Tyres you use(d) and how u would rate them

[yaf28f]

Hi, as with most people I am needing new tyres soon.

after reading through the thread, I am most likley going to try to purchase a set of Hankook K104 as they seem cheap and good performance aswell.

just curious after all these years has anyone got anything bad to say about them. if so, I might have to fork out more money for Toyo T1R's.

Also while researching hankook k104's I noticed there was a new range

Hankook Ventus R-s2 Z212, anyone got any information about these?

thanks

Michael

[driftmeister]

Hi everyone,

Been using Toyo T1R for the front (235/40/18) for 3-4 months, so far the handling is great, quiet and still has a lot of tread depth left. But my rear is needs changing cause i bought 2nd hand DNA GP 265/35/18 & been using for 5 months or so.

Has anyone experience the FALKEN RT 615 before? Thats gonna be my next purchase for the rear but wish to downsize to 235/40 or 245/40 due to the price factor. Are they very noisy? Heard tread life is 200. There is many good reviews on this tyre. My other option would be a ADVAN NEOVA AD07. Which do you all reckon be a better buy? btw the 265/35/18 for Toyo T1R is the same price as the 235/40/18 for FALKEN.

I need another basic advice whether i should put the grippier tyre in front or rear? I don't track the car at all but do like to drag race from traffic lights & highway sprints.

[DaFuca]

Hi everyone,

Been using Toyo T1R for the front (235/40/18) for 3-4 months, so far the handling is great, quiet and still has a lot of tread depth left. But my rear is needs changing cause i bought 2nd hand DNA GP 265/35/18 & been using for 5 months or so.

Has anyone experience the FALKEN RT 615 before? Thats gonna be my next purchase for the rear but wish to downsize to 235/40 or 245/40 due to the price factor. Are they very noisy? Heard tread life is 200. There is many good reviews on this tyre. My other option would be a ADVAN NEOVA AD07. Which do you all reckon be a better buy? btw the 265/35/18 for Toyo T1R is the same price as the 235/40/18 for FALKEN.

I need another basic advice whether i should put the grippier tyre in front or rear? I don't track the car at all but do like to drag race from traffic lights & highway sprints.

I personally think that the T1R's are a better tyre than the RT 615's, but that is just my opinion.

If you dont do a lot of hard cornering, then I wouldnt fork our HUGE dollars for grippy tyres on the front, as a descent midrange tyre in that size should do the same job on the front as a top end grippy tyre, but saying that, I wouldnt even look at these cheap chinesse import tyres (Antyre, Clear, Sime, Barum, Nexen) as they are generally worse than retreats. But I wouldnt cheap out on the rear.. not if you are running any kinda real power.

[driftmeister]

Hi Dafuca

Thankx for the advice. Im modding gradually to PFC, boost controller and FMIC very soon. So i probably reckon it's best to have the rear grippier. SO far im happy with the T1R = quiet, grippy & very assuring in the wet. I have sat in other cars using ADO7 & RE-01R, i must admit that they have no problem with launching and leap frog off the line. If given a choice, which would you go for RT 615 or AD07?

[PatrickT]

Hi Dafuca

Thankx for the advice. Im modding gradually to PFC, boost controller and FMIC very soon. So i probably reckon it's best to have the rear grippier. SO far im happy with the T1R = quiet, grippy & very assuring in the wet. I have sat in other cars using ADO7 & RE-01R, i must admit that they have no problem with launching and leap frog off the line. If given a choice, which would you go for RT 615 or AD07?

RT 615's are a very grippy tyre hence the wear rating, they are not noisy at all and are good enough to do low 1:12's around wakefield. The wet weather traction is ok but in the dry will surpass the T1R's, you will only get 12 to 16 thousand Km out of the RT 615 though. Or 4 track days and 10K... :laughing-smiley-014:

Cheers

Patrick

[dangerous_daveo]

Best tyre front. Not much good having grip in the rear if you can point it in the right direction, or stop it for that matter.

[Cubes]

Due to low power levels in the past I've always got away with running the cheap import tyres such as Simex, Barum, Sava and Firenza.

Out of those the Simex were the best for straight line grip but the Firenza's were best for cornering.

Since the rb30det went in those tyres really showed the lack of traction they provide.

I recently threw on another set of tyres that are not as cheap but still considered cheap. Toyo TEO Plus, they are replacing the old Tranpath SW.

First impressions... wow.. I can now get all of second gear down with only slight wheel spin depending on road surfance. Wet weather traction is the best I have had apart from when I ran a set of Goodyear F1's.

