Tyres (yet again)

[MXRod]

I am sure this will have been discussed before , but I have a slightly different slant on it .
My choice of tyres for some time has been Eagle F1. And those are on my car at present ,
I like them because (IOMO) they have good wet grip, are quiet with regard to road noise , and wear well , and it is the last point that is the problem, because I don’t do starship mileages and the tyres are now 9 years old but only about half worn , and are showing signs of cracking , so the time is right for new ones .
This is where I would value input , As I am having to replace tyres before they are worn out , due to age degradation , I feel I could go for greater grip , wet or dry by choosing a softer compound .also I would like to keep to low road noise .
I am sure there are many opinions , but is there a tyre that stands out against others , without costing the earth .

[SmilerFTM]

The Eagle's are probably your best bet if you're making them last that long. You won't get much better if at all. I've got Pilot Sport 3's but only because I go through tyres pretty quickly and they last longer than most others.

[Dave.]

Rainsport3 maybe?

[MXRod]

Going through my records for the car , and also the MOT history , I would guess the tyres have done around 16000/18000 miles .
That in its self is not bad , the car came with Bridgestones , and at the same time I had a new Mazda6 also on Bridgestones, that is one tyre I will neve have again.

[SmilerFTM]

Dave. said:

Rainsport3 maybe?

I had those, rears lasted 6,000 miles, never again

[Dave.]

Had a set of four on my Mini, lasted 12k, and that was with swapping front to back at 6k.

If the op is only doing 1-2k a year though...

I've replaced them with RE002s, can't really compare yet, as I've done 4 miles, and gone to a lower profile.

[SebringMan]

SmilerFTM said:

I had those, rears lasted 6,000 miles, never again

This. Compared to Goodyear Eagle F1s they are not that much cheaper at all. They also wear out quickly compared to Eagle F1s and are IMHO very so so in the dry but with the F1s being as good in the wet.

But there is a question to ask here. What MX-5 do you have; an NC? Tyre size irrespective of diameter makes a big difference on what you can choose and what you can buy. How do you drive it and how many miles do you cover a year?

As for the other question the OP asked yes you will notice the difference. My Stag was dreadful on 10 year old Kumhos but a revelation on brand new Contis It was the same story when I bought a 106 GTi on 10 year old Pirellis and Michelins. A friend's E46 328i is on 9 year old tyres on the back and TBH I was struggling to keep the back end in check driving the car back! My M3 feels far more planted and that's saying something! The dry handling as a whole will improved but not as much as you think possibly. The wet weather handling will improve almost 10 fold IMHO.

Edited by SebringMan on Monday 17th April 20:37