Recommend me some tyres (195/55 R15)...

[Synchromesh]

rb5230 said:

Synchromesh said:

I'm edging towards the Rainexperts based on this: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/RainExp...
compared to this http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Dunlop/SP-Sport-... (which are also quite a bit more expensive)
and these http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V... which don't come in my size

I think some of the other suggestions in this thread are for a better all round tyre than those you have listed and are also cheaper.

Michelins are the best in the business but are very expensive and probably not really worth it for a 100bhp polo.

Agreed on the Michelins. Which ones mentioned in particular were you referring to?

[rb5230]

Synchromesh said:

rb5230 said:

Synchromesh said:

I'm edging towards the Rainexperts based on this: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/RainExp...
compared to this http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Dunlop/SP-Sport-... (which are also quite a bit more expensive)
and these http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V... which don't come in my size

I think some of the other suggestions in this thread are for a better all round tyre than those you have listed and are also cheaper.

Michelins are the best in the business but are very expensive and probably not really worth it for a 100bhp polo.

Agreed on the Michelins. Which ones mentioned in particular were you referring to?

well the ps2`s are excellent although im not sure they do them in that size. The exaltos are also very good. The "energy" ones are really just their attempt of a budget tyre.

[Synchromesh]

rb5230 said:

Synchromesh said:

rb5230 said:

Synchromesh said:

I'm edging towards the Rainexperts based on this: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/RainExp...
compared to this http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Dunlop/SP-Sport-... (which are also quite a bit more expensive)
and these http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V... which don't come in my size

I think some of the other suggestions in this thread are for a better all round tyre than those you have listed and are also cheaper.

Michelins are the best in the business but are very expensive and probably not really worth it for a 100bhp polo.

Agreed on the Michelins. Which ones mentioned in particular were you referring to?

well the ps2`s are excellent although im not sure they do them in that size. The exaltos are also very good. The "energy" ones are really just their attempt of a budget tyre.

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant I agree Michelins are too expensive and over-specced for a 100bhp fwd hatch so what other mid-range tyres that have been mentioned were you referring to (pref £50-£80)?

[rb5230]

i gave my suggestions earlier in the thread, i think other people suggested similar stuff too, falken 452`s, kumho ku31`s are both tyres i have tried and are very good for the money (obviously not Michelin standard though) and i have just bought a set of toyo t1r`s which i have not tried yet but have been well recommended by various sources.

Edited by rb5230 on Wednesday 22 December 21:08

[Defcon5]

If you drop to a 195/50 then the T1-Rs are about £30 each, which are unbeatable for the price IMO

[g7jhp]

Defcon5 said:

If you drop to a 195/50 then the T1-Rs are about £30 each, which are unbeatable for the price IMO

+1 for T1-R's

I've run them on 205 GTI, Golf GTI and 3.2 Carrera. Fantastic wet and dry performance,wear well and don't cost the earth.

[nammynake]

I paid WAY less than £100 each for Michellin PE2's at Costco (in that ecaxt size). However that was about a year ago, and there may have been a deal on at the time. Worth a phone call if you have a Costco anywhere near you.

[Synchromesh]

I want to stick with 195/55's really as I'm only changing the rears so don't want different sizes. Also I want to keep my speedo accurate. That means if I'm to beat the rain experts I need something online for under £50 a corner (to factor in £10 for fitting). That limit's me to either T1-R's or Hankook V12's, both of which aren't rated as highly as rain experts according to this http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Grid/ . I'm also going to pop down to my local Costco and see if they have any good deals tomorrow (e.g. on Michelins)

[sb-1]

Synchromesh said:

I'm edging towards the Rainexperts based on this: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/RainExp...
compared to this http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Dunlop/SP-Sport-... (which are also quite a bit more expensive)
and these http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V... which don't come in my size

You can't go wrong with these Uniroyals IMO.I have them on my Astra.
If you want an all weather tyre,the Vredestein Quatrac take some beating.

Edited by sb-1 on Thursday 23 December 08:17

[zakelwe]

Synchromesh said:

I want to stick with 195/55's really as I'm only changing the rears so don't want different sizes. Also I want to keep my speedo accurate. That means if I'm to beat the rain experts I need something online for under £50 a corner (to factor in £10 for fitting). That limit's me to either T1-R's or Hankook V12's, both of which aren't rated as highly as rain experts according to this http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Grid/ . I'm also going to pop down to my local Costco and see if they have any good deals tomorrow (e.g. on Michelins)

I have some Dunlop fast responses on the front wheels and I found them excellent in the wet even though they are slightly less for rainy days than their rainexpert, so you may wish to add them to your list. I tried some emergency stops from 60mph the other day and the ABS only kicked in slightly. I think Dunlop have a good compound on their standard tyre range for wet conditions.

