Tyres shortlist, opinions from those who've used them?

[hks_kansei]

ok, I noticed today that my front tyres are pretty much dead, especially on the outer shoulder.

so apart from the obvious alignment issue, it looks like I'll be needing new tyres in the near future.

anyway, I don't have the budget for the super expensive tyres, so I've already discounted the Michelins and Goodyears. (although there's a few I'm not sure on price as I haven't got quotes yet)

my requirements are a decent fairly grippy tyre, but also to wear quite well since the majority of my driving is normal around town stuff.

the size I'm looking for is preferably 205/50/15

my shortlist so far is:
Toyo Proxes 4 - UTQG 300
Toyo T1R - UTQG 280
Kumho KU31 - UTQG 320
Bridgestone RE001 - UTQG 200
Yokohama S Drive - UTQG 300

has anybody used any of the above, and what are your thoughts?

grip? life? wet weather grip?

I've used the Proxes4 on my Mondeo (215/45/17) and found them to be a great tyre, esp for the price.
I've also used the Bridgestone RE001 on the Mex, but it was an old set that I picked up cheap (had gone a bit hard) and while great in the dry, they were dangerous in the wet.



so far my preferences are the Proxes 4, and the KU31.
I've heard good things about the KU31, but not in regard to the MX5, so interested to hear thoughts on all of the tyres.

bear in mind, anything is an upgrade from my million year old Federal 535s (they are an appallingly sh*t tyre)

[BadBong]

Hey mate, I'm thinking of trying out the KU31s as well as my initial set of Toyo Proxes 4s are down to its last legs.

I have them in 205/45/16 config and i have to say the Toyo are the most durable tyres i've used by far with that kind of grip. I've got almost 45,000kms with them. I do look after them on the road but i do abuse them from time to time on spirited runs.... but 45,000kms going to be hard to beat.

When i called the tyre shop, the guy said that i should aim for 30,000kms with the KU31s so it better be at least 50% more grippy to make it cost effective!

[lee]

Ask Ben Sale in regards to the KU31s. He seems to hold them in high regard

[and1]

Should add Hankook RS-2s to that list. Awesome tyre.

[de Bounce]

There have been lots of discussions/threads on the RE001's over the time.
Biggest issue with them has been where they were manufactured and the respective performance (comparing apples with apples).
The Australian manufactured ones were not the greatest in the wet, the Japanese ones were and both worked well on the track. With the Australian factory closing, they are now made off shore (Taiwan?)
It will be interesting as the feedback comes in as to how they perform from the new factory.

I have the Japanese version in 205/45x16 and will be replacing them with another set of the same.
I have had no issue with them either wet, dry or on the track.
No idea on durability as I change sets frequently and my usage is a little unusual

[jerrah]

When I bought my car it had 16" Falkens on it which were rubbish.

I use 195/50/15 RE001's on my car now. Previous tyre was Yokohama A048 semi slicks.

As a comparison from the semi's to my current Australian made RE001's:

Dry traction: Reduced but they warm up quicker. Grip well at the track but can't be thrown around like the semi's.
Wet traction: Greatly increased. Much more secure in the wet, I've never felt any doubt nor have they ever given me reason to doubt the ability of the RE001's in wet weather.
Noise: Greatly reduced - but we're talking compared to semi's here...

NB: RE001's are the first new tyres I've had in years on any car that weren't semi's (R888's or A048's).

[Charlie Brown]

Toyo T1R’s cost around the same as the Michelin Pilot Sport 3, so I’m not sure how they made your list? They have a soft side wall and lasted 38,000 kilometres on my NC with only one track day.

OEM Michelin Pilots lasted 31,000 kilometres with about 6 track days, so would have gone over 40,000 klms under normal driving. Dry & wet weather grip was exceptional.

You say you don’t want to go to the high end range of tyres but that could be false economy. High end tyres have superior braking grip and could save you an expensive repair job should you make a mistake while driving. It’s far cheaper to pay an extra $200 for the tyres than $600 in excess and an increase in insurance policy cost the following year(s).

