Mazda Eunos Roadster: PH Fleet

More exhaust noise, more skidding - Dan's Mazda is unleashing some juvenile delinquency!

My original plan when downsizing back to the Eunos's original 14-inch wheels and 185 tyres was to rekindle some playful, on-limit behaviour. The Tiga tyres originally fitted certainly delivered on the playful bit but while skids at 15mph in the rain are all well and good I was a little concerned about, you know, being able to stop and stuff.

As pressures soared grip dropped - shucks

Hence the middle ground idea of some harder compound eco tyres with big brand quality and notions of stopping power while hopefully still with a bit of adjustability. My initial impressions of the Sport BluResponses I was supplied with by Dunlop was that they were good but possibly a bit too good. The Eunos feels beautifully balanced and neutral, with that trademark delicacy to the handling sharpened further with the Performance5 dampers. But there's plenty of grip and you have to be acting like a proper prat to get anything more than that.

Thank Phil at P5's set-up for his part in that that - he boasted of 1G cornering even on rubbish tyres. Which is all well and good but what if you want to act like a proper prat sometimes?

Evicted from garage no choice but to use Eunos

Cue the PH Silverstone Sunday Service and the half-hour track taster sessions Paul and Nathan organised as part of it. I booked the Mazda into the first one of these and didn't really think anything of it beyond clearing out the footwell, attaching the GoPro and putting my helmet on. Only half an hour, no need to faff about with tyre pressures or any of the usual track day stuff...

Only the National Circuit is short and, even at the Mazda's pace, I was racking up a lot of laps. The tyres heated up and with the pressures not dropped in preparation they started to increase. It started with Brooklands becoming less of a left turn and more of a four-wheel drift. Nice. Then a smidge of corrective lock. Nicer still. Then a sense of looseness through Luffield too. By which point I thought I'd better wind my neck in - this was meant to be a beginners' session and I didn't want to get black flagged.

Same tyres for Fiesta, same skidfoolery to follow?

Then I thought sod it and kept going. Brooklands became a steady half a turn of opposite lock and with some determination and provocation I was managing to hold a decent slide most of the way around Luffield. With just over 100hp it takes some work to sustain it - you'll see from the video a lot of lifting and sawing at the wheel - but the transition into oversteer was so predictable and benign I was even relaxed about it starting to slide on turn-in to Copse at 100mph. And the best bit? After all this abuse the tyres are still fine. Fuel saving design with added skidability for idiots? Sounds like the perfect PH tyre!

Meaning I was especially delighted to hear they'd fit on the Shed Fiesta I recently bought for shopping trolley detail. I'm chuckling that it's now on the same rubber as the Mazda. While wondering if there's any way on earth I can get it to perform similar antics...

Track vid here.

Fact sheet:
Car: 1993 Eunos Roadster (JDM import model)
Run by: Dan Trent
Bought: January 2011
Purchase price: £1,250
Last month at a glance: Skidfoolery at Silverstone proves worth of eco tyre option

Previous reports:
Has Dan killed his Eunos?
The Eunos returns to Scotland for another road trip
Look, I was kidding about the downforce, right?
Why have one wedding car when four will do?
Dan's Eunos loses its horn
Just how many wheels for your wagon?
Wheel refurb goes a bit ... colourful
Dan gets back on track with his Eunos
The answer to everything?
More exhaust noise? Don't mind if I do...

Track photos: Antony Fraser

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MonkeySpanker

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166 months