Tyre Review Thread

[arj256]

Had a quick look and there doesnt seem any threads which have useable information when it regards tyre choice.
So to keep it easy for evaluation, could you copy this format if you wish to put up your tyre preferences.

Tyre:
Size:
Car Fitted To:
Suspension Setup:
Total Tyre Mileage:

Opinion:

Thread will be moderated so please keep on topic.

[arj256]

Tyre: Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
Size: 195/50/15
Car Fitted To: Williams 2
Suspension Setup: Gaz Coilovers Lowered from standard (shocks poor health)
Total Tyre Mileage: N/A

Opinion: Bought these tyres when i first got the Williams.
Excellent wet weather grip, best i have come across in my ownership.
Nice and grippy in the dry with a nice amount of feedback.
Main snag with these tyres was they didn't last long at all.

Tyre: Yokohama A539
Size: 195/50/15
Car Fitted To: Williams 2
Suspension Setup: Avo Coilovers lowered with 180lbs front springs.
Total Tyre Mileage: N/A

Opinion: These tyres always seem to get mixed reviews.
Decided to try something harder so i could get some more mileage.
The ultimate dry weather grip was less than the Eagle F1's i had previously, but grippy enough to have fun.
The tyres did 3 track days and 1 ring trip. And wore well.
The main negative was the wet weather performance, not comparable to the Eagle F1's
Although during a brands hatch track day which it rained 70% the day, the grip was very reliable it gave lovely feedback when it wanted to go.
In summary, give decent feedback but Tyre pressures are important with these Tyres.

Tyre: Yokohama Prada Spec 2
Size: 195/50/15
Car Fitted To: Williams 2
Suspension Setup: Avo Coilovers lowered with 180lbs front springs.
Total Tyre Mileage: 7000

Opinion: After finding out that they had stopped making the A539s and this was there replacement (shame as i wanted more A539s) i decided to give these a go.
They have a much more aggressive tread pattern than the A539s.
I found that they where more grippy in the dry with a minor sacrifice to the wet performance.
They give enough feedback to do the job and have decent sidewalls.
Again you need to be careful with your pressures.
They have worn well. having done 1 track day and 2 ring trips.
I would be tempted to go for these again although, i think after trying some Toyo 888r's they will be next.

[Wobba]

Tyre: Eagle F1
Size: 195/50
Car Fitted To: Renault Clio Williams Ph1 no.217
Suspension Setup: Standard bar Powerflex ARB bushes
Total Tyre Mileage: 2k miles

Opinion: Looks wise these are pretty tyres. In 195 width form they suitably bulge the look of the car out a bit, and are far cheaper than the standard 185 tyres.

When first fitting them I noticed a slight loss in precision control and feedback compared to 185's but this was countered by their performance.

Amazing grip. I've had my suspension almost fuly renewed and it is astounding how much grip this car has. After a hard run you can feel the tyre surface and feel it is sticky, the downside being wear rate though I have yet to see how bad it is having not had them that long.

Road noise is minimal, and frankly I dont care about nancy boy stuff like that.

I used to buy Pirelli P Zero's for my scooby, and though that has 4WD I would say the F1's provide more confidence. You can feel them sticking, I swear.

I've had no problems in the wet with them.

Overral, very good, with some loss of feeling from 185's. I would buy again as they are a bargain and give excellent performance per pound.

[Robb]

Tyre: Toyo T1-R
Size: 195/50/R15
Car Fitted To: Clio hybrid
Suspension Setup: Standard shocks Stiffer + lowered springs
Total Tyre Mileage: 5000 so far

Opinion: I've heard some bad things about wear rate on these tyres. I've done about 5000 miles so far and have also done track time at FCS. I still have plenty of tread left probably 4+mm easily. They also good to look at i think. Grip levels im not so sure about as i cant compare them to any other tyre really but they do grip well in the dry so much so my tyre wall was collapsing when i was going around rockingham but my tyre pressure was a tad low also. Can't comment on wet as i dont really push the car to its limits but it has ever lost traction apart from accelerating hard in the lower gears from a stand still and rolling.

Some downsides though for me it has to be the weak side wall on these. Far too weak!

[number1]

Tyre: Toyo PX4
Size:195/50-15
Car Fitted To: Clio hybrid
Suspension Setup: Williams Track
Total Tyre Mileage: 6000

Opinion: These tyres are hard to fault tbh, supposed to be the predeccesor to the t1-s? grip well wet or dry, done a session at fcs and a session at castle coombe, 6000 miles and there only just coming up to the wear lines, Grip just as Well as the T1-Rs i had previously But better in the wet, you could drive as fast as conditions allowed in the rain.
Well Worth a look TBH

[white16valver]

Tyre: Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD-2
Size: 185/55/15
Car Fitted To: valver
Suspension Setup: full refreshed OEM willy suspension / widetrack
Total Tyre Mileage: 10,000

Opinion: I've had the GSD-2 F1s on as my tyre of choice over the last couple of years and they're what I will be sticking with I think, until I'm flush enough to try the PE2s for a bit.

Grip well in the dry, with little squealing when pressing on :wink: , and absolutely phenomenal in the wet. You can drive like it's dry 8) as there's so much grip and they bite through the water so well, plus when they do go past the limit of grip it's a gradual affair and you can feel them starting to slide and just a little adjustment to the power / steering angle will bring them gently back in and biting hard again :)

They are admittedly a little soft on the sidewalls sometimes, although being 55s may be the reason for that, but the gradual breakaway nature of the limits of grip means you can drive with absolute confidence that you're not going to bin it or be caught out mid-corner with a change in surface or water levels.

I'd recommend them fully 8) and they are 100000000% better than...

[white16valver]

Tyre: Toyo Proxes T1-s
Size: 185/55/15
Car Fitted To: valver
Suspension Setup: full refreshed OEM willy suspension / widetrack
Total Tyre Mileage: 6,000?

Opinion: Well, what can I say.

'Pants' would be a polite way of putting it...

Look pretty? Yes.
Cheap? Yes.
Cheap for a reason? Oh yes...

As has been mentioned above about them, they literally will chew their sidewalls up in a couple of thousand miles of 'spirited' driving, if that. I've got the outside edges nearly smooth after just one track day, and I didn't even do a lot of time on track :?

The sidewalls are far too soft and they just don't bite into the corner - when you first turn in it feels like you're understeering off in the direction you were going before you started to steer because they appear to be rolling onto the sidewalls rather than keeping the tyre tread flat to the road surface :? They do eventually get some grip and smear their way round the corner, but you don't feel at all safe doing it. (Again, 55s may be the reason but the F1s don't do it so why should these?)

In the wet they are even worse. They will grip up to a point then that's it - they just give up. If you lock up, heaven help you. If you start to understeer, start to pray that they will find grip before you find the kerb as you literally have no idea what they're going to do until they do it. They might grip; or they might not. It's on or off, there's no middle ground to play with like there is on the F1s, and they're so unpredictable you can't corner with any confidence.

I don't even like them as track tyres for the reason that they don't bite into corners. I've got a couple on rims in the garage I could use for trackdays but I think I'd rather risk the F1s as they're so much better to drive on!




That's my opinions anyway. I've got a couple of Falkens (I think?) on a spare couple of rims as well but I need to see what model they are before I can post up.


Oh, and the F1s have lasted over 12k on the rears so aren't that soft if you aren't that heavy on tyres!

[Daz.]

Tyre: Vredstein Sportrac 3
Size: 185/55/R15 V
Car Fitted To: Williams 2
Suspension Setup: Standard
Total Tyre Mileage: Approx 2,000 miles

Opinion:

Simply better than anything else I've had as an all round tyre - far superior to any other tyres I've had in the wet, an Eagle F1 GSD-3 would be eaten alive by these in wet weather.

Dry grip is fantastic, would I say better than the Eagles? personally yes as the eagles were nowhere near as progressive as the Sportracs... Compare the tyres like you would 185/55 vs 195/50 and lowered suspension vs standard - the Eagles would grip grip grip then just go leaving you high and dry (in the same vein a 195/50 and lowered suspension does) compared to the Sportrac which is very progressive in its slip like stock suspension does to a point (and usually how a 185 feels)

So to sum up for a stock willy and a tyre that feels perfectly suited to the cars characteristics then I haven't found better. Negative point if anything is they're not widely available - but they look very pretty :lol:

[franksvalver]

Tyre: Michelin Exalto
Size: 195/45/15 (on turbines)
Car Fitted To: 16v
Suspension Setup: Lowered
Total Tyre Mileage:fronts 4000, rears 8000 and still going

Opinion: Wear is something that is suprising me seeing as the rears are still holding up very well with 4-5mm left. Fronts took a battering with bad tracking, regular harsh cornering and still did very well for themselves.

Good allrounder, very good in the dry, better imo than the r888s i had for a while. Wet, as with any tyre they have their faults but overall i think they still hold the road very well. Look good too ha!

Seeing as i had eagle f1s on it when i firts bought the car. The michelins totally transformed the handling, The F1s liked to let go through roundabouts but the michelins would sooner come off the rim than let go of the road..

Very impressed. Will be buying another set without a doubt

[eternalife]

Tyre: Avon ZV3 @ 7MM.
Size: 185 55 15
Car Fitted To: Clio 1993 1.8 16v
Suspension Setup: OEM
Total Tyre Mileage: 4k
Opinion:
Budget tyre - and as such are not going to be amazing.
Wet weather traction was appalling.
Definitely would NOT recommend - no point driving a performance car if your planning on skimping and saving on tyres.


Tyre: Yokohama A539's @5mm
Size: 195 50 15
Car Fitted To: Clio Williams and Clio 172 Ph1
Suspension Setup: OEM on Williams and Lowered 25mm on 172 Ph1
Total Tyre Mileage: 3k
Opinion:
Need to be worked on with pressures. Once a good set-up is found they perform well in the dry.
In wet conditions found them to perform well provided they had heat - a drop in temps made them less than ideal for conditions.
Did not use long enough to notice wear rate to be excessively good/Bad.


Tyre: Toyo Proxes @ 2mm
Size: 195 50 15
Car Fitted To: Clio 1993 1.8 16v
Suspension Setup: OEM
Total Tyre Mileage: under 1K
Opinion:
Performed well in wet and dry - was surprised by this as I have heard mixed stories about TOYO's and even at 2mm they worked well in the wet.
Got these with some alloys I bought so tested them accordingly.
Cannnot comment on wear rate.


Tyre: Bridgestone RE720's @ 4-5mm
Size: 195 50 15
Car Fitted To: Clio Williams
Suspension Setup: OEM
Total Tyre Mileage: unclassified
Opinion:
These are on my brothers Williams.
Very good tyre this - i know of Bridgestone tyres being very highly recommended for other vehicles.
Performed very well in all conditions - would say these are better than the A539's in all road conditions. Probably be my tyre of choice had i not used Mich PE2's.


Tyre: Goodyear Eagle F1's GSD2 (at rear) GSD3 (at front)
Size: cannot remember (i think they were 195 55 15)
Car Fitted To: BMW E30 318is
Suspension Setup: OEM apart from eccentric bushes.
Total Tyre Mileage: 10k
Opinion:
Very good tyre in all conditions - only let down by lack of longevity.
Most of the mileage was motorway cruising and I wouldn't think the tyres were used harshly to justify how quickly they wore down.
The front GSD3's replaced the Goodyear Eagle NCT5's which wore well but were quite hard i reckon. Did not have the 'turn in bite' of the Eagle F1's which was most apparent in the wet.


Tyre: Michelin Pilot Exalto 2
Size: 195 50 15
Car Fitted To: Clio Williams and Clio 172 Ph1
Suspension Setup: OEM on Williams and Lowered 25mm on 172 Ph1
Total Tyre Mileage: 12k
Opinion:
Best tyre I have ever used on a Clio.
Dry grip Fantastic - Wet grip amazing - these worked absolutely perfectly with the freshened Williams OEM suspension.
Wear rate was very good also - I reckon rears will give 20-25k on road, and fronts 15k. Turn in, precision and handling on both cars I used these on were greatly enhanced. For road use I cannot think of a better tyre.
Well worth the extra pennies everytime.

