Tyre advice please

[ali_kat]

Afternoon all

I need 4 new tyres for my 1999 2.8 BMW Z3

Front - 225/45 ZR 17 91 Y

Back - 245/40 ZR 17 91 Y

Currently on Michelin Pilot Sport 3, as they were on it when I bought it & when I've changed them it was appropriate to replace like for like.

However, now I need all 4 at the same time & that is a little too expensive for my pocket at the moment!

Am I better sticking with what I know, or looking for something with better fuel economy as well as high wet grip (currently E & A)?

What are Hankook, Yokohama & Falken like please?

Many thanks in advance! (Oh & I am a girl, so keep it simple please )

[Greengecko]

I've always used Falken's on my ST.

Seem absolutely great, not super expensive and can't seem to notice a difference between the Goodyear Eagle F1's I had previously.

[Andyjc86]

Take the rating on the tyre labels with a pinch of salt. I would say any of the mid range brands you've mentioned would be fine. Also look at dunlops & avons.

For the best tyres for your car, look at the owners forums for user reviews. Different tyres handle differently on other cars.

[g3org3y]

Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas. Started a thread about them here prior to purchase.




Put them on my E36 328 (225/45 R17s all round) and I've been impressed. Dry grip is excellent and they also perform well in the wet also, really cut through the water. Only downside is I think they are a touch noisier at motorway speeds, but that's minor. Good value too.

[scarble]

ali_kat said:

Am I better sticking with what I know, or looking for something with better fuel economy as well as high wet grip (currently E & A)?

Based on 20mm width difference, one is an E and one is an A, despite being the same model?
I'd avoid going too far down the eco route, you might suffer with grip or road noise. It's all a bit mysterious though, the EU labels don't really help much, they make absolutely no allowance for lateral grip which is just as important as braking performance and take no account of temperature.

I've had Toyo T1Rs before, albeit skinnier on a much lower powered car, not the most cheapest but less than things like sport pilots, they did ok through all weather and they're cheaper than sport pilots or whatever they're called.
Khumos and Falkens get good reviews.

What about uniroyal rainsports, they're around the midrange and might be worth a look.. if anyone can comment?

[alangla]

Have a look at Tyreleader - they were doing good deals on Pilot Sport 3s, I got a pair of 205/40R17s for about £75 each delivered.

[Dodsy]

Vredestein Ultrac Vortis , just had them fitted on my Jag , early days but so far seem good. Got the Ultrac Sessantas on the rear and they are excellent but unfortunately discontinued now.

[tomjol]

scarble said:

ali_kat said:

Am I better sticking with what I know, or looking for something with better fuel economy as well as high wet grip (currently E & A)?

Based on 20mm width difference, one is an E and one is an A, despite being the same model?
I'd avoid going too far down the eco route, you might suffer with grip or road noise. It's all a bit mysterious though, the EU labels don't really help much, they make absolutely no allowance for lateral grip which is just as important as braking performance and take no account of temperature.

I've had Toyo T1Rs before, albeit skinnier on a much lower powered car, not the most cheapest but less than things like sport pilots, they did ok through all weather and they're cheaper than sport pilots or whatever they're called.
Khumos and Falkens get good reviews.

What about uniroyal rainsports, they're around the midrange and might be worth a look.. if anyone can comment?

I read that as "fuel economy E, wet grip A"

[Black_S3]

Other good option is Goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric.

Although the Tyreleader has very good prices on PS3s as mentioned:

http://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/michelin/pil...

http://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/michelin/pil...

£383 delivered for all 4.

[Claudia Skies]

Andyjc86 said:

Take the rating on the tyre labels with a pinch of salt.

No, don't. At least, not unless you think Andyjc86 is an expert tyre engineer and has shown you appropriate proof of his qualifications.

The people who built your car recommend specific tyres for a reason.

Decent tyres cost money. Something like Falken/Kumho is a decent enough tyre but you will only get about 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre. so in the long run costs are about the same. Personally I wouldn't put eco tyres or long life tyres on any of my cars, let alone a sportscar.

[TVRJAS]

I had been running Toyo Proxes T1 R's all round which I have found to be very good.

Needed to replace the rears 225/50/ 16R 92W and did quite a bit of research. My friend also happens to own a tyre depot and he confirmed my results.

Yesterday replaced the Toyo's with Rainsport 3's From the reviews they beat the Toyo's in every area.

Their weak area is the wear but the Rainsports even beat the Toyo's at 65% against 63%

Link here sold me. http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/Rainspo...

