Tyres Tyres Tyres

[Jhonno]

Speed 3 said:

Yes I do realise that. It was 9 months from fitment and they were bought new by the previous owner. Manufacturing date was the prior year IIRC

Fair enough.. Does look similar to an under inflated tyre failure.

PS3's are good tyres though! Very grippy.

[Russian Rocket]

anybody fitted 888's to a tuscan?

I am considering it, only gets used on dry days in summer.

I understand it it rains I will be tiptoeing home

[S6 Devil]

I'm going to try Federal RSR's when I change mine. HeARd good reports and I only use the car in the dry.

[m4tti]

Russian Rocket said:

anybody fitted 888's to a tuscan?

I am considering it, only gets used on dry days in summer.

I understand it it rains I will be tiptoeing home

I considered 888's but in the end went for R1R's same compound slightly more tread... Probably one of the best performance upgrades you can do... Sticky tyres

[Russian Rocket]

when you say more tread, do you mean a biger pattern (more water displacement) or more depth?

[m4tti]

The have a bit more pattern and depth I believe as they aren't pre scrubbed...

[tuscandani]

Any pics of the PZERO tyres on a Tuscan. Thanks

[matt-man]

Interesting thread...I've got the tyres on mine that it came with from a previous owner and Toyo T1R on the front (225/35/18) and Avon 255/35/18 on the back.

They have loads of tread but the date stamp shows 2008 so old tyres and don't match hence want to get new boots when the season starts.

The 225 on the front do look stretched (look good in my opinion and drives really very well. I guess I will stick with this unless anyone suggest otherwise?

Is 255 correct for the rear?

Matt

[Fido05]

I finally changed my F1's for R1R's dropping to 225/40 at the front and 255/35 at the rear with 24psi all round. Loads of grip, stable and the handling feels noticeably sharper, took fido down to France in the summer in sometimes monsoon conditions and they felt fine (gentle right foot). They are noticeably a bit firmer but not unpleasantly so though I do have my nitrons set slightly softer as I mostly drive our super flat British B roads

The only real problem, more grip, more stable, sharper handling, I need more power

[mk1fan]

225/40/18 alround on the Tamora. No issues with lack of grip or adverse handling. Indeed the opposite is true imho.

Also fitted 205/55/16 Nankang NS-2R to her for trackday excursions. Again, no adverse effects on grip or handling.

I think people wrongly assume that larger tyres are needed / better. Investment in driver training is better vfm than swapping tyres.

[matt-man]

Thanks guys.

The car handles fine although I don't like old tyres as rubber doesn't last forever.

Think I might investigate into Toyo's

[fat80b]

matt-man said:

Thanks guys.

The car handles fine although I don't like old tyres as rubber doesn't last forever.

Think I might investigate into Toyo's

Having experimented with lots of different tyres on my other cars (autosolos drifting and rallying) and needing new rubber on my Tuscan, My subjective testing shows me:

T1Rs - absolute rubbish, skin them and bin them, they have no performance on the edge of grip, when they let go, they never re-grip making for a frightening experience on the limits.

888s sticky but low tread to start with and not enough wet weather performance. I don't think I'd use them on my road car. In the dry on track, they are good, but firmly in the track tyre category for me.

Eagle F1s - Similar to the Toyos - rubbish - people say they have great wet performance, I think this is because they disperse a lot of water, however their underlying performance (grip) is so pants to start with, I'm not convinced. They hate being on the edge of grip and the tyre walls are way to soft.

NS2R - not tried but supposed to be very good.

My only choice is the Yokohama AD08R : reasonable price (the last time I looked for TVR sizing) and the best performance/balance of tread depth to start with, stickiness and wet weather performance i.e. grip in all conditions. I have used these on the road and on track and while everyone else is tiptoeing around in slippery conditions, you feel ultimate trust in the rubber beneath you. If you do lose grip, they seem to slide and then re grip really well again inspiring confidence. Compare this to the T1R / T1S and it is night and day

Bob

[Niftynoo]

For what it's worth - I have Eagle F1s, have done numerous track days in the dry with all the grip I've ever needed, Bedford last April springs to mind. My only wet track day was at Castle Combe and I was even more surprised as I was one of the quickest cars there as a result of having the most grip - even more than 4wd Evos. Better the devil you know!

