Federal 595RS Sport Competition tyres

Nark · Postby **Nark** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:53 am

Drove the car to get the tyres fitted today and I passed a radar trap!!!

Luckily they were pulling someone over so they were looking elsewhere... LOL

CJ5 · Postby **CJ5** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:28 pm

JimmyJ5 wrote:Actually you can....just (including the space saver). This was how i got a full size spare home from Adelaide (the lady i bought it off made me take it even though i said i didn't want it)

hha well there was no way i could fit a 205/45r16 in my boot..

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:39 pm

I travel to almost every meeting carrying a race set of 4 wheels and tyres, whether or not people on this forum say I can't.

Maybe we should get back to the point here. :roll:

Has anyone actually dríven or raced on these tyres, rather than just carried them from point A to point B????

If so, are they any good or not?

If not, how about everyone on the forum gives me $10 and I'll go and buy a set and thrash the crap out of them and tell you all about it?

Nark · Postby **Nark** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:45 pm

Yes and yes.

I'll do a full report once they're scrubbed in and I take them for a caning.

So far, I'm ecstatic.

Nark · Postby **Nark** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:08 pm

Disclaimer: The only tyres I have to compare these with are the Toyo T1Rs that were on my car when I bought it. I don't know the history of those tyres so I don't know what they experienced in their life. My opinion of them is so low that I replaced them before they got down to the wear markers.
So basically, I can't really make any accurate comparisons and therefore, this review is pretty useless.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, this is what I think of the 205/45R16 595RSs after 2 weeks.

Feedback
Very good. The firm sidewalls are heavenly compared to the jello that the T1Rs were made of. Steering is far, far more accurate as there's a much more immediate response when turning in. Grip levels are communicated back very well.
I really, really, really love the firm sidewalls of this tyre.

Ride
I've got them on 36psi currently and the ride is great, far superiour to the T1Rs which would crash and thump at that psi, these are still firm but there's no crashiness to it. Cats eyes and sharp road joins are felt but don't intrude into the cabin.
The tramlining which plagued the T1Rs at 32+psi is gone. Completely.

Grip
Awesome. I always got jealous when I hopped into the RT615-shod Liberty but now I'm happy. The grip is truly astounding.
So good, in fact, that for a while I thought I'd ruined the MX-5 and is the reason why I've waited so long to provide this feedback.
The thing with the MX-5 is the feeling of harmony between each of the components. Not one overpowering the other. Once these came on, the car had too much grip for the car to easily overcome. The only way is to drive harder...

A telling fact is that my fuel consumption has gone from 8.1L/100km to 8.7L/100km due to the need to use more power/revs in order to balance the car with the throttle.
Perhaps if I had firmer suspension (mine is completely stock), they'd work better?

Progressiveness
Exceptional. After the horrendous T1Rs, this was what I was chasing in my next tyre. The fact that the dorifuto crowd love these tyres was a great endorsement in my mind.
These tyres are truly forgiving when grip is overcome and give you plenty of confidence to push harder and harder.

Wet weather
1060kg and 205mm wide tyres with a semi-slick tread pattern was always going to be a recipe for disaster in the rain. But I knew that when I bought these tyres.
Grip is still fantastic, you can drive at close to dry speeds, but you'll often find that the grip disappears all of a sudden. This makes it similar to the on/off T1Rs in the rain. You just need to be aware that the grip may go without much warning.
It hasn't caused me much trouble in the torrential rain that I've dríven in except for one instance going about 70km/h on the inside lane of a 2 lane roundabout and having too much power on as the camber dropped away on the exit. I was crossed up, staring at the concrete divider for a while. LOL

Noise
They're quite a noisy. It actually sounds like a high-pitched version of a spun bearing. Well, I'm hoping it's the tyres and not a bearing...

It's not unbearable IMO, but I've never cared about tyre noise, so this may be quite an issue for some people.

Wear
Unknown, I've only had them for 2 weeks.

