High Performance Tyre Survey

[Bullet32]

Hi all,

My name is Mick and I work for Federal tyres Australia, Im also an R32 GTsT owner and motorsports nut.

I have been reading the "Tyres you've used and how you rate them" thread and its very useful for info and feedback, but there is allot to read.

However, I am doing some research for marketing purposes for Federal and I would like to get some more in depth feedback on the real "nitty gritty" of motorsport and high performance tyres.

I would like to hear from anyone who has or is using a motorsport compound tyre (either "R" compound or just a soft tread wear rating) for track use and how they rate them for dry grip, braking, stability and consistency etc.

I would also like to hear from you if you are using high performance street tyres and how you rate them.

I am not looking for feedback on noise level, comfort or looks, just a genuine non bias brief description on your tyres and how they have performed for you on the track and/or the street (good or bad).

Thanks for your help, it would be very much appreciated.

Mick

[eron]

However, I am doing some research for marketing purposes for Federal and I would like to get some more in depth feedback on the real "nitty gritty" of motorsport and high performance tyres.

So you wanna gather more info here so that you can better market your products? Personally, I did go through the tyre thread 3 times, on top of some other research and opinions before buying mine.

In the end I forked out a decent amount of money for a pair of Michelin Pilot Sports with PP2 in front. The improvements from the previous Potenza RE01 (non-R) is amazing. I would like to give 10 for all aspects but havn't really tried a great range of tyres in different conditions, and only use them for street, so my opinion ends here.

[siddr20]

Advan neovoes AD07s.. High performance street tyre..

GRIP: 9/10 i say.. Best street tyre i have driven in so far..

They come stock on some cars.. Everyone in japan uses them as well!!

in the wet, they suck if you really wanna push it.. But normal driving in the wet, they still grip!!

But these rubbers are designed for dry conditions!!

If i had the money again i would purchase the ad07s, or the pilot sports!!

Hope this helps!! lol..

[Trust33]

Current Tyres:Federal SS595 17/235/45/F & 17/255/40/R.

Street Performance:

They are a good street tyre imo for price,sports perfomance and wear.Wet weather performance is good,Just dont go pushing it theyre are not that good.

Track Performance:

When i first bought them and they were used on their first track day they performed great.Once their limit was found they were happy to give me pretty consistent laps all hot summers day long.@ Wakefield Park 1:14.3 manual,r33gts-t,on rb74 pads and federal 595ss street tyres.With suspension mods.Heat was the biggest concern that day.so had runs for 4 laps and cool down etc..

Drifting performance:

These days the fronts have a massive flat spot in them,from drifting @ oran park north,on the front right tyre.And the left has a small one.When pushed while drifting,after they have seen arround 15K,they had a tendency to understeer.The rears are still in pretty good nick ( tho they were not used to drfit with).

Conclusion:

They are light years ahead of the multidirectional falken 326's i have driven on previously.

I have driven on the street in a ve holden on potenza re01's and their grip was phenominal.i could feel the difference just from street driving and taking into consideration the weight of the car.But their price tag is also 2x the price and they are an r compound street tyre?? i think..big difference.

#Decent tyres for price,wear & perfomance.

[Eug]

discounts!!!

i'll be giving the 595's a go next

[Bullet32]

So you wanna gather more info here so that you can better market your products? Personally, I did go through the tyre thread 3 times, on top of some other research and opinions before buying mine.

In the end I forked out a decent amount of money for a pair of Michelin Pilot Sports with PP2 in front. The improvements from the previous Potenza RE01 (non-R) is amazing. I would like to give 10 for all aspects but havn't really tried a great range of tyres in different conditions, and only use them for street, so my opinion ends here.

Thanks for your feedback.

The reason Im looking to gather information from here is because I know that there are plenty of real motorsports enthusiasts with real performance cars on these forums and to better target the high performance market we need to be able to compare our tyres with our competition.

Your feedback will help us to know what people are looking for and that way we can focus on offering a great product at an even better price.

[Bullet32]

Current Tyres:Federal SS595 17/235/45/F & 17/255/40/R.

Street Performance:

They are a good street tyre imo for price,sports perfomance and wear.Wet weather performance is good,Just dont go pushing it theyre are not that good.

