Uniroyal Rainsport 3 -Verdict?
Discussion
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well I have just ordered a new set so it hasn't put me off!
However, I was in my wife's Qashqai today and I thought it was falling apart until I realised the appalling hum/roar was the tyres
It is on Uniroyal RainExpert SUV. The fronts are part worn, one on 3-4mm, one little more due to an unexpected puncture. It really is awful. Might end up changing them for something else...
My wife's Fabia is on Rain Experts. They are not noticeably noisy. Maybe the SUV version is dfferent? ...and not on 14" runs.However, I was in my wife's Qashqai today and I thought it was falling apart until I realised the appalling hum/roar was the tyres
It is on Uniroyal RainExpert SUV. The fronts are part worn, one on 3-4mm, one little more due to an unexpected puncture. It really is awful. Might end up changing them for something else...Holy Thread Revival Batman (just in time for the movie :P )
Hello I am new here, been a lurker for years, I have not really engaged in forums in the past 10 years as I lost the drive for debates (excuse the pun haha) in my old age.
Anyway..
Horses for courses eh?
Don't Compare Apples with Oranges.
Reading some of these excessive wear comments is quite funny. It is like people who purchase a cheap performance car and moan about poor mpg....
Before you all fire up your battle keyboards for a war haha, let me give my opinion on these RS3's..
They are a soft compound, hence they will wear quickly.
Wear is dependent on a lot of variable factors, mechanical/human and local road conditions.
There is no magic piece of rubber that will tick every box that you demand on public roads in all conditions. Its that simple, it will never happen.
You need to compromise in one department to exceed in another. Choose your trade off and understand your choice, then review your tire choice based on that.
I currently drive a standard BMW 123D M Sport Front 225/40/18 Y - Rear 245/35/18 Y that had Continental Contact Sport 3's on it, they had about 50% wear on them. They were solid on the road, abit harsh over road imperfections but a decent tire all the same. But there is always a but, I was losing traction while accelerating (always have all the traction control on DTS/DTC etc). In the dry in low gears I would light up the rear with only 60% throttle if the car was not dead center/off angle this would be reduced to 30% in the wet/damp/greasy conditions.
I replaced these at this point with Uniroyal Rain Sport 3's XL ( I had RS'2 on a 360BHP STI previously 40/60 differential bias split) which preformed great considering the price, so after pricing around different brands for the 123D the RS3 came in less than 50% of the price of premium brands... so I took a chance and bought 4 of them.
For the price point, the RS3 have exceeded my expectations, I am still waiting for them to go off.... but they keep on biting. Yes they are progressively wearing but that is the trade off I expect for control and grip when conditions and environment is not ideal for your talent!! Gone is my hesitation of pulling off a junction to join traffic quickly on a high speed road with out the fear I have to apply opposite lock and look like a young hooligan :O The grip is there, and so is now my confidence again.
How many of you running the RS3 have had a close call and these cheap ass rubber saved your blushes? Il admit, they saved mine on a few occasions under abrupt hard breaking, and this is the great selling point of this rubber, excellent grip in wet and dry at an affordable price.
I have run many premium brand/models over the years on various performance cars, and yes some have been fantastic, better than the RS3's in various areas etc, but at more than double the price, I would expect that.
Soft side wall, aye even in the XL there is some flex, you can feel the car over extend the center point of the Tyre in relation to the wheel at times when pushing on and changing direction rapidly. In saying that, turn in on the 123D is better than the Conti's. Again if your going 'racing' or are a very aggressive driver, I would look at what you want from a tire and see what boxes you need to tick and in what conditions etc before buying.
Please, dont rate these on track days! if your serious about a track day, bring your track pads, a change of oil/filter and TRACK TIRES!!
For an everyday road tire, that can grip under hard acceleration/braking in varying weather conditions on challenging road surfaces, the RS3's are worth every penny IMO.
Let the flaming begin haha
Hello I am new here, been a lurker for years, I have not really engaged in forums in the past 10 years as I lost the drive for debates (excuse the pun haha) in my old age.
Anyway..
Horses for courses eh?
Don't Compare Apples with Oranges.
Reading some of these excessive wear comments is quite funny. It is like people who purchase a cheap performance car and moan about poor mpg....
Before you all fire up your battle keyboards for a war haha, let me give my opinion on these RS3's..
They are a soft compound, hence they will wear quickly.
Wear is dependent on a lot of variable factors, mechanical/human and local road conditions.
