Tires Recommendation

[Ekapol]

Hi There,

It's that time of the year again to get a new set of tires. I have -- almost bald -- Toyo T1-R on mine and like them but would like to try something else , if possible, with better combination of performance and thread life.

Currently 225/45-16. I'd like to get them 205/45-16 this time.

Comments are welcome

[rip]

Not a recommendation, but you will be changing the overall wheel diameter. IIRC, you will going back to stock, so it should being the speedo back into check and give you a little acceleration back.

I expect you already knew that though.

[Hasbro]

Ekapol,
T1-Rs have a UTQG of 280 so you are going to be hard pressed to find a true performance tire with better tread life. The T1-R is a compromise but still gives pretty good adhesion, although it doesn't have the stiffest sidewalls for cornering. The 205-45-16s only weigh 19 pounds, which is a plus (although another pound in the sidewalls and it would be a fabulous tire). They were terrific on my Ginetta but that was a 1350 lb. car.
So, what's more important, performance or tread life? If it's performance there are some really good tires that are much cheaper than T1-Rs, which could justify a shorter life.
I can suggest plenty of performance tires but I'm a bit weak in the tread life category.

[Hasbro]

Check these out as an exercise, although there are several other great tires to consider. I would say that the performance #s of the T1-R would be in the low, mid, and upper 8s on the "customer survey data".

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/CompareTi ... artIndex=0

[HIBUTK]

I am leaning towards the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 205/45/16. I Compared on the Tire Rack website. Plan on occasional autocross, maybe track day and street drive! Costco could match TireRacks price, but with a Road Hazard warranty, nitrogen inflation, lifetime flat repair and lifetime balance. And they have a Michelin coupon good for the month of Jan with another $60 off for a set of 4. Haven't placed the order yet, but soon!

[DeeAitch]

I am leaning towards the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 205/45/16. I Compared on the Tire Rack website.

Recently I had to make a quick decision due to 2 punctures on almost worn out tyres. I had run Goodyear F1's (GSD2) for a few years, as these were fitted when I bought the car, but I'd never been really happy with them in the wet.
Did a quick comparison table, with wet performance the top criteria (quite vital in UK:lol: ) and Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 came out tops so I went for it, must say I'm very impressed.
MUCH better in the wet , and no more tram-lining, for which I tried all sorts to cure on the F1's, although the rear -still on F1's - has it's moments
Time for 2 more me thinks.

My table now attached for Ref. Treat/modify as you see fit (Uniroyal came to the party after I bought the Michelin's - on reflection I would still go for them)

[paulrwebster]

Strange that. I had Pirelli Pzero Nero and tramlined badly. Changed to Goodyear F1s and I haven't tramlined since.

[Ekapol]

Michelin Pilot Exalto specs look very good at the moment. I'm a big fan of Costco too.

Thanks all for replying and posting the table. You guys are the greatest.

I might want to switch over to 17"

[tigerdog]

Strange that. I had Pirelli Pzero Nero and tramlined badly. Changed to Goodyear F1s and I haven't tramlined since.

I have Neros on Smaug and get a bit of tramlining, but not nearly so much as my old Honda Prelude with Falken (Ohtsu) Azenis.

[L.G.]

On 17 you're looking at 205/40 R17's. I haven't used any of the tires I'll list but if you want cheap and cheerful tires Kumho Ecsta SPT's may be good. On tirerack Ecsta MX, which is listed as a extreme summer performance tire, is also quite cheap. I actually use Kumho winter tires on another car and have warmed up to the brand.
If price isn't the first criteria to consider I'm dreaming about buying Bridgestone RE-01R's which are available on 16's.

Not a reply full of experience and knowledge but there we are...

L.G.

[nitroman]

Currently 225/45-16. I'd like to get them 205/45-16 this time.

Comments are welcome

Agreed. I've run stock, 215/45-16, 225/45-16, 225/40-16, 225/50-16 (rear)... and none of those are as direct-feeling inline or as sharp on turn-in as the original 205/45-16 size.

[Steve_P]

Recently wore out my Yoko's (A520) so decided to fit the Michelin Pilot Exalto (PE2) following recommendations - the Yoko's are not good once the tread starts to go, I've felt the rear go a few too many times recently

The Michelins don't look very impressive but they certainly grip and ride well (not as harsh as the Yoko's) they somehow feel right for the car - like a comfy pair of boots!! They are not cheap, best price I found locally was £100 each fully fitted twice the price of the Yokos

Definitely a firm recommendation if you are looking for an expensive option

[Ekapol]

I narrowed it down to, may be:

OZ SuperTurismo GT and 205/40ZR-17 Yokohama S.drive XL

#6 on the survey list.






How do you like Yokohama?

[Elanlover]

Ekapol, if you are "downsizing" from the 225's, why not try a set of 215/35 R17's? They are available in the S Drive model.

[tweetdriver63]

I am leaning towards the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 205/45/16. I Compared on the Tire Rack website.

