I honestly don't see the point in running RS3's for 6k miles when you could just get a premium tyre like the conti and have them last twice as long and they are better in every single department and don't cost double the RS3.
You may not see the point, but I have reached a conclusion having run the 3 leading contenders, namely Ps3`s, Contisports & RS3`s on the same 172 for 4 years & over 30,000 miles use on the same roads, summer & winter.
I picked up the car with good tread depth Contisport2`s on the front, which ticked a box on purchase, and it soon became apparent that if you planted your foot at 4000 rpm in 1st gear they would spin up rather than grip, even in the dry. Though Winter, ambient temperatures were around 10 degrees C.
The Conti`s got moved to the rear, where they soldiered on for another 20,000 miles without giving cause for complaint, but if you read what I posted (38) above, a pair of RS3`s I moved from front to back, covered 8,000 miles with negligible wear.
I cannot comment on how long the Conti`s would have lasted if left on the front, but given the above, I have no great reason to suspect any longer than the 8,000 miles that the PS3`s that replaced them did.
Anyway, they may be a Premium tyre to you, but they didn`t cut it for grip in my experience.
The PS3`s, once the release agent had worn off, were immense, I could not get them to light up wet or dry using the same 1st gear criteria, unless temperatures were around zero.
Their stability crossing standing water was excellent, probably better than the RS3`s, though it`s not something I would want to willingly experiment with.
As I said, 8,000 miles and they were down to the legal limit, and on removal, it was apparent that a session at Llandow had damaged the carcass of the NSF.
And so onto RS3`s.
The woes of wear rate I have commented on in post 38, but in every other respect, I am confident in that they are the equal of the PS3`s, wet or dry.
Grip in damp conditions, I don`t mean wet, remains confidence inspiring due to the soft compound, the pay off being wear rate.
As others have said, grip drops off in Zero temperatures, as it does with all summer tyres.
I hope you find this a balanced view, not a brief impression gained when I drove a mates Golf home on a freezing day and they were dog shite.
And then onto price, currently 08/02/2018. Like for like, all, all XL & 195/45R16 from Camskills site today, I/c Vat, per tyre.
Michelin PS3 £79.70
Contisport Contact3 £74.15
Rainsport 3 £50.95
Not double, but on a price/miles ratio, the Rainsport seems to be edging ahead.
The top 2, a 25% increase in mileage, for a 50% increase in price, and the Conti with a grip level that does not match the Michelin or Uniroyal.
Obviously, this is based on my experiences, and my driving style, and peculiar to my 172, and other`s may have had different experiences.
DECLARATION: I do not work for or sell Uniroyal tyres.
:tongueout::smile:
