PH Tyre Review A-L
I thought it would be useful for us all to combine our experiences of the various types of tyres out there to compile an informative guide built from practical experience, rather than a half hour 'test'.
Reviews should be listed under tyre manufacturer, then size, model of car and your comments.
Hope it proves to be useful!
Groomi
Aurora
195/55/15 (Ford Focus) - Never again will I try budget tyres recommended to me by my Dad - an absolute death trap in the wet.
Avon
ZZ3 (225/40/18) (Ford Focus MK2) - Great tyres, provide grip in both wet and dry conditions. I had Toyo Proxies before these, and I would rate the grip the same as the Toyo's but last a hell of a lot longer! Great price too, can be picked up for around £80 a peice. Rotational pattern
ZZ3 (235/35/19 and 265/30/19) (BMW Z4M Coupe) - Pretty terrible grip levels and high road noise. TC light flashes on a great deal and understeer is rife. Not suited to this car at all.
ZZ3 (225/50/16) (Ford Cougar) - Great tyre, pretty good grip and great price, lasts plenty long enough for a car with reasonable output, made in England. Honestly, I dont drive like a lunatic but these are great, you could do a lot worse- I see no point in buying tyres better than these for normal/enthusiastic drivers.
ZZ3 (225/45/18) (MG ZT 190) - Excellent tyres. Very high lateral grip in wet and dry, pretty quiet and excellent ride quality too. At least as good as my usual Contisport M3s but they're significantly cheaper and made in the UK.
ZV3 (Various 14'/15') (Numerous FWD MK2 Golf/Jettas and Audi's) - My daily driver tyre of choice. Cheap and reliable, they give good grip in all weathers and wear at a reasonable pace. Would highly recommend were outright performance is not the key factor but still important along with cost.
ZV5 (195/60/15) (MK1 Focus Facelift) Very quiet tyres, Fairly grippy, Good tyre wear, Excellent value for money, This tyre pattern has now taken over the ZV3 i believe. Very impressed, still has good steering feel.
Ice Touring (205/55/16) (Vectra C 1.8) Fantastic in the snow and ice that we're just had, car drove like it was on tarmac despite being on 3-4" of snow/ice, didn't get stuck once even passed several 4x4's. Grip in the wet/dry is also very good when it's cold, not quite so good once it gets a bit warmer as they are too soft. Only complaint would be that they are noisy at motorway speeds due to having an open tread pattern.
Bridgestone
RE050A (Ferrari 355) - Fitted recently to replace the same. Once scrubbed in, they seem to grip reasonably well, albeit roads are cold and slippery right now. Will see how they wear, especially on the rears. Seem reasonable value (£100 fro the fronts, £165 for the rears). Only criticism is that I don't like the way they look. Sidewalls seem to slope inwards, making the tyres look too small on the rim, especially on the rears, despite being factory recommended size. Will be replacing with something different once the time comes.
Update after about 3k miles - took the 355 out for an airfield day and gave it hell. The tyres took a right caning, and I'm afraid I've worn them a bit. Let-go is quite progressive, meaning you can power slide the car very easily and controllably (prob something to do with the wearing down bit
) but they are a very soft tyre and were a lot hotter and stickier than some others on the day on similarly heavy cars.
Grip appears good but not noticably better than other tyres I've run, which makes me think I'll be going back to the Ecsta KU31's once these are shagged (which will be the end of summer at this rate!). Otehr than that, the car was just amazing on the day. It really does handle brilliantly.
Recently discovered they have ZERO rim protection. ZERO. Nada.
Final update - down to 3mm on the rears after about a spirited 5k miles or so. Can't say I've been overly impressed. They're a decent tyre but nothing to write home about and they've worn quite quickly, admittedly after having a fairly hard life.
I think Kuhmo KU31's next...
RE050A RFT (225/40/18 + 255/35/18) (BMW Z4 3.0i) - Came fitted to the Z4. Fair dry road grip and excellent turn-in due to the stiff sidewalls, but very poor wet grip. Ride quality was dreadful. Seemed to last for ever, which may explain the poor grip. Also seemed to be on permanent back-order which gave me another reason to switch to non run-flats.
Potenza RE050A RFT [2nd Gen] (215/40/18 & 245/35/18) (BMW 123d M-Sport) Switched to these from the factory-fitted Dunlop Sport SP01 (which lasted 11k miles). The Bridgestones offer better grip and stability than the Dunlops and wet performance is excellent. The ride, however, is still on the firm side. Wear rate seems to be excellent with 6mm left after 7k miles - should get around 15k from the rears and 20k from the fronts. Having had a flat, I can also report that the RFT system works fantastically and I'm happy to sacrifice some ride quality for the convenience and safety of the RFT system. I would definitely fit these again in future, and the 3rd Gen RE050A (due mid-2010) are said to greatly improve ride as well so look forward to testing that claim.
RE040 (BMW E46 330ci) - Came fitted to my BMW as factory fitment to the 18" MV1 wheels. Grip and wear was OK but I found the car tram-lined terribly- dangerously so (tracking was fine). When replaced with Michelin Pilots the tram-lining problem was gone.
RE040 225/45 R18 Saab 9-3SS estate Aero - Came fitted with the factory fitment Conti Sport Contact M3 which only lasted 10K, i wasn't impressed with them at all. damp/wet weather lateral grip was quite good, but standing water was bloody dangerous. the Soft side walls gave the steering a very soft feel. RE040 have a much harder compound, stiff side walls and in turn give a much firmer ride. The up shot is better steering feel, excellent performance in standing water, and good performance in lateral wet weather performance once the tyres have some heat in them. dry weather performance is about the same. but more importantly wear rate is excellent, done 10K and still have 3mm left.
Turanza ER30 195/50/R15 Mazda MX5 Mk1 - Came fitted to a set of 2nd hand alloys I bought but in as-new condition. Quiet running and better economy than the Michelins that were on previously. Seem to tramline quite badly but that may be the alignment on my car. Wet grip awful - back end feels twitchy and understeers awfully.
Turanza ER330 195/60/VR15 Corolla - replaced some Michelin Energies. Excellent in the dry and plenty of grip in the wet, much quieter and less understeer than the Michelins. However, in the recent snow they were absolutely useless, no traction or grip at all and I've only got 95bhp!
CEAT
Spider 155/80/13 In the dry they were ok, but in the wet they were actually slightly scary. Stopping distance was fairly liberal to say the least, and they would scrabble pulling away with anything more than gentle acceleration. On one occasion pulling onto the A12 I was left spinning even in 3rd gear at 20ish mph - this is on an Astra with about 60bhp. Road noise was atrocious, only realise how bad it was now I've switched to Uniroyal Rainexperts. The only good thing was free puncture repair from Kwik Fit, other than that, avoid!!!
Continental
ContiSportContact 2 225/40/18 XL (Focus ST225) - A good all-round tyre that does nothing remarkable in a positive or negative way. Grip levels are good in both wet and dry, although the grip can fall off quite quickly in the wet when they do let go. Not excessively noisy. Turn-in was ok but not as good as the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s now fitted. Wear rate was acceptable - 11,000 on the front set of a turbocharged hot hatch and around 19,000 on the rears. Very good sidewall protection.
ContiSportContact 2 (2nd experience) (BMW M3 CSL) - Found these tyres quite impressive, did just shy of 20,000 miles on them including 3 trackdays before they wore out. Both front and rear's at the same time. The car was previously fitted with Michelin CUPs which were outstanding in the dry and average in the wet. By comparison the Conti's were not as strong in the dry but far superior in wet. Average sidewall protection.
ContiSportContact 3 SSR 205/45/17 (Mini Cooper S, run-flat tyres)
Dry grip is very good - the car feels very composed and can take a large amount of power without breaking traction. Wet grip is also very good, inspiring confidence. Contis have also taken the edge off of bumps, meaning a slightly more forgiving ride. The Contis are superior in every way to the worn Dunlop SP9000 DSSTs that they replaced.
