What Tyres? Advice Needed Cheers

[marko72]

Hi all.

Need some tyre advice. Getting new wheels and tyres this fri. A well known centrally based supplier is fitting them for me.

I have been given a price for budget tyres which TBH suits my, ahem, budget. These would be something like Enduro??? never heard of these or Kumho. For £85 more I get Falkens, then for £150 on top of that, thats £235 more than than the budgets I get p zero rossos. Toyos were mentioned as I fancied them but the supplier said the zeros would be a better tyre as there has been two price hikes on the T1r's this year so far.

So do I stick with the kumhos and enjoy the saving, the supplier said I would get more miles out of these also, or go mid price Falkens, anyone using these, or stump up for the best.

Im thinking mid price or budget TBH, cos Im a no good cheap son ova......no, its just the price for the zeros or toyos is just alot.

But I guess you get what you pay for etc so any input is most welcome

Cheers folks.

[jamesm]

What size of tyres are you looking for?

I'd be wary of budget brands. Had Federals on it when I bought it. Awful. Been running Avons on it for the last three years. Really good to begin with but as the wear went on, they killed the handling of the car. Just picked up some Goodyear Eagle F1s and they have transformed the car. And at £80 a pop from Camskill, you canny whack it (17 inch).

I run all sorts of bargain basement tyres on my daily runner (Corolla). From Barums to Regals and Tigars. Most are a bit ropey at best but, the Star Performers I currently have on are the worst tyre I have ever used by a long long way.

Enduro I think are at the bargain basement level and I'd avoid. Got a mate who runs Kumhos on his GT4 and seems to like them.

[wrxmania]

Never scrimp on tyres - it's your only contact with the tarmac and, if you are heading the wrong way fast, you'll wish you'd spent the money!

Save the money somewhere else I reckon.

Brian

[kebab nemesis]

Get the best you can afford, personally I would opt for the goodyear f1 assymetrics they stick like poo to a blanket

[boab type ra]

Been running falkens on my ra and put them on ma bro`s wr1 and can`t complain.

[rig-pig]

remember kumho make race tyres

[scouk]

As WRXMANIA said.. It's your ONLY point of contact with the road so is vital! as such buying the best you can afford is good advice..

Goodyear Asymetric's seem to be one of the best at the moment! I've got a set of Toyo T1-r's to go on for the summer. Never tried them before and heard they are quite slippy to begin with but get very grippy as they wear down. Got a good deal on them, but will seriously consider the Asymettrics once the Toyo's burn out

Pirelli's seem to be hit and miss.. Some seem really good others just lethal in anythign other than dry warm tarmac..

I'm currently running Bridgestone RE050's (as reccomended by Subaru for the Impreza) Can't really failt them TBH good performance all roudn (except snow) and are not as expensive as the big boys. Vredesteins are supposed to be decent tyres for low cost too.. Not sure I'd trust "budget" tyres though.. When I first got my scoob it has cheapos on it and, it really felt bad..Didn't feel right at all and was shifting all over the place without trying.. Fresh set of good rubber all round made such a difference.. DOn't mind putting cheap tyres on another basic car but the Impreza should really have decent shoes..

What size of tyres are you looking at?

[sczscoob]

I can't seem to look past Toyo T1R's myself. I had them on the Wagon, i've put them on my Mcrae & i've also just put T1R's on the front of the Focus it's wee bit of overkill on the Focus but the difference is night & day.

Up to yourself but i don't think i'd scrimp on the tyres.

Edited March 16, 2010 by sczscoob

[rig-pig]

Vredesteins are a good tyre m8

[dipsy]

Got toyo T1r's on the Sti good tyre's.It was just trying to get the tyre pressures right after coming from the RE070 with the stiff tyre wall

[kennyuk300]

Got p zero rosso's on mine at the moment,was a passenger in Badbaz's car going to Msport now that car was like glue on the roads .Made my mind up for my next .

Kenny

[scouk]

Got toyo T1r's on the Sti good tyre's.It was just trying to get the tyre pressures right after coming from the RE070 with the stiff tyre wall

Just out of interest, what pressures were you using on both?

Have been running 32F and 34R on the Bridgestones which feels right.. DOn't like them any lower than that and I heard the sidwalls ont eh TOyo's are more squishy, despite claiming to be re-enfornced

[dipsy]

Just out of interest, what pressures were you using on both?