So there you have it. I love the tyres, but for street driving they might be a bit too much for an MX-5. It's a good compromise if you track your car often but my car has lost its wonderful adjustability at normal pace. When you're right up it though, they're fantastic.

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:22 pm

one question.

with the RT 615. In the current colder climate, on a dry day, I feel I need to warm up these tyres. I don't trust them until they are at operating temp. It takes 2 or 3 corners to warm them up.

do you feel the grip increasing after a few harder corners with these federals?

or do you feel the need to warm them up before you go real hard?

Adam_NAclubman · Postby **Adam_NAclubman** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:54 pm

I can't even close my boot with a 185/60/14 in there

Mania isn't stocking the 195/50/15 in the RS?

Postby **Okibi** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 4:41 pm

Nark what are they like as you take them to their limit or just beyond?

One thing I like about the ToyoT1S is they don't squeal like a stuck pig and don't attract unwanted attention.

Nark · Postby **Nark** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:15 pm

StanTheMan wrote:one question.

with the RT 615. In the current colder climate, on a dry day, I feel I need to warm up these tyres. I don't trust them until they are at operating temp. It takes 2 or 3 corners to warm them up.

do you feel the grip increasing after a few harder corners with these federals?

or do you feel the need to warm them up before you go real hard?

You do need to warm them up a bit but they're not that bad when cold. Just less grip.

The RT615s on the Liberty can be a bit snappy in very cold temps (Canberra gets pretty cold though). Big understeer followed by snap oversteer.
But I really can't compare because they're on a completely different car.

Okibi wrote:Nark what are they like as you take them to their limit or just beyond?

One thing I like about the ToyoT1S is they don't squeal like a stuck pig and don't attract unwanted attention.

They're awesome. Very forgiving and progressive in the sliding.

I haven't heard them squeal once and I've held a 4 wheel slide at 90km/h. Carried waaay too much momentum into that turn... :oops:

Postby **mx5racing** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 1:10 pm

Has anyone actually dríven or raced on these tyres

We've used a couple of sets of them so far on a NA and NC's at various tracks. For a budget R spec tyre they are pretty good. Wear is excellent and they seem to stay consistent even after many, many heat cycles. One negative - they take a loooooong time to warm up.

Ours have been used at Wakefield, Oran, E/Creek and Bathurst. The longer tracks (Creek/Bathurst) they definitely went \"offâ€, as the tyre was able to cool ever so slightly so this had to be taken into account at the relevant corners.

Braking grip was quite good although you certainly weren't as confident as with a Kumho or Dunlop.

For someone wanting to step up from a \"road\" tyre to a \"competition\" tyre I would highly recommend them. You will be able to do many track days and, as they have good grip progression, allowing you to really build up your confidence with reduced chance of getting bitten. IMHO they are more road than competition but close to being 50/50. Benefits include not as noisy and with fair wet weather grip (on a track). Iâ€™ve not dríven them in the wet on the road but would imagine you need to be a bit careful......

At the price they want for them you really have nothing to lose at least trying a setâ€¦.

corners · Postby **corners** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:29 pm

Has anyone else had experience using these tyres??

Nark · Postby **Nark** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:22 pm

jcs86 wrote:Has anyone else had experience using these tyres??

Yes. Read the thread?

corners · Postby **corners** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:45 pm

Nark wrote:
jcs86 wrote:Has anyone else had experience using these tyres??
Yes. Read the thread?

Yes I have

I was asking has anyone else used these since...?

Nark · Postby **Nark** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:55 pm

Rereading my review above, I thought I'd cover this point.

Nark wrote:So there you have it. I love the tyres, but for street driving they might be a bit too much for an MX-5. It's a good compromise if you track your car often but my car has lost its wonderful adjustability at normal pace. When you're right up it though, they're fantastic.

It took me a little while longer to adjust to the extra grip but once I got used to it, my reservations were gone. They just make a great car even greater. You just have to mentally adjust what you think is possible on a road car. Everything the car used to do is still there, just at a higher speed requiring faster reflexes. But with such fantastic feedback, it's not that much of an issue.