What summer tyre?
Discussion
With all this snow around your parts, I'd like to shift things a bit and ask for a good recommendation for a set of summer tyres on my BMW.
I'm living in the South of Spain so summer tyres are all the rage here and I need a complete set for my car. My wheel size is 205/55/16.
The car is a BMW 116d but I will be chipping it shortly so I'd like something a little better than my Cinturato P7 which I have fitted now.
What is the recommended choice. They need to last about 50-40,000km. The Cinturato's lasted 65,000km so they're obviously a little hard and I like to drive the car quite hard sometimes.
What's the recommended choice?
I'm living in the South of Spain so summer tyres are all the rage here and I need a complete set for my car. My wheel size is 205/55/16.
The car is a BMW 116d but I will be chipping it shortly so I'd like something a little better than my Cinturato P7 which I have fitted now.
What is the recommended choice. They need to last about 50-40,000km. The Cinturato's lasted 65,000km so they're obviously a little hard and I like to drive the car quite hard sometimes.
What's the recommended choice?

How much are you looking to spend?
I've had good experiences with Kumho KU31s on an E30 325i. Very very decent dry grip and had no problems in the wet. Been running them for the last 2-3 years in varied conditions (including snow!) and they seem to be wearing well.
Not sure whether they are still in production however. Iirc, they were due to be replaced with KU39s.
I've had good experiences with Kumho KU31s on an E30 325i. Very very decent dry grip and had no problems in the wet. Been running them for the last 2-3 years in varied conditions (including snow!) and they seem to be wearing well.
Not sure whether they are still in production however. Iirc, they were due to be replaced with KU39s.
g3org3y said:
How much are you looking to spend?
I've had good experiences with Kumho KU31s on an E30 325i. Very very decent dry grip and had no problems in the wet. Been running them for the last 2-3 years in varied conditions (including snow!) and they seem to be wearing well.
Not sure whether they are still in production however. Iirc, they were due to be replaced with KU39s.
Not willing to spend anything too extreme. Ideally between £70-£80 per corner. I also need to refurbish two of the wheels so that's going to add another £100 to the cost... I've had good experiences with Kumho KU31s on an E30 325i. Very very decent dry grip and had no problems in the wet. Been running them for the last 2-3 years in varied conditions (including snow!) and they seem to be wearing well.
Not sure whether they are still in production however. Iirc, they were due to be replaced with KU39s.

carl_w said:
Yokohama AD08
Thats what my Mk3 MR2 will be wearing in the summer of 2014, after I dont have to travel so many boring motorway miles each week.Meant to be rather quick, evo tested them against the usual lot and they got best subjective dry feela dn dry lap times.
Plus despite their clubsport looks and design they have wet braking B.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre...
Fantuzzi said:
Thats what my Mk3 MR2 will be wearing in the summer of 2014, after I dont have to travel so many boring motorway miles each week.
Meant to be rather quick, evo tested them against the usual lot and they got best subjective dry feela dn dry lap times.
Plus despite their clubsport looks and design they have wet braking B.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre...
That's a ridiculous looking tyre!!! Meant to be rather quick, evo tested them against the usual lot and they got best subjective dry feela dn dry lap times.
Plus despite their clubsport looks and design they have wet braking B.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre...

As much as I need better grip, I also need something that will run well all round and I don't think these fit the bill.
I've just asked for a quote on a set of Pirelli Pilot Sport 3's. They're £289 from Lovetyres, so drop the VAT in Gib and I should see them for about £231 including fitting and balancing. Just waiting for the quote now...
Unfortunately the refurb will have to wait as there's nobody in Gib that can do it for me!

beanbag said:
Fantuzzi said:
Thats what my Mk3 MR2 will be wearing in the summer of 2014, after I dont have to travel so many boring motorway miles each week.
Meant to be rather quick, evo tested them against the usual lot and they got best subjective dry feela dn dry lap times.
Plus despite their clubsport looks and design they have wet braking B.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre...
That's a ridiculous looking tyre!!! Meant to be rather quick, evo tested them against the usual lot and they got best subjective dry feela dn dry lap times.
Plus despite their clubsport looks and design they have wet braking B.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre...

As much as I need better grip, I also need something that will run well all round and I don't think these fit the bill.
I've just asked for a quote on a set of Pirelli Pilot Sport 3's. They're £289 from Lovetyres, so drop the VAT in Gib and I should see them for about £231 including fitting and balancing. Just waiting for the quote now...
Unfortunately the refurb will have to wait as there's nobody in Gib that can do it for me!

You won't believe this, but in 205/55R16 (my size too, E46 328i), most tyres have a Wet Braking rating of B or C. Uniroyal Rainsports get a B. Yokohama AD08s get an A!
They're just generally very good, presumably due to the soft compound, but I suppose in deep water they will not clear themselves very well.
For £70-80 a corner, you can also get Michelin Pilot Sport 3s, which is what I'd be doing if I had somewhere sunnier to live. As it is, I'll be getting Rainsports.
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p102184/Micheli...
I see AD08s on Camskill for £97 in this size, seems a tad excessive, people finding them cheaper elsewhere?
ETA - Nope, the AD08s have a B as well, faulty information.
They're just generally very good, presumably due to the soft compound, but I suppose in deep water they will not clear themselves very well.
For £70-80 a corner, you can also get Michelin Pilot Sport 3s, which is what I'd be doing if I had somewhere sunnier to live. As it is, I'll be getting Rainsports.
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p102184/Micheli...
I see AD08s on Camskill for £97 in this size, seems a tad excessive, people finding them cheaper elsewhere?
ETA - Nope, the AD08s have a B as well, faulty information.
Edited by McSam on Monday 21st January 17:20
McSam said:
Hmmm, so it does. Camskill have it listed as an A for all sizes I've checked so far, and yet Blackcircles say B, so I guess between that and Yoko's website it must be B.
Still not terrible, though, I'm interested to try them but not at £400 a set in this size!
For a what is the bridge between semi slick and a high performance tyre it seems bloody brilliant!Still not terrible, though, I'm interested to try them but not at £400 a set in this size!
I fear some of you might be over-trusting the tyre ratings system, IMO It ought to be treated in the same way as a car's advertised MPG figures- a guide, rather than a rule.
That the Yokohama gave a simular performance to the Uniroyal in the official test is just an indication that, under test conditions the stopping distances fell into the same range.
ETA: Also, it is not inconceivible that, like with the MPG figures, manufacturers could optimise their products to excel at the official test to acheive a good rating but this might not be indicative of real world use.
That the Yokohama gave a simular performance to the Uniroyal in the official test is just an indication that, under test conditions the stopping distances fell into the same range.
ETA: Also, it is not inconceivible that, like with the MPG figures, manufacturers could optimise their products to excel at the official test to acheive a good rating but this might not be indicative of real world use.
Edited by HustleRussell on Monday 21st January 18:14
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