[Malcster]

Has anyone tried the Continental Sport Contact 5 or 6's?

These seem to have faired very well in recent tyre tests:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/

[Whitey]

Malcster said:

Has anyone tried the Continental Sport Contact 5 or 6's?

These seem to have faired very well in recent tyre tests:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/

I plan to fit the 5's this spring.

[matt-man]

Malcster said:

Has anyone tried the Continental Sport Contact 5 or 6's?

These seem to have faired very well in recent tyre tests:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/

I've got a c class (just a 220 diesel) but I run that on conti 5's as that's standard fit. They do work well and I'm often late in that driving too fast in the wet :-D

[TUS 2 CON]

Having read the reviews, I had planned to fit Sport Contact 5's at my last service, but the Dealer advised against them saying the sidewalls were too firm for a TVR. He advised me to go for Toyos or Goodyears instead. As I was sourcing the tyres myself, there didn't seem to be any reason not to take his advice at face value.

[s6boy]

Speed 3 said:

Yes I do realise that. It was 9 months from fitment and they were bought new by the previous owner. Manufacturing date was the prior year IIRC

Long time skipping this thread but just seen the picture of Speed 3's tyre, so thought this might be of some help.

I was lucky to find 'cracking' in the rubber around the shoulder of both my front tyres -GYear Asymmetric 1's in exactly the same place as in the picture. The car had been standing for about 6 weeks in very cold weather, long enough and cold enough the deformity where the tyre was on the ground was very pronounced.

The facts first. Tyres were about 4 years old, not too old I thought at the time but the rears were a little over 1 and hadn't suffered at all. All were at 24 psi. The car had spent a couple of weeks parked in direct sun the previous couple of summers down in Italy.

I first noticed the cracking when checking pressures it was very fine and localised to the flat spotted area, but spread to the whole circumference in a couple of weeks and the cracks became much more obvious, so were changed straight away.

I guess there are a few things to learn from the above, firstly when in strong direct sun tyres age a lot quicker (de-vulcanise if there is such a word?). Secondly, and maybe this applies to harder composition tyres more, in cold weather if leaving the car unused for a long time inflate the tyres much higher than normal to prevent flat spots. And thirdly maybe there is a design floor with GoodYear Asymmetrics?!

Personally I think they're a great tyre and have had nothing else in my 12 year ownership. They seem to me a great all rounder good in wet excellent in dry, progressive and cope with wide temperature extremes and are quiet on long motorway journeys'. It just seems they need to be kept an eye on!

Edited by s6boy on Sunday 22 January 13:15

[Malcster]

TUS 2 CON said:

Having read the reviews, I had planned to fit Sport Contact 5's at my last service, but the Dealer advised against them saying the sidewalls were too firm for a TVR. He advised me to go for Toyos or Goodyears instead. As I was sourcing the tyres myself, there didn't seem to be any reason not to take his advice at face value.

This is very interesting. Sidewall strength is always on my mind in a lightweight car. I had thought the conti's would have been aimed at heavy German barges, and this kinda confirms that.

Eagles F1's for me then.

[Sagi Badger]

Agree with the comment re Conti's. I have them on the Sag and probably would not fit them next time round, they do tramline a bit but they are really good on the French roads as they are quiet at speed and you get good tight feed back, the ride is firm and they are progressive in the wet letting go a little sooner than I would have liked/expected. The Yokos on the Tuscan stick like mad and surprise in the wet, I didn't expect the wet grip they have.

Neither sets are stretched. 255/30 and 275/30 on the Sag on 8 1/2 and 10 inch wide, 245/35 and 275/30 on the same rim width on the Tuscan. I have a set of Mania 8 1/2 wide 19s (ebaying now as lack of space) with 255/30 Michelin Super Sports all round. These really impressed me as grippy good all rounder with nice broad blocks on the outer shoulder to stop tread walk.

TBH, this is all subjective and so dependent on how we drive and where we drive. The Super Sport Vs the AD08R on the road is a close call IMHO, on track we all know the outcome.

J