Best Tyres for an Impreza Turbo

[pbsaxman]

I've had my scooby from new in 2000 and have so far gone through only three sets of tyres. It's OEM Bridgestones vanished due to uneven wear in about 5000mls !! These were replaced with Pirelli P Zero Asymetricos (after a four wheel geometry check) which were fine until road noise sounding like a shot rear diff (which the local dealer changed twice before we discovered the tyres had gone oval, a common issue with these apparently )which put paid to them. At the moment I have a set of Goodyear F1 on it which have been fine but noise is becoming an issue again as they are wearing down and I've been told horror stories of them delaminating unexpectedly .

So, as a replacement is due, what are the best tyres for this car? I live in East Yorkshire so water is a plenty and I have a Noble M400 for dry weather hooning !!

Discuss away,

Peter

[GravelBen]

I've heard good things about Toyo T1-R.

[hawkaye]

another vote for Toyo T1R's

[rustybin]

Another vote for the Toyos here. Though when they are brand new you will think they are absolute crud. Go for a blast in the dry and get some heat into them and they will then be superb. Good excuse anyway.


"Well officer, this bloke on a forum reckons that these tyres I've just bought need to go through a heat cycle so I was doing 90 round this bend because..."

[Orangecurry]

Michelin Pilot Sport 2s are very good, but expensive.
Uniroyal Rainsports have excellent reviews, wet or dry, and although the Toyo T1-Rs have a huge following, some people say they are not good in the wet.... they are also just as expensive in 215/45/17 (I'm guessing your size) as the other tyres you mentioned.

I'll be getting the Uniroyals for my impreza next, after wearing out as fast as possible my rubbish-sidewalls GSD3s from China.

can I also ask, are your GSD3s German or Chinese? How long/miles have you had them? Thanks.

oops just noticed you say it is a MY00, but the prices I quote are similar for 205/50/16

Edited by Orangecurry on Thursday 12th July 10:20

[stevieb]

Tyre choice would be down to your driveing style..

But i hate Toyos T1-Rs i have had them on for 3 months and i hate them in the wet. In the dry they are ok but flex to much under hard cornering. Will be going back to Bridgstones before the weather turnes really bad for christmas

STeve

[Foolish Dave]

Another vote for Toyo T1-R (or the T1-S)

BUT only if you drive REALLY hard OR soft. If you drive quick-ish or so-so they won't get enough heat in to make them stick properly and it feels like they squirm all over the place.

Also - scrub them in properly as the first couple of hundered miles they don't stick for some reason, so I treat mine like brake pads for the first couple of hours worth of driving.

Edited by Foolish Dave on Thursday 12th July 12:24

[jon-]

From what I've read recently the Falken FK452s are a bit better than the T1Rs.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Falken/FK452.htm

vs

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Toyo/T1R.htm

Alas, no reviews for the impreza on the site yet (though subaru is there if you feel like adding one )

[Orangecurry]

jon- said:

From what I've read recently the Falken FK452s are a bit better than the T1Rs.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Falken/FK452.htm

vs

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Toyo/T1R.htm

Alas, no reviews for the impreza on the site yet (though subaru is there if you feel like adding one )

you wouldn't want my one-sided ramblings though

[jon-]

You're getting slow mate: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[MilnerR]

My last impreza had RE011s to begin with which were alright. When they went I got Eagle F1s because of their wet weather performance and ended up selling it with those still on it. I bought a new impreza STi which came with RE070s and I've just replaced them with another set of the same. I'm not sure you can get RE070s in the right size for your scooby. The F1s were good all round tyres (no problems here with delamination), the RE011s tram lined a bit and the RE070s stick to the road like shit to a blanket, unless the road has standing water on it or any hint of snow, in which case you have to work very hard not to become part of the scenery!

[jon-]

Cor, RE010s, old school!

I'd love to try the RE070s, very difficult finding them over here though!

[sparkyhx]

I've heard good things about Falken 465 and the Toyo and F1's. I don't think you will go wrong with any of them but I drive RWD and not all tyres are suitable. Pirelli's over on the 200 forum are know as 'ditch finders' yet other people swear by them.

I have F1's on my 200 and have heard the delaminating rumours. I have also heard of Chinese produced F1's which aren't as good - dunno if the two things are related - make sure they are made in Germany.