[Wobba]

Tyre: Toyo R1R
Size: 195/50/15
Car Fitted To: Renault Williams Clio Ph1 no.217
Suspension Setup: AVO coilovers, lowered, polybushed, AST adjustable top mounts, R19 wishbones, camber correction bolts for increased negative camber. Tested on both 250 and 350lb 2.25" springs
Total Tyre Mileage: Over 10k plus trackday

Pro's:

Amazing grip. No. I mean it, VERY grippy.

Better alternative to R888 for daily road use.

Much better wear rate than I expected. They have just now gone over the legal limit on tread and I fitted them a year ago. I've used them on the car a lot, with jut a 2 weeks break when it snowed and I used my other wheels. I did a trackday at Anglesey on them, they were great, not much marbling especially compared to the F1's which marbled badly.

I would say if you like having fun with tail out action etc, dont buy these as to get them slipping you need to be driving very hard on a normal road setting.

They look great. The flat sidewalls give the car a nice profile.

Cons:

They don't inspire in the wet. They do aquaplane more readily than normal tyres.

They can be expensive, though Camskill sometimes do special deals on them.

I felt as if they had too soft sidewalls for my liking, BUT that could be because my AVO's were leaking and giving me a false impression. When I fit my next tyres (AD08's, which have stiff sidewalls) I can comment further on the sidewall stiffness.

Straight line stability is not the best, but again, that may be due to my toe settings and other settings.

Overall:

Excellent tyre for fast road and occasional track day sessions. Not ideal for very wet weather. They look great and perform very well, and wear surprisingly well. Highly recommended.

[Wobba]

Tyre: Yokohama AD08 Advans
Size: 195/50/15
Car Fitted To: Williams 1
Suspension Setup: Brand new KW V2 coilovers with AST adjustable top mounts.
Total Tyre Mileage: 300miles(?)

Opinion:

A track day biased tyre, these are at the moment slightly more expensive than the R1R's I previously ran.

With a new suspension set up, it is hard to compare them straight to the R1R's, but I think I can now safely say they do not give as good overall grip in the dry as my previous Toyo's. What you do get though, is better stability and a more comfortable ride. The other benefit is the wet weather grip, it gives better grip than the R1R tyre, which are not too good in the rain.

The Yoko's have what feels like quite a soft tyre wall, which gives nice feedback, but unfortunately does not sit well with me when pushing hard in bends. I have compensated for this by increasing the tyre pressure to get rid of the rolly-polly effect despite max hardness setting on the dampers (which is too hard for normal crap UK road use imo with the KW's)

The R1R's had a nice look to them, the Yoko's however, they seem to be a bit too soft looking with their rounded edge, and a seemingly higher tyre wall despite being the same size as the R1R's. I had to raise the suspension a lot after fitting them as they ripped chunks out of the front bumper. They also seem to make the rear of the car higher. If I didn't know better, I'd say they are actually 195/55's (not 50's). I don't like the rear looking higher.

They wheelspin a little when I drop the hammer down, which the R1R's didn't do even when below legal tread limit. They squeal more than the R1R's on fast bends. In fact I only ever got the Toyo's to squeal once on the road.

So, overall, they are a good normal use tyre, with probably more grip than a standard road tyre. They give nice feedback and I guess they are a nice compromise for road and fast road styles of driving. Also, it's good to be able to play with the car more when you have less grip. The fact they retain a much nicer wet weather performance is reassuring as well. But for me, they don't quite feel right in the dry no matter what I try. I've had them wash wide in massive understeer twice now when hard on the power, which is not what I want. I won't be buying another set.

[will.i.am.s2]

Tyre: Michelin Pilot Exalto 2
Size: 195/50/15
Car Fitted To: 95' Williams 2
Suspension Setup: Standard
Total Tyre Mileage: 500 miles so far

Opinion: Outstanding grip in the dry and excellent precision in the wet. These tyres are extremely grippy but will allow some slip if you fancy, wet performance is the best i have experienced, very hard to tell the difference between wet and dry grip. aquaplanning is non existant so far. They are quite expensive but you get what you pay for and they are based on WRC technology. Turn in has improved 2 fold over the toyo proxy 4's that came off, which has took some getting used to!

Overall a great good looking tyre which is also extremely quite and has improved the everyday ride no end.

Michelin state a 20-30k tyre life on these tyres, if they do half that il be happy.