Yokohama S Drive or Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2?

[Giniw]

Hello Everyone,
I am about to buy a full set of 4 new tyres and of course I don't really know what to buy (205/50 R15)
I have heard and read a lot of different advices here and elsewhere but of course it's still hard to choose the "good" one...
As for the budget, I think around 100€ per tyre would be fine.

Here is what I have gathered and considered:
Toyo T1R (79.44€): not too expensive, good grip on the dry but not that good on the wet. Durability seems to be normal (?)
http://www.pneus-online.fr/pneu-auto/TOYO/PROXES,T1R/



Toyo R1R (103.55€): excellent grip on the dry, good grip on the wet, but deteriorates very quick on track days (almost melt? see the picture attached on http://www.japancar.fr/forum/Sujet-Mes- ... pid1145641 though I think it's a R888, but I believe the R1R shares the same compound)
http://www.pneus-online.fr/pneu-auto/TO ... -SLICK%29/



Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (around 100€): Seems good all round, I have read some good reviews on here, too.
http://www.pneus-online.fr/pneu-auto/MI ... XALTO,PE2/



Yokohama S-Drive (99,54€): I have not seen any reviews on here. Any advice? I have read that Yokohama tyres are good but that generally speaking their wear are below the average.
http://www.pneus-online.fr/pneu-auto/YOKOHAMA/S-DRIVE/



According to these data and graphs, the Yokohama seem to be the best general purpose tyre of those four, aren't they?
Have you any experience with these tyres? How do they compare to the Exalto?
Thanks a lot in advance!

PS: An interesting comparison about the tread depth on the T1R, R1R and R888:
http://www.japancar.fr/forum/Sujet-Mes- ... #pid908686

[Giniw]

PS: I have just found the tread wear indices for those four tyres:
T1R : 280 (http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons ... t1r-page-4)
R1R : 140 (!) (http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons ... r1r-page-4)
S-Drive : 300/AA/A (http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/s_drive ; http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=302285)
Exalto : 240 (http://tire-ratings.findthebest.com/l/4 ... Exalto-Pe2)

That would tell us the Yokohama have actually the best durability of the selection ... ! Their only "weakness" would be their noise ...

[dapinky]

If you can get the Michelins for 100 Euro a corner, I'd go with them.

[Giniw]

Indeed, 98.80€ here http://www.planetepneu.fr/michelin-pilo ... d-ete.html
They appear to be not produced anymore by Michelin in this size, so it must be the rest of the stock ...
http://www.michelin.fr/pneus/michelin-pilot-exalto-pe2

You think they are superior to the Yokohama?

[Jeemy]

My research has settled me on the Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric F1 - this is purely for summer driving. They are also about £100 per corner.

My friend has Pilots on his Alpina and I don't like them. Horses for courses and a RWD beamer isn't the same as a Lotus, but thought I would throw that in as I spent a lot of time researching tyres.

[HJ2]

I am very happy with my R1R's !
Havent done a trackday yet, but my mate does. They wear more because the compound is softer. But you get loads of grips in return.
Unfortunately also more pickup on the tracks due to softness and stickyness.

I would by them again in an eyeblink.

Good luck!

[dapinky]

I haven't tried the S Drives, so can;t really comment on them....

......I'm running Michelins on the red car and love the predictable handling that they give (I've had all sorts on there before i got these).

On the blue car I have Michelins on the rear, and Yokohama 008R's on the front - I like that set-up for trackdays.

When they wear out I'm looking to replace with Toyo T1R for road, or R1r for road / track - but if I can find Michelins for the same sort of price I'll definately have them.

[HJ2]

If i Might add: After experiencing the R1R's in the wet on the Zandvoort Track with a friend, i was really impressed.
That helped me to buy a complete set, also for daily use

[redjim]

With reference to Jeemy's tyre choice.
I have Goodyear Eagle F1's on mine at the moment, but they are coming up for renewal.
I wanted to replace them with another set of Eagles but have been told by a couple of suppliers that Goodyear no longer make the Eagle F1's in 205/50/15 size.
If you do find them; please could you post a reply as to where you got them from!
Thanks
Red Jim

[Jeemy]

Hi Jim,

I am on 17" rims. I did a check mine were available, but not on smaller sizes obviously; so if you've been told they are no longer making 15" thats probably the unfortunate case.

Will ask my guy but I would guess that info is going to be the same whoever asks the question.