Recently I had to make a quick decision due to 2 punctures on almost worn out tyres. I had run Goodyear F1's (GSD2) for a few years, as these were fitted when I bought the car, but I'd never been really happy with them in the wet.
Did a quick comparison table, with wet performance the top criteria (quite vital in UK:lol: ) and Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 came out tops so I went for it, must say I'm very impressed.
MUCH better in the wet , and no more tram-lining, for which I tried all sorts to cure on the F1's, although the rear -still on F1's - has it's moments
Time for 2 more me thinks.

My table now attached for Ref. Treat/modify as you see fit (Uniroyal came to the party after I bought the Michelin's - on reflection I would still go for them)

I'm going to need new tires before long, so I've started shopping. I'm looking for a good balance of performance and treadlife, and $$, just like most people I suppose. I'm also planning to go up slightly from stock size. I think going with a 215-45ZR16, which adds 0.4 inches to the overall diameter, will help with my speedometer's accuracy (it reads about 10% higher than actual speed based on GPS) while not compromising handling (0.4 inches is about the difference between new tire tread and needs-to-be-replaced tire tread).

I was at tirerack.com, and I'm thinking about Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212's. They're under $100 each, so I can accept a little less treadlife than would be expected with some other, more expensive tires. The tirerack review makes them sound very good for what I'm looking for. The have UTQGs of 200 AA A, so performance should be excellent. I'm not sure how to figure treadlife from the 200 score, but I saw another tire will a 440 score and a 60K mile warranty, so I figure a 200 would equate to about 27.5K miles. The 60K mile tire costs double the hankook's price, so it's kinda like getting a 55K mile tire for the same price. $200 for a 55K mile tire with the expected performance characteristics of the Hankook isn't all that bad.

That's an interesting table. I went to the tyretest.com site you got your data from. I thought the data would be more scientific. It turns out that it's just from surveys of users of the particular tire. The data they have on the Hankooks is only from 4 reviews. One of the 4 surveys for the Hankooks, the guy had firewalled. He put all 1's. I guess he was just very happy with the tires. Another guy didn't like certain things, so he had 1's for the things he liked, and 5's for the things he didn't. It really throws off the numbers when people grade emotionally like that and there is such a small sampling. It makes the data pretty much useless.

[DeeAitch]

Table was made in a big hurry - car was in a public car park with 2 knackered tires One with a side wall puncture, the other with a big effin nail, and not much tread on either.
I had lees than 6 hours to decide, find somewhere local with stock and get them fitted All while pretending to work
I'd run the F1's for 4 years and never been really happy with them in wet conditions. Also quality seemed to vary betwwen German and Thailand samples
I'd read a lot about the Michelins on the Elan, although for years I would not touch them with a barge pole - born of a reputation in the 70's of loads of life, not much grip!
Of course tyre choice will always be subjective. Even if we could arrange a test session with one driver / car (Monty ) and loads of tyres, dry & wet conditions etc some would still prefer certain qualities over others.
All I can say is the Michelins are superb for me - a certain off camber corner I take every day was tip toe on the F1's, very predictable on the Michelins.
Having said that I did look for Hancooks but there were none available locally on the day.
The reason for this was I hired a Mondeo last year which had Hankooks fitted. They were simply awesome in the wet Scotish Highlands. The humble Mondeo cornered, without any fuss or drama, at speeds I would not dream of in the Elan. Maybe now it would be different!
If I had been clever enough to record exactly which Hankooks they were I might have been tempted, although an Elan v Mondeo comparison is not really valid! Naively I thought a Hankook was a Hankook no matter what

[tweetdriver63]

sorry, I meant it the data on the hankooks was pretty useless because of the small sampling, and the 2 out of 4 guys who hadn't been very good reviewers. It would be different for other tires with a bigger sampling, like the Michelins, for example, or something like Kuhmo Ecstas, which probably have a lot more reviews. Obviously, the bigger the sampling, the more valid the data.

[Ekapol]

Ekapol, if you are "downsizing" from the 225's, why not try a set of 215/35 R17's? They are available in the S Drive model.

BTW, the reviews on the site should be taken with a grain of salt.

Some reviewers might have a really large car with totally different handling characteristic than our cars. I look for the reviews from reviewers with smaller japanese cars, may be with FWD, or roadsters, etc.

I'm still in love with my 205/40ZR-17 Yokohama S.drive XL. Very stable, my cornering speed is now much higher too, might have something to do with 17" wheels too.

205/40-17 will maintain the "correct" aspect ratio. 225 is more stable in the straight, too slow getting in and out of the corner, or just break loose if being pushed too hard. I don't think I will go with wider tires for my future purchase.

[tigerdog]

A recent advertisement in AutoWeek listed the Kumho Ecsta SPT (Summer Performance Tyre) as being available in 205/45-16 Z-rated. Discount Tire shows them at $118. Given the current exchange rate, UK Elaners may be interested in knowing they can be mail-ordered from Summit Racing at $105 each.

[nitroman]

Has anyone else noticed newly released top-o-the-line tyres are eschewing anything under 17"? Examples this month alone:

17"-22" Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
17"-22" Hankook Ventus S1 evo
17"-20" Pirelli P Zero

(remember, many times a tyre is completely redesigned yet retains the same name)