Uniroyal Rainsport 3 -Verdict?

[MC Bodge]

I notice that there is a Uniroyal Rainsport 3 tyre available.

Has anybody used them? Good, bad, indifferent?

[MC Bodge]

Roaduser said:

Tread patterns are like the Verds tho, not handed so can look quite strange.

Not something that concerns me, I have to say.

[MC Bodge]

Kozy said:

They do in their other tyres. The Rainsport 3 appears to be being introduced fairly slowly.

[MC Bodge]

Turkey said:

Fitted a set of Rainsport 2 to the front of the ZS Diesel after reading the rave reviews. They wore within about 5000 miles excessively on the inside AND outside edges, with about 5mm left in the centre. I had already pushed the pressures up over the book value by about 3psi

Add even more pressure -Experiment.

I've a set of Rain expert on my Mondeo diesel estate.

Grip is very good in all weathers, on muddy, bumpy roads and they are quite 'progressive', although when pushed *very* hard they do deform a bit, but they are on a big car (They're very good on our Fabia)

I have 37psi front & 34 psi rear, with even tyre wear across all tyres.

I'm considering Rain Sport 3's for the next set.

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 5th November 23:41

[MC Bodge]

Lowtimer said:

Turkey said:

I have found the cheap as chips Kumho KU39 to have more grip on greasy roads and in the dry, the Uniroyals were easy to spin up in moist conditions, a big surprise on a car with 205 width tyres and about 130bhp.

I'm very surprised to hear this. I'm putting 300 bhp through a pair of 225/50 Rainsport 2 on the back of my 944 Turbo and the traction is superb, wet or dry.

Kumho KU39 were not great in the wet when I had them on a previous car.

[MC Bodge]

NiceCupOfTea said:

In fact last winter I had an inkling that in cold (non snow) conditions I would have been better off with the RS2s than my 4 year old Nokian WRG2 winter tyres...

Can of worms opened (4 year old winters may be past their best?) ....but I was also pleased by the Rain Expert in the cold, and pleasantly surprised by their performance in the snow.

[MC Bodge]

All that jazz said:

they did nearly always spin up when giving it a few beans pulling away on wet and dry roads, especially so if just a bit moist/greasy

Really?

What were you comparing with? Racing wets?

[MC Bodge]

deadmau5 said:

The sidewalls are still very soft.

Are they or is it a case of a deeper tread deforming more than a typical summer tyre?

Stiff tyres might feel sharper, but some deformation can allow for better progression, feedback and ride on real roads.

[MC Bodge]

paultownsend said:

The soft sidewall only appears to be an issue, because when pumped to vw advised psi, they just look under inflated

Good point. I use higher pressures in my Uniroyals.

The book pressure is for the OEM tyres.

[MC Bodge]

akaRob said:

I've had a set on my MX5 for a month now.

My only gripe is they feel a little soft. I always considered my car a bit crashy on its modified suspension but now it's not. That's great for general driving but in the corners it now feels a little vague and wallowy. I'm supriaed at how much difference tyres make.

They cost me just shy of £200 for 4, fitted. Can't argue with that.

I came from Bridgestone Turanza.

You shouldn't be surprise that tyres make a big difference.

What pressure are you using?

[MC Bodge]

akaRob said:

Normally 26psi, but I'm now trying 28psi as a result.

On a B road though I feel a little disconnected at times.

Geometry is only a month old too.

I'd try 30psi then. I'm surprised that the car feels disconnected as even a Mondeo on Rain Experts (with raised pressures) feels connected.

[MC Bodge]

MichalPH said:

They replaced almost new Rain Experts (175/65r14)the car came on, because we felt they compromised safety - the braking was especially bad compared to what I'm used to.

??

[MC Bodge]

MichalPH said:

During "dynamic" city driving, I repeatedly triggered ABS while braking, especially when the car was loaded up. This haven't happend since changing to wider RS3's. Part of the problem may be I'm used to grippier tyres. Rain Experts have a lot of tread void, they almost feel like winter tyre. They're extremly soft also, much softer than RS3.

Fair enough. They're not 'sports' tyres.

They do have a large 'tread void', but that does mean that they are very good on wet, dirty (and snowy) roads around here, with good predictable handling in the dry. The Rain Expert have always seemed very good on my wife's Fabia. Firm, but smooth braking has never been an issue with them. For a small car like the Jazz I'd have thought that they would be ideal.

I'll possibly fit RS3's to my Mondeo when I next need tyres.

[MC Bodge]

I believer that reasonably priced, possibly slightly quicker wearing, tyres that give good grip and performance are worth it.

...especially when I consider the price of fuel.

[MC Bodge]

Good stuff. I'm having a pair fitted to the rear wheels tomorrow.

[MC Bodge]

2x RainSport 3 (XL Y) fitted to the rear of 2.0 TDCI Mondeo Estate.

First impressions:

Very Good grip in cold, wet and hail.

More lateral stiffness than the (worn out) RainExperts previously fitted at the back -front now feels more 'pointy' and very secure in a wet 'slalom'.

When the fronts are more worn down I'll fit another pair of these RS3's.

Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 12th December 13:49

[MC Bodge]

Pretty Good in the snow this
Morning

[MC Bodge]

DoubleSix said:

This outpouring of praise for RS3 is all well and good.

However the willingness of most of the posters to mix and match brands and even fit new tyres to the wrong axle(!) means I can't take it seriously.

Oh well

[MC Bodge]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Well I have just ordered a new set so it hasn't put me off!

However, I was in my wife's Qashqai today and I thought it was falling apart until I realised the appalling hum/roar was the tyres It is on Uniroyal RainExpert SUV. The fronts are part worn, one on 3-4mm, one little more due to an unexpected puncture. It really is awful. Might end up changing them for something else...

My wife's Fabia is on Rain Experts. They are not noticeably noisy. Maybe the SUV version is dfferent? ...and not on 14" runs.

[MC Bodge]

The RS3 might wear a bit quicker than some other tyres, but the wet and dry performance is excellent. They have lasted fine on my Mondeo estate, which is fairly large. I can't comment on more powerful cars.