Best,

Jamie

[tweetdriver63]

For what it's worth, I've been running on BF Goodrich G-Force Super Sport A/S tires for about 4 years. I did a lot of online research (tirerack.com, etc) and talked to a friend who's some kind of autoX god before I bought them. I don't do track days, but for an all-around tire, they have really impressed me on the dry and the wet. I've gotten about 40K miles out of them and am about to replace them (I didn't keep up with rotations and so two of them haven't lasted as long as they might have, because they spent too much time on the front end).

[Don.Hasi]

I have the Yoko s.drive on my VX220. They are just brilliant

[DeeAitch]

My car came with Goodyear eagle F1's, good in the dry, OK in the wet. Had to buy 2 at one point, they were made in Taiwan? as against Germany for the first set I had and they were nowhere near as good.
Changed to Michelin Exalto a few years ago and loved them. Not quite as good in the dry but amazing in the wet, quite important in the UK . Wear rate good as well. Someone on here likened them to an old pair of slippers, sort of sums them up even tho' I do not have any, honest Guv
Needed a new set before Winter set in but Exalto's are no longer available (at least in 16") so ended up with Pilot Sports.
Not as good as the Exalto's IMHO.
Handling and grip are as good, again they are terrific in the wet, but the ride feels a bit harsher, maybe my bones are worn out Wish I could have found new Exalto's
Really depends on what use you put them to but I doubt they would show up well on track.
Trouble is it's quite an investment and if you don't like what you get you are stuck for a few years.

[Giniw]

Thanks a lot =)

As for the Goodyear Eagle F1, I was unable to source them in 205/50 15 in France. It seems that 205/50 15 becomes an odd size nowadays :/

HJ2> Do you happen to know the mileage one can expect from a set of R1R?

dapinky> Thanks for your advice, it's very important to me that the handling is predictable and the grip loss progressive ^^

tweetdriver63> 40K miles!? That's impressive!

Don.Hasi> Would you say the S-Drive are progressive and predictable?

[Giniw]

(Mmmm, it's funny to see that the prices vary a lot. Today the S-Drive is "only" 81.39€ per tyre!? — http://www.pneus-online.fr/pneu-auto-YO ... ,86,V.html)

PS: I have just found the tread wear indices for those four tyres:
T1R : 280 (http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons ... t1r-page-4)
R1R : 140 (!) (http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons ... r1r-page-4)
S-Drive : 300/AA/A (http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/s_drive ; http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=302285)
Exalto : 240 (http://tire-ratings.findthebest.com/l/4 ... Exalto-Pe2)

That would tell us the Yokohama have actually the best durability of the selection ... ! Their only "weakness" would be their noise ...

An interesting database where one can find many UTQG: http://www.forum-auto.com/pole-techniqu ... 385364.htm

[Don.Hasi]

Don.Hasi> Would you say the S-Drive are progressive and predictable?

Definetly yes and yes. I have now the Second Set with together 15.000 km.

[Giniw]

Thanks!
I have just found this comparison: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/tes ... p?ttid=104

[rip]

Thanks!
I have just found this comparison: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/tes ... p?ttid=104

I am looking at options for replacing my T1-Rs, which have done a good job but are reaching the end of their life.
Tyre technology moves forward, so 4½ years on, I am looking to see if I would like to try something different.

I took a look at the above comparisons & am a bit sceptical. They seem to be biased very heavily towards the Michelins.
Tyre performance is very subjective & a good tyre for one car may not be quite as good on another. Even tweaking some suspension settings can suit one more than another.

In the above review, the Michelin's come out on top in just about every category, yet a Seven owner I know quite well tells me that their community discusses tyres at extreme length & the Michelin Pilots are universally known as 'Pile-ups'.
In my experience, tyres offer a compromise of dry grip, wet grip, longevity & price. I have long known that one of Michelin's strong points was their longevity.
According to this review, the tyres cost a similar amount. So they offer better wear, grip & comfort for a similar price? Seems unlikely to me.
I'll keep looking for more information..

[Mikee]

Well I loved my Yokohama 380's, but then they stopped making them , so I switched to Toyo T1R's - just didn't get on with them, especially in damp/wet conditions (span the car).

So now I've moved to Pirelli P zero's and so far so good. I think I'm still rather more cautious after the Toyo incident, but Ive more confidence in the car again now.

The Yokohama wore really well, lasting a long time. Toyo's lasted half as long.