ContiPremiumContact 175/65/15H (R56 Mini Cooper) A tyre that doesn't draw any attention to itself - even-handed but not stellar performance wet and dry (not surprising given size and application) - but good enough to let the qualities of the car's chassis shine through. Fronts have worn a little quicker than the Michelin Energys on the former R50 One, but that can be a function of my enthusiasm on the many mini roundabouts on the way home when avoiding a major traffic jam on the motorway. As befits their modest size and general purpose rather than ultra-high performance specification, these are pretty driveable in wintery conditions even though the fronts are now down to not much more than 2 mm (to be replaced next service in a week or so).
MINIs do rather well on modest tyres - fluent, progressive and feelsome rather than the usual loads of grip, no finesse fare of modern hatches on big wheels/tyres. 'Upgrade' the wheels and tyres at your peril.
Dunlop
SP2000E (235/45/17 + 255/40/17) These tyres were so bad on my completely standard BMW 530i that I replaced them despite the front tyres having a good 6mm of tread left. Any trip down a decent A/B road would be accompanied by near constant DSC activation despite not really pressing on. Replaced all 4 tyres with a different brand, problem vanished.
(225/45/17) (BMW E46 328i Touring Sport Suspension) A BMW OEM spec tyre. Grip levels were good dry and acceptable wet. Though eventual wet breakaway was predictable, feel was not up to the very best tyres so not a tyre to choose if you want to really *enjoy* driving in the wet. On the other hand, wear rate impressive with 4mm left after 20,000 miles. Overall a safe, competent if unexciting tyre. Perfectly adequate for a motorway barge but 10 year old technology and the latest premium tyres are noticeably better for similar money. elfer.
SP9000 (205/55 ZR15) - One full set previously on modified Saab 900 Turbo, went to another 900 Turbo of mine after the first one got 16" wheels, now have a new pair of these on the fronts of the Chimaera. Excellent wet weather performance, lots of grip wet and dry, sidewalls a bit soft so not the ultimate dry handling tyre. Sidewalls rolled very significantly when mounted on narrow rims (5.5" - the lower end of the 'acceptable' scale) - should be a lot better on the 7" wide Chimaera wheels.
SP9000 (215/40 ZR17 and 235/45 ZR17) - Had several sets on my Volvo 850T5R. My father used them on the S80T6 as well and we were both very satisfied. Apart from being cheap they were a massive improvement over the originally fitted Pirelli's on both cars (P Zero Assimetrico and P6000). The turn in was not particularly sharp but given that the majority of their miles happened on a highway, where they were quite planted and stable up to 155mph. They were OKish in the wet and quite OK at aquaplanning. They wore very fast, though - 13k miles for the 850 and about 16k for the S80, in spite of the forward and rears being switched in the middle of the season to make the set last longer. Quite good tyres for the time.
SP9000 (235/40 ZR18 and 255/35 ZR18)
I have run 3 full sets on an E39 M5. Average motorway mileage around 40k per set. Good in the wet, very stable and predictable - definately get noisier when older.
SP Sport Maxx (215/40 ZR17 and 235/45 ZR17) - Had one set on my Volvo 850T5R and one on the S80T6. These were a lot 'livelier' than the SP9000s before. Direction changes were much more decisive, turn in was a lot sharper and the whole car seemed to be on it's toes a bit. They were great fun on a challenging road and when you were fully concentrated but tended to require a lot more concentration from the driver. At speeds over 125mph on a highway driving became quite difficult - they had far less directional stability than the 9000s before and required supreme concentration (disproportionately more so than any other tyres on the same car). There were no differences in the fuel consumption compared to the previous Dunlops. The same tyres were quite different on the S80 - providing most of the benefits, without the shortcomings. The car is naturally more stable at high speed and the difference between the Maxx and 9000 tyres there was minimal. The handling benefits were similar to those on the other car, though and these seem to last marginally longer. One thing apparent, though, is that ESP cuts in a lot more often than with the previous set.
Durun
Sport 1 225/45/18 (BMW 320d)Came free with a set of MV3 rims. Thought I'd use them till they had worn ... it was a long wait. These things were so hard I still had them 12 months on and I normally go through two sets a year. Excellent grip in the dry but no grip in the wet. No rim protection what so ever. If you're a taxi driver I recommend these!
Event
GL695 195/60/15 These were fitted to a Focus I bought. Incredibly poor grip, especially in the wet. Focus TDCI should not be able to wheelspin at 25mph! one to avoid.
Falken
ZIEX ZE-502 (17inch) 255/17 and 205/17 (Porsche 964 Carrera 2) - Replaced my Pirelli P-Zero, which seemed to wear out v. quickly (and are about £180 a corner) with 4 new Falkens. A really good , very cheaply priced tyre (about £65 a corner, irrespective of width), and lower noise than the P-Zero's. Properly speed-rated.
ZIEX ZE-512 185/60/14 ('90 Pug 205 XS)
Cheap, felt poor in the wet, quite good in the dry but were quite wobbly and didn't feel as precise as the previous Bridgestones.
FK-452 (18inch) 255/35/18 (BMW 330i Sport MY01) - Tried any number of tyres over the 60K we had the car. Very good in the wet and dry offering probably 90% of the performance at 50-75% of the price of Eagle F1's at the time.
FK-452 (18inch) 225/40/18 (Subaru Impreza WRX STi MY03) - Replaced my Eagle F1's as budget was tight last year. Very surprised that a drop in price has not meant a drop in performance. Wet weather grip is around 15% less than the F1's at most, dry weather the same. Tyre noise much improved over F1's. Said to wear better than F1's (I'll update after I've done some serious miles on them) Purchased from Camskill and delivered to Selectatyres for fitting, excellent service from both.
FK-452 (18inch) 235/45/R18, Y Rated (Audi S4 Avant Quattro {B6} 4.2 V8) - These were £50 per tyre less than equivalent Pirelli P-Zero Rosso's but I believe just as good (I had P-Zeros on before) They are excellent in the wet and also produce slightly less road roar than the Pirelli's at high speed. The only downside was when pushed very hard on a dry alpine thrash they seemed to become a little 'slippy' and 'squealy' when very hot.
FK-452 (18inch) 225/40/18 (Audi TT Roadster 270bhp Quattro 1.8T) - I had my alloys refurbished and went for a new set of tyres to replace my Michelin Pilot Sport 2 and opted for the Falkens since they have good press and I must agree that they are excellent! They don't grip quite as well in the cold and wet but in the wet they are very good and in the dry they are excellent. They are quite a hardwearing tyre so you'd expect them to have a little less grip than a softer compound. The great part is they cost just £60 a corner direct from Falken! In contrast, the Michelin PS2 worked out to £110 more per tyre! The Michelin is a better tyre but certainly not that much different that you need to pay an extra £440 for a set when you can buy the excellent Falkens FK452.
FK-452 (18inch) 245/40/18 (Jaguar S-Type Sport Diesel 56 Reg) - Replaced Pirelli PZero Asymetricos on the front. Cost was 116 GBP each where the PZero would have been nearer 160. Recommended by lots on Jag forums. Only have a pair on the front at the minute, I think they are slightly noisier than the PZero but it isn't a huge difference. Wet weather grip seems to be the same or better, dry weather the same. They do seem to take a while to "run in" though, 300 miles or so.
Updated to say now on all round. Great tyre,I think slightly noisier than the P Zero Asym but fantastic grip wet or dry. Good in deep standing water as well.
FK-452(18inch) 235/35/18 265/35/18 1800kg rwd car.Sensible grip,reasonable wet weather peformance.With heavy negative camber are holding their inner edge very well.Have used better tyres but for half the money you get maybe 85% performance
FK-452 (17inch) 235/40/17 (BMW E36 328i) - Replaced Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front, and were soon after moved to the rear. Great value for money, only £70 a corner where replacement Goodyears would be £115. Grip in the dry is very good, only very enthusiastic driving can cause the tyres to loose traction and coax out the back end. No complaints for wet grip either, no aquaplaning or any other loss of grip in wet conditions in over 5000 miles. Would recommend and will happily buy again over more expensive brands.
