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

[180-go]

Thanks for that mate. Are the toyo r888 just the same and what would be better out of the 595rs and rt615? The rating for the federals seems to be lower than the falkens but does it have more grip?

[BHDave]

I haven't used the toyos but as another R comp tyre i'd expect them to behave in the same way as the re55's. Consider that it takes me 2 laps of wakefield before the r comps are at their best, so thats 4+ km's of hard cornering. Much harder than i'd consider even remotely safe on the street.

I use the federals on the front and have rt215's on the back as my street tyres. I think the federals are a better all round tyre. The wet grip is pretty good which can't really be said for the 215's. I haven't tried a 615 yet.

[180-go]

I tried some old second hand r compound semi's just to see what they were like and they were rediclously awsome on the street without warming up. I cannot remember what they were now, it was a while ago. Are the RE55 etc really worse than normal tyres when not warmed up? I can't get it out of my head how awsome the ones I tried were and they were old.

[BHDave]

Its your call. I'm offering my advice based on my experience.

I can't get power down in 3rd out of turn 1 at wakefield on my out lap without having to grab a handful of opposite lock and getting off the gas on re55s. Yet i can happily stand on it if i am running my rt215's in the same situation and it just hooks up and goes with a tiny bit of oversteer, even my nankangs felt better when cold. Mine aren't the hard compound either and they are only 3 track days old.

I've driven old rooted semis on the street in the past and thought they were fantastic. But they are no better than the federal/falken combo i have now, and a hell of a lot scarier in the wet.

quick edit: something else worth considering as well. when a cold semi slick lets go, it goes in a big way. It's not progressive like a street tyre, it's sudden and you need to be quick to catch it. once it warm it's a different story.

Edited November 26, 2007 by BHDave

[180-go]

Thanks alot for your help mate. I do appreciate your experience and just trying to learn. Should I go for the 595rs or the rt615 then?

[vidospace]

I am extremely impressed with my continentals. 9/10 wet, 8/10 dry

In the wet, I was able to accelerate hard up a 30degree slope from a set of lights without the traction control kicking in! Thats impressive!

[BHDave]

Thanks alot for your help mate. I do appreciate your experience and just trying to learn. Should I go for the 595rs or the rt615 then?

I haven't used the 615 but i expect they are very similar. Whichever one is cheaper in your size is the way to go.

Just note that the 225/45 17 federal is a bit heavier than the rest if you are looking at that size. It has a higher load rating but i have no idea why

Edited November 28, 2007 by BHDave

[dangerous_daveo]

So bang for buck, what do people think is the way to go for an R compound tyre. Id be running them on standard R32 rims.

[Duncan]

assuming its for track days, re55 for sure - they are pretty much the best and you can get them for a good price at donellans in Melb (they ship to sydney i guess they ship to brissie too)

[Johanz]

my RE55S came with the rims that i purchased. the grip is awesome when warmed up. almost impossible to do donuts! wear out faster that any of us could imagine! i've used R888, RT215, A048 etc etc in the past and RE55S redefines TYRE WEAR!!!

[conan7772]

G'day,

Anyone fitted the Hankook H424.

They're supposed to have better straight line grip than the K104s.

Designed for powerful V8's they have a high grip silica compound better than the K104's.

My quote so far for K104's is 23545R17 $189 and 25540R17 $249.

Just wanna get 0-100 in under 6 secs.

How's this,

I've still got my ratshit Falken Ziex 326's worn down now on the rears to near flat.

I've had them for 6 six years and done 60,000 kms on them.

The car still brakes quite well in the dry but you know the rest.

I reckon I got my moneys worth.

[lcy]

hey guys,

i am abit confuse with some ppls ratings.

some ppl rate shit tyres 8 to 9. and some good tyre lower.

why is tis? i am new to tis performance tyre stuff but bought a few sets of tyres b4 n never thought of the performance n wear n tear. just the cheap ones will do.

so now i am planning to get a set for my new rims and ppl are saying that i shouldnt be saving money on tyres when driving a high performance car as u wan all the grip n handling u can get.

make the story short....

which to brand to buy for wet n dry?

can i trust the guys at the tyre shop... last time i when he says it makes no differences..... just the prices cos its imported....

thanks in advance!