Simex are plain dangerous in the wet, they should not be allowed on Aus. roads.

Definitely a good mid range silica based tyre. Toyo TEO Plus.

[DaFuca]

Then you will be happy to know that simex are not any longer being brought into this country.. well for a short time at least. Simex have moved there manufacturing plant to Brazil, so untill they get that up and running (6 months i hear) there will be a very big shortage on simex's in Australia.

And even then, Once these new laws come in about tyres and rims that I PERSONALLY HOPE THEY PASS, all these cheap unrated chineese and korean tyres and rims will have to pass a safety and quality check before they can be imported here. SO. when you buy a cheap tyre it will still be safe for our road conditions.

Dont know if that one will come in, but I read about it somewhere in the last few weeks.

[siddr20]

Can i please ask for some advice..

I think its time for me to purchase some tyres for the rears. Most likley 225s in size.

Currently got 215s michelin primacy in the rears and i feel they are great tyres. Sure there are better tyres, but my car only has full exhaust, more boost at this stage.. So not much power i guess compared to some of you guys.

So i was wondering with a budget of about 500 at most for pair, what tyres would suit me??

I checked out some prices for michelins precedas and they seem ok. About 240 each fitted i think.. or around 200 mark.

I might try some khumo tyres next..

What you think?? thanks all

[Cubes]

Why not look at something from the Toyo range...

They appear to make awesome top end and low/mid range tyre, no doubt their mid to high range tyre is also awesome (Proxes 4).

http://www.toyo.com.au/PCR%20new.htm

Toyo have a complete new range in that replaces the old.

T1RS

Proxes 4

TEO Plus (Highest quote was $180, managed to get a set for $150 each, the owners son had a Skyline)

In the price range I don't think there's another tyre on the market that comes close to the TEO plus. ($150-$180)

[siddr20]

Wow is that 180 each fitted??

Where in sydney do they sell Toyo tyres. Never seen anyone sell them before..

But i might settle for some good Khumo tyres.. A few of my friends have them and my mechanic has it on his 34 gtr with all postiove feedbacks..

Edit: ok found some dealers near my area who sell them.. Might pop in and just ask them for some quotes..

Edited July 12, 2006 by siddr20

[driftmeister]

I don't quite understand about heat cycle of tyre meant. Can anyone explain this? My car is a daily driver, lotsa stop & go traffic and see very little long journey trip. But i do highway runs & twist back roads every weekends . Anyone reckon the RT 615 or Neova AD07 would be more suitable?

[PatrickT]

I don't quite understand about heat cycle of tyre meant. Can anyone explain this? My car is a daily driver, lotsa stop & go traffic and see very little long journey trip. But i do highway runs & twist back roads every weekends . Anyone reckon the RT 615 or Neova AD07 would be more suitable?

If you are doing at lot of Km get the T1R or a second set of rims for the weekend. The 615's will be too soft.

[scathing]

I don't quite understand about heat cycle of tyre meant. Can anyone explain this? My car is a daily driver, lotsa stop & go traffic and see very little long journey trip. But i do highway runs & twist back roads every weekends . Anyone reckon the RT 615 or Neova AD07 would be more suitable?

Heat cycles only become an issue if you get the tyre temps up really high. For street use I doubt you'll ever truly "heat cycle" the tyre unless you're going at ten tenths.

When your tyres get really hot and then cool down, the rubber hardens and gets more brittle. I can't tell you the exact chemical / physics reasons why, it just does. The more times you heat them up and cool them down, the worse it is.

Obviously, a hard compound means less mechanical grip. Being more brittle means that the life can be compromised because the tyre crumbles instead of wearing.

This is why (semi-)professional racers will throw away tyres with plenty of meat if they can afford it, or relegate them for practice. I remember when I watched a mate doing Formula Ford racing in the NSW State championship. Some of his competitors were using brand new tyres for each of the 2 competitive sprint races at that meet, and had another set for the practice rounds the day before.

If you're commuting reasonable distances every day I'd say to avoid the RT615 and AD07 - they are way too soft. You might get 10,000-15,000km out of the tyres, but that's not enough for a daily. And they're not exactly cheap enough to justify a tyre with half the life of a "regular" tyre.

[driftmeister]

Thanks guys for the advice and very true i could save quite a lot of money.

I just notice the treadwear for Neova is 180 and the RT 615 is 200. Surprisingly the Neova is lower. Toyo T1R is 280. Is that a big difference between the separation of 80? What is the average life of Ultra High Performance tyre in km's if used as a daily driven & no track days at all?

