Tyres - What are you running and why?

[Kerry_T-5R]

As the title says:

I am running Yokohama Parada Spec 2's in 215 / 40 / R17. They are reasonably priced and offer outstanding grip in the dry - Not so good in the wet though!

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff190/t4kerry/DSCN3613.jpg

[macca]

Ooh, one of my pet subjects! :D

Well, on the Supra I currently run Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3, 235/40R18 front and 275/35R18 on the rear. I find them very good in dry and wet conditions, and most importantly they are progressive in the wet. I had Bridgestone RE050's on the rear previously and they were as good as the GSD3's in the dry but in the wet they were very quick to break away which didn't make for a fun driving experience.

When I replace the rears (in the next week or two hopefully) I will get slightly smaller 265/35R18 to try and get back some wet grip and I'm going to go for the new Eagle F1 assymetric as it's getting some good reviews and is the flagship replacement for the GSD3.

As for Tasha's Civic Type-R, when the OE Bridgestone's ran out, I got some Toyo T1-R's for it and the damn thing tramlines and tugs like a bitch now. It's made a lot of difference, and can be quite challenging to drive. However, they do grip very well.

And the Mondeo, I've never even heard of the tyres on that! And they're as crap as you'd expect and can't handle all the torque of the TDCi.. Diesel's need half decent tyres on the driven wheels, the sudden torque can make them break traction too easily otherwise.

[lambo-lude]

on the lambo... cheap as poss .. its not a race car ..i think they are called falcon fk452s :blink:... about 60 quid a corner 225 40 18s ..i think ;)

on the silver lude i will be shopping for best so any recomendations :)
195 60 15s i think:p

mildred .. 10 quid a corner :haha:

[Ang]

I can only wish to have any knowledge on tyres and the money to spend out. With too many cars they tend to get me from A to B and that's about it.

I think with the manta it will be a careful consideration after my last outing :( along with abs fitted. So may be asking advice when it comes to sorting those tyres out.

James seems not to be fussed with the tyres as he just throws the cars around regardless of what's on them.

With all the above in mind if anyone wants to post up more info on the differences for thickies like me then it would be helpful. :)

[macca]

To be honest Ang, a lot of it is down to personal preference. Plus not all tyres come in all sizes. The GSD3 Goodyears for example don't come in the smaller sizes as they aim them at the larger wheels.

Mark, I've not tried them but the Falken 452 is supposed to be a good tyre. I know a few of the Supra owners like them a lot, but after lots of bad experiences with their older tyres I won't risk them.

I'm not sure what you'd get in the 15's for your silver car lude but www.camskill.co.uk (http://www.camskill.co.uk) have a good selection and are often one of the cheapest around. Stick to the bigger and more well known manufacturers, and stay away from the really cheap crap. Vredestein, Kuhmo, Marigold or whatever they're called etc.

[AndysR]

On the Orion I used to run Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's in 195/50 R15 V because I asked a friend in the local tyre shop what the best tyres were in his opinion. A big mistake you may think but I thought they were fantastic, never failed to amaze me at the amount of grip a tyre could provide even in the rare occasion when I had to drive the car in wet weather! :cool: Unfortunately Goodyear have dropped the GSD3 in favour of a new tyre which a friend has fitted to his Evo and he rates them highly but the tread doesn't look as good :pah:

When I bought the Volvo it had various ditch finders/budget tyres fitted so they were junked in favour of Pirelli P Zero's the reason for that is because it was the tyre of choice for Volvo when the car was new and I couldn't get Goodyear Eagle's in the size the Volvo requires. :(

Im not sure what I shall run when they wear out because grip seems ok but I am sure there are better and the way I drive the car they seem to be wearing out very quickly so I had better start looking! :innocent:

Kerry, do you get any clearance issues with the larger tyre/lowered suspension combination on yours, not a huge fan of the Yoko tyres but have heard good things about those particular tyres and the tread pattern looks purposeful to say the least. Although I bet they are wearing quickly as I have heard Yoko's are soft?

[macca]

The P Zero's are silly expensive too, big downside especially if you wear them out as quickly as Kerry does!!

I'm suprised the GSD3's didn't come in the right size for the Volvo.

They do still seem to be producing the GSD3 at the moment, not sure if they will continue or not but there was a big shortage of them in the autumn. I managed to get a front pair for my car quite easily.

I've heard the same as your friends experience with the Assymetrics, very good tyre. But if you're a tread snob, then they're not for you :D

[AndysR]

But if you're a tread snob, then they're not for you :D


Got me down to a tee then! :blink: :p

I take great hate to cheap tyres fitted on high performance cars and I see that alot!!! Tyres worn through to the cord's is also something I see alot through work! :no:

Tbh when I checked there wasn't alot available in the 205/45/ZR 17 that the Volvo has fitted which is why I am contemplating increasing the cross section to 215 like Kerry has provided it causes no major issues. Then I may be spoilt for choice in tyres ;)

[macca]

Lol..

