Time for new tyres

[headhoon]

My Monaro currently has Bridgestones sitting on standard 18 inch rims. Any recommendations out there from experience of your own rubber?

[stevemac]

Over the years I've mostly run 235/40/18 91/3y bridgestones (o2 and o3) with a short spell on pirelli P100 and zero neros on the back. bridgestones definitely offer more grip than pirelli but dont last long on the back. worked well with bridgestones on the front (good turn in) and pirellis on the back (good life) except the back wasn't as sticky! Just about to try Neutons all round as they are well priced and have a 95 rating which should give good side support. neuton only speed rated at w which at 168mph should do for road use as I'm not planning any track days for the foreseeable. I'll post again on the neutons once i've run them for a while.

[baz7175]

I've always run the Potenza's since I picked up the Monaro, but at present have 2 michelin sports on the rear after the old rubber decided to wear out pretty damn quickly on our tour of the Scottish highlands a week or two ago....bloody expensive too (with us moving around day to day it meant I "had" to get them that particular day - just shy of 400 notes for the pair of 235/40zr18's...

[redbarron84]

I've got a full set of Avon ZZ3's on my 'ro and have to say i've been impressed. They've lasted quite a while and I find that they're not short on grip as some people have experienced.

[RB CV8]

I have recently fitted a new set of Bridgestones, the RE050 as opposed to the RE040s that were on the car originally.

I haven't driven the car in the wet since they were fitted, and I am not in the habit of exploiting the car's handling and grip to the full, so I cannot give a comprehensive account of the new tyres, but they do give noticeably more road noise than the old ones.

[Raggyman]

I use to run Goodyear F1's on mine, but after having kuhmo's on the ute, I am going to be converting to them. The F1's have lately had a dangerous habit of splitting around the inside wall for some reason. F1's are awesome, but the kuhmo's are better in my opinion. Bridgestones seem to have a softer compound, and they don't last for very long.

[MadMaxHSV]

Had PS2's on an M3. Very good tyre, lasted well and good grip in both dry and wet. They have a huge rain channel down then middle of them.

[Monnington]

Noose said:

Anyone using Michelin Pilot Sport 2?

My rears are down to 2mm and i'm considering taking up Costco's offer on Mich-PS2 at 20% discount then I can further the Vat off making a full set for under £750. Summer tyre + harder compound but excellent in the wet and should last longer than Potenza, personally I am expecting it to last 20k apposed to Potenza 11k but prob less grip than Potenza. Anyone any experience on PS2?

Yeah, replaced the Bridgestones with a set. what a difference! If others are claiming that Pirelli's are less grippy the the Bridges, then they must be like driving on ice, cause the Bridgestones were pretty rubbish IMHO.

Can't give you any idea of life on the PS2's, but can't see them being much worse TBH. Grip wise though, they're head and shoulders above. Only comment is that they're quite a soft walled tyre, so you might want to run slightly higher pressures as you can get a little movement in them. Doesn't bother me, but tends to vary from person to person..

[sid447]

Noose said:

Anyone using Michelin Pilot Sport 2?

My rears are down to 2mm and i'm considering taking up Costco's offer on Mich-PS2 at 20% discount then I can further the Vat off making a full set for under £750. Summer tyre + harder compound but excellent in the wet and should last longer than Potenza, personally I am expecting it to last 20k apposed to Potenza 11k but prob less grip than Potenza. Anyone any experience on PS2?

PS2's are a very good tyre and as usual Michelin make tyres that consistently use less weights than most other brands when combined with good quality wheels.
However from personal experience they are not as grippy as the Bridgestone RE-050A PP.

Tirerack.com have a good site for tyre (tire!) research and track testing.