FK-452 (17 inch) 205/50/17 (Alfa Romeo Spider) - Replaced Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front as they were £15 a corner cheaper and had good reviews. Nearly as good as the F1s in the dry, but not a patch on them in the wet / damp, say 85% of the grip. Will keep them on the front to wear them out quicker and keep the very good F1s on the back where I need the grip. Will not buy these again for this car as £15 difference isn't enough to justify the poorer tyre.
FK-453 (18 & 19 inch) Evo 8/E46 330CCI/E60 M5 - replaced Toyo TR1. Took a chance as I needed new tyres before an MOT on the 330 and they only had these in the staggered size I needed. A year in and they have proved to be excellent, easily equal if not slightly better than the toyo's in the dry and superior in the wet. Went on the Evo next which needs good stiff sidewalls and again proved excellent on a car running 400 bhp, grip and feel were intuitive with no excessive noise or wear. Finally put a set onto my M5 and again have proved excellent, wet grip is noticeably better as is aquaplaning especially on such wide tyres. Would definitely recommend.
ZIEX ZE-912 (16inch) 205/50/16 (Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Sxi MY02) - After going through numerous sets of 'this and that' tyres I've finally found something that matches the OE Michelins. They are fantastic in both wet and dry, offer very acceptable road noise. Dry grip is actually very good (far better than the ZE-512s they replaced). The previous 512s suffered from quite pronounced tyre wall deflection and felt like running on jelly, but these are much better, and much more predictable. Yes, I would buy again. £50 delivered from Camskill. (submitted by Fastra)
ZIEX ZE 912 Jaguar XJ8 240BHP 225/60/16 - Very quiet, smooth riding tyre. I do more long distance cruising rather than B road hooning so can't comment on outright grip but these are as good if not better than the OE Pirellis from a comfort point of view. Certainly recommended if you're looking for a touring tyre at a reasonable price. £265 a set from Camskill.
(submitted by Jaguar Steve)
Falken Ziex ZE-912 225/40/18 W rated (Audi TT Roadster 270bhp Quattro 1.8T) - I posted (above) some time ago about the Falken FK452 which I found were excellent. I didn't think the ZE912 would be better but...
The ZE912 is a quieter tyre than the FK452. You can swap these front to rear and side to side since they are assymetrical and not directional which means better tyre wear is possible by rotating the locations periodically.
They balanced up well (despite the fact that a pothole has recently bent one of my wheels); this wheel is on the front and it feels fine, no wobble at all.
The FK452 is a summer tyre but the ZE912 is an all season tyre.
I can feel straight away that the ride is more comfortable. The wear rating on the ZE912's is 360, the FK452's are 300 so the ZE912 should be harder wearing. This is usually at the detriment of grip but I noticed both 452 and 912 have the same AA traction rating.
Michelin Pilot Sport 2 are considered to grip extremely well and to wear very well but they are only 220 and even the later Primacy is only 240, both are seriously more expensive! Softer tyres offer more grip in the dry of course but to give you an idea about wear rates, track days tyres are rated around 200 so are not much different to MPS-II at 220.
What I was also pleased to see is that the ZE912 has a bit of rim protection whereas the FK452 has none. It's not huge but it would make a difference between a scuff and lumps missing!
Where I have noticed a huge difference is in snow and the wet cold conditions, these tyres feel a lot grippier in adverse conditions than the FK452's and also better than the Bridgestone Duellers on our other car (they are mud & snow tyres).
I've done maybe 200-300 miles on the ZE912 tyres now and they have much better grip whilst still scrubbing in than the FK452's and the grip in the cold and wet is very very impressive!
I expect the FK452's are better for grip in the summer on dry roads but I like the all year round capability of these ZE912's and I don't think I will go back to the FK452's again.
More reviews here:- http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Falken/ZE912.htm
Firestone
F-590 OEM on Fabia 165/70/R14 nearly new tyres removed as they are hopeless. Advertised as tyres for basic runabout cars, all weather fuel saver tyres. They are only acceptable in warm dry conditions, as soon as any damp or temperature drops below 10C they are dangerous. Not recommended.
TZ200 2002 Ford Focus 2.0 205/50/R16 - Good quality tyre, excellant road holding during hard cornering in dry conditions and good traction in both wet and dry conditions. Low noise level on motorway. £90 each fitted.
Goodyear
Eagle F1 Supercar EMT 245/40/18 + 285/35/19 ('08 Corvette) - Factory-fit tyres. Pretty good dry and wet grip in warm weather, and very good in standing water in spite of the width. Things change dramatically when the temperature drops below about 5C, when dry road grip is noticeably worse and wet grip and traction are very poor. When the temperature drops below zero they're hilariously bad - wheel-spin in almost any gear at any speed. Wear rate isn't brilliant either - they're about half-worn after 6000 miles of mainly motorway miles. EDIT: Actually they lasted 14,000 miles and 1 track day. Also turned out to be surprisingly OK in snow (well, no worse than any other summer tyre).
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 215/45/17 ('99 156 2.5v6) - Bought to replace the GSD3s that I have always been a fan of. Easily the equal of the GSD3s in the dry, quashing as much of the understeer from my nose heavy Alfa as is possible without an LSD. In the wet they are significantly more confidence inspiring that the GSD3s. Have yet to find out if they last more than the few months the GSD3s used to though!
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 215/45/17 ('03 Impreza WRX) - Also bought to replace the GSD3s that I have always been a fan of. They are excellent in the dry and the wet (when you really need grip) and they are significantly quieter than the GSD3s that I've always used in the past.
Eagle F1 GSD3 195/45/15 ('91 205gti) - Incredible wet grip and very progressive both on road and track. Wear rate on dry tracks is very high though, and lots of tyre roar on road.
eagle F1 GSD3 195/45/16 172renaultsport - brilliant grip level in wet or dry, full of feel and inspire confidence in anything you do
Eagle F1 GSD3 205/50/16 (Nissan 200SX) - Transformed the handling of this car, amazing wet grip. Previously the car would be twitchy accelerating gently down a wet slip road, with the GSD3s you could accelerate hard off a wet roundabout without breaking traction.
Eagle F1 GSD3 205/55/17 (Alfa Romeo Spider 1999) - Recommended by many, and you can see why. Confident in the wet, awesome in the dry. Just so much grip, no squeal until you're really really pushing it. Tyre wall protects the alloys from kerbing to a good extent. A tad noisy at times, depending on wear. The wear rate seems to be quite high at the moment too, but I'll update when they finally go. Probably the best tyre for this sort of car.
Eagle F1 GSD3 235/40/18 + 265/35/18 Excellent grip in the wet and dry. Inspires confidence in adverse weather conditions and resists aquaplaning. Knocked 10% off cruising fuel economy, however. But performance wise, absolutely excellent.
Eagle F1 GSD3 205/50/16 (Volvo T5)
totaly transformed the feel of the car, Superb grip in the wet and dry, very confidence inspiring . so far fuel economy has improved over the previous tyres. would definitely buy these again
Eagle F1 GSD3 225/40/18 + 255/35/18 (BMW Z4 3.0i) Excellent grip in the dry and wet - in fact, felt better in the wet than the standard Bridgestone RE050A RFT tyres had done in the dry! Turn in was a little soft compared with the Bridgestones due to the softer sidewalls, which also contributed to excellent ride quality. Wear rate was OK, and made bearable by the great performance.
Eagle F1 GSD3 225/40ZR18 (extra load) (Celica ST205). First set appeared to have the treadblocks peel away from the carcass. Most odd. Goodyear replaced all 4 without quibbling after inspecting the tyres. Second set have been excellent. Strong dry grip, clear water wall. Very happy.
Eagle F1 GSD3 225/40/ZR18 (Golf MkIV GTi TDi Anniversary) - Excellent levels of grip on this tyre in the dry and the wet. Only downside I found was that it appeared to drop fuel economy by approx. 10%. Will certainly be using these or the Asymmetrics on any performance car I get my hands on in the future!
Eagle NCT5 195/55/15 (Ford Focus) - Mediocre tyres.