Have been running 32F and 34R on the Bridgestones which feels right.. DOn't like them any lower than that and I heard the sidwalls ont eh TOyo's are more squishy, despite claiming to be re-enfornced

34F 30R TOYO'S RE070 32F 28R

Edited March 16, 2010 by Dipsy

[scouk]

34F 30R TOYO'S RE070 32F 28R

Interesting......

Thanks!

[marko72]

Hi fellas.

Thanks for the replies. It will be 18s that are going on. Bridgestone Potenzas on the car at the moment.

The budget tyres will be avoided. I will call them tomorrow and scope out the suggestions you have made.

[Wee Jock]

Just put a full set of Toyos on my 07 STi, been running with the Toyos since 2005 cant see past them.

Give Davey Stuart a call in Dumbarton, tyres were £98 a pop.

01389 764449| Dumbarton Service Station, Townend Road, Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire G82 2RB

[Richie Cross]

Another vote for the F1 Asymmetric from me.

Car came with Pirelli P6000's which were great......for putting the back out even if it

looked like raining!!

Really happy with the Goodyear's.

http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/reposit..._F1AS/index.jsp

What wheels are you getting with the tyres?

[scooby222]

as others have said tyres affect everything on the car,acceleration,braking and handling so get the best you cant afford lol

tyres ive had on scoobs in order of preference

goodyear eagles f1's-far and away the best,so good we even put them on the works astra van and transformed the handling!

toyo t1r's

bridgestone re070 thingys-surprisingly good in the wet considering the tread pattern

kumho ecsta's surprisingly capable but still changed them to toyo's as soon as i had the pennies

pirelli p zero's -hugely dissapointing in the wet and not great in the dry either

falken fk something or others -on the car when i bought it and so bad i almost sold the car as it handled so badly

[C_WRX]

Glad you have decided not to go the budget route, your car has a decent bit of power and as said tyres are your contact to the road, not something to scrimp on.

However, there is good choice on what decent tyre to go for so shop about if you can and don't be afraid to haggle a little even with the bigger retailers.

I used blackcircle last week, order on line and can have the tyres delivered to a local garage (found on their website) who fit it for a pre-paid price. I chose not to pay for fitment as had alternative excellent source for doing that. Maybe just be sure trust them to fit and not someone that'll mark your alloys ! Tyres arrived next day.

Price e.g. (approx for 4, size 225/40/18, fitted):

Toyo TR-1 - £400

Yoko Parada - £440 (I have these, good in dry not sure fully trust in wet)

GYear Eagle F1 - £510

...and so on, can check out yourself if interested.

[Wee Jock]

Prodrive recommend 33psi front & 31 rear, was told by Barrats Subaru Motorsport in Canterbury many years ago to run 33fr & 32rr so not far out!

Usually swap my front wheels to the back and vice-versa every 6 months as this helps even the wear out!

[StrikE]

Buy Falken FK 452 tyres if you really want to die, pisspoor tyre at best

F1 are the way to go

[marko72]

It will be F1s or T1rs I reckons. Gettin prices and that tmw.

Thanks for the input amigos

[johns]

I have tried numerous different tyres on my Imprezas over ther past 13 years.

The best for warm dry roads have been the Bridgestone RE-070s, but these are a complete nightmare on snow or cold/wet or frosty conditions, esepcially on uneven raod surfaces.

Goodyear F1s are great in the wet, but their softer sidewalls don't give the same level of confidence when psuhing on in the dry - they have a tendency to feel a bit spongy though you do start to get used to them after a few hundred miles.

I've had a couple of sets of Toyos, and found them to be great in the wet when new, but not nearly so good as others (F1, Bridgestone S-02) when part worn. I also had one set of 4, two of which had very soft sidewalls which were replaced free of charge.

Overall, the best compromise tyre I've had so far has been the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. Probably 90-95% as good as the RE-070s in the dry, 95% as good as the F1s in the wet, good ride quality and relatively low levels tyre noise compared to the others. Reasonable levels of wear (I've done about 14k on my current set swapped every 6 months front to rear), and will probably get another few K out of them once I swap them back on in place of my winter tyres. The only downside is that they are more expensive than some of the others, but they are a great overall tyre.

John

[steveairdrie]

camskill are doing the toyos T1r's for £80

[scoobywho]

I agree with rig-pig try cooper bros for the vredstein sessanta they are absolutely amazing