wet plus cheaper.

On my R26 I've used a set of PS3's, Hankook RS2's and now on Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2. I was impressed with the PS3's but the Goodyear's are £30 a corner cheaper and just as good.

 

[Junior Bear]

I've currently got hankook ventus Evo s1's all round on my 182


Love them!

Had t1r on my old car, they felt like budgets tbh

 

[Lal B3N]

T1rs have been replaced with T1sports now. Couple of T1rs remain in very popular sizes still for now.

Value for money i dont think there is much better than a hankook v12.
I usually run v12s or Pirelli P zeros. I found v12s a tad soft on my last car but i can imagine they are well suited to the clio.

Pzeros were awesome all round but some people dont like how noisy they are.

My next tyre to try is a set of Federal RSRs which are a track tyre but for the price i can get them they should be worth it all day long. Cant wait too try them.

 

[Adamm.]

I Have had T1r's V12's and now PS2's and I honestly cant really say I noticed a big difference on the road other than the V12's definitely had more wet grip.

Haven't really pushed the PS2's yet.

 

[BIGASH]

My next tyre to try is a set of Federal RSRs which are a track tyre but for the price i can get them they should be worth it all day long. Cant wait too try them.

I put a thread up on here the other week as BMTR Birmingham had a sale on the RSR and the 15" are £55 each. Don't know if that's cheaper than were you get them from but just thought I would give you the heads up just incase it can save you a few quid

Edit: Just got the link http://www.racecarnewmedia.com/bmtr/news.asp?NewsID=45

 

[jackthewelshman]

Cheers to the OP for bringing this topic up. It's an interesting topic and what you say does make sense, especially with the T1-R's (I have no 0% knowledge of track tyres, but perhaps T888's really are a lot cheaper for people wanting to do amateur track days),

I have T1-R's on my car, I think they are pretty good. However I only say "pretty good" when considering the price, they are a budget performance tyre (maybe I've made up a category here) and also like many others, I don't really have anything to compare them to (however others in this situation won't mind swearing by them). To me it feels like they are gripping well in the dry, but in my heart of hearts I do think my car should have more grip than it has. In the wet, I have found them to be pretty poor. It's hard to tell whether they are on the right side of Cheap / Good Value - two different things! I'm not qualified to even offer an opinion, but would like to think that they just about creep into good value.

Therefore on Friday, I'm picking up two Continental CS3's and my two best T1-R's are staying on the rear. The Conti's have more consistent reviews, apparently have a longer life span and are only about £12 - £15 a corner extra for me fitted. So if they are at all more durable, then as far as I can see, it's well worth the extra money. Yes there are tyres in this range better than this, but you begin treading into silly money - £83/corner fitted for 195/45/16 is what I'm paying and really is the limit.

I still find it a little strange how easily the T1-R's gained this cult following (shrugs shoulders)

 

[joshclio999]

I had t1rs on my Clio and thought they were decent. Can't expect 888 performance form a tyre half the price but value for money was good. Currently I have Avon zzr3 and think they're also pretty decent for the price I paid. I used rainsports but found they wore very quickly and generally I thought they aren't as good as people say. I think peoples opinion of a good tyre is a personal choice down to the car, type of roads driven on, and driving style

 

[Adamm.]

I still find it a little strange how easily the T1-R's gained this cult following (shrugs shoulders)

I imagine it was the price and the brand name combined which got peoples interest.

I thought Toyo stopped making the T1-R's anyway?

 

[Lal B3N]

I put a thread up on here the other week as BMTR Birmingham had a sale on the RSR and the 15" are £55 each. Don't know if that's cheaper than were you get them from but just thought I would give you the heads up just incase it can save you a few quid

Edit: Just got the link http://www.racecarnewmedia.com/bmtr/news.asp?NewsID=45

Thats a great price! Thanks. I will be getting them in 16 though, £64 a tyre.

 

[Will.]

T1Rs FTW. I've managed to wear the outsides and insides right down on both front tyres, but still have s**t load tread left in the middle. Got around 12k out of them too.

 

[Pritch]

Before my 182 met its unfortunate demise (nearly taking me with it) I stuck a set of Hankook's on it, from the advice of this forum. I'd had P nero-zero's on before which were absolutely fantastic, but all 4 needed changing just after xmas, and the front Pirelli's had only lasted ~14 months (12k) of fast road use, and cost £50 odd per corner more than the Hankook's.

I've got to say I was very impressed, they weren't as good as the Pirelli's, but they weren't too far off, and if anything, I possibly preferred the feeling they gave as they began to give up their grip slightly earlier but without giving you that brown trouser moment feeling, where the Pirelli's I think were a bit more grippy, but gave a little less feel as you approached the edge.

I honestly couldn't tell you if I felt happier with the Hankooks purely because I had an extra £200 in my wallet or what, but it was a great purchase IMO and one I wouldn't have made had it not been for this forum.

