MX-5 Tyre Recommendations

[ninemill]

Hi everyone,

My Mum's had an 2002 MX-5 1.8 for about a year now but has never liked the tyres on it ("too skiddy"!). She's changing them now and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for more grippy rubber??

She's got 14" wheels with Yoko's on at the moment.

Cheers for your help!!

[mxdi]

After posting a similar thread, I went for Eagle Ventura's (goodyear) which were actually the same brand as were already on there, and ive had no problems with them. All of the others recommended didnt come in my size (14")

[jazzybee]

Toyo Proxies T1s -

[cptsideways]

jazzybee said:

Toyo Proxies T1s -

Yep nice and progressive, ideal for a 5

[mxdi]

do they do toyo proxes in that size? when I was looking i couldnt find any in 185/65/14 or whatever mine were

[TheGreatSoprendo]

mxdi said:

do they do toyo proxes in that size? when I was looking i couldnt find any in 185/65/14 or whatever mine were

Yes, they do 14" ones, apparently made especially for the MX-5. They're 195/55/14, which makes them 10mm wider than standard but near-as-dammit the same overall diameter. Why they didn't just do them in the standard 185/60/14 is anybody's guess, but no matter - they fit fine on 14" MX-5 rims and the extra width gives an degree of kerbing protection into the bargain.

Trouble is, because the 14" ones are specially made, they're helluva lot more expensive than the 15" equivalents. I paid £240 for a set of 4 fitted a couple of years back.

My solution was to upgrade to 15" rims which are better looking and offer a much better and wider choice of tyres. I was lucky to get some lovely looking wheels from a mk2 SE for £180 from a club member who absolutely cherished his car and hence there awsn't a mark on the alloys

The last set of Toyo's I had fitted cost me under £140 fitted - over £100 less than the 14" ones!

[jazzybee]

I could have sworn the T1s were available in 185/60/14. However a better alternative is the Goodyear Eagle F1s - They are still available in GSD2 form, however GSD3s are offered in other sizes. Guess is these are being phased out, so replacements maybe a little hard to find later in the year. They are for sale for £45 each at mytyres at the mo. They are a better tyre than the T1s (I have the GSD3s on my car in 195/50/15 size) but more pricey.

[mxdi]

I did look for the all the tyres recommended before but opted for the venturas, got 3 corners fully fitted for £120 (185/60/14), a bargain so i thought anyway.