Tyres for normal use?
Discussion
My Tiger Avon is currently fitted with Toyo T1Rs but just wondering what everybody else recommends for on road use?
Have heard great things of R888's but they seem more track biased. I will be using the car quite a bit for nice Sunday runs out etc with a trackday every now and then so what would be a good all round tyre?
Fitment is 195/50/15.
Cheers
Baz
Have heard great things of R888's but they seem more track biased. I will be using the car quite a bit for nice Sunday runs out etc with a trackday every now and then so what would be a good all round tyre?
Fitment is 195/50/15.
Cheers
Baz
tyres are very much a personal choice....
tr1's are thought to be a reasonable tyre, cant say i've used them so no 1st hand experience.....
i have used the toyo r1r which they do make in that size, it sits between the 888 and the tr1. i think they're great on teh road lots of grip and i know many guys with 7 style cars that have swapped onto those and who really rate them......
888's, yep had those on teh car too, mainly after i'd left them on after a track day......grippier still.
of the above, r1r - i and others managed to get 7-10k miels out of a set driven hard but with no real track time, i suspect that a serious track day would hasten their end.....
888's, never had a set on teh car long enough to verify, but pals typically get 3k miles inc a bit of track work.
FWIW....if you're going to do a few td's, might be worth just having a spare set of tyres/wheels? i couldnt get r1r's last year and this year will use the Yoko ad08 that i was running as the main tyre for td's this year. That ad08 isnt as grippy in my view compared to the r1r on road.....( i'm using for td cos theyre sitting there and seems a shame to waste whats left of teh tread.
folks often give dire warnings about 888's in the wet, the consenus amongst my pals and i is that its standing water that needs a careful eye, just wet/rain is ok, but with very little tread going through a large puddle warrants attention.....
oh and as you're new to kits. one small but valid point, teh grippier the tyre the more stones that will ping up down the bodywork/arches....
tr1's are thought to be a reasonable tyre, cant say i've used them so no 1st hand experience.....
i have used the toyo r1r which they do make in that size, it sits between the 888 and the tr1. i think they're great on teh road lots of grip and i know many guys with 7 style cars that have swapped onto those and who really rate them......
888's, yep had those on teh car too, mainly after i'd left them on after a track day......grippier still.
of the above, r1r - i and others managed to get 7-10k miels out of a set driven hard but with no real track time, i suspect that a serious track day would hasten their end.....
888's, never had a set on teh car long enough to verify, but pals typically get 3k miles inc a bit of track work.
FWIW....if you're going to do a few td's, might be worth just having a spare set of tyres/wheels? i couldnt get r1r's last year and this year will use the Yoko ad08 that i was running as the main tyre for td's this year. That ad08 isnt as grippy in my view compared to the r1r on road.....( i'm using for td cos theyre sitting there and seems a shame to waste whats left of teh tread.
folks often give dire warnings about 888's in the wet, the consenus amongst my pals and i is that its standing water that needs a careful eye, just wet/rain is ok, but with very little tread going through a large puddle warrants attention.....
oh and as you're new to kits. one small but valid point, teh grippier the tyre the more stones that will ping up down the bodywork/arches....
^^^^^ What Mark says is good advice if you run 15" wheels and want an all-round tyre for road and track. Toyo R1R. They ate still classed as an "R" tyre I believe so you can't drive willy-nilly in the rain but they will far less likely to aquaplane you off through a hedge if you hit sudden standing water!
My favorite road tyre is the Toyo AO21R but not sure if they do those in 15".
My favorite road tyre is the Toyo AO21R but not sure if they do those in 15".
Bazza I have a set of old T1R on steel rims I use for the kiddie charity days, mainly because they are rock hard in comparison and with the pressures raised up a bit you can ride a continuous powerslide through 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear, makes the rear handle like a Sainsbury's trolley! They never wear out though, so I know I will always have enough meat on them for the journey home. But objectively, grip wise, they are rubbish compared to some decent rubber and I promise you will be blown away when you try some decent ones. I run 14" on my car 185/60/14, and while you do not get a massive choice in that size you get most of the decent ones ie: Toyo 888R, Yoko 32 & 48R and Yoko 21R albeit all are about £100 each nowdays. If you can, before you buy anything new, mightt be worth just seeing if you can meet up with someone local and swap wheels to try a set. My car is different to yours, but I could not get on with 15's, they made the ride a bit on the hard side. The 60-profile T1Rs and also some poverty spec Caterham ZV Avons I got free needed about 23psi in them before they stopped feeling like there was a space hopper on each corner and "squidge" removed, by which time they were comparatively inflated so hard in comparison to the cars weight and the contact patch so small grip was "iffy" to say the least. The more extreme tyres have stiffer sidewalls allowing you to run them with maybe 17/ 18 psi in them,which gives you more options to tune the handling and soften the ride, think F1 car with the taller 60 profile.
I know tyres are a personal choice, but my theory of the heavily treaded Yoko 21R being the best for me is that they come in the same S / M compounds of the more extreme 32 and 48, but the "proper" deep pattern gives you more grip wet or dry than you should rightly need on a public road, 10 / 10th no problem. Only downside is they wear out quickly,and if you use new ones on a race circuit you can actually "feel" the treadblocks moving about and squirming under really hard braking. BUT when they are about 50% worn or more, the shallower treadblocks move less,and being the same compound as the more extreme 32R and 48R they peform in the same ballpark and even when nearly bald you can still get a few trackdays out of them with excellent grip.
Like I say, see if you can borrow a set to try, think that will be one of the biggest performance gains you can make. 195/50/15 gives you just about every decent tyre except the 21R though! Personally I cannot tell the difference handling wise between a Toyo 888 and a Yoko 48, probobly need a stopwatch!
I know tyres are a personal choice, but my theory of the heavily treaded Yoko 21R being the best for me is that they come in the same S / M compounds of the more extreme 32 and 48, but the "proper" deep pattern gives you more grip wet or dry than you should rightly need on a public road, 10 / 10th no problem. Only downside is they wear out quickly,and if you use new ones on a race circuit you can actually "feel" the treadblocks moving about and squirming under really hard braking. BUT when they are about 50% worn or more, the shallower treadblocks move less,and being the same compound as the more extreme 32R and 48R they peform in the same ballpark and even when nearly bald you can still get a few trackdays out of them with excellent grip.
Like I say, see if you can borrow a set to try, think that will be one of the biggest performance gains you can make. 195/50/15 gives you just about every decent tyre except the 21R though! Personally I cannot tell the difference handling wise between a Toyo 888 and a Yoko 48, probobly need a stopwatch!
Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Tuesday 12th February 21:14
As always, superb advice from everyone on here!
Managed to lower my brake pedal 45mm tonight so she is MUCH more drivable (not in this weather though!)
Think I'm sold on the R1r and they are on eBay at £299 for 4 which seems cheap enough to have a set ready to go on.
Will experiment with pressures.
Cheers everyone
Managed to lower my brake pedal 45mm tonight so she is MUCH more drivable (not in this weather though!)
Think I'm sold on the R1r and they are on eBay at £299 for 4 which seems cheap enough to have a set ready to go on.
Will experiment with pressures.
Cheers everyone
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