Discussion
Hello Pistonheads im a p/h virgin so please go easy on me when I ask a really stupid question... I'm off to the Ring nxt weekend & have been going often for over 10 yrs, 1st on motorbikes then in 2006 had a huge off... I was still gripped with the Ring magic so I took to 4 wheels in a Honda S2000 which was great fun. I have never timed myself but guess im in the 9'30mins bracket which i believe is not miss daisy nor Button... After telling you my life story, now I have an E46 M3 convert which has Nankang Ultrasports on front & Barum Bravuris on the rear. Now after you have picked yourself up off the floor laughing, has anyone had any experience with these tyres good or bad? I have 19" wheels, the ride is fairly jiggly on the road but grip doesnt feel too bad, do u think these tyres are dangerous or are they ok as long as you dont push them? The tyres are nearly new & could do without spending £700 on new boots... Your thoughts are welcome, cheers
Edited by John Wiles on Thursday 8th September 23:05
Dont think they the best tyres in the world although never had them on any car of mine (i am glad to say) but as long as you drive to the tyre limits and not over it cant see there being a problem, It does not matter what tyres you have you can always drive past there limits it will just be a lot lower with your tyres,
I was all up for traveling to a dealer earlier this year to test a pre-owned M car. A closer inspection of the website pics revealed the '4 new tyres' were Primewells though. £55 for the 235/35 R19s on the front(!)... I didn't bother.
My 330 was fitted with Wanli tyres when I bought it. Utterly awful and proof positive that there's a lot more to producing a good tyre than simply copying someone else's tread pattern (the Wanlis were a carbon copy of Yokohama AVS).
Based on the above, my experience of budget tyres is that they can be truly shocking and using them at Ring speeds is highly likely leave you, in Brundle parlance, heading straight to the scene of the accident.
Edited to add:
API330 is right of course: you could just drive to the limit of the budget tyre but where's the fun in tip-toeing around near the limit of the crappy tyre but nowhere near the limits of the rest of the car and in a constant state of worry?
My 330 was fitted with Wanli tyres when I bought it. Utterly awful and proof positive that there's a lot more to producing a good tyre than simply copying someone else's tread pattern (the Wanlis were a carbon copy of Yokohama AVS).
Based on the above, my experience of budget tyres is that they can be truly shocking and using them at Ring speeds is highly likely leave you, in Brundle parlance, heading straight to the scene of the accident.
Edited to add:
API330 is right of course: you could just drive to the limit of the budget tyre but where's the fun in tip-toeing around near the limit of the crappy tyre but nowhere near the limits of the rest of the car and in a constant state of worry?
Edited by DaveR on Friday 9th September 11:25
I had Nankangs on my old 535i before killing them at a trackday (the car came with Nankangs..). They were OK in the dry.. you could chuck it about, but in the wet... wow. I'm glad that car had DSC, as otherwise, I think I would have been facing the wrong way on a roundabout on a number of occasions.
Changed them for Falken ZE912s all around, and they were infinitely better. Quite a reasonably priced tyre, and really good. Lots of grip in the wet, and dry, and the car was so much more predictable with them on.
Changed them for Falken ZE912s all around, and they were infinitely better. Quite a reasonably priced tyre, and really good. Lots of grip in the wet, and dry, and the car was so much more predictable with them on.
api330 said:
Dont think they the best tyres in the world although never had them on any car of mine (i am glad to say) but as long as you drive to the tyre limits and not over it cant see there being a problem, It does not matter what tyres you have you can always drive past there limits it will just be a lot lower with your tyres,
Why bother taking an M3 to the ring in that case? Might as well buy a crapper if you're going to tip-toe round.playalistic said:
Why bother taking an M3 to the ring in that case? Might as well buy a crapper if you're going to tip-toe round.