 

[...]

Jack if you fitting conti's and leaving the 2 T1r's on the back will you do me a favour and just fit them on the front till they wear !! please .

a car with a bit of understeer is far better in most road situations than a car with oversteer because the rears have alot less grip than the front .

And going back near the begining someone said that cost wasn't a big factor when choosing decent rubber ,but reading this thread i beg to differ because the fact one tyre is cheaper than another or a certain brand is discounted because of cost comes up time and again .

Another little tyre point to throw into the pot ,is without a shadow of a doubt every set of tyres i have had (and as i said before we have 4 cars so we have fitted a few sets) have been from Kwikfit , my local quickfit have always beaten any price i have been quoted by blackcircles etc , but you need to go speak to them face to face , they buy as a group more tyres than anyone else in the UK so they should have the ability to pass on to you the discounts they get

a good example is they have just fitted 235 x 40 x 18 conti sport 3's (extra load versions ) to our S4 cab for £150 a corner fitted balanced and old tyres disposed of , so always remember to strike a deal when you fit that new rubber the premium tyre might be cheaper than you think .

 

[Gally]

The fitting new rubber on the back is now an age old argument.

I understand the backs have less grip but from a handling pov you're better with the new rubber on the front. That's just fact. Unless you drive like an utter dick in the wet I fail to see how rear at 4mm can be so bad in the wet tbh.

 

[Craigus]

Two of the worst tyres I've had: Toyo T1R & Avon ZZR.
Two of the best tyres I've had: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 & Conti Sport Contact 3.

IMO, you get what you pay for.

Sums up this thread.

You can't get tyres for £75 a corner that are AS good as ones that are £150 a corner. That isn't the way the world works.

 

[...]

If the t1r's are as bad as people are saying then i wouldn't want it that way round , yes the new rubber on the front is better if the backs not really s**t , but people have commented on how bad they are .... and not everyone is a driving god .

 

[Chris205]

Michelin pilot exalto's for me followed closely by Continental contact sports

 

[jamesd1263]

For everyday use I use avons or Pirelli p600 both decent IMO

 

[Lal B3N]

Sums up this thread.

You can't get tyres for £75 a corner that are AS good as ones that are £150 a corner. That isn't the way the world works.

I think you can but then you probably wont get the same life span out of the tyre. A cheaper tyre could be just as grippy as an expensive tyre but it will wear down far quicker for example i would prefer Federal RSR's over Conti SP3's but the wear rating on a Federal is like 140 where as the Conti is probably 240 or more! But in most other sense what you say is right, usually if its cheap its going to be tat.

 

[joshclio999]

The fitting new rubber on the back is now an age old argument.I understand the backs have less grip but from a handling pov you're better with the new rubber on the front. That's just fact. Unless you drive like an utter dick in the wet I fail to see how rear at 4mm can be so bad in the wet tbh.

There wouldn't be a problem with the same tyre as on the front being put on the back but when you start putting a better tyre on the front your corner entry speed is quicker but when the weight comes onto the rear tyre after the braking area the not as good rear tyre can't take it and will step out. It's easier to control understeer than oversteer in a Clio on the road so this is where the problem is.

 

[Craigus]

I think you can but then you probably wont get the same life span out of the tyre. A cheaper tyre could be just as grippy as an expensive tyre but it will wear down far quicker for example i would prefer Federal RSR's over Conti SP3's but the wear rating on a Federal is like 140 where as the Conti is probably 240 or more! But in most other sense what you say is right, usually if its cheap its going to be tat.

Yeah definitely. I love Hankook V12 Evo's as they are grippy in the dry and wet and don't produce a lot of road noise, but they wear down much quicker than a Sport Contact 2/3 would, so they aren't AS good as the higher priced competitor's.

 

[Scrooge]

Michelin Pilot Sports for me.

 

[Daniel]

I love T1r-s on track!

Soft side wall + fairly soft compund = Great fun!

Neary as much fun as my Linglongs I had n my M3.... 'You spin me right round baby right round...'

 

[Chip-mk1]

I love T1r-s on track!

Soft side wall + fairly soft compund = Great fun!

The only problem is that if you slide them about a lot, they do wear out very quick.
But then they are cheap enough for that not to be a big issue.

 

[jamesd1263]

Surely it's all about wanli?

 

[plymcl172]

I know it's different but no one agrees hence taking the piss with the whole post lol.

no ones agrees with anyone on here lol

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Falkens seem to receive praise from saloon car drivers but I've never heard of anyone fitting them to a Clio, thats all.

Their better than T1-R's in my opinion, but then i rate them about the same level as Wanli's.

 

[MarcoB]

I get Yoko S drives at £40 each for 195/45/15 and they are doing all right. I have Pirelli 6000s on my gti6 and there is no way they are staying on.