Eagle NCT5 205/55/16 (Alfa 156 1.9 diesel) - Fantastic tyre, great wet and dry grip, covered 17k so far, another 3k left in the fronts, 10k on the back. Excellent VFM choice, I will replace with the same!
Excellence 225/40/18 XL (Focus ST225) - these came fitted from the factory and are abysmal tyres. Acceptable grip in the dry elicited sheer terror the second clouds appeared. Very poor water-clearance capacity and as a result they tend to aquaplane far too easily. Sidewall protection was non-existent and the sidewalls themselves were incredibly prone to pinching/splitting - I have not had a single issue with this on subsequent tyres (Michelins and Continentals) so I can only attribute this to the Excellence. I would never fit these tyres again. Surprising how wrong Goodyear got these when the get it so right with the Eagle F1s. Wear rate was good though at around 15,000 for the fronts and 25,000 for the rears.
Hankook
Ventus V12 EVO (205/45/16) Just fitted 2 x Ventus V12 EVO to front of the Alfa(205/45 x 16 ZR 87W)
They have received fantastic reviews in Auto Bild(German mag) amongst others and for good reason,they are superb value and are something of a bargain at £78 each Inc Vat and fitting etc.(Guildford Tyres)
Optimo K415 185/60/14 Good tyres for the price of cheapies (via blackcircles)
Ventus Prime 205-55/16 Paid £68 each, fitted. Very capable tyres for the money, good grip, work well in the wet, quiet, and handle very well. Replaced Vredestein Hi-Trac and Kumho KH17, both of which offered considerably less outright grip but were reasonably adequate.
Kenda
Kaiser 225/45/17 Volvo V70 170bhp SE
Contrary to every review I have read about these tyres they have performed well on the heavy Volvo. Only fitted as they came on a set of replacement alloy wheels (I would probably not have bought them by choice) but I have been very happy with them. They replaced SP9000’s and are actually much better in terms of handling, road noise and behaviour in the wet, although they can screech a bit in the corners when dry. To date I have added about 6k miles to them and they still look new, I accept that they may not perform well on other cars but I have no complaints while fitted to my Volvo!
Kaiser 225/40/18 Vauxhall Signum 2.8T - The nastiest tyres I have ever had the misfortune of driving on. With a directional tread, and acceptable dry grip, they lure you into a false sense of security. However, at the first glimpse of damp, they lose the little traction they had and you may as well be driving on bald tyres. Uncomfortable, noisy, no feedback, and annoyingly hardwearing. A budget tyre to avoid at all costs.
Kumho
Ecsta KU31(various sizes and cars) - Originally had these fitted to my MR2 turbo in Australia. Wet and dry grip was very good, with progressive release. They wore very well too (previous set of rears lasted 6,000 kms, but included some trackdays. Cannot recall the brand) whereas the Kumhos lasted far better with better grip to boot. Then put them on the M3 EVO over here and again, very impressed with performance and wear rates. Highly underrated tyre.
Now put them on the M3. 225/45/17 and 245/40/17. Scrubbed in and running, the grip in both wet and dry seems quite high and breakaway is nice and progressive. Sidewalls are good and stiff and turn in seems sharp. Downside is a tendency to tramline a little on the motorway.
Ecsta KU31 275/40/18 - OK, have stuck them on the back of the 355. The first few hundred miles were slippery as expected however they're not bedding in very well. Having said that, I think I've come to the conclusion that they are quite soft, particularly in the sidewall which is causing some issues with tyre pressure. When cold, they feel great however when hot, the back of the car is all over the place. I checked rear pressures and they were very high (mid to high 40s) so I will drop the hot pressures right down (around 30 psi) this weekend and report back.
Update - I've done about 5k miles on them now. Including an airfield day and an extended trip around the European alps (ie, a LOT of hard driving, power sliding, hard acceleration etc.) I've given the tyres a really good caning. My initial handling concerns (ie, being all over the place) turned out to be car setup (I'd not tightened up something) but now that's sorted they seem great. Cornering speeds were comparable to or slightly higher than the RE050's at the airfield day. Grip in wet and dry seems great, as does the breakaway which is nice and progressive. They're probably about two thirds worn now, although the car's getting used less over the winter (I'll update the M3 report as I use it more). Definitely a good tyre IMHO.
Ecsta KU31225/45-17 BMW 525i Touring - Replacement for RFT's which came with the vehicle. far better ride and road noise (not suprisingly) and the wet/dry grip is very impressive. Used in the snow also with no issues to report. A very impressive budget priced tyre and I would definately use again on a similar vehicle.
Ecsta KU 31 195/50/15 , Toyota Celica '92
Great tyres, give me lots of grip so far and seem to produce far less road noise than the Michelins that were on the car before.
At only £40 per corner these have to be the best "budget performance" tyre around, they feel much better than the far more expensive Michelins.
Ecsta KU31 225/45/16 on 318iS and 215/45/17 on IS200
Tried these tyres on an old 318iS and was really impressed with the grip and lack of tyre wall flex. The most impressive feature might be the fact that the grip is equally impressive in the wet! Just as long as the temperature isn't too cold. I would happily recommend these tyres for anyone and not just people on a budget. I have only just put them on an IS200 but I have no doubt they will be a great tyre. These tyres should be held in the same esteem as the Falken's and in fact I prefer them to the FK451's because of the stiffer tyre wall.
Ecsta KU 31 225/50/17 , Cadillac CTS 3.6
Superb tyres,very underated.Smooth,quiet(no tramlining)The car is more of a high speed tourer than quick a-b,(for me anyway)but so far,excellent in dry,and wet.
KL-71 31x10.5R15 for various 4x4's. Agressive mud-terrain tyre with excellent side lugs. Much quieter than BFG MT on the road and grip on wet tarmac more like AT. Very competitive price (compared to BFG). Yet to see what the wear rate is like, I suspect not as good as BFG. £71/corner.
Ecsta KU31 225/45/17 on 2004 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0TDI SE
Used this very guide to help make my decision after seeing how cheap these KU31s are next to the competition. 8,000 miles in and very impressed; road noise is noticeably lower than the Goodyear/Pirelli mix on the car before and fuel economy has improved a little too. Hardly any wear showing either although I do drive the car gently!
Ecsta KU31 225/45/17 on 300Hp 1995 Saab 9000 Aero
I used to have Michelin XZS's om my Aero, and I rated them. The time came to replace them and the Michelens were £120 each, based on what I had read here I had Kumho KU31's fitted for £80 a corner. After 3 months now, lots of differing road conditions, snow and wet roads, and a couple of weeks of dry roads (at last). I'm impressed. They seem to be just as good as the 'twice the price' (but very good) Michelin's I had on before. Plenty of grip, they are quiet, and inspire confidence. A big
for Kumho KU31's.
Ecsta KU31 205/50/16 1998 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000
Don't be fooled by the price, these are certainly good tyres. They are as cheap as Nankangs and the like (in this size) but they're just as good as any other mid range sports tyre I think. Better than the Firestones I had on previously. Recommended
Landsail
245/50/18 (BMW 730D) - The worst tyre that I have ever used in 30 years on the road. I have just bought the car and it came with these tyres, the fronts are brand new and the rears are only a few months old. They are absolutely treacherous in the rain, the front and the rear feels like it is going to wash out even at very low speeds. Manhole covers in the wet feel like sheet ice on these tyres. They must have 15,000 miles or more left in them but I am replacing them with some decent rubber immediately. I have driven cars with cheap tyres before and they were not great but these things are unbelievably bad. Steer well clear.
Useful Links
Reports/Reviews/Articles
PH Tyre Test - Part one
www.tyrereviews.co.uk - Tyre review website run by PH'er jon-.
Here is a good table of ratings from this site, click on the tyre name/model to get the the reviews:-
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Grid/
Recommended Retailers/Fitters
Google Shopping - Type in tyre size and will search multiple tyre retailes including most of the ones below.
Elite Tyres - Very large fitter based in Rainham, Essex. Cheap prices due to bulk quantities and good professional service.
PH/Blackcircles Tyre Selector
selectatyres
Camskill
TyreTraders - bought 4 Goodyear F1s and all ran smoothly, no one else came close to price when rang for price match promise crap.