I have been to the ring many times and seen every sort of car van bus bike you could think off and i am sure everyone of there drivers where having the best time ever, (and i dont think you would be tip toeing even with his tyres i am sure you could enjoy yourself at a fair pace) unless he is a ring master then he might be a bit ?issed, These are just my humble opinions of courseplayalistic said:
api330 said:
Dont think they the best tyres in the world although never had them on any car of mine (i am glad to say) but as long as you drive to the tyre limits and not over it cant see there being a problem, It does not matter what tyres you have you can always drive past there limits it will just be a lot lower with your tyres,
Why bother taking an M3 to the ring in that case? Might as well buy a crapper if you're going to tip-toe round.You think I have a problem with cheap tyres? I run Vreds. So that answers that question.
OP stated times in the 9:30s range so not exactly crawling round. My advice is invest the £500 or so in a decent set of tyres. Not totally unknown quantities. If anyone has had any track experience on the tyres mentioned then let them state their observations. I'm assuming since they're s
t on the road they're doubly st on track is that a fair assumption to make?
Quite frankly to have this point argued on PH (or any performance driving enthusiasts forum) is quite amusing. Who can argue with the suggestion that if you're peddling a 340bhp performance car around arguably the most demanding circuit in the known universe you owe it to yourself (not to mention other 'Ring users) to use the best tyres you can afford regardless of how you're driving. Lets be clear here - he isn't driving a 100hp hatchback. It is a circa 340bhp rear drive car. You think exploring the limits with those boots is going to be 'fun'? How fun it will be when they breakaway without any progression and you end up backwards in the armco. Yay!
OP stated times in the 9:30s range so not exactly crawling round. My advice is invest the £500 or so in a decent set of tyres. Not totally unknown quantities. If anyone has had any track experience on the tyres mentioned then let them state their observations. I'm assuming since they're s
t on the road they're doubly st on track is that a fair assumption to make?Quite frankly to have this point argued on PH (or any performance driving enthusiasts forum) is quite amusing. Who can argue with the suggestion that if you're peddling a 340bhp performance car around arguably the most demanding circuit in the known universe you owe it to yourself (not to mention other 'Ring users) to use the best tyres you can afford regardless of how you're driving. Lets be clear here - he isn't driving a 100hp hatchback. It is a circa 340bhp rear drive car. You think exploring the limits with those boots is going to be 'fun'? How fun it will be when they breakaway without any progression and you end up backwards in the armco. Yay!
, just stating my opinion that it's a false-economy to be driving around on those tyres for normal road never mind 'ring and as we are on PH I can only assume spirited driving. Hello chaps, thanks for the advice. have decided to shell out on new boots.Fancy the Vredesteins as a good compromise between cost/grip/roadtests etc. Have checked camskill/blackcircles etc but prices seem to be the similar as just turning up at Elite tyres for fitting. Elite quoted me £707 fitted but on ordering them they cant supply fronts. Anyone know or recommend a tyre shop in North Essex/Herts, im getting desperate as off to Ring sat.... Alternatively can the Falken 452's compare grip wise? Or any other mid range tyres Kumho? Anyone else off to the ring this weekend? Cheers (BTW I have 19" wheels)
These chaps were by far the cheapest for Vreds last time I got any: http://www.tyremen.co.uk/
Hi john,i put a set of vreds on my E46 M3 vert a few weeks ago and they are great.I actually prefer them to the PS 2's i ran for the last 4 years! Esp good in the wet.I got mine from camskil,£628 inc delivery,i think there was a bit of an offer on at the time though.
Personally i wouldn't recommend the e 46 M3 vert as a good track car though.Too heavy and wobbly.If you attack the track like you are meant to do you will easily destroy the brakes and tyres in short time.
If you just treat the ring as one of your favourite country roads though you it should be fine.
Have fun!
Personally i wouldn't recommend the e 46 M3 vert as a good track car though.Too heavy and wobbly.If you attack the track like you are meant to do you will easily destroy the brakes and tyres in short time.
If you just treat the ring as one of your favourite country roads though you it should be fine.
Have fun!
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