There is no magic piece of rubber that will tick every box that you demand on public roads in all conditions. Its that simple, it will never happen.
You need to compromise in one department to exceed in another. Choose your trade off and understand your choice, then review your tire choice based on that.
I currently drive a standard BMW 123D M Sport Front 225/40/18 Y - Rear 245/35/18 Y that had Continental Contact Sport 3's on it, they had about 50% wear on them. They were solid on the road, abit harsh over road imperfections but a decent tire all the same. But there is always a but, I was losing traction while accelerating (always have all the traction control on DTS/DTC etc). In the dry in low gears I would light up the rear with only 60% throttle if the car was not dead center/off angle this would be reduced to 30% in the wet/damp/greasy conditions.
I replaced these at this point with Uniroyal Rain Sport 3's XL ( I had RS'2 on a 360BHP STI previously 40/60 differential bias split) which preformed great considering the price, so after pricing around different brands for the 123D the RS3 came in less than 50% of the price of premium brands... so I took a chance and bought 4 of them.
For the price point, the RS3 have exceeded my expectations, I am still waiting for them to go off.... but they keep on biting. Yes they are progressively wearing but that is the trade off I expect for control and grip when conditions and environment is not ideal for your talent!! Gone is my hesitation of pulling off a junction to join traffic quickly on a high speed road with out the fear I have to apply opposite lock and look like a young hooligan :O The grip is there, and so is now my confidence again.
How many of you running the RS3 have had a close call and these cheap ass rubber saved your blushes? Il admit, they saved mine on a few occasions under abrupt hard breaking, and this is the great selling point of this rubber, excellent grip in wet and dry at an affordable price.
I have run many premium brand/models over the years on various performance cars, and yes some have been fantastic, better than the RS3's in various areas etc, but at more than double the price, I would expect that.
Soft side wall, aye even in the XL there is some flex, you can feel the car over extend the center point of the Tyre in relation to the wheel at times when pushing on and changing direction rapidly. In saying that, turn in on the 123D is better than the Conti's. Again if your going 'racing' or are a very aggressive driver, I would look at what you want from a tire and see what boxes you need to tick and in what conditions etc before buying.
Please, dont rate these on track days! if your serious about a track day, bring your track pads, a change of oil/filter and TRACK TIRES!!
For an everyday road tire, that can grip under hard acceleration/braking in varying weather conditions on challenging road surfaces, the RS3's are worth every penny IMO.
Let the flaming begin haha
A mate uses them as a wet tyres when he's racing. The first time he used them he was that far ahead some of the other competitors went to the marshalls to get them to check what tyres he was using.
I run them on my shed and have no complaints, the older pair have been on 27k now with 4-5mm left.
(I have 888s on the track car for wet and dry, sold my spare set of "wet" wheels)
I run them on my shed and have no complaints, the older pair have been on 27k now with 4-5mm left.
(I have 888s on the track car for wet and dry, sold my spare set of "wet" wheels)
DMWI said:
Please, dont rate these on track days! if your serious about a track day, bring your track pads, a change of oil/filter and TRACK TIRES!!
For an everyday road tire, that can grip under hard acceleration/braking in varying weather conditions on challenging road surfaces, the RS3's are worth every penny IMO.
Lots of sensible stuff but then fell over at the end of the race.For an everyday road tire, that can grip under hard acceleration/braking in varying weather conditions on challenging road surfaces, the RS3's are worth every penny IMO.
I'm aware of trade off between stickiness and life, but based on my experience of RS2, 8k from a moderately driven car seems excessive on the RS3s. Not checked wear so far on the BMW but still like them as a tyre.
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well I have just ordered a new set so it hasn't put me off!
However, I was in my wife's Qashqai today and I thought it was falling apart until I realised the appalling hum/roar was the tyres It is on Uniroyal RainExpert SUV. The fronts are part worn, one on 3-4mm, one little more due to an unexpected puncture. It really is awful. Might end up changing them for something else...
Worth mentioning that a new pair of fronts made no difference; however a new wheel bearing did!However, I was in my wife's Qashqai today and I thought it was falling apart until I realised the appalling hum/roar was the tyres
It is on Uniroyal RainExpert SUV. The fronts are part worn, one on 3-4mm, one little more due to an unexpected puncture. It really is awful. Might end up changing them for something else...I've been running RS3's (full set) on my daily for about 10k. Previously conti's. They don't seem to be wearing outrageously quickly TBH. I was worried they would be a bit soft for the weight of the car (E class estate), esp underneath the big diesel engine but they're fine. Perfect for motorway driving in s
t weather. Unbelievably stable through standing water and wet braking is very good.
t weather. Unbelievably stable through standing water and wet braking is very good. Edited by SuperHangOn on Monday 30th May 15:39
amgmcqueen said:
Does the non directional tread pattern of these tyres mean one side of the car is forcing water into the centre of the tyre, rather than off the edge?