Reviews should be listed under tyre manufacturer, then size, model of car and your comments.
Hope it proves to be useful!
Groomi
Aurora
195/55/15 (Ford Focus) - Never again will I try budget tyres recommended to me by my Dad - an absolute death trap in the wet.
Avon
ZZ3 (225/40/18) (Ford Focus MK2) - Great tyres, provide grip in both wet and dry conditions. I had Toyo Proxies before these, and I would rate the grip the same as the Toyo's but last a hell of a lot longer! Great price too, can be picked up for around £80 a peice. Rotational pattern
ZZ3 (235/35/19 and 265/30/19) (BMW Z4M Coupe) - Pretty terrible grip levels and high road noise. TC light flashes on a great deal and understeer is rife. Not suited to this car at all.
ZZ3 (225/50/16) (Ford Cougar) - Great tyre, pretty good grip and great price, lasts plenty long enough for a car with reasonable output, made in England. Honestly, I dont drive like a lunatic but these are great, you could do a lot worse- I see no point in buying tyres better than these for normal/enthusiastic drivers.
ZZ3 (225/45/18) (MG ZT 190) - Excellent tyres. Very high lateral grip in wet and dry, pretty quiet and excellent ride quality too. At least as good as my usual Contisport M3s but they're significantly cheaper and made in the UK.
ZV3 (Various 14'/15') (Numerous FWD MK2 Golf/Jettas and Audi's) - My daily driver tyre of choice. Cheap and reliable, they give good grip in all weathers and wear at a reasonable pace. Would highly recommend were outright performance is not the key factor but still important along with cost.
ZV5 (195/60/15) (MK1 Focus Facelift) Very quiet tyres, Fairly grippy, Good tyre wear, Excellent value for money, This tyre pattern has now taken over the ZV3 i believe. Very impressed, still has good steering feel.
Ice Touring (205/55/16) (Vectra C 1.8) Fantastic in the snow and ice that we're just had, car drove like it was on tarmac despite being on 3-4" of snow/ice, didn't get stuck once even passed several 4x4's. Grip in the wet/dry is also very good when it's cold, not quite so good once it gets a bit warmer as they are too soft. Only complaint would be that they are noisy at motorway speeds due to having an open tread pattern.
Bridgestone
RE050A (Ferrari 355) - Fitted recently to replace the same. Once scrubbed in, they seem to grip reasonably well, albeit roads are cold and slippery right now. Will see how they wear, especially on the rears. Seem reasonable value (£100 fro the fronts, £165 for the rears). Only criticism is that I don't like the way they look. Sidewalls seem to slope inwards, making the tyres look too small on the rim, especially on the rears, despite being factory recommended size. Will be replacing with something different once the time comes.
Update after about 3k miles - took the 355 out for an airfield day and gave it hell. The tyres took a right caning, and I'm afraid I've worn them a bit. Let-go is quite progressive, meaning you can power slide the car very easily and controllably (prob something to do with the wearing down bit
) but they are a very soft tyre and were a lot hotter and stickier than some others on the day on similarly heavy cars. Grip appears good but not noticably better than other tyres I've run, which makes me think I'll be going back to the Ecsta KU31's once these are shagged (which will be the end of summer at this rate!). Otehr than that, the car was just amazing on the day. It really does handle brilliantly.
Recently discovered they have ZERO rim protection. ZERO. Nada.
Final update - down to 3mm on the rears after about a spirited 5k miles or so. Can't say I've been overly impressed. They're a decent tyre but nothing to write home about and they've worn quite quickly, admittedly after having a fairly hard life.
I think Kuhmo KU31's next...
RE050A RFT (225/40/18 + 255/35/18) (BMW Z4 3.0i) - Came fitted to the Z4. Fair dry road grip and excellent turn-in due to the stiff sidewalls, but very poor wet grip. Ride quality was dreadful. Seemed to last for ever, which may explain the poor grip. Also seemed to be on permanent back-order which gave me another reason to switch to non run-flats.
Potenza RE050A RFT [2nd Gen] (215/40/18 & 245/35/18) (BMW 123d M-Sport) Switched to these from the factory-fitted Dunlop Sport SP01 (which lasted 11k miles). The Bridgestones offer better grip and stability than the Dunlops and wet performance is excellent. The ride, however, is still on the firm side. Wear rate seems to be excellent with 6mm left after 7k miles - should get around 15k from the rears and 20k from the fronts. Having had a flat, I can also report that the RFT system works fantastically and I'm happy to sacrifice some ride quality for the convenience and safety of the RFT system. I would definitely fit these again in future, and the 3rd Gen RE050A (due mid-2010) are said to greatly improve ride as well so look forward to testing that claim.
RE040 (BMW E46 330ci) - Came fitted to my BMW as factory fitment to the 18" MV1 wheels. Grip and wear was OK but I found the car tram-lined terribly- dangerously so (tracking was fine). When replaced with Michelin Pilots the tram-lining problem was gone.
RE040 225/45 R18 Saab 9-3SS estate Aero - Came fitted with the factory fitment Conti Sport Contact M3 which only lasted 10K, i wasn't impressed with them at all. damp/wet weather lateral grip was quite good, but standing water was bloody dangerous. the Soft side walls gave the steering a very soft feel. RE040 have a much harder compound, stiff side walls and in turn give a much firmer ride. The up shot is better steering feel, excellent performance in standing water, and good performance in lateral wet weather performance once the tyres have some heat in them. dry weather performance is about the same. but more importantly wear rate is excellent, done 10K and still have 3mm left.
Turanza ER30 195/50/R15 Mazda MX5 Mk1 - Came fitted to a set of 2nd hand alloys I bought but in as-new condition. Quiet running and better economy than the Michelins that were on previously. Seem to tramline quite badly but that may be the alignment on my car. Wet grip awful - back end feels twitchy and understeers awfully.
Turanza ER330 195/60/VR15 Corolla - replaced some Michelin Energies. Excellent in the dry and plenty of grip in the wet, much quieter and less understeer than the Michelins. However, in the recent snow they were absolutely useless, no traction or grip at all and I've only got 95bhp!
CEAT
Spider 155/80/13 In the dry they were ok, but in the wet they were actually slightly scary. Stopping distance was fairly liberal to say the least, and they would scrabble pulling away with anything more than gentle acceleration. On one occasion pulling onto the A12 I was left spinning even in 3rd gear at 20ish mph - this is on an Astra with about 60bhp. Road noise was atrocious, only realise how bad it was now I've switched to Uniroyal Rainexperts. The only good thing was free puncture repair from Kwik Fit, other than that, avoid!!!
Continental
ContiSportContact 2 225/40/18 XL (Focus ST225) - A good all-round tyre that does nothing remarkable in a positive or negative way. Grip levels are good in both wet and dry, although the grip can fall off quite quickly in the wet when they do let go. Not excessively noisy. Turn-in was ok but not as good as the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s now fitted. Wear rate was acceptable - 11,000 on the front set of a turbocharged hot hatch and around 19,000 on the rears. Very good sidewall protection.
ContiSportContact 2 (2nd experience) (BMW M3 CSL) - Found these tyres quite impressive, did just shy of 20,000 miles on them including 3 trackdays before they wore out. Both front and rear's at the same time. The car was previously fitted with Michelin CUPs which were outstanding in the dry and average in the wet. By comparison the Conti's were not as strong in the dry but far superior in wet. Average sidewall protection.
ContiSportContact 3 SSR 205/45/17 (Mini Cooper S, run-flat tyres)
Dry grip is very good - the car feels very composed and can take a large amount of power without breaking traction. Wet grip is also very good, inspiring confidence. Contis have also taken the edge off of bumps, meaning a slightly more forgiving ride. The Contis are superior in every way to the worn Dunlop SP9000 DSSTs that they replaced.