[jmac]

My opinion:

The ratings on here are subjective. What someone might rate as awesome grip, someone else (who has experienced semi-slicks etc) might think as merely average. Someone who's only ever had cheap/nasty tyres might rate the first decent set they buy as 10/10.

As far as a brand recommendation, there is not really a "best brand". Arguably every major brand makes a very good tyre but also makes a cheap/dodgy one too. From what I can tell from supposedly "independent" magazine tyre tests, there is only a few percent between the performance of most of the major brands' premium sports tyres - I'm talking here about Bridgestone, Goodyear, Dunlop, Yokohama, Pirelli, Michelin, Falken, Toyo, Hankook etc. so provided you stick within those major brands (and buy their "premium" tyres) and not dodgier stuff like LingLong then there's a good chance you won't get duds.

No offence, but I generally don't trust tyre shop dudes that much unless I know them. They will often try to sell you whatever they have the most of sitting out the back, or the ones they will make the most profit out of if you're showing you want to spend big money. I often have an experience where they try to push a certain brand. They are a business trying to make money too!

There are better value-for-money tyres around, for example the K104's are ok and grip well but are cheap, but may wear out quicker especially if you don't check your pressures. I've had an experience of buying expensive Bridgestones (S03's) that gripped well but also lasted ages, probably twice as long as the Falkens (FK452) I replaced them with. The top-end Michelins are awesome but you will pay over $500/tyre in some sizes, and they might only be a few percent better than a Hankook or Toyo...

So my advice is to set the absolute highest budget for tyres you can, do some reading through this thread and the magazine tests, and try to narrow down to a few options, then get heaps of prices, talk to some tyre shop dudes like you actually know something, and go with the best deal.

[Johanz]

make the story short....

which to brand to buy for wet n dry?

over here in Malaysia, the best bang for buck tyres (best balance between all criteria - dry/wet grip, comfort, tyre life) are Goodyear Eagle F1 or Toyo T1R. the rest are either too biased to dry grip or too biased to long tyre life...

[Bullet32]

I haven't used the 615 but i expect they are very similar. Whichever one is cheaper in your size is the way to go.

Just note that the 225/45 17 federal is a bit heavier than the rest if you are looking at that size. It has a higher load rating but i have no idea why

The reason that the 595RS in 225 / 45 R17 is slightly heavier and has a higher load rating is because it is an extra load tyre, designed to be used on vehicles requiring a higher load index such as Subaru Forester GT or XT for example.

The extra load casing also provides a stiffer sidewall and carcass which helps to reduce flex under hard cornering, meaning that you dont roll the rim over onto the sidewall and risk damage to the outer casing...

A stiffer sidewall also makes the tyre more predictable in over / understeer situations and improves steering response.

I hope that answers your question.

[subie]

does anyone heard of "Wanli" tyres? or using them? how would u rate them

cheers

[BOZ22N]

assuming its for track days, re55 for sure - they are pretty much the best and you can get them for a good price at donellans in Melb (they ship to sydney i guess they ship to brissie too)

how much you paying for 255's for the gtr? Can i get there number? i am trying to get some prices to see what will give me the best bang for my buck.

Cheers,

Ryan

[Kinks]

i am abit confuse with some ppls ratings.

some ppl rate shit tyres 8 to 9. and some good tyre lower.

the problem with this thread is that everyone's 0-10 scale is arbitrary. we need to know how good a tyre is relative to others that have been tried. Example, say you have 3 tyres:

1) Falken 326

2) Federal 595

3) Azenis ST115

now, if someone was using the 326s (which are shit), they might get the federals and go awesome mate these are 9/10. But someone who went from the ST115 to the federals might only rate the federals 6/10 because they found the azenis to be much better.

hence the thread's really a crapshoot unless people simply list the tyres they have used in order from worst to best. my list would be something like:

Falken 326

Kumho 712

Dunlop 3000A

Bridgestone GIII

Dunlop FM901

[stasis]

anybody used the Falken's Ze 329s or the Falken RT 615s? Wat are their prices in the 18s? Threadwear?

[Paradizzle]

does anyone heard of "Wanli" tyres? or using them? how would u rate them

cheers

The tread pattern of the ones i saw were ok... they are similar in quality to the nankangs i was told. They are on the cheaper side of tyres when your chasing big sizes.