Track Performance:

When i first bought them and they were used on their first track day they performed great.Once their limit was found they were happy to give me pretty consistent laps all hot summers day long.@ Wakefield Park 1:14.3 manual,r33gts-t,on rb74 pads and federal 595ss street tyres.With suspension mods.Heat was the biggest concern that day.so had runs for 4 laps and cool down etc..

Drifting performance:

These days the fronts have a massive flat spot in them,from drifting @ oran park north,on the front right tyre.And the left has a small one.When pushed while drifting,after they have seen arround 15K,they had a tendency to understeer.The rears are still in pretty good nick ( tho they were not used to drfit with).

Conclusion:

They are light years ahead of the multidirectional falken 326's i have driven on previously.

I have driven on the street in a ve holden on potenza re01's and their grip was phenominal.i could feel the difference just from street driving and taking into consideration the weight of the car.But their price tag is also 2x the price and they are an r compound street tyre?? i think..big difference.

#Decent tyres for price,wear & perfomance.

Thanks for that feedback Trust33.

Our 595 "SS" is focused mainly for street use, they are soft enough and have an aggresive enough tread design to provide excellent grip and water dispersion while still being durable enough for great mileage.

I personally use these on my car and I think that for value for money they are the best on the market.

If you are looking for a tyre to use on the track however, we offer the 595RS as our motosports tyre.

The 595RS is our "semi slick" version of the normal 595, it is made from a very soft compound (non R) and strong case construction specificaly designed for track use while still being a street legal tyre which you could use for normal driving (although I wouldnt recommend this as they very soft and will wear quickly), these tyres provide massive amounts of dry grip and are super consistant lap after lap.

Federal tyres are sponsoring a few of the drifters in the Drift Australia series this year - Mark Phillips and Nathan Weissel to name only 2, they will both be using the 595 and 595RS tyres when competing.

We also have a new motorsports series this year called the Lotus X Challenge in which every Lotus Exige / Elise competing will be using the 595RS motorsport tyre.

Have a look at the Federal tyres website for more info - www.federaltyres.com.au

[Snowman]

The problem is Federal don't yet make (that I'm aware of) a genuine competition street tyre.

For what I call a comprimise tyre the Federal 595RS is a great tyre however. I've run on them for an Autocross day in an EVO 8MR and they were great. I use Falken Azien RT215's currently on my daily driver (MY03 WRX) and these tyres are nearly at and end and will look at replacing them with the Federals rather than the new RT615's. Along with the Toyo R1R's these are all classifed as street tyres in most competitions where true R Spec tyres bring class changes.

But the motorsport guys (including myself with my GT-R) are using genuine R comps.

Most of us that I know prefer the Bridgestone RE55's simply because the grip level is great and the cost is so much more reasonable than the Dunlops. I think a lot of us would use the Dunlop DJ02Z or even the new DJ03Z tyres but at around +$100 per corner more than the RE55's the costs can't be justified.

Tyres like the Advan A048, Michelin Pilot Sport Cups and Toyo R888's aren't providing the same grip levels as the Bridgestone or Dunlops and have the same price and wear levels so aren't regularly used either. But for the genuine motorsport guys you'll need a tyre with a UTQG of around 40-60 to get any real interest. I think from memory the 595RS are around 180.

[Bullet32]

The problem is Federal don't yet make (that I'm aware of) a genuine competition street tyre.

For what I call a comprimise tyre the Federal 595RS is a great tyre however. I've run on them for an Autocross day in an EVO 8MR and they were great. I use Falken Azien RT215's currently on my daily driver (MY03 WRX) and these tyres are nearly at and end and will look at replacing them with the Federals rather than the new RT615's. Along with the Toyo R1R's these are all classifed as street tyres in most competitions where true R Spec tyres bring class changes.

But the motorsport guys (including myself with my GT-R) are using genuine R comps.

Most of us that I know prefer the Bridgestone RE55's simply because the grip level is great and the cost is so much more reasonable than the Dunlops. I think a lot of us would use the Dunlop DJ02Z or even the new DJ03Z tyres but at around +$100 per corner more than the RE55's the costs can't be justified.