ContiPremiumContact 175/65/15H (R56 Mini Cooper) A tyre that doesn't draw any attention to itself - even-handed but not stellar performance wet and dry (not surprising given size and application) - but good enough to let the qualities of the car's chassis shine through. Fronts have worn a little quicker than the Michelin Energys on the former R50 One, but that can be a function of my enthusiasm on the many mini roundabouts on the way home when avoiding a major traffic jam on the motorway. As befits their modest size and general purpose rather than ultra-high performance specification, these are pretty driveable in wintery conditions even though the fronts are now down to not much more than 2 mm (to be replaced next service in a week or so).
MINIs do rather well on modest tyres - fluent, progressive and feelsome rather than the usual loads of grip, no finesse fare of modern hatches on big wheels/tyres. 'Upgrade' the wheels and tyres at your peril.
Dunlop
SP2000E (235/45/17 + 255/40/17) These tyres were so bad on my completely standard BMW 530i that I replaced them despite the front tyres having a good 6mm of tread left. Any trip down a decent A/B road would be accompanied by near constant DSC activation despite not really pressing on. Replaced all 4 tyres with a different brand, problem vanished.
(225/45/17) (BMW E46 328i Touring Sport Suspension) A BMW OEM spec tyre. Grip levels were good dry and acceptable wet. Though eventual wet breakaway was predictable, feel was not up to the very best tyres so not a tyre to choose if you want to really *enjoy* driving in the wet. On the other hand, wear rate impressive with 4mm left after 20,000 miles. Overall a safe, competent if unexciting tyre. Perfectly adequate for a motorway barge but 10 year old technology and the latest premium tyres are noticeably better for similar money. elfer.
SP9000 (205/55 ZR15) - One full set previously on modified Saab 900 Turbo, went to another 900 Turbo of mine after the first one got 16" wheels, now have a new pair of these on the fronts of the Chimaera. Excellent wet weather performance, lots of grip wet and dry, sidewalls a bit soft so not the ultimate dry handling tyre. Sidewalls rolled very significantly when mounted on narrow rims (5.5" - the lower end of the 'acceptable' scale) - should be a lot better on the 7" wide Chimaera wheels.
SP9000 (215/40 ZR17 and 235/45 ZR17) - Had several sets on my Volvo 850T5R. My father used them on the S80T6 as well and we were both very satisfied. Apart from being cheap they were a massive improvement over the originally fitted Pirelli's on both cars (P Zero Assimetrico and P6000). The turn in was not particularly sharp but given that the majority of their miles happened on a highway, where they were quite planted and stable up to 155mph. They were OKish in the wet and quite OK at aquaplanning. They wore very fast, though - 13k miles for the 850 and about 16k for the S80, in spite of the forward and rears being switched in the middle of the season to make the set last longer. Quite good tyres for the time.
SP9000 (235/40 ZR18 and 255/35 ZR18)
I have run 3 full sets on an E39 M5. Average motorway mileage around 40k per set. Good in the wet, very stable and predictable - definately get noisier when older.
SP Sport Maxx (215/40 ZR17 and 235/45 ZR17) - Had one set on my Volvo 850T5R and one on the S80T6. These were a lot 'livelier' than the SP9000s before. Direction changes were much more decisive, turn in was a lot sharper and the whole car seemed to be on it's toes a bit. They were great fun on a challenging road and when you were fully concentrated but tended to require a lot more concentration from the driver. At speeds over 125mph on a highway driving became quite difficult - they had far less directional stability than the 9000s before and required supreme concentration (disproportionately more so than any other tyres on the same car). There were no differences in the fuel consumption compared to the previous Dunlops. The same tyres were quite different on the S80 - providing most of the benefits, without the shortcomings. The car is naturally more stable at high speed and the difference between the Maxx and 9000 tyres there was minimal. The handling benefits were similar to those on the other car, though and these seem to last marginally longer. One thing apparent, though, is that ESP cuts in a lot more often than with the previous set.
Durun
Sport 1 225/45/18 (BMW 320d)Came free with a set of MV3 rims. Thought I'd use them till they had worn ... it was a long wait. These things were so hard I still had them 12 months on and I normally go through two sets a year. Excellent grip in the dry but no grip in the wet. No rim protection what so ever. If you're a taxi driver I recommend these!
Event
GL695 195/60/15 These were fitted to a Focus I bought. Incredibly poor grip, especially in the wet. Focus TDCI should not be able to wheelspin at 25mph! one to avoid.
Falken
ZIEX ZE-502 (17inch) 255/17 and 205/17 (Porsche 964 Carrera 2) - Replaced my Pirelli P-Zero, which seemed to wear out v. quickly (and are about £180 a corner) with 4 new Falkens. A really good , very cheaply priced tyre (about £65 a corner, irrespective of width), and lower noise than the P-Zero's. Properly speed-rated.
ZIEX ZE-512 185/60/14 ('90 Pug 205 XS)
Cheap, felt poor in the wet, quite good in the dry but were quite wobbly and didn't feel as precise as the previous Bridgestones.
FK-452 (18inch) 255/35/18 (BMW 330i Sport MY01) - Tried any number of tyres over the 60K we had the car. Very good in the wet and dry offering probably 90% of the performance at 50-75% of the price of Eagle F1's at the time.
FK-452 (18inch) 225/40/18 (Subaru Impreza WRX STi MY03) - Replaced my Eagle F1's as budget was tight last year. Very surprised that a drop in price has not meant a drop in performance. Wet weather grip is around 15% less than the F1's at most, dry weather the same. Tyre noise much improved over F1's. Said to wear better than F1's (I'll update after I've done some serious miles on them) Purchased from Camskill and delivered to Selectatyres for fitting, excellent service from both.
FK-452 (18inch) 235/45/R18, Y Rated (Audi S4 Avant Quattro {B6} 4.2 V8) - These were £50 per tyre less than equivalent Pirelli P-Zero Rosso's but I believe just as good (I had P-Zeros on before) They are excellent in the wet and also produce slightly less road roar than the Pirelli's at high speed. The only downside was when pushed very hard on a dry alpine thrash they seemed to become a little 'slippy' and 'squealy' when very hot.
FK-452 (18inch) 225/40/18 (Audi TT Roadster 270bhp Quattro 1.8T) - I had my alloys refurbished and went for a new set of tyres to replace my Michelin Pilot Sport 2 and opted for the Falkens since they have good press and I must agree that they are excellent! They don't grip quite as well in the cold and wet but in the wet they are very good and in the dry they are excellent. They are quite a hardwearing tyre so you'd expect them to have a little less grip than a softer compound. The great part is they cost just £60 a corner direct from Falken! In contrast, the Michelin PS2 worked out to £110 more per tyre! The Michelin is a better tyre but certainly not that much different that you need to pay an extra £440 for a set when you can buy the excellent Falkens FK452.
FK-452 (18inch) 245/40/18 (Jaguar S-Type Sport Diesel 56 Reg) - Replaced Pirelli PZero Asymetricos on the front. Cost was 116 GBP each where the PZero would have been nearer 160. Recommended by lots on Jag forums. Only have a pair on the front at the minute, I think they are slightly noisier than the PZero but it isn't a huge difference. Wet weather grip seems to be the same or better, dry weather the same. They do seem to take a while to "run in" though, 300 miles or so.
Updated to say now on all round. Great tyre,I think slightly noisier than the P Zero Asym but fantastic grip wet or dry. Good in deep standing water as well.
FK-452(18inch) 235/35/18 265/35/18 1800kg rwd car.Sensible grip,reasonable wet weather peformance.With heavy negative camber are holding their inner edge very well.Have used better tyres but for half the money you get maybe 85% performance
FK-452 (17inch) 235/40/17 (BMW E36 328i) - Replaced Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front, and were soon after moved to the rear. Great value for money, only £70 a corner where replacement Goodyears would be £115. Grip in the dry is very good, only very enthusiastic driving can cause the tyres to loose traction and coax out the back end. No complaints for wet grip either, no aquaplaning or any other loss of grip in wet conditions in over 5000 miles. Would recommend and will happily buy again over more expensive brands.
