Tyre Advice Welcomed.

[fog66]

Evening all, I have just purchased a set of SP12 wheels for my 95 Chimaera (with power steering) and was told the best sizes would be 245/35 x 18 rear and 215/40 x 17 front. I was reading an Evo article about tyres recently http://www.evo.co.uk/features/features/290650/perf...

I enquired with a local tyre spot on a recommendation from a friend who runs a wrc 90's rally car and knows a chap who is basically 'Mr Tyre Guru' Anyway he says the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 which won the Evo test is a directional tyre in the 17 and asymmetrical on the 18 with a similar problem with the Michelin. I wouldn't have thought mixing these would be a good idea so does anyone have a recommendation?

[SILICONEKID343HP]

I think the 215/40/17`s narrows your choice down to a handful.

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/car-tyres-TOYO...

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/car-tyres-TOYO...

Edited by SILICONEKID343HP on Wednesday 13th November 23:10

[phazed]

Maybe it's because my old 320D is heavier then a chim but the Uniroyal Rainsport 2s fitted are streets ahead of the T1Rs.

They give total confidence when a chim with Toyos at the same speed down country lanes would end up in a hedge.

For me, I run R1Rs on my chim on the road, a far superior tyre but won't last as long, (you don't get something for nothing!).

[ChimpOnGas]

phazed said:

Maybe it's because my old 320D is heavier then a chim but the Uniroyal Rainsport 2s fitted are streets ahead of the T1Rs.

Rainsport 2s work very well indeed on my Chimaera, I ran Goodyear Eagle GSD2's before fitting the Rainsports.

Those Goodyears were always considered a high end road/sport tyre and were fitted to the last Tuscan 2 ect.

But the Rainsport 2s are better in the wet & easily as good (if not better) than the Goodyears in the dry.

They do take anything from 500 - 1000 miles to fully break in, but from what I can see after putting almost 5000 miles on mine they should easily last for 20,000 miles.

Rainsport 2's have a very very deep tread, which I would have thought will leave them quickly overheating on the track, but the truth is you'll never have this problem on the road.

So if it's an excellent sport orientated road tyre you're after, that wears extremely well & sheds water like nothing else, then Uniroyal Rainsport 2 should be at the top of your list.

[phazed]

OT, Dave, CG on its way.................

[swanny71]

I've got Continental Sport Contact 3's on the same wheels and in the same sizes on my Chim - great all round tyre.
They were also fitted to my old M3 and now the 130i so must've done close to 100k miles on this tyre and can thoroughly recommended it.

[ChimpOnGas]

phazed said:

OT, Dave, CG on its way.................

Nice, cheers mate

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

I have recently fitted the Rainsports on the back of my Chimaera, and also on the front of my diesel SEAT Ibiza. They feel very sure-footed, particularly in the wet as you'd expect. Traction and cornering grip are both good, particularly on the SEAT which is prone to understeer unless its front tyres are good.

The only problem with them is that they're not available in the 205/55/15 size required for the front of the Chimaera, so I will have to choose something else when the fronts need replacing.

[ChimpOnGas]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

I have recently fitted the Rainsports on the back of my Chimaera, and also on the front of my diesel SEAT Ibiza. They feel very sure-footed, particularly in the wet as you'd expect. Traction and cornering grip are both good, particularly on the SEAT which is prone to understeer unless its front tyres are good.

The only problem with them is that they're not available in the 205/55/15 size required for the front of the Chimaera, so I will have to choose something else when the fronts need replacing.

Put a pair of matching 16" TVR Imola/Estoril rear wheels on the front mate, then you can have Rainsports all-round like me.

The Rainsports give you fantastic braking in the wet so you really want them on the front to realise their true benefits.

Going 16" on the fronts also opens up a world of bigger & better front brakes

Definitely a worthwhile mod Dr Oxgreen

[BIGMIKE1]

You can get the Rainsports in 205 50 15 which is what I have on the front.
My experience wasn't quite as good with the rainsports though, had them on my Octavia for a while now and they're spot on but put 4 on the Chim and I had handling issues straight away, I listened to the "they take time to bed in" but now over 2000miles and I spent ages with different tyre pressures and damper settings before I could get them to handle anything like my old Bridgestones, I can only put it down to the softer side walls but I seriously nearly took them off it felt that bad as soon as I fitted them. I will say though the grip in the wet now is very good, even giving it some beans away from the line.
I know Chimp on Gas will say its not the rainsports that caused my handling issues but my suspension was setup with the old Bridgestones by one of the popular TVR specialists and it handled perfectly before and I have now got it back to something that I'm quite happy with, they will definitely be going back on my Octavia!
Mike

Edited by BIGMIKE1 on Thursday 14th November 10:37

[fog66]

swanny71 said:

I've got Continental Sport Contact 3's on the same wheels and in the same sizes on my Chim - great all round tyre.
They were also fitted to my old M3 and now the 130i so must've done close to 100k miles on this tyre and can thoroughly recommended it.

Hi, can you tell me what pressures you are running please?

[fog66]

swanny71 said:

I've got Continental Sport Contact 3's on the same wheels and in the same sizes on my Chim - great all round tyre.
They were also fitted to my old M3 and now the 130i so must've done close to 100k miles on this tyre and can thoroughly recommended it.

Hi, can you tell me what pressures you are running please?

[QBee]

I have SP12s, with 215/45 17s and 235/40 18s. That's a bigger rolling diameter than the standard, so you need to adjust your ride height to compensate.

[swanny71]

fog66 said:

Hi, can you tell me what pressures you are running please?

22 front, 24 rear

[QBee]

swanny71 said:

fog66 said:

Hi, can you tell me what pressures you are running please?

22 front, 24 rear

Beware of men with tyre levers and impact guns. Ie KwikFit etc. They will stick 30-36 psi in your tyres if you let them. One of the fastest ways of making the car hard to handle.

[SILICONEKID343HP]

QBee said:

Beware of men with tyre levers and impact guns. Ie KwikFit etc. They will stick 30-36 psi in your tyres if you let them. One of the fastest ways of making the car hard to handle.

They have to pump them up to 30psi to make a seal then you can lest them down your self .Totally agree with the air guns ,there are some animal tyre fitters out there ,straight out of borstal .

Edited by SILICONEKID343HP on Tuesday 19th November 11:55

[QBee]

SILICONEKID343HP said:

QBee said:

Beware of men with tyre levers and impact guns. Ie KwikFit etc. They will stick 30-36 psi in your tyres if you let them. One of the fastest ways of making the car hard to handle.

They have to pump them up to 30psi to make a seal then you can lest them down your self .

Fine, interesting info, Daz.
The tyre place in the village where I used to live (before moving house solely to be near the world's best gas fitter) used to say "what pressure do you want in them, mate?"
The trouble with most tyre places is that they never think to ask, and new Chimaera owners tend to assume that the expert will know the correct pressure. I don't know what other cars run with them as soft as we do, but the look of shocked surprise on many of the acne'd faces tends to suggest that there aren't many.