[pbsaxman]

Thanks to all who've added comments they have all been helpful. I now have a few new makes to explore and some places to seek information from. I'll let you know what I eventually go for and what I think of them

Cheers

Peter

[ScoobieWRX]

Go for the Toyo T1R's and you won't look back. I couldn't wait to get rid of the Bridgestones as when i first bought my scooby it had those up front and Toyo T1S on the back. I was so impressed with the T1S i opted for the latest T1R. They have reinforced sidewalls, bit stiffer than the T1S but still good on the noise front and really excellent in the Dry and Wet. My car should be 215/45/17 but i use the 225's as they are a fraction grippier and give a more true MPH reading so when your clock reads 70mph you are actually doing 67mph and not 65mph. Put 35psi in the fronts and 33 in the rears for the 225's...excellent!!

TSL recommend 34psi front and 32 psi rear for the 215/45/17 T1R's and that's what they balance them on. My sportwagon prefers 1psi extra front and rear. On scoobys 1psi makes a big difference so those of you saying they are squishy should try using recommened pressures. Subaru say 33psi front and that's too soft. If you do a track day put an extra 2-3 psi front and rear in to stiffen the sidewalls up a bit more for even more traction

[stevieb]

The Toyos sidewalls are not hard enough when comparing against the Bridgestones, hence why the pressures do not have to be so high with the bridgestones!

Also with having high tyre pressure will lead to uneven wear through the centre of the tyre! To little pressure with wear the edges out quicker!

Edited by stevieb on Monday 16th July 12:35

[Bieeeelllaaaa]

I just put Toyos on the front of my scooby and noticed they are not as stiff as the Brigestones and there is a little flex. They do seem to grip tho.

Also had P-Zeros on before the Toyos and really do not rate them especially road noise.

However £66 per tyre you cant really complain too much.

[Orangecurry]

ScoobieWRX said:

TSL recommend 34psi front and 32 psi rear for the 215/45/17 T1R's and that's what they balance them on. My sportwagon prefers 1psi extra front and rear. On scoobys 1psi makes a big difference so those of you saying they are squishy should try using recommened pressures. Subaru say 33psi front and that's too soft.

I have found that I prefer 36/34 psi on my 5-door, and that's what is in the blancmange/China F1s with no difference to the wobbly handling I'm afraid.
The GSD3 carcass/tyre construction/materials are different in the German ones from the Chinese ones - and it shows.

[pbsaxman]

Orangecurry said:

Michelin Pilot Sport 2s are very good, but expensive.
Uniroyal Rainsports have excellent reviews, wet or dry, and although the Toyo T1-Rs have a huge following, some people say they are not good in the wet.... they are also just as expensive in 215/45/17 (I'm guessing your size) as the other tyres you mentioned.

I'll be getting the Uniroyals for my impreza next, after wearing out as fast as possible my rubbish-sidewalls GSD3s from China.

can I also ask, are your GSD3s German or Chinese? How long/miles have you had them? Thanks.

oops just noticed you say it is a MY00, but the prices I quote are similar for 205/50/16

Edited by Orangecurry on Thursday 12th July 10:20

Sorry chap when I first read your post I forgot to answer your questions.
My GSD3's are of the German persuasion and I must say on the whole have been fantastic fun. Dry grip very good but not quite as good as the P Zero's, wet grip awesome!!!! I run them at 1 PSI higher than book front and rear and until now have had no problem. Now noise is becoming an issue. They have been on for about 18000 miles which considering the way I corner (when I can see of course!!) is excellent. Hope this helps

Peter

[Orangecurry]

pbsaxman said:

Orangecurry said:

Michelin Pilot Sport 2s are very good, but expensive.
Uniroyal Rainsports have excellent reviews, wet or dry, and although the Toyo T1-Rs have a huge following, some people say they are not good in the wet.... they are also just as expensive in 215/45/17 (I'm guessing your size) as the other tyres you mentioned.

I'll be getting the Uniroyals for my impreza next, after wearing out as fast as possible my rubbish-sidewalls GSD3s from China.

can I also ask, are your GSD3s German or Chinese? How long/miles have you had them? Thanks.

oops just noticed you say it is a MY00, but the prices I quote are similar for 205/50/16

Sorry chap when I first read your post I forgot to answer your questions.
My GSD3's are of the German persuasion and I must say on the whole have been fantastic fun. Dry grip very good but not quite as good as the P Zero's, wet grip awesome!!!! I run them at 1 PSI higher than book front and rear and until now have had no problem. Now noise is becoming an issue. They have been on for about 18000 miles which considering the way I corner (when I can see of course!!) is excellent. Hope this helps

Peter

I had german GSD3s in 205/50/16, and agree EXACTLY with your description/experience (except the P-zeros are only better in the dry for a short time before the abillity dropped off)

If you can still get german GSD3s in 205/50/16, get them