Does this have any effect on driving? They look quite strange on the car!
Technically yes. I asked this very question on the launch, and the lead developer engineer assured me there was negligible difference in aquaplaning performance. Does this have any effect on driving? They look quite strange on the car!
I struggled to get my head around it too.
They appear to be saying that since only part of the groove/tread is in contact with the ground at any point, (as indicated by the red rectangle) there is always one side or other of the long groove available for the water to flow into and away. So the 'direction' is not relevant to the function of the grooves, it just we as humans interpret their function in a visual way which is irrelevant.
So water gets squashed into the groove as the tread contacts the road, it then flows out (either) end of the groove.
So water gets squashed into the groove as the tread contacts the road, it then flows out (either) end of the groove.
Edited by CoolHands on Tuesday 31st May 11:44
have them on my Legacy, had the Rainsport 2 on the VR6 and GTi previously. for the money, I think they are a good tyre. comparing them to the Dunlop Sportmaxx TT that were on previously ( new ), they are like night and day. the Dunlops were horrible on the Legacy. borderline dangerous in the wet.
for the weather we have round here, they make a great all rounder. lot better tyres you can buy, of course, but for daily driving, do / will you ever need the extra that a set at double the price would give ?
for the weather we have round here, they make a great all rounder. lot better tyres you can buy, of course, but for daily driving, do / will you ever need the extra that a set at double the price would give ?
For a low mileage car, especially one you are going to drive hard in the wet, then trading rapid wear rate for extra stickiness and modest price is a good trade. This is a situaiton surely many of us fall into with multiple cars.
I will probably only do about 3000 miles in my old Porsche this year with three other cars in the household sharing the strain, So if I put it on tyres which last forever in terms of tread wear, I'd be binning them on grounds of calendar age long before they were worn out. A mate with some ever-lasting Pirelli P6000 on a similar car reconed they would probably see him out... they were not great dynamically though.
Keeping the rubber fresh and having the extra grip, especially in the wet, is an attractive feature for me and the price of these tyres seems very good for the road performance you get. I am still one a set of RainSport 2 on the Porsche which have been very good but are now four years old, so I will be switching to RS3 soon.
I keep the car away from road salt but that season passes I seem to be out in it in wet and greasy conditions a lot over the last few years, and we especially seem to have had more standing water than I remember from the previous decade. So wet performance is top of my list.
I will probably only do about 3000 miles in my old Porsche this year with three other cars in the household sharing the strain, So if I put it on tyres which last forever in terms of tread wear, I'd be binning them on grounds of calendar age long before they were worn out. A mate with some ever-lasting Pirelli P6000 on a similar car reconed they would probably see him out... they were not great dynamically though.
Keeping the rubber fresh and having the extra grip, especially in the wet, is an attractive feature for me and the price of these tyres seems very good for the road performance you get. I am still one a set of RainSport 2 on the Porsche which have been very good but are now four years old, so I will be switching to RS3 soon.
I keep the car away from road salt but that season passes I seem to be out in it in wet and greasy conditions a lot over the last few years, and we especially seem to have had more standing water than I remember from the previous decade. So wet performance is top of my list.
Edited by Lowtimer on Tuesday 31st May 15:07
Got them on my Fiesta. Only had them a few weeks but drove it in torrential rain a couple days after fitting and they were superb, very confidence inspiring.
In the dry the car feels like it is moving around a bit more than the previous tyres (can't remember what they were, were on the car when I got it and different on each axle) but may just be because they are still relatively high on their treadblocks. Feel like they've improved a bit with mileage, but could just be familiarity.
In the dry the car feels like it is moving around a bit more than the previous tyres (can't remember what they were, were on the car when I got it and different on each axle) but may just be because they are still relatively high on their treadblocks. Feel like they've improved a bit with mileage, but could just be familiarity.
Just stuck a set on a Q7. We're changing this car in 4 months so just needed something half decent to get us through to October. At a similar price point, nothing else comes close in terms of (rated) grip but if I was buying for the longer term then the short life would concern me. Haven;t done any driving on them yet so will see how they get on.
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