Tyre advice!

[Dave-p69gz]

I have a Lexus RC300h. I don’t do track days and my wife has a neurological condition that makes ride comfort more important than “sportiness”.

The current tyres (Bridgestone RE050a) still have a reasonable amount of tread on them but they’re cracked and they’re pretty harsh over potholes and poor surfaces (basically every road around here).

So I’m looking for a set of four.

There’s a limited selection in the staggered sizes I need and I’ve narrowed down my options to these;

Uniroyal Rainsport 5
Dunlop Sport maxx RT (not the RT2)
Michelin PS4S (not the PS4 or PS5)
Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym5 (front) and Assym or SS (rear)

That’s about it. I should add that there are probably other makes available but I’ve discounted Contis (reviews all say they’re very firm), Pirelli’s (hated them on my F type) and all of the budget brands. Choice in the 265/35r19 and 235/45r19 sizes I need is very limited so, realistically, the ones I’ve listed seem to be my best options.

The best out of that lot is clearly the PS4S but it’s nearly £1100 for a set of 4 on 19” wheels and, frankly, seem like overkill for my needs. My competition days are over, I don’t do track days and while I like to “make progress” when conditions allow, my needs are more GT car than sports car.

The Dunlops are old tyres so I assume that anyone having them in stock has had them for a good few years… reviews seem mixed.

I’d consider the GYs if they were Assym5 front and rear but I’m not keen on mixing front and rear and I believe the SS are quite firm.

So that just leaves the Uniroyals. They’re £700 (fitted) for four so a substantial saving. They seem to be a marmite tyre - either loved or hated and not much in between. The 5s are a bit stiffer than the 3s they replaced but still seem to be quite pliant and comfortable, wet grip is good and dry grip, while not on a par with the Michelins, probably good enough for my needs.

Also, I’ll be running them all year round (recognising that all the tyres I’ve listed are summer tyres). The Unis and the PS4S both seem to offer acceptable performance in the cold, the GYs and Dunlops, not so much).

Before I make up my mind (leaning towards the Uniroyals at the moment), I’m just after thoughts on the choices I’ve listed and which tyres might work best for the type of driving I do. Do the Michelins justify their price or are the Uniroyals good enough for what I need? Does anyone have practical experience of the Uniroyals and can comment on my assumptions about them? Does anyone have an RC300h and can offer any other suggestions that I might have missed?

Again, ride comfort is a huge factor for me, then wet and dry grip in real-world road conditions. Price, handling feel, noise and wear are less important.


Thanks for your thoughts!

[Heathwood]

Have you looked at Goodyear Eagle Assymetric 6? They get universally excellent reviews for grip/driving dynamics,, but are also quite and comfortable.

[Pica-Pica]

I have Goodyear EfficientGrip 18” staggered runflats on my 335d. Quiet and comfortable.

[ConnectionError]

Whats wrong with PS4?

[Dave-p69gz]

Heathwood said:

Have you looked at Goodyear Eagle Assymetric 6? They get universally excellent reviews for grip/driving dynamics,, but are also quite and comfortable.

Sadly, they’re not available in the right sizes. The only GY tyres that fit are the original Assym rear and 5 fronts.

[Dave-p69gz]

ConnectionError said:

Whats wrong with PS4?

Nothing - they’re not available in the sizes I need. PS4S are the only Michelin options

[Dave-p69gz]

Pica-Pica said:

I have Goodyear EfficientGrip 18” staggered runflats on my 335d. Quiet and comfortable.

Not in my sizes, I’m afraid.

I’m reluctant to change size if I can avoid so my choices are very limited. I can get lots in the front size and quite a few in the rear size - but very few sets available in both sizes….

[stevieturbo]

Dave-p69gz said:

Nothing - they’re not available in the sizes I need. PS4S are the only Michelin options

If you're after a wide ranging, non track focused tyre that will also offer comfort, not very hard sidewalls etc....hard to see how a PS4S ever fits that bill.

Just go with then Uniroyal.

[E-bmw]

Dave-p69gz said:

There’s a limited selection in the staggered sizes I need and I’ve narrowed down my options to these;

Uniroyal Rainsport 5
Dunlop Sport maxx RT (not the RT2)
Michelin PS4S (not the PS4 or PS5)
Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym5 (front) and Assym or SS (rear)

That’s about it. I should add that there are probably other makes available but I’ve discounted Contis (reviews all say they’re very firm), Pirelli’s (hated them on my F type) and all of the budget brands. Choice in the 265/35r19 and 235/45r19 sizes I need is very limited so, realistically, the ones I’ve listed seem to be my best options.

OK, here is my 2p.

RS5 are a problem as they sell themselves on being good in the rain but they are beaten in the wet by most premium tyres that they are matched against.
D Sport RT maxx are a decent tyre I have used them myself & found them to be very good in most environments & I even used them on my Mini R53 track car as my road/wet option.
PS4S are an excellent tyre but very performance focussed full stop.
Not sure what you mean when you say "Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym5 (front) and Assym or SS (rear)" as I am not aware of an Assym SS, but the assy 5 & assy 6 are both excellent tyres.

[cuprabob]

E-bmw said:

OK, here is my 2p.

RS5 are a problem as they sell themselves on being good in the rain but they are beaten in the wet by most premium tyres that they are matched against.
D Sport RT maxx are a decent tyre I have used them myself & found them to be very good in most environments & I even used them on my Mini R53 track car as my road/wet option.
PS4S are an excellent tyre but very performance focussed full stop.
Not sure what you mean when you say "Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym5 (front) and Assym or SS (rear)" as I am not aware of an Assym SS, but the assy 5 & assy 6 are both excellent tyres.