FK-452 (17 inch) 205/50/17 (Alfa Romeo Spider) - Replaced Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front as they were £15 a corner cheaper and had good reviews. Nearly as good as the F1s in the dry, but not a patch on them in the wet / damp, say 85% of the grip. Will keep them on the front to wear them out quicker and keep the very good F1s on the back where I need the grip. Will not buy these again for this car as £15 difference isn't enough to justify the poorer tyre.
FK-453 (18 & 19 inch) Evo 8/E46 330CCI/E60 M5 - replaced Toyo TR1. Took a chance as I needed new tyres before an MOT on the 330 and they only had these in the staggered size I needed. A year in and they have proved to be excellent, easily equal if not slightly better than the toyo's in the dry and superior in the wet. Went on the Evo next which needs good stiff sidewalls and again proved excellent on a car running 400 bhp, grip and feel were intuitive with no excessive noise or wear. Finally put a set onto my M5 and again have proved excellent, wet grip is noticeably better as is aquaplaning especially on such wide tyres. Would definitely recommend.
ZIEX ZE-912 (16inch) 205/50/16 (Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Sxi MY02) - After going through numerous sets of 'this and that' tyres I've finally found something that matches the OE Michelins. They are fantastic in both wet and dry, offer very acceptable road noise. Dry grip is actually very good (far better than the ZE-512s they replaced). The previous 512s suffered from quite pronounced tyre wall deflection and felt like running on jelly, but these are much better, and much more predictable. Yes, I would buy again. £50 delivered from Camskill. (submitted by Fastra)
ZIEX ZE 912 Jaguar XJ8 240BHP 225/60/16 - Very quiet, smooth riding tyre. I do more long distance cruising rather than B road hooning so can't comment on outright grip but these are as good if not better than the OE Pirellis from a comfort point of view. Certainly recommended if you're looking for a touring tyre at a reasonable price. £265 a set from Camskill.
(submitted by Jaguar Steve)
Falken Ziex ZE-912 225/40/18 W rated (Audi TT Roadster 270bhp Quattro 1.8T) - I posted (above) some time ago about the Falken FK452 which I found were excellent. I didn't think the ZE912 would be better but...
The ZE912 is a quieter tyre than the FK452. You can swap these front to rear and side to side since they are assymetrical and not directional which means better tyre wear is possible by rotating the locations periodically.
They balanced up well (despite the fact that a pothole has recently bent one of my wheels); this wheel is on the front and it feels fine, no wobble at all.
The FK452 is a summer tyre but the ZE912 is an all season tyre.
I can feel straight away that the ride is more comfortable. The wear rating on the ZE912's is 360, the FK452's are 300 so the ZE912 should be harder wearing. This is usually at the detriment of grip but I noticed both 452 and 912 have the same AA traction rating.
Michelin Pilot Sport 2 are considered to grip extremely well and to wear very well but they are only 220 and even the later Primacy is only 240, both are seriously more expensive! Softer tyres offer more grip in the dry of course but to give you an idea about wear rates, track days tyres are rated around 200 so are not much different to MPS-II at 220.
What I was also pleased to see is that the ZE912 has a bit of rim protection whereas the FK452 has none. It's not huge but it would make a difference between a scuff and lumps missing!
Where I have noticed a huge difference is in snow and the wet cold conditions, these tyres feel a lot grippier in adverse conditions than the FK452's and also better than the Bridgestone Duellers on our other car (they are mud & snow tyres).
I've done maybe 200-300 miles on the ZE912 tyres now and they have much better grip whilst still scrubbing in than the FK452's and the grip in the cold and wet is very very impressive!
I expect the FK452's are better for grip in the summer on dry roads but I like the all year round capability of these ZE912's and I don't think I will go back to the FK452's again.
More reviews here:- http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Falken/ZE912.htm
Firestone
F-590 OEM on Fabia 165/70/R14 nearly new tyres removed as they are hopeless. Advertised as tyres for basic runabout cars, all weather fuel saver tyres. They are only acceptable in warm dry conditions, as soon as any damp or temperature drops below 10C they are dangerous. Not recommended.
TZ200 2002 Ford Focus 2.0 205/50/R16 - Good quality tyre, excellant road holding during hard cornering in dry conditions and good traction in both wet and dry conditions. Low noise level on motorway. £90 each fitted.
Goodyear
Eagle F1 Supercar EMT 245/40/18 + 285/35/19 ('08 Corvette) - Factory-fit tyres. Pretty good dry and wet grip in warm weather, and very good in standing water in spite of the width. Things change dramatically when the temperature drops below about 5C, when dry road grip is noticeably worse and wet grip and traction are very poor. When the temperature drops below zero they're hilariously bad - wheel-spin in almost any gear at any speed. Wear rate isn't brilliant either - they're about half-worn after 6000 miles of mainly motorway miles. EDIT: Actually they lasted 14,000 miles and 1 track day. Also turned out to be surprisingly OK in snow (well, no worse than any other summer tyre).
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 215/45/17 ('99 156 2.5v6) - Bought to replace the GSD3s that I have always been a fan of. Easily the equal of the GSD3s in the dry, quashing as much of the understeer from my nose heavy Alfa as is possible without an LSD. In the wet they are significantly more confidence inspiring that the GSD3s. Have yet to find out if they last more than the few months the GSD3s used to though!
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 215/45/17 ('03 Impreza WRX) - Also bought to replace the GSD3s that I have always been a fan of. They are excellent in the dry and the wet (when you really need grip) and they are significantly quieter than the GSD3s that I've always used in the past.
Eagle F1 GSD3 195/45/15 ('91 205gti) - Incredible wet grip and very progressive both on road and track. Wear rate on dry tracks is very high though, and lots of tyre roar on road.
eagle F1 GSD3 195/45/16 172renaultsport - brilliant grip level in wet or dry, full of feel and inspire confidence in anything you do
Eagle F1 GSD3 205/50/16 (Nissan 200SX) - Transformed the handling of this car, amazing wet grip. Previously the car would be twitchy accelerating gently down a wet slip road, with the GSD3s you could accelerate hard off a wet roundabout without breaking traction.
Eagle F1 GSD3 205/55/17 (Alfa Romeo Spider 1999) - Recommended by many, and you can see why. Confident in the wet, awesome in the dry. Just so much grip, no squeal until you're really really pushing it. Tyre wall protects the alloys from kerbing to a good extent. A tad noisy at times, depending on wear. The wear rate seems to be quite high at the moment too, but I'll update when they finally go. Probably the best tyre for this sort of car.
Eagle F1 GSD3 235/40/18 + 265/35/18 Excellent grip in the wet and dry. Inspires confidence in adverse weather conditions and resists aquaplaning. Knocked 10% off cruising fuel economy, however. But performance wise, absolutely excellent.
Eagle F1 GSD3 205/50/16 (Volvo T5)
totaly transformed the feel of the car, Superb grip in the wet and dry, very confidence inspiring . so far fuel economy has improved over the previous tyres. would definitely buy these again
Eagle F1 GSD3 225/40/18 + 255/35/18 (BMW Z4 3.0i) Excellent grip in the dry and wet - in fact, felt better in the wet than the standard Bridgestone RE050A RFT tyres had done in the dry! Turn in was a little soft compared with the Bridgestones due to the softer sidewalls, which also contributed to excellent ride quality. Wear rate was OK, and made bearable by the great performance.
Eagle F1 GSD3 225/40ZR18 (extra load) (Celica ST205). First set appeared to have the treadblocks peel away from the carcass. Most odd. Goodyear replaced all 4 without quibbling after inspecting the tyres. Second set have been excellent. Strong dry grip, clear water wall. Very happy.
Eagle F1 GSD3 225/40/ZR18 (Golf MkIV GTi TDi Anniversary) - Excellent levels of grip on this tyre in the dry and the wet. Only downside I found was that it appeared to drop fuel economy by approx. 10%. Will certainly be using these or the Asymmetrics on any performance car I get my hands on in the future!
Eagle NCT5 195/55/15 (Ford Focus) - Mediocre tyres.
Eagle NCT5 205/55/16 (Alfa 156 1.9 diesel) - Fantastic tyre, great wet and dry grip, covered 17k so far, another 3k left in the fronts, 10k on the back. Excellent VFM choice, I will replace with the same!