[-alex]

Hi Nick, I've used every tyre on your list with the exception of the Yokohama S drive.

The Toyos do have quite good wear rates but grip levels drop off quite severely when they do wear. Both Toyos also have quite soft side walls. The T1Rs had quite good grip when new but became borderline dangerous when they wore out, so much so that I replaced them when they still had legal tread on them. The proxes 4's that I had I bought 2nd hand about 50% tread left (although only a year from manufacture date) so while I cant be definitive about them I observed them same wear traits only that they had even less grip when they went off, particularly in the rain.

The re001s are quite a good dry weather tyre, of the ones on your list they had the most dry grip... However mine were Australian made and had terrible wet grip with very little feedback. I used them on the track twice, they worked quite well at the dry track day considering the price but were a bit scary in the rain with very little grip (although under brakes they weren't bad)... I also found they had a lot of tread squirm when they were new and a bit of sidewall flex (although the re001s were 14s and the other tyres were all 16s). The re001s actually replaced a set of Yokohama A539s (replaced by the C and S drive) which were a really, really nice tyre and a very good all rounder with good drip and reasonably stiff sidewalls.

The Kumho KU31s are my pick, they have good dry grip and are phenominal in wet weather. They definetly aren't a track tyre (I have a 2nd set of wheels with Dunlop DZZ1 star specs for that) but are in my opinion a great all rounder road tyre which have almost as much grip as the re001s and far superior wet weather ability.

I paid $140 for my KU31s in 205/45/16... I also bought a set for my mums Peugeot 206 gti in 195/50/15 and paid about $100ea.

[project.r.racing]

The Kumho KU31s are my pick, they have good dry grip and are phenominal in wet weather. They definetly aren't a track tyre (I have a 2nd set of wheels with Dunlop DZZ1 star specs for that) but are in my opinion a great all rounder road tyre which have almost as much grip as the re001s and far superior wet weather ability.

+1, the others are all over-rated for the price they cost.

[rhythmstick]

After reading this, I've just ordered some! Can't wait to get rid of my Maxxis MA-V1 that came with the care. They are noisy, and positively dangerous in the wet.

[jerrah]

+1, the others are all over-rated for the price they cost.

My last set of RE001's cost me $120ea fitted??

I'm seriously wondering if I should wait for some seriously dodgy weather and offer drives in my MX5 to people who've had bad experiences with RE001's. I just don't have a problem in the wet.

EDIT: (or I'm a driving god, but I hardly think that's likely)

[hks_kansei]

Toyo T1R’s cost around the same as the Michelin Pilot Sport 3, so I’m not sure how they made your list?

easy, I wasn't sure on their price. Never expected them to be even close to the Michelin price.

as for the high end tyre vs cost, I'm aware of what I'll be giving up for price, but the way I look at it is while an expensive tyre may be say 60% more expensive than a cheap one, yet it may not provide 60% more grip or life.
therefore, it's not worth it to me.

any tyre is going to be a compromise between cost, grip and life.
personally I prefer to pay a little bit less for tyres and be able to afford to replace them more often.




Alex, I'm glad to hear you've used most of them. your views on the Proxes are similar to mine (I had them on my Mondeo) they were brilliant when new, but as they got older they got very slippery.


out of all of them it looks like I might give the KU31 a go, it seems to be a good tyre from what I've heard, and also seems good value.

[hks_kansei]

also, thank you all very much.

[Steampunk]

what's UTQG?
Out of KU31 and RE001, my preference is RE001 if cost wasn't an issue, but if it was, the KU31 wins.
KU31 had better wet-grip, very stable through puddles at speed.
Both tyres fared very similar when they came down to minimal tread depth, perhaps the RE001 a little better.
Tyre wear is better on RE001 only because the tread on the shoulder of KU31 is, in my opinion, disproportinate to the rest of the tyre, ie. when they got down to below legal depth, the rest of the tyre still had plenty left. This is solved by rotating front-back to even things out.