I totally agree, makes me very angry as it's the only contact you have with the road. To be honest, I like to have at least half-decent ones on just my mundane cars as it can and does make the difference when it matters.

Some of the Supra owners will happilly run Falken 452's on 3-350bhp cars. I know they're supposed to be a big improvement on the old models but I don't see them being capable of controlling all that power. Just my opinion though, I haven't got enough money to buy a set just to see.

[AndysR]

Lol..

I totally agree, makes me very angry as it's the only contact you have with the road. To be honest, I like to have at least half-decent ones on just my mundane cars as it can and does make the difference when it matters.

Some of the Supra owners will happilly run Falken 452's on 3-350bhp cars. I know they're supposed to be a big improvement on the old models but I don't see them being capable of controlling all that power. Just my opinion though, I haven't got enough money to buy a set just to see.

Tell me about it and another thing that gets my goat...

Spacesavers!

Whats the point no one adhears to the speed limit of the tyre, I had an 08 plate Focus ST over take me on the way to work the other day he had one fitted to the front n/s and he must have been doing 90 mph! A Civic Type R on an 03 plate has had one fitted for at least 3 weeks now in my area not bad for a temporary tyre! :no:

You can tell I am Volvo owner I moan like an old man! :not:

[macca]

You'll fit in well :)

I hate spacesavers, got one on the Mondeo at the moment as I buckled an alloy hitting a pot hole in the lanes and can't find a replacement. It's impossible to drive, just pulls to the left all the time so it's left at home.

Had to put one on the rear of the Supra once to get home from about half mile away, and it nearly killed me! Came off a roundabout slowly and gently, in the dry and it just threw the back end out. Looked funny with one 275 width and one bicycle tyre!! :D

[AndysR]

A space saver fitted to the rear of a powerful rear wheel drive car?

Sod that!! lol:haha:

[macca]

Where's your sense of adventure?! :alex:

[AndysR]

Where's your sense of adventure?! :alex:

In the boot with your space saver! :p :D

[macca]

Lol!

[Tricky-Ricky]

Lol..

I totally agree, makes me very angry as it's the only contact you have with the road. To be honest, I like to have at least half-decent ones on just my mundane cars as it can and does make the difference when it matters.

Some of the Supra owners will happilly run Falken 452's on 3-350bhp cars. I know they're supposed to be a big improvement on the old models but I don't see them being capable of controlling all that power. Just my opinion though, I haven't got enough money to buy a set just to see.


Wash your mouth out young Mark:no: I've said it before and I'll say it again, having run Falken 451s on both my 350BHP S14 and my singled Supra which has 452s on the front and 451s on the rear, i have no worries about grip, wet or dry, the only time i have had bad grip, (except when i have deliberately tried otherwise;)) is from hitting 3" of standing water on the motorway, and even then it was controllable.
I haven't quite worked out if people who don't have any faith in Falkens, either use them past there best, or have badly setup alignment, or cant drive:p

[macca]

Lol.. Sorry Dick! :whistle:

I can't remember the model I used before, it was on one of my GT4's and they bordered on dangerous for 250bhp in 4wd. Just not good. It was their top model at the time but probably 6-7 years ago.

My GSD3's don't get grip on the Supra at the moment, especially in the wet but I'm pretty sure the garage it last went to didn't set the geometry properly. I know the front is all to shot as it wears out the front tyres in a very strange patterm, so I expect the rear to be just as bad.

I either want to get it on the one at work or take it up to WIM to get it properly done.

[Tricky-Ricky]

I don't seem to have any traction problems even with my single, and i can get the Supras lardy ass around some of the corners leading to Udimore at over 70 without any tyre scream or drama.
So the conclusion to this could be that my Supra is slow, or i'm a crap driver:innocent::blink:

[macca]

Maybe I'm pushing mine too hard when I shouldn't be pushing too hard, but in the damp she'll easily spin the rears in a straight line when accelerating hard in 3rd gear. As soon as the 2nd tubby kicks in.. It wasn't that bad last summer, I know there is still 4mm of tread on the insides of the rears but the tyres seem to have 'gone off' over the winter and with less use. It's never been amazing for traction since I put 18's on it though.

It is more straight lines I have the problem though, I can still hustle her through the corners at a fair old speed..

[Kerry_T-5R]

The new Falkens are supposed to be much better - the gutter sliding / ditch finders were the ZE502's which used to be their low profile performance tyre.

850_Turbo_Brick has some old 502's on the front of his T5 temporarily and they understeer quite a lot!

[macca]

Might explain it then. I know they were bloody awful.

[lambo-lude]

i had rainsport 1 on my swift and the grip was fantastic :)
i used to love the yoko a520s ...wore down so quick though