I ended up with 225/50 16R 92Y

Edited by TVRJAS on Friday 5th December 16:40

[jamieduff1981]

The PS3s are great everyday tyres. There aren't many tyres that I'd rather have on a daily driver and a large number that are (a lot!!!) worse.

Are you sure you have found the best prices for the Michelins? Alternatively can you do the rears now and put the fronts off another month?

[Patrick Bateman]

For a start, look at tyre tests to get a feel for what's actually good rather than just the EU labels.

Tyreleader are one of the cheapest around at the moment but have a look around.

[otolith]

Claudia Skies said:

No, don't. At least, not unless you think Andyjc86 is an expert tyre engineer and has shown you appropriate proof of his qualifications.

The people who built your car recommend specific tyres for a reason.

Decent tyres cost money. Something like Falken/Kumho is a decent enough tyre but you will only get about 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre. so in the long run costs are about the same. Personally I wouldn't put eco tyres or long life tyres on any of my cars, let alone a sportscar.

He means the Euro labels on tyres, not the specification for the car.

These;

[Shaw Tarse]

Claudia Skies said:

No, don't. At least, not unless you think Andyjc86 is an expert tyre engineer and has shown you appropriate proof of his qualifications.

The people who built your car recommend specific tyres for a reason.

Decent tyres cost money. Something like Falken/Kumho is a decent enough tyre but you will only get about 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre. so in the long run costs are about the same. Personally I wouldn't put eco tyres or long life tyres on any of my cars, let alone a sportscar.

And your qualifications are?

[Patrick Bateman]

Claudia Skies said:

No, don't. At least, not unless you think Andyjc86 is an expert tyre engineer and has shown you appropriate proof of his qualifications.

The people who built your car recommend specific tyres for a reason.

Decent tyres cost money. Something like Falken/Kumho is a decent enough tyre but you will only get about 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre. so in the long run costs are about the same. Personally I wouldn't put eco tyres or long life tyres on any of my cars, let alone a sportscar.

Based on what exactly?

[TA14]

Claudia Skies said:

Andyjc86 said:

Take the rating on the tyre labels with a pinch of salt.

No, don't. At least, not unless you think Andyjc86 is an expert tyre engineer and has shown you appropriate proof of his qualifications.

The people who built your car recommend specific tyres for a reason.

Decent tyres cost money. Something like Falken/Kumho is a decent enough tyre but you will only get about 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre. so in the long run costs are about the same. Personally I wouldn't put eco tyres or long life tyres on any of my cars, let alone a sportscar.

I don't think that andy meant it like that. I think he was referring to the fuel economy E and if so I'd agree with him on that one. There's only about 1% difference in fuel economy between each of the letters and E is the fourth letter IIRC (they mis out at least one letter) certainly on a sports car I think it's more important to have good grip and a good quality tyre rather than chase a couple of % fuel economy.

[TA14]

jamieduff1981 said:

The PS3s are great everyday tyres. There aren't many tyres that I'd rather have on a daily driver and a large number that are (a lot!!!) worse.

Are you sure you have found the best prices for the Michelins? Alternatively can you do the rears now and put the fronts off another month?

I would go with this advice.

[Black_S3]

Claudia Skies said:

No, don't. At least, not unless you think Andyjc86 is an expert tyre engineer and has shown you appropriate proof of his qualifications.

The people who built your car recommend specific tyres for a reason.

Decent tyres cost money. Something like Falken/Kumho is a decent enough tyre but you will only get about 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre. so in the long run costs are about the same. Personally I wouldn't put eco tyres or long life tyres on any of my cars, let alone a sportscar.

He's not wrong - unless the rating was done with the exact tyre size and car in question I'd go with Andy's view, take it with a pinch of salt.

As for a two whole brands entire product range ''lasting 2/3 the life of a more expensive tyre''... Where did you come up with this? Every brand makes different tyres with differing purposes. Michelin PS3s are at the high end pricewise but the wear rate will not be high up on the list of priorities so will be a compromise.

[scarble]

I would also back Andy on this. I still buy tyres with good grip ratings as they are a vague indicator.

tomjol said:

I read that as "fuel economy E, wet grip A"

That makes way more sense
Reading comprehension fail, sorry!
They can vary for the same tyre depending on the size, but not by that much! (and indeed it makes sense that a wider tyre will have more or less wet grip depending on various factors like vehicle weight and pressure and design and indeed the width in absolute terms.. and that road noise will increase with a wider tyre).

Edited by scarble on Friday 5th December 17:15