I think the SS refers to the Goodyear F1 SuperSport.

[Smint]

Uniroyals always a decent combination of quiet supple ride and good wet grip, with surprisingly good grip in winter conditions compared with most other summer tyres.

[Dave-p69gz]

E-bmw said:

OK, here is my 2p.

RS5 are a problem as they sell themselves on being good in the rain but they are beaten in the wet by most premium tyres that they are matched against.
D Sport RT maxx are a decent tyre I have used them myself & found them to be very good in most environments & I even used them on my Mini R53 track car as my road/wet option.
PS4S are an excellent tyre but very performance focussed full stop.
Not sure what you mean when you say "Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym5 (front) and Assym or SS (rear)" as I am not aware of an Assym SS, but the assy 5 & assy 6 are both excellent tyres.

Thanks, that’s useful to know about the Dunlop. Do you have any experience of how they perform in colder temps?

The GoodYear SS is their Eagle F1 Supersport which is, I think, their equivalent to the Michelin Sport Cup.

Sadly, the only Asymmetric available for the rear is the original which will be NOS and likely to have been sat on a shelf for some years now.

I hear what you say about the Uniroyals but it’s hard to find tests where it’s been directly up against, for example, the Dunlop (RT, not the latest RT2) to get a proper comparison of the two tyres I’m most interested in.

[stevemcs]

I’ve run uniroyals for a few years and for the money they are very good

[Saleen836]

Dave-p69gz said:

E-bmw said:

OK, here is my 2p.

RS5 are a problem as they sell themselves on being good in the rain but they are beaten in the wet by most premium tyres that they are matched against.
D Sport RT maxx are a decent tyre I have used them myself & found them to be very good in most environments & I even used them on my Mini R53 track car as my road/wet option.
PS4S are an excellent tyre but very performance focussed full stop.
Not sure what you mean when you say "Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym5 (front) and Assym or SS (rear)" as I am not aware of an Assym SS, but the assy 5 & assy 6 are both excellent tyres.

Thanks, that’s useful to know about the Dunlop. Do you have any experience of how they perform in colder temps?

The GoodYear SS is their Eagle F1 Supersport which is, I think, their equivalent to the Michelin Sport Cup.

Sadly, the only Asymmetric available for the rear is the original which will be NOS and likely to have been sat on a shelf for some years now.

I hear what you say about the Uniroyals but it’s hard to find tests where it’s been directly up against, for example, the Dunlop (RT, not the latest RT2) to get a proper comparison of the two tyres I’m most interested in.

I have the Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres on both my weekend car (Supercharged V8) and my daily AstraVan, only problem I have encountered is traction on the V8 and only reason I put them on the daily is because I had no problems with them on the V8

Edited to add...my weekend drive is getting 4 new tyres in the next few weeks and I will be putting Dunlop Sportmaxx on again

Edited by Saleen836 on Sunday 30th April 20:37

[Zarco]

Eagle F1 Supersport is Goodyear equivalent of PS4S.

Both have stiff sidewalls and are not geared towards ride comfort. Great tyres though.

[Dave-p69gz]

stevemcs said:

I’ve run uniroyals for a few years and for the money they are very good

Thanks, I’m looking for personal experiences. What were you running them on?

[Dave-p69gz]

Saleen836 said:

I have the Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres on both my weekend car (Supercharged V8) and my daily AstraVan, only problem I have encountered is traction on the V8 and only reason I put them on the daily is because I had no problems with them on the V8

Edited to add...my weekend drive is getting 4 new tyres in the next few weeks and I will be putting Dunlop Sportmaxx on again

Edited by Saleen836 on Sunday 30th April 20:37

Thanks. What are they like comfort-wise?

[Heathwood]

I wouldn’t recommend putting Assymetric 5s on the front and supersport on the rear. I understand Supersports need a bit of heat in them to perform and can be a tad sketchy on cold and/or damp conditions until that point. Conversely, assyms don’t really require this and are much grippier during this phase. As a result, you run the risk of having a grippy front and a comparably loose rear in cold/damp conditions. Still, roundabouts should be fun. :-)

[Dave-p69gz]

Heathwood said:

I wouldn’t recommend putting Assymetric 5s on the front and supersport on the rear. I understand Supersports need a bit of heat in them to perform and can be a tad sketchy on cold and/or damp conditions until that point. Conversely, assyms don’t really require this and are much grippier during this phase. As a result, you run the risk of having a grippy front and a comparably loose rear in cold/damp conditions. Still, roundabouts should be fun. :-)

Thanks, that’s a good point (without wishing to stir up the old “best tyres on the front/rear” debate!). I’d love to go with GY Asymms but I can’t unless I’m willing to mix types front and rear - which, for the very good reason you’ve just outlined, I don’t.

It’s a toss up between the Dunlop and Uniroyals and I’m not sure there’s a lot to choose between them. The Unis were only middling in the big tests but I read that they need a couple of hundred miles bedding in before they start performing which a test of lots of tyres may not have been able to do. Reading user reviews they seem to be either hate (not sporty enough) or love with little in-between. User reviews of the Sport maxx seem similarly divided.

Whatever I get, they’ll be better than the slabs of cold granite that are currently on…. 😁

Thanks for the input, all. I know this is a subject that’s done to death so thanks for your patience!

[Heathwood]

Out of interest, what wheel size do you run at the rear? GY do a 255 or a 275 fitment, which is a very small percentage difference, so may be worth looking into. For reference, I went from a standard fitment of 205/45/18 to 225/40/18 with no problems at all. I appreciate I changed the aspect ratio but not sure you’d need to given the smaller percentage difference in width.