I've heard the T1R have great all-weather grip at the expense of wear as they apparently have a soft-ish compound. They heat up really quickly and get squirly after only a couple of laps round the track.

[project.r.racing]

UTQG Ratings for Passenger Car Tyres

Many drivers may have noticed markings on the sidewalls of their tyres which list the following parameters, accompanied by ratings: Treadwear, Traction & Temperature. These are UTQG Ratings. UTQG is an acronym for Uniform Tyre Quality Grading System. All passenger tyres sold in the U.S.A. (this includes RV tyres) must have these ratings marked on the sidewall, excepting tyres with a rim diameters of 12" or less, deep tread snow tyres, & temporary spare tyres.

Only passenger car tyres sold in the U.S.A. market are required to have UTQG markings. For this reason, not all passenger car tyres sold in Australia have markings which show UTQG Ratings.

UTQG Ratings indicate relative performance for passenger tyres for the parameters of treadwear, traction & temperature. The following information explains how a tyre achieves each of these ratings.
Treadwear - This is a comparative rating based on the wear rate of the tyre tested under controlled conditions on a specified government test course. The defined "standard tyre" has a rating of 100. Gradings are in multiples of 20. The treadwear rate of all test tyres is compared to that of the "standard" tyre.

Test Procedure - A group of not more than four vehicles fitted with the test tyres travel the specified test course in convoy. Tread depths are measured each 800 miles. The tyres are run for a total of 7,200 miles. The specified test course covers 400 miles of public roads. The tread depth measurements for each vehicle are averaged to give a projected wear-out life. A treadwear rating of 200 indicates the tread wear rate of the test tyre was half that of the standard tyre.

Application of Test Results - The results for treadwear using the test conditions described above will directly reflect these test conditions. The actual conditions in which tyres are used will nearly always vary greatly from those used in the UTQG test, therefore so will treadwear rates. Factors such as the road surface type, tyre inflation pressure, vehicle wheel alignment, driving habits, & road surface temperatures will all affect treadwear rates in actual using conditions.

Traction - This rating grades wet braking traction measured under controlled conditions on specified government test surfaces of wet concrete & asphalt. There are four grades for traction: AA being the highest, down to A, B & C. All tyres must reach the level represented by a "C" rating to be sold in the U.S.A.

Test Procedure - Test tyres are mounted on wheels & inflated to 24psi (165kpa). These wheel / tyre assemblies are then fitted to the test (instrumented) trailer. Each tyre is loaded to 492kg (1,085lbs). The test trailer is towed over the wet concrete & asphalt surfaces at a speed of 65kph (40mph). Water depth is the same for each test. The trailer brakes are locked-on as the trailer reaches the wet section of the skid-pavement. The tires are dragged in this condition, the friction generated is measured. This test is done on the concrete & the asphalt surface. Twenty measurements are taken on each surface, these results are averaged to give a final result. Tyres are given a grading based on the friction they generate during the above test.
Application of Test Results - The tests for traction measure wet braking traction only, not straight ahead acceleration traction. The ratings achieved in these tests do not relate to cornering traction or peak-grip values like those achieved during non-skid braking tests. This is due to the fact that UTQG traction testing is done with no cornering forces & with the brakes on the test trailer locked-on.

Temperature - This rating grades a tyres ability to dissipate heat when tested under controlled conditions on a specified indoor laboratory test wheel. The are three grades for temperature, which is the same as for traction minus the "AA" rating.

Test Procedure - Test tyres are mounted on wheels at the maximum rated inflation pressure for that tyre. The tyre is run on the pulley wheel at the maximum rated loading. Successive thirty minute runs are made in 5mph increments, with the initial running speed being 75mph. This procedure is repeated until the tyre fails.

Application of Test Results - Speed is the only variable in this test. In actual using conditions, road camber, wheel alignment & vehicle dynamics are a few more factors that will also affect how much heat a tyre will need to dissipate. A tyre's speed rating is a much more specific way of expressing its ability to dissipate heat compared to its UTQG temperature rating.