Tyres

[darkblueturbo]

Hi everyone...

First, to introduce myself, I'm a new Monaro owner (04 CV8) so I thought I'd say hi...
Never knew Petrolheads had a Holden Forum - excellent..

Anyway, naturally I love the car and I love the V8 sound and I'll be getting a nice loud exhaust for it in the new year...

My question, as you've probably guessed from the heading, is about the tyres.

OEM fit are the Bridgestone RE040. However the previous owner has put some cheapo no-names on the front so they're coming off pretty soon.
I had intended to just stick with the OEM rubber but thought I'd pose the query as to what other rubber (same size) anyone uses and how they think it compares to the Bridgestones.

I've always leaned towards Pirelli PZero's myself - Assimetrico's on the Scooby give the best balance of ride, dry grip and noise.
Compared to, say Toyo Proxes, which seem to track the ruts in our dodgy roads far too much. Getting worse the larger the tyre - my girlfriends Supra has these on the front with 19" wheels and it's horrific compare to the previous Goodyear Eagle F1's which she loves.
I've used Michelin Pilot Sports in the past but found they didn't offer as much ultimate cornering grip (or I didn't feel confident with them) when compare to the PZero's.

So, obviously understanding that different cars will react differently before jumping straight into a sticky new set of Pirelli's, or standard fit Bridgestones - what do you think?

I've only had one dry day in the Monaro and I'm still building my confident in a car so large and so rear wheel drive so I haven't really pushed the tyres yet - but in the wet those no names (can't remember what they are to be honest) wash out into understeer pretty quickly.
Though the Bridgestones at the back have yet to have the TC working more than a little bit when I'm too eager pulling away in first, so I'm pretty happy with them.

Sorry to keep rambling - just thought I'd better let you all know where I'm coming from with my question rather than asking the unanswerable "what tyres are best for my Monaro"

Cheers...

[Well_Fans]

own experience of Bridgestones is that they slide all over the place in the wet, have now changed to Eagle F1's which are much better but do seem to wear a bit quicker. Other thing with F1's is they are apparently no use at all in the snow so if you are using it as daily driver all winter they may not be ideal.

[barking]

I understand that the Brigestone RE040 design has been improved recently, at least thats what I was told by Green's when I went for the lazy option of having the proffesionals replace mine today with the 10k service. I will let you know whether I've been misinformed.

[AM04ARO]

I stuck to the Bridgstones to start with and then went to Toyo's which were okay. Due to a puncture I changed the rear two to Mitchelin Pilot Sports and they seem really good (expensive though).

[mackie1]

I've got Eagle F1s all-round. I have no complaints although they may make it follow cambers a bit more and feel a little "woolier" around the straight ahead than the Bridgestones according to Monkfish. Very grippy and reasonably priced though.

[BigNige]

I stuck to the RE040's when I replaced all 4 of mine recently.

I quite like them now and find them predictable and generally pretty grippy in all conditions.

[stigcv8]

the 040s were originally on the 350z and I believed were designed with that car at first. Every owner I know threw them away, myself included, due to issues with tyre cupping and quite frankly disapointing noise and handling. As mentioned they were upgraded but even these were loud so I binned them for Pilot Sports. On the Ro I am now using PZero Asymetrics and they handle very nice, quite and predictable.

The issue with tyres is whats good acceptable for one person isn't for another BUT I would take heed of the vast experiences of the 350z owners when it comes to these tyres for the issues they caused.

[v8nhh]

When purchased my GTSR on front had Bridgestones SO3's (still on) on the back had F1's which I found rubbish put on RE040 on loved em brilliant grip also in some terrential downpours they were great now have Toyo on rear and I am not enjoying them they are ok but a bit wooden in feeling. The fronts are superb car grips and turns no understeer sliping sliding etc if I could I would put SO3's all round or RE040/RE050s

Edited by v8nhh on Thursday 7th December 12:42

[greens vauxhall]

stigcv8 said:

the 040s were originally on the 350z and I believed were designed with that car at first. Every owner I know threw them away, myself included, due to issues with tyre cupping and quite frankly disapointing noise and handling. As mentioned they were upgraded but even these were loud so I binned them for Pilot Sports. On the Ro I am now using PZero Asymetrics and they handle very nice, quite and predictable.

The issue with tyres is whats good acceptable for one person isn't for another BUT I would take heed of the vast experiences of the 350z owners when it comes to these tyres for the issues they caused.

Worth noting that the car was probably designed with bridgestones from day one, certainly they were factory fit for all the CV8 Monaro's in the UK.

[mackie1]

The Bridgestones certainly aren't rubbish, I may have kept with them except my car already had newish Goodyears on the front when I bought it and needed new rears shortly after.

[stigcv8]

like i said people like different tyres. I just found the 040s stupidly rubbish, noisy and grip levels that were less than chinchengs

[darkblueturbo]

Hi all, thanks for some interesting comments...

Like the sound of stigcv8 getting on well with the PZero's on the Monaro - that's encouraging, as they'd always be my default choice.
Wouldn't mind trying mine with the standard RE040's on the front first though so I've got decent tyres all round - before switching to PZero at a later date.

I'll be taking her on track in the new year, so I'm sure there'll be a chance to get some new rubber after that!

What's the difference between the RE040 and RE050? Just an updated compound or....?

[v8nhh]

Info I am aware of on RE050 is they are standard fitment on Porsche now, looks like replacement for RE040's... third party info so could be wrong

[LuS1fer]

I had Eagle F1's on my Z28 and now have Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres on my s/c Mustang. Both excellent tyres.

[alfienoakes]

I put Continentals on mine and preferred them over the std tyres. They slide later and more predictably, and they were sensible money

[The Jackel]

I had P-Zeros on the stock wheels which were okay but I have just put 4 Eagle F1's on the new wheels and I am very impressed seam to give a good grip in the wet.

[stigcv8]

just because something is the standard fit on even say a porsche it doesnt mean its good. I'll never use Bridgestones again, in the right conditions they were good but on the whole a serious let down. In fact its the same on bikes, swore blind by them but after the 56ss they started to go down hill until I eventually took the plunge and swapped to Pilot Sports