UniRoyal RainSport 3

[R53rider]

E-bmw said:

Not the best of tyres, even for the price!
7th out of 8 & 13th out of 14!

Edited by E-bmw on Saturday 8th July 09:35

Yup, they didn't come out well in those tests, I grant. I sometimes wonder about those tests though. Maybe it depends what car they used to undertake the test. I don't know.

Interestingly, the comments by most of the private individuals are the opposite and very positive.
The tests criticise the wet grip but the private individuals give them 98%. Big difference in opinion. Strange. And they get 93% for comfort. Also strange.

I'm certainly not defending them, nor recommending them, nor defending my choice. And I wasn't looking for cheap nor it must be said longevity. Tyre choice tends to be pretty 'tribal' TBH.

However, on a Gen1 S they are:
Very comfortable
Very quiet
Great in the wet
Are fine when braking in the dry (the standard Gen1 brakes give up long before the tyres!)
Oversteer? I've done a lot of chassis mods, still stock springs and dampers at the moment, so the car is incredibly tight with magic turn-in. It has a bigger rear bar. And yes I can invoke oversteer if you really try in slower corners.

I have tracked it a couple of times, dry and warm conditions, and the Coopers performed very well. When I buy a set of wheels and tyres that are acceptable for road use but more track orientated I'll probably try Federal 595 RS-R or 888s.

[E-bmw]

R53rider said:

When I buy a set of wheels and tyres that are acceptable for road use but more track orientated I'll probably try Federal 595 RS-R or 888s.

having tried both I would say don't they are extremely wooden & terrible when the track gets any more than damp, the Nankang NS2R are generally cheaper size for size & MUCH better in all conditions.

[turbojay555]

Recently fitted a couple of rainsport 3's to my r53 mcs, ditched the run flats and so glad I did. Brilliant tyres in the wet and dry. Handles so much better although still got 2 run flats on rear. But definitely a thumbs up from me.

[Dave.]

I've just put a set on my MX5, too much grip now! Gutted!

Hopefully i can kill them off quickly and get something a bit more playful, on the rear at least...

[VAGLover]

ghiblicup said:

PS4

They really are another world in all conditions.

I have PS4 on my Audi S3, grip like no other tyre I’ve had

[hammo19]

Dumped run flats and had rs3s on my R53 brilliant tyres giving mega confidence with grip in all conditions. Also brilliant on Skodas especially the Octavia VRS.

[doogle83]

Are people still rating the RainSport 3's for the R56 or is there a new favourite?

I have 3 run flat P Zero's on their way out so thinking it's time to swap to a full set of non-runflats. Was looking at PS4's but I can't ignore the ~£35 a corner saving of the RS3's when I'm looking at four of them...


Thanks!

[steve-5snwi]

I still like them, although i'm tempted to try the MPS4's next. I've also put some Hankook Primes on the old mondeo instead of the RS3's just to be different and they feel quite good.

[E-bmw]

RS3 are a mid-range/budget tyre that is good in the wet & OK in the dry, wears really quickly unless you are over 96 and should be treated as such.

[jimmy156]

I'm liking them on mine so far. They don't seem to be wearing as quickly as others are suggesting either.

I think they are good balance of performance vs cost (a set of four would save £75 to £100 or so over pirelli Pzero or Michellin Ps4 etc.