Tyre Suggestions

[mr_hollowpoint]

Whilst I'm sure this has been discussed at length here at some point, it's a thread starter.

I'm in need of new tyres this coming week, as my wagon has 'events' on it and scoobys should not be sliding sideways around roundabouts unless you intend them to!

So, bearing in mind I've just forked for a new downpipe, new stereo, cam belt change, oil and plug change and I don't want to be spending a small fortune on tyres that will primarily just be chewed up in motorway driving, but do want the car to handle like it should, what are the SIDC member recommendations for tyres?

[scottishtaffy]

i was sick of the same so bit the bullet and bought a set of goodyear eagle f1s for my ra on recomendation of a friend. brilliant all round tire. tho a bit pricey. got mine for 480. but a big from me for them

[johnmacdonald]

Since 2007, I've been running on Pirelli P-Zero Neros. On my fourth set and can't fault them wet or dry. Not been sideways yet!

[mctwistuk]

I use toyo and not bad price and good in all conditions

[davey l wrx]

We've got Falken FK-452's fitted to both the scoobs. Loads of grip in the dry and the wet, only issue is a bit of road noise but they're priced quite reasonably.

I used black circles for mine I do believe the 452 has been replaced though by the 453 which is supposed to be a better tyre!

[mr_hollowpoint]

All interesting suggestions. I had Pirelli P-Zeros on my GTR and did rate them quite highly, but for roughly the same money I also had Goodyear Eagle F1s on my Supra and they were simply epic! Problem is I can only find the Asymmetric Eagle F1s in my size (215 45 R17) and not the GSD3 with the arrow pattern.

I've never used Toyos but do hear good things. I've got Falken FK-452s on the front of my 300zx at the moment, did have them on the rear as well, until I went over a raised grate coming out of London and gashed the inside of my tyre completely. Now got Cooper ZZ3 I think they're called, which are basically Avons on the rear. I was hoping to still find something around the £80-£90 each mark and black circles is basically listing Hancooks, Avons, Falkens and Toyos around that price, but more around £95 each. I may go for the Coopers all round, as I've been very happy with them on the 300zx rears, but then again I don't drive that very much in the wet, for obvious reasons.

Decisions.......I've been told by some people the new Falken 453s are not as good as the 452s were, never tried Toyos or Hancooks and the Eagle F1 is pretty expensive when it's the Asymmetric one and not the Arrow pattern. Will have to have a think and decide between now and Monday I guess.

[mr_hollowpoint]

Well black circles made the choice for me really, I noticed they've rated each tyre on a scale of A - G for both wet grip and fuel economy. The Toyos have a terrible rating for both, the Avons I have on the 300zx have an A rating for Grip, but a G for fuel economy and the Hankook Ventus V12 has a C rating for both, which is pretty good, all at roughly the same price as the Toyos, Avons and Falkens. Both the Falkens and the Goodyears have terrible noise rating and are more expensive. Considering the Scooby is my daily and most of the tyre wear will be motorway, I wasn't looking to spend hundreds per tyre and I think this works out as a good compromise. The Hankooks also have the best customer rating (5 stars) on the Blackcircles website too.

[mugs]

i have recently changed to Avons and i have found the grip to be really good especially in the wet, very little tyre noise and i haven't noticed any change in fuel economy (or lack of in the case of scoobys )

i can't remember which Avons i have but i will have a look tomorrow.

[sti and]

For me I like the Goodyear eagle F1's for winter. Pretty impressed with these and how much grip they have in all weather. Tyre noise was not really a notable difference considering how loud the car is anyway. Bridgestone Potenza for summer, they are unbelievable just how much Grip they have in the dry.

[ccrien]

Bridgestone potenza RE050 in summer but these are absolutely no good on cold, frosty or snowy roads so Nokian wr a3 winter tyres in winter. Trouble is this winter ( so far) the Nokians seem wasted because of the warm temperatures and they aren't that good on warm damp greasy roads, so the idea of a decent all rounder for winter like Eagle F1s as above, sounds appealing.

Personally I wouldn't take too much notice of the official marked up noise or fuel ratings on new tyres, which will come from some obscure "test bed" type measurement. Might be different if you run a quiet electric car or something that gives 70 mpg and a couple of percent improvement in economy is important to you, but if you're putting them on a Subaru, is a fraction less noise or more fuel efficiency really a factor?

[scottishtaffy]

put it this way, road noise? we drive a subaru so road noise you shouldnt hear over the flat four (unless the tire is fkd and flat ) and economy? we would not have bought a subaru if economy came into it . lol.

[mr_hollowpoint]

To be honest, whilst I see what you're saying, to me, yes both matter. lol

I drive the car every day and mostly on the motorway, the drone of the exhaust is one thing, road noise is something completely different and is something I don't want. Wind Noise is another annoyance. We will address both using FAT MAT sound deadening at some point, which serves numerous purposes, prevents rattles, cuts out road and wind noises and keeps noises inside the car from escaping like the stereo etc. As for fuel economy, I do 50 miles per day and whilst I'm not looking for a cheap car on fuel (I sold a 3.0 BMW that was reasonably fuel efficient to move to the scooby) I do also think that spending wisely on tyres and other things that will eek out some extra MPGs is not a bad idea. It's one thing to accept that the MPG on the car is bad, it's another to just flout it completely when making decisions about things like Tyres, spark plugs, etc.