Andy

[Snails]

I have Uniroyal RainExperts fitted at the moment and they are absolutely brilliant in wet and damp conditions. They are are also great in the dry. They give good feedback and it is easy to tell when they are reaching the limits of their grip. I am confident in their ability and have found them superior to my previous Toyo T1Rs. I had two new ones fitted recently for £83 (195/50/15). I would recommend them and would definitely buy them again.


edit: fat fingers.

Edited by Snails on Thursday 23 December 08:56

Edited by Snails on Thursday 23 December 08:57

[ludicrous speed]

Synchromesh said:

It's an absolute minefield this tire business. I've been offered £60 fitter per tyre on Uniroyal Rainsports at my local place which seems very reasonable and they seem to rated very highly. Has anyone tried them?

Had some rainsports before, was impressed..

[madbadger]

rb5230 said:

195/50/16 is a more common size and better looking. The kumho ku31 is a decent cheapish tyre and the falken 452`s are pretty good too, and i have just bought myself a set of toyo t1r`s but am yet to test them due to the weather.

and this will help you work out what difference it might make to your speedo.
http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.htm...

so at 70 mph you will be travelling at 67.71mph which seems good to me. Only other thing to think of is it will have a slight affect on ride quality although i would have thought this will be negligable.

You can play around a bit with profile and width, but it really isn't a good idea to fit 16" on 15" wheels, even if they are better looking.

[.blue]

Synchromesh said:

OK thanks all for the help. I've now made a shortlist;

Michelin Energy Saver £107 fitted <Too expensive
Michelin Pilot Exalto £110 fitted <Too expensive
Uniroyal Rainexpert £60 fitted
Hankook Ventus V12 £53 fitted (195/50)
Dunlop SP Fast Response £82 fitted

Edited by Synchromesh on Wednesday 22 December 17:17

I'm currently using those Dunlops albeit in a slightly different size and car. So far, I'm impressed.

They've been great in good grip conditions.

I accidently ventured onto a mud track the day after I got them and again they were very good. Not sure if this is to the merit of the car or the tyre, but very predictable. Similar story in snow. I've had no problems getting up/down hills near where I live so far in the snow.

Very good feel/response too. I paid £240 for 4 fitted iirc from ATS.

[rallycross]

We've got a similar polo to yours (100 bhp but the tdi version so a bit heavier) its on Dunlops and they are very good.

I would suggest on a Polo it will come down more to convenience of getting them fitted locally and price than chosing a specific tyre.

All the ones on your list are ok, might be worth trying to get a set of these locally they will be handy to have if we have more of this weather, whilst being perfectly good all year round. Price wise should be mid range, less than dunlop/michelin etc.

Vredestein Quatrac 3's


Search for some reveiws they are quite impressive.

And I would avoid the Toyo T1 they are cheap for a reason - they are mostly rubbish.
I've got a set on an Integra type R (previous owner fitted them) and they are very poor, almost completely useless in snow, and very little grip in cold/wet, but ok they are very cheap in 195/55/15 from camskill.

[rb5230]

madbadger said:

You can play around a bit with profile and width, but it really isn't a good idea to fit 16" on 15" wheels, even if they are better looking.

haha, you found a typo there, obviously a tyre for a 16inch alloy wont fit on a 15inch wheel. i meant 195/50/15.

[Synchromesh]

Went for the Rain Experts in the end.

Thanks anyway guys

[lordlee]

Conti Eco contact 3 are excellent on the polo. My sis has them on her polo and got 26k out of the last set!! She does drive sensibly though. Read any of the reviews they are all good from the proper tyre tests. She paid £57 a corner for hers. They grip very well in the wet and performed perfectly well in the dry too. Did I mention they were fuel saving too?

[anonymous-user]

i ran 195/50/15 toyo proxes on my 205 gti and had no complaints.

[BeeRoad]

Synchromesh said:

and these http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V... which don't come in my size

If they don't come in your size, how did I manage to post a link to these exact tyres in your size, in the 8th post on this thread?