Excellence 225/40/18 XL (Focus ST225) - these came fitted from the factory and are abysmal tyres. Acceptable grip in the dry elicited sheer terror the second clouds appeared. Very poor water-clearance capacity and as a result they tend to aquaplane far too easily. Sidewall protection was non-existent and the sidewalls themselves were incredibly prone to pinching/splitting - I have not had a single issue with this on subsequent tyres (Michelins and Continentals) so I can only attribute this to the Excellence. I would never fit these tyres again. Surprising how wrong Goodyear got these when the get it so right with the Eagle F1s. Wear rate was good though at around 15,000 for the fronts and 25,000 for the rears.
Hankook
Ventus V12 EVO (205/45/16) Just fitted 2 x Ventus V12 EVO to front of the Alfa(205/45 x 16 ZR 87W)
They have received fantastic reviews in Auto Bild(German mag) amongst others and for good reason,they are superb value and are something of a bargain at £78 each Inc Vat and fitting etc.(Guildford Tyres)
Optimo K415 185/60/14 Good tyres for the price of cheapies (via blackcircles)
Ventus Prime 205-55/16 Paid £68 each, fitted. Very capable tyres for the money, good grip, work well in the wet, quiet, and handle very well. Replaced Vredestein Hi-Trac and Kumho KH17, both of which offered considerably less outright grip but were reasonably adequate.
Kenda
Kaiser 225/45/17 Volvo V70 170bhp SE
Contrary to every review I have read about these tyres they have performed well on the heavy Volvo. Only fitted as they came on a set of replacement alloy wheels (I would probably not have bought them by choice) but I have been very happy with them. They replaced SP9000’s and are actually much better in terms of handling, road noise and behaviour in the wet, although they can screech a bit in the corners when dry. To date I have added about 6k miles to them and they still look new, I accept that they may not perform well on other cars but I have no complaints while fitted to my Volvo!
Kaiser 225/40/18 Vauxhall Signum 2.8T - The nastiest tyres I have ever had the misfortune of driving on. With a directional tread, and acceptable dry grip, they lure you into a false sense of security. However, at the first glimpse of damp, they lose the little traction they had and you may as well be driving on bald tyres. Uncomfortable, noisy, no feedback, and annoyingly hardwearing. A budget tyre to avoid at all costs.
Kumho
Ecsta KU31(various sizes and cars) - Originally had these fitted to my MR2 turbo in Australia. Wet and dry grip was very good, with progressive release. They wore very well too (previous set of rears lasted 6,000 kms, but included some trackdays. Cannot recall the brand) whereas the Kumhos lasted far better with better grip to boot. Then put them on the M3 EVO over here and again, very impressed with performance and wear rates. Highly underrated tyre.
Now put them on the M3. 225/45/17 and 245/40/17. Scrubbed in and running, the grip in both wet and dry seems quite high and breakaway is nice and progressive. Sidewalls are good and stiff and turn in seems sharp. Downside is a tendency to tramline a little on the motorway.
Ecsta KU31 275/40/18 - OK, have stuck them on the back of the 355. The first few hundred miles were slippery as expected however they're not bedding in very well. Having said that, I think I've come to the conclusion that they are quite soft, particularly in the sidewall which is causing some issues with tyre pressure. When cold, they feel great however when hot, the back of the car is all over the place. I checked rear pressures and they were very high (mid to high 40s) so I will drop the hot pressures right down (around 30 psi) this weekend and report back.
Update - I've done about 5k miles on them now. Including an airfield day and an extended trip around the European alps (ie, a LOT of hard driving, power sliding, hard acceleration etc.) I've given the tyres a really good caning. My initial handling concerns (ie, being all over the place) turned out to be car setup (I'd not tightened up something) but now that's sorted they seem great. Cornering speeds were comparable to or slightly higher than the RE050's at the airfield day. Grip in wet and dry seems great, as does the breakaway which is nice and progressive. They're probably about two thirds worn now, although the car's getting used less over the winter (I'll update the M3 report as I use it more). Definitely a good tyre IMHO.
Ecsta KU31225/45-17 BMW 525i Touring - Replacement for RFT's which came with the vehicle. far better ride and road noise (not suprisingly) and the wet/dry grip is very impressive. Used in the snow also with no issues to report. A very impressive budget priced tyre and I would definately use again on a similar vehicle.
Ecsta KU 31 195/50/15 , Toyota Celica '92
Great tyres, give me lots of grip so far and seem to produce far less road noise than the Michelins that were on the car before.
At only £40 per corner these have to be the best "budget performance" tyre around, they feel much better than the far more expensive Michelins.
Ecsta KU31 225/45/16 on 318iS and 215/45/17 on IS200
Tried these tyres on an old 318iS and was really impressed with the grip and lack of tyre wall flex. The most impressive feature might be the fact that the grip is equally impressive in the wet! Just as long as the temperature isn't too cold. I would happily recommend these tyres for anyone and not just people on a budget. I have only just put them on an IS200 but I have no doubt they will be a great tyre. These tyres should be held in the same esteem as the Falken's and in fact I prefer them to the FK451's because of the stiffer tyre wall.
Ecsta KU 31 225/50/17 , Cadillac CTS 3.6
Superb tyres,very underated.Smooth,quiet(no tramlining)The car is more of a high speed tourer than quick a-b,(for me anyway)but so far,excellent in dry,and wet.
KL-71 31x10.5R15 for various 4x4's. Agressive mud-terrain tyre with excellent side lugs. Much quieter than BFG MT on the road and grip on wet tarmac more like AT. Very competitive price (compared to BFG). Yet to see what the wear rate is like, I suspect not as good as BFG. £71/corner.
Ecsta KU31 225/45/17 on 2004 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0TDI SE
Used this very guide to help make my decision after seeing how cheap these KU31s are next to the competition. 8,000 miles in and very impressed; road noise is noticeably lower than the Goodyear/Pirelli mix on the car before and fuel economy has improved a little too. Hardly any wear showing either although I do drive the car gently!
Ecsta KU31 225/45/17 on 300Hp 1995 Saab 9000 Aero
I used to have Michelin XZS's om my Aero, and I rated them. The time came to replace them and the Michelens were £120 each, based on what I had read here I had Kumho KU31's fitted for £80 a corner. After 3 months now, lots of differing road conditions, snow and wet roads, and a couple of weeks of dry roads (at last). I'm impressed. They seem to be just as good as the 'twice the price' (but very good) Michelin's I had on before. Plenty of grip, they are quiet, and inspire confidence. A big
for Kumho KU31's.Ecsta KU31 205/50/16 1998 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000
Don't be fooled by the price, these are certainly good tyres. They are as cheap as Nankangs and the like (in this size) but they're just as good as any other mid range sports tyre I think. Better than the Firestones I had on previously. Recommended
Landsail
245/50/18 (BMW 730D) - The worst tyre that I have ever used in 30 years on the road. I have just bought the car and it came with these tyres, the fronts are brand new and the rears are only a few months old. They are absolutely treacherous in the rain, the front and the rear feels like it is going to wash out even at very low speeds. Manhole covers in the wet feel like sheet ice on these tyres. They must have 15,000 miles or more left in them but I am replacing them with some decent rubber immediately. I have driven cars with cheap tyres before and they were not great but these things are unbelievably bad. Steer well clear.
Useful Links
Reports/Reviews/Articles
PH Tyre Test - Part one
www.tyrereviews.co.uk - Tyre review website run by PH'er jon-.
Here is a good table of ratings from this site, click on the tyre name/model to get the the reviews:-
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Grid/
Recommended Retailers/Fitters
Google Shopping - Type in tyre size and will search multiple tyre retailes including most of the ones below.
Elite Tyres - Very large fitter based in Rainham, Essex. Cheap prices due to bulk quantities and good professional service.
PH/Blackcircles Tyre Selector
selectatyres
Camskill
TyreTraders - bought 4 Goodyear F1s and all ran smoothly, no one else came close to price when rang for price match promise crap.