Whilst I don't really care that the MPG is atrocious, any savings in that area, with the amount of mileage I do every week, has to be a bonus. Whilst I'm aware the car is loud and I will be keeping the De-Cat 3" exhaust my car has, road noise is a horrible sound, which drives me mad. Because the car is used all year round, I need grip all year round, wet grip, dry grip, warm, cold, slimey, etc. So I think all in all, I've chosen the best tyre I can.

[scottishtaffy]

would tires really make that much of a difference tho. i would have thought as long as there correctly inflated then it should be ok. and i see your point on the road noise if you drive it everyday. i have a classic ra so i have no sound proofing at all. but when i was running mine everyday, around a 90 mile comute , i got use to the noise lol

[davey l wrx]

They can Taff. Small changes in the compound can make a huge difference. I noticed less road noise in the hawk when I put the winters on compared to the Falkens I usually run!

[scottishtaffy]

pffffttt lol black round and grippy. job done lol

[mr_hollowpoint]

Yeah tyre compound and tread can both make a massive difference. In one way, the grippier they are the worse they are on efficiency as they create resistance, but then on the other hand, if they're not grippy enough and you get constant slippage, that's wasted energy, which is wasted fuel. The right tyres, with the right inflation can make huge differences in MPG.

Like I said, MPG is far from top of my list, if it was I wouldn't have a scooby at all, but that doesn't mean I'll happily spend the same money, on tyres that will cost me more in fuel and or create more unwanted road noise.

I bought the scooby to enjoy the exhaust noise, not drown it out with the noise of the tyres against tarmac and it's thirsty enough, without knowingly putting inefficient tyres on it. lol

[scottishtaffy]

lol. very true. im not so bad as now ive got my work van my ra is purely a weekend warrior with the od bit of blowing off the locals thru the week lol

[ccrien]

Fair points MR hollowpoint, just let us know what the new tyres turn out like, how good they are on your scoob.

[mr_hollowpoint]

Just thought I should clarify my MPG credentials, lol. This is my current list of cars:

1996 P38 Range Rover 4.0 V8 Auto - Wifes daily

2000 Classic Subaru WRX Wagon 2.0 Turbo - My daily

1991 300zx 3.0 Twin Turbo - First project car (Currently getting a BIG engine build)

1981 280zx 2.8 Turbo - Second project car (Currently getting a FULL restoration including Acid Dip)

MPG is FAR from the most important thing on my list with cars as you can see

[johnmacdonald]

Just a personal opinion, but the Impreza is a high performance machine and the only contact between it and the road is its tyres. Consequently, price (particularly), noise, mpg, wear, etc. shouldn't be deciding factors. Safety is the only consideration.

[mugs]

just to clarify the road noise thing.....when i bought my BBS wheels they wee fitted with fullrun tyres (cheap crap) and although they seemed to grip ok the road noise was horrible. i have a loud(ish) exhaust system and the tyre noise drowned even this out and really gave me headache especially at speed on the motorway!

it sounded like i had a fleet of army landrovers around me....that horrible whirring noise they get from their knobbly tyres.

now i have changed them all i can hear is the lovely burble from the pipe again and no road noise.

[mr_hollowpoint]

Just a personal opinion, but the Impreza is a high performance machine and the only contact between it and the road is its tyres. Consequently, price (particularly), noise, mpg, wear, etc. shouldn't be deciding factors. Safety is the only consideration.

Sorry but I think you're wrong, all of the above, are a consideration. Once you've got past the fact that you're not going to buy budget tyres, you're going to buy a branded, renowned make, you've satisfied the criteria for 'safety' already. You can go further as I did and rule out anything with a wet rating of less than C, but after that, everything comes down to cost, road noise and fuel economy.

Unless, you're stating there is only one particular tyre that is absolutely epic on an impreza and you know exactly what the tyre is and you're willing to pay anything to get it, regardless of whether your MPG goes down to say 10mpg and road noise is produced that will make you industrially deaf?

When the brands available are all tyres used in motor sport, all have a wet rating of C or above on a scale from A to G, all that's left is cost, mpg and road noise to decide on. It's not like the Impreza is an F1 car and you only drive it once a week, on perfect tarmac, with earplugs in and someone else is paying the fuel bill! It's a road car, that is likely to be used in all weathers, for all sorts of journeys and with varying amounts of sound deadening, types of fuel, road surfaces, etc. etc. etc.

[ccrien]

These forums are alive again ! Halleluha!

[mr_hollowpoint]

So the good news is, the Hancooks are awesome and the car no longer slides sideways around roundabouts.....unless I intend it to. The bad news is, it turns out 4 of my wheel nuts were only on finger tight, this is because 3 of them are completely mullered and one of the studs has no threads on it! We did manage to get all but 2 torqued up properly, but I will be ordering a new stud and a set of 16 wheel nuts (have 4 locking ones which are fine) today, but meanwhile driving very cautiously lol.

[scottishtaffy]

nice result then....... apart from the stud issue . lol