Best tyres for 200bhp Mk1 Golf
Discussion
I'm very happy that my car has failed it's MOT on just needing 2 front tyres after I have put a 1.8t engine in it. I am hopefully going to track the car 4 or 5 times a year and use it for generally hacking around over winter while the TVR is in the garage.
So my question is what is the best 195/50/15 tyre on the market for an 800kg car with 200bhp, good grip for both road and very light track use.
Suggestions please.....
Edit tyre size
So my question is what is the best 195/50/15 tyre on the market for an 800kg car with 200bhp, good grip for both road and very light track use.
Suggestions please.....
Edit tyre size
Edited by R11ysf on Wednesday 27th October 16:34
BlackCircles (which I presume is the cheapest??) tells me
Toyo T1-R £52.92
Yokohama Parada Spec 2 £53.84
Yokohama A539 £53.84
Continental Premium Contact 2 £63.90
and up near the top
Goodyear Excellence £73.78
How do the Yokos compare with the Toyos??? Black circles have the Toyos in the "mid-range" tyres and the Yokos in the "premium".
Edit - this is fitted and delivered
Toyo T1-R £52.92
Yokohama Parada Spec 2 £53.84
Yokohama A539 £53.84
Continental Premium Contact 2 £63.90
and up near the top
Goodyear Excellence £73.78
How do the Yokos compare with the Toyos??? Black circles have the Toyos in the "mid-range" tyres and the Yokos in the "premium".
Edit - this is fitted and delivered
Edited by R11ysf on Wednesday 27th October 16:52
I am after something along the lines of a 20vt converted MK1, MK2 or Corrado, interested to know your opinions on yours, not been in one but am assuming that having had 2 mk1's and 4 mk2s it should be like those only better, not sure how much power is required to provide pretty epic performance without it just being traction limited in every gear and effectively undrivable, I am kind of looking for nearer the 300 but would imagine 200 in a MK1 is pretty brisk so I may be going for overkill there.
I think other than the tyres, the main factor is whether it has a limited slip diff fitted, I found Contis the best in a FIat Coupe turbo, after ditchfinder Nankangs it was like going to 4wd in comparison, in that size, the world is your oyster as the prices are all fairly low, wonder what the track day type tyres are like on the road ? I suspect they are crap on anythign on other than a hot day or need warming up, anyone care to enlighten me.
I think other than the tyres, the main factor is whether it has a limited slip diff fitted, I found Contis the best in a FIat Coupe turbo, after ditchfinder Nankangs it was like going to 4wd in comparison, in that size, the world is your oyster as the prices are all fairly low, wonder what the track day type tyres are like on the road ? I suspect they are crap on anythign on other than a hot day or need warming up, anyone care to enlighten me.
daveco said:
EVO did a test on tyres for high performance front wheel drive cars recently. I think Continental's did well.
Wasn't it last month's issue? I'd ring up and get a back issue for the sake of a fiver. In response to the recommendation for Toyos, I don't think they did very well at all. It's a proper blind test with plenty of objective measures, so very trustworthy.I'd go for Yoko Ao48's, the only thing is they are not designed to cope with deep standing water so, do you have another car for very wet winter days?
Toyo 888's similar cheaper option but dont seem to last as well.
For a road tyre with stiff sidewalls I found the Hankook Rs2 to be quite good on the Integra.
Good year asymetricals always a good safe alternative not sure if you will get them in this small size (and expensive).
The above is based on I tried all the above on my track cars / racing car / road integra type R Impreza Spec C.
Forget Toyo proxy's.
I can only assume the people suggesting this never tried them on a car, or cant tell the difference between good handling and crap handling.
I have had them on various cars including track prep'd 205 1.9, Impreza RB5 and have the misfortune to have a new set on my Integra Type R - they are awfull in the dry, awfull in the wet, they completely detract from how the handling should be on a DC2. this is based on back to back change from Ao48, Hankook Rs2 then Toyo Proxy's - Toyo proxy's are cheap nasty rubbish.
Toyo 888's similar cheaper option but dont seem to last as well.
For a road tyre with stiff sidewalls I found the Hankook Rs2 to be quite good on the Integra.
Good year asymetricals always a good safe alternative not sure if you will get them in this small size (and expensive).
The above is based on I tried all the above on my track cars / racing car / road integra type R Impreza Spec C.
Forget Toyo proxy's.
I can only assume the people suggesting this never tried them on a car, or cant tell the difference between good handling and crap handling.
I have had them on various cars including track prep'd 205 1.9, Impreza RB5 and have the misfortune to have a new set on my Integra Type R - they are awfull in the dry, awfull in the wet, they completely detract from how the handling should be on a DC2. this is based on back to back change from Ao48, Hankook Rs2 then Toyo Proxy's - Toyo proxy's are cheap nasty rubbish.
a definate second for the yoko parada spec 2's. had them in 195/50 r15 on my mx5 when i first got it. the chap that tracked it before me rekoned from all the tyres he'd tried, he stuck with them.
their grip is more biased toward dry, obviously, considering how big the tread blocks are. they're predictable and start to get a squeal on before/as they start to let go. once you've worked them hard you can feel them get slightly more compliant and stickier and more progressive - the braking you can achieve when they're up to temp is amazing, i'd imagine close to R888/A048r (not that i've driven on them) yet at almost half the price of the med/hard compounds. when they get close to the wear limit they do get a bit scary in the wet though, and you can get yourself into trouble fairly easily at low speeds
the T1R's i've replaced them with work better for me, since i felt i had too much grip - i find that the T1r's move about a bit more, but the breakaway is more progressive and regaining traction is less snappy. on a light car i found them too soft and bouncy when i ran high 20's psi as others have reccomended, instead find them more feelsome at 30/31 but again, i'm after more a feel of the car than lap times - lower pressures may well make more grip. comparatively, very good characteristics in the wet, easy to regain traction smoothly.
maybe go with the T1r's first - they're cheap and wear fast, if you don't like them you'll probably not have long to change, especially on track!
their grip is more biased toward dry, obviously, considering how big the tread blocks are. they're predictable and start to get a squeal on before/as they start to let go. once you've worked them hard you can feel them get slightly more compliant and stickier and more progressive - the braking you can achieve when they're up to temp is amazing, i'd imagine close to R888/A048r (not that i've driven on them) yet at almost half the price of the med/hard compounds. when they get close to the wear limit they do get a bit scary in the wet though, and you can get yourself into trouble fairly easily at low speeds
the T1R's i've replaced them with work better for me, since i felt i had too much grip - i find that the T1r's move about a bit more, but the breakaway is more progressive and regaining traction is less snappy. on a light car i found them too soft and bouncy when i ran high 20's psi as others have reccomended, instead find them more feelsome at 30/31 but again, i'm after more a feel of the car than lap times - lower pressures may well make more grip. comparatively, very good characteristics in the wet, easy to regain traction smoothly.
maybe go with the T1r's first - they're cheap and wear fast, if you don't like them you'll probably not have long to change, especially on track!
I found Yoko A539s a pretty good tyre on my 106 Rallye Fast road/track car (60hp down on your golf but similar size and weight). They gave excellent dry grip, moderate wet grip( not outstanding but definitely not ditch finders) but best of all they didn't just melt on track like Goodyear eagle F1s did. I got sensible milage out of them too (well, about 4,000 miles, but that's as much as I've ever got from front tyres.)
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