I'm trying to understand whether the choice of tyre is to be purchase should be more for enjoyment of spirited driving of 20,000km (more smiles on your face) or distance usage of 40,000km (probably half the smile)? Let just say the price factor for the higher performance tyre is 25% more. Which would you choose?

Many thanks in advance and sorry if im too long windered. Cheers!

[sandyb]

Had Hankook K104s on GTiR - excellent tyre for price, nice and grippy - well priced.

Just put new Hankook RS-2's on GTR - more than I wanted to pay for tyres but check the grip - sticky as (including wet), best tyres Ive had. Rears still spin up, but vast improvement over the hard old 'visa' tyres they replaced.

Cheers, Sandy

[PatrickT]

Thanks guys for the advice and very true i could save quite a lot of money.

I just notice the treadwear for Neova is 180 and the RT 615 is 200. Surprisingly the Neova is lower. Toyo T1R is 280. Is that a big difference between the separation of 80? What is the average life of Ultra High Performance tyre in km's if used as a daily driven & no track days at all?

I'm trying to understand whether the choice of tyre is to be purchase should be more for enjoyment of spirited driving of 20,000km (more smiles on your face) or distance usage of 40,000km (probably half the smile)? Let just say the price factor for the higher performance tyre is 25% more. Which would you choose?

Many thanks in advance and sorry if im too long windered. Cheers!

I would choose the RT615's and yes a difference of 80 could be a lot of Km's.

[siksII]

i said a while ago i got some dunlop sp-sport maxx's, ive had them on for a couple of months now so i can comment

i had high expectations of this tyre as it seems to win every tyre test i have read worldwide (for road tyres) and in the recent(ish) motor tyre test they came 1st while t1-rs came second last, i have a set of t1-rs on the back and couldnt believe that result... anyway..

conclusion is they are brilliant in the wet, i cannot explain how good they are in the rain, the front end sticks to wet road like glue, and if they do give, they do so slowly. another point is they refuse to aquaplane, i have driven through what looked like a small lake on the road, and they just chopped through the water like nothing.

in the dry similar story, they are very grippy tyres, and the best i have ever driven on, but i did expect more. i believe they will be a lot better as the weather warms up, as all tyres i have used in the past lose a lot of grip in cold weather.

an interesting thing i noticed about the sport maxx's are that they seem to soak up bumps well(like a softer sidewalled tyre) but feel very sharp in the corners(like a proper sports tyre)

they are on the noisy side, definetly noisier than most tyres including t1-rs.

i have them in 235/45/17 on an 8 inch rim, cant comment on treadwear so far as i have only had them on for a few thousand km, other than to say that i dont expect many kms as the treadwear rating is only 240 which is the lowest of any street tyre i have driven on.

Edited July 17, 2006 by siksII

[siksII]

Thanks guys for the advice and very true i could save quite a lot of money.

I just notice the treadwear for Neova is 180 and the RT 615 is 200. Surprisingly the Neova is lower. Toyo T1R is 280. Is that a big difference between the separation of 80? What is the average life of Ultra High Performance tyre in km's if used as a daily driven & no track days at all?

I'm trying to understand whether the choice of tyre is to be purchase should be more for enjoyment of spirited driving of 20,000km (more smiles on your face) or distance usage of 40,000km (probably half the smile)? Let just say the price factor for the higher performance tyre is 25% more. Which would you choose?

Many thanks in advance and sorry if im too long windered. Cheers!

not sure which i would choose but this might help:

i run t1-rs on the back in 255/45/17, and i have a bad leadfoot, so most kms done on these tyres have been 'spirited' although i have not used them (yet) on the track.

so far i have used them for approx 12000kms, edges are at around 40% centre around 60% so i expect to get approx 25000kms out of them, although some sections of the tyre will be below the treadwear indicators by then.

im sure rt615s are a WAY grippier tyre than the t1-r, as the toyos are really still a street tyre with a lot of emphasis on performing well in the wet, whereas the 615s are a semi slick tyre, useful in the dry only, and will last longer on the track before turning to mush.

my point is that the difference in wear would not be as high as double unless u baby the street tyres (and why do that!! )

[driftmeister]

Many thanks for the feedback.

Wanted to bite the bullet & get the 615 out of curiousity. Went to the shop to get it replace, to my amusement they're all sold out. Not sure when the next shipment coming cause Falken is holding the stock in my country. Not sure what the reason is about but may end up with T1R in the end. Have to wait for few day/weeks atm. Keep u guys posted on my final purchase. Cheers!