Tyres like the Advan A048, Michelin Pilot Sport Cups and Toyo R888's aren't providing the same grip levels as the Bridgestone or Dunlops and have the same price and wear levels so aren't regularly used either. But for the genuine motorsport guys you'll need a tyre with a UTQG of around 40-60 to get any real interest. I think from memory the 595RS are around 180.

Thats great information, thanks Snowman.

Youre right Federal dont have a genuine R compound tyre yet (although there may be something on the horizon)

The 595RS does have a tread wear index of 180 which is quite soft for a "street" tyre as most high performance street tyres have ratings around 240.

[Thunderbolt]

One thing the website could do with is a list of suppliers (not distributors). If I want to buy a tyre from you, then I don't want to keep ringing around until I find someone that will be able to supply them for me. My time is valuable, so I want to get on the phone to the shops that I know will supply the tyre that I am looking for.

ps. I have always had a love/hate relationship for the Bridgestone Potenza GIIIs. They are fairly cheap, and provide mountains of grip. I have had trouble losing traction with them on (even with 180rwkw), which is why it's a negative too as sometimes it is nice to spin the wheels (not on the street of course ) and if you get it sideways then you can find that they suddenly grip at an unexpected time. Am yet to run them on the track, but as a pair of my semi-slicks are worn out I will probably have to use them at the track in future.

[BHDave]

One question,

what does the XL stand for on the 225/45 17 rs and why is it 2kg's heavier than the 235?

Edited April 19, 2007 by BHDave

[scathing]

I'm rolling on Falken Azenis RT215s at the moment. I'm quite fond of everything they do except the wear rate. They're great in the dry, reasonable in the wet (they're quite new) and the tyre noise isn't headache-inducing.

I've never driven on Federal 595RS's though, so if you want to sling me a free set on spare rims I'll drive them back to back and let you know what I think.

[PSI_GTSII]

I run FEDERAL 595-RS's (265/35/18's).

Perfect tyre for me as my GTR only gets used occasionally for the odd track day, Cruize, and trip to work all in all less than 3000kms per year, I cannot warrant a true Semi Slick or second set of rims.

The tyres make me 'Competitive' at track days but not the fastest, as Snowman mentioned a true semi slick would be required then, but having said that my PB dropped by 2 seconds around Barbagello over original Bridgestones.

Never really had decent tyres but I must say the grip levels were imidiately noticeable over the 245/40/18 Bridgestone 'performance' Street tyres fitted previous....I was very impressed

A+++++ will buy again

[ob1]

mick,

ive had ss595's on my GTT for about a month now after the good writeups in the sticky topic. I came off almost bald re01's. The 595's seem to be great value for money, yet didnt really "wow" me on an absolute grip scale. My main gripe is that in long corners with undulating bumps, the tread blocks feel very squirmy. I've tried different pressures with the same effect each time. Could be because my old tyres were so worn they had very little tread block to speak of , but i think the issue is real to a certain extent.

Would love to test on the track, but havent as yet. For a road car, i'd prolly buy them again due to the bang-for-buck.

[Bullet32]

Well...

Thankyou all for your feedback, it will be a great help in knowing what kind of impression our tyres have made out there in the performance market.

BHDave - The XL on the RS stands for extra load, which basically means that they have a heavier duty case construction than other tyres in that size, meaning that they are stronger and will stand up to more extreme applications such as track racing better and they will be less likely to have excess tyre wall flex.

Scathing - I would love to be able to hand out sets of RS for everyone that wants them, there's only one problem though... They cost money to build and import and we are trying to run a profitable business and that would be very hard if we starting giving them away

PSI_GTSII - Thanks for that info, the RS are a definate performer and have enough of a wear rating to usually last longer than R comp tyres, they make for a great track / street tyre.

ob1 - Thats good to know aswell, the 595 "SS" are a great tyre for the price (I believe they are the best value on the market) and do perform well on road.

Im not sure why you would be experiencing a squirming feeling, I use the same tyres and have been very happy with them but all cars perform differently and it could be a combination of things... I cant really explain it though.

[Abo Bob]

I think you get squirming with lots of new tyres. It goes away though.

[RAZOR32]

I have a mate with a R32 GTR, he run 11.02 @ 131 mph and a 1.5 60ft on 595 ss he had around 360rwkw and now it is being rebuilt at the moment by Ben at Race Pace and should have around 450rwkw and he is very keen to try the new 595RS and so am I. I’m using Falken RT615 at the moment but am keen to compare the two.

[hrd-hr30]

The problem is Federal don't yet make (that I'm aware of) a genuine competition street tyre.

For what I call a comprimise tyre the Federal 595RS is a great tyre however. I've run on them for an Autocross day in an EVO 8MR and they were great. I use Falken Azien RT215's currently on my daily driver (MY03 WRX) and these tyres are nearly at and end and will look at replacing them with the Federals rather than the new RT615's. Along with the Toyo R1R's these are all classifed as street tyres in most competitions where true R Spec tyres bring class changes.

But the motorsport guys (including myself with my GT-R) are using genuine R comps.

Most of us that I know prefer the Bridgestone RE55's simply because the grip level is great and the cost is so much more reasonable than the Dunlops. I think a lot of us would use the Dunlop DJ02Z or even the new DJ03Z tyres but at around +$100 per corner more than the RE55's the costs can't be justified.

Tyres like the Advan A048, Michelin Pilot Sport Cups and Toyo R888's aren't providing the same grip levels as the Bridgestone or Dunlops and have the same price and wear levels so aren't regularly used either. But for the genuine motorsport guys you'll need a tyre with a UTQG of around 40-60 to get any real interest. I think from memory the 595RS are around 180.

yep. the other problem is the 595RS costs as much as a genuine semi slick. I've used 595SS as a street tyre (back then I had a second set of wheels and RE55S for track use), and when I got my new wheels I was considering the 595RS as a dual purpose tyre, but changed my mind as soon as I saw the price. It was double the cost of the same size 595SS, and right up there with genuine semi slicks. I don't see the value in the 595RS.

Since I wrote the review in the tyre thread I've been back to QR on the 595SS and was alot less impressed. It was a warmer day and they were just mush after the warm up lap, sliding around all over the place. Still a very good street performer (where overheating the tyres isn't an issue) and great value for money, unlike the RS.

[amosite]

I have used many different tyres.

Here are my ratings:

Neova = RE01R

RE01

DIREZZA

The RE01R's warm up quicker and are more sensitive to PSI but wear quicker. I feel they perform better in the wet but have never done a wet track day on them.

RE55S

DO1J

I didnt find that much difference between the 2 above track tyres but the RE55S gave me slightly better lap times

Im looking to get some 595 SS as the neovas need replacing, since its my road car, it will see very little track work- I have a dedicated car for that ;-)

[STATUS]

yep. the other problem is the 595RS costs as much as a genuine semi slick. I've used 595SS as a street tyre (back then I had a second set of wheels and RE55S for track use), and when I got my new wheels I was considering the 595RS as a dual purpose tyre, but changed my mind as soon as I saw the price. It was double the cost of the same size 595SS, and right up there with genuine semi slicks. I don't see the value in the 595RS.

Since I wrote the review in the tyre thread I've been back to QR on the 595SS and was alot less impressed. It was a warmer day and they were just mush after the warm up lap, sliding around all over the place. Still a very good street performer (where overheating the tyres isn't an issue) and great value for money, unlike the RS.

Yeah we had some heat related 595ss issues in drifting, delam and the such but the RS seems to handle the abuse fine.

My favourite high-po street tyres are the Advan ad07, very grippy and progressive but not available locally and cost way to much to continually airfrieght accross to be a viable option, and the less street orientated RA-1 toyo which has awesome grip but not as wet friendly as the AD07. Just about to fit TOYO PROXES 4 to the GTR so we will see how they perform over the federals... unfortunately again i must say they were very average especially for excessive tyre noise... good life though and better than the Falkens that were on it before that.

If you want some unbiased data, why not bring a few sets to calder one day? i will bring out a g meter and you can compare them against a lot of differrent tyres, i have access to most brands and could undoubtely score enough to do comparisons.... get a magazine involved too if you like? or keep it private.