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

[evil_weevil]

Cheers Brad!

Yeah - I got them with my 32 GTR rims - good price and I need them for superlap

kumo's are on my list next

[Risking]

I have a few sets of V700's around in your size if you wanna try them before forking out for new ones. Obviously you dont get the whole experiance of the tire from new but still get a good idea what they are like before buying new ones.

If your after a hard wearing tire to last a while the A048 is perfect.

Ive got a stack of them and using them on the road now as well. Even once they have well and truely gone off they wear brilliantly for street use.

[Basti]

ok i read the first page and the last 5 and holy crap am i confused. too many choices and prices. if y'all dont mind i'd like to save myself a bit of headache and request a reccommendation.

street driven r33, stock atm but will soon be looking at approx 170-180rwkw. stock wheels with nexens. i am looking for something that performs in the wet and is not too soft. price range is $250 a corner max

thanks guys

Edit: from what i've read, 595s and T1rs seem to be the go. not sure what price these are tho in stock (or slightly wider) sizes

[Cubes]

Toyo Proxes4 225/50 16's hold 268rwkw through second gear with an rb30det without too many issues. They were $160 each and pretty damn good in the wet.

[Bullet32]

ok i read the first page and the last 5 and holy crap am i confused. too many choices and prices. if y'all dont mind i'd like to save myself a bit of headache and request a reccommendation.

street driven r33, stock atm but will soon be looking at approx 170-180rwkw. stock wheels with nexens. i am looking for something that performs in the wet and is not too soft. price range is $250 a corner max

thanks guys

Edit: from what i've read, 595s and T1rs seem to be the go. not sure what price these are tho in stock (or slightly wider) sizes

Choosing the right tyre can be confusing, depending on what size you are after $250 sounds about right for something like the Federal 595's - excellent dry traction tyre, not to bad in the wet and should last you a fair while.

Toyo's are a great tyre too but they tend to be quite expensive, Im pretty sure that T1R's are almost double the price of the Federals in most sizes.

I use the 595's for street and the 595RS for track on my R32 gtst and I love them, my car has 240rwkw and over 500nm of torque.

I know Im bias but - go the Federals, they're better "bang for your buck".

Just my opinion

[nizmonut]

any tyre that last's longer than fourth gear.

[JimmyRickard]

Hey guys i was wondering what you could tell me about having different tyres on my car. I Have R32 GTR with 17/255 all round, currently with Falken GRB(?) tyres. The fronts are gone most likely due to the fact the previous owner hadn't heard of a wheel alignment, but the back tyres still have around 60-70% tread left. I got a quote from Bob jane for $240 a tyre for Fulda exeleros, and the guy said i wouldn't notice the difference if i just replaced the fronts. unfortunately i'm not in a position to spend $1000 on tyres, but i really want to get the car out on the track this weekend so i obviously need to change the fronts. What do you guys think? Also is getting nitrogen pumped in the tyres worthwhile?

cheers!

[frozenpod]

Bullet32,

Question RE the 595SS, which version is this the ZR's or the R's.

From what I have seen the R's have a longer tread wear and are a harder compound. They have an A traction rating where as the ZR's have a AA traction rating and a shorter tread wear.

Which 595SS are you using??

From what information I have been able to find and reports from people that have used them the ZR's are an ultra high performance grade tyre but the R's are not.

The ZR's are no longer available in Australia, I don't know when they were dropped but as I understand it around 12 months ago most retailers stopped stocking them as the harder compound was all that was available and regarded as an ok but not an ultra higher performance tyre.

I would and am very keen to buy a set of the ZR rated 595's but being no longer available and the new 595EVO is also not available I will be buying another brand.

After reading this review I am currently thinking about getting a set of the new Goodyear F1 asymmetric

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartD...ay.jsp?ttid=101

My only issue here is I have used the previous version of the F1 and I found them quite good for grip but they wore quickly lasted about 20k.

With the previous F1 tread pattern they were a great tyre for the first 10k but after that they started to humm and tramline.

I have also had Michelins in the passed and they were exception tyres. They had great grip, super smooth, ultra quite and had great driver feedback. The best thing about them was that the rubber didn't go off with heat cyceling like other tyres. I got 65k out of them before I replaced them with exactly the same tyre, there was on a slight increase in grip between old worn out tyres and brand new ones.

Alternatively I am staying away from Dunlop as they performed well when brand new but very quickly the rubber went off and the grip levels were poor. The newest Dunlops may have improved here but I expereienced the same problem with 3 sets so it appeared to be a trend.

My current tyres Bridgestones the rubber has also gorn off due to heat cycling. They have about 60% tread depth, they lasted longer at peak performance than the Dunlops I had previously but still no where near as long as the Michelins that were almost as if the rubber never went off.

I would be interested to here your thoughts.

Thanks

[some_cs_student]

Has anyone else tried the Dunlop LeMans tyres?

I'm running some 235/45/17 on the GTR and they do seem to do great in the dry, and pretty good in the wet (straight line stopping was great, cornering I'm not so sure about).

This is the first set of tyres I've had on the car so I can't really rate them, but the car seems to handle great in the dry with them on...

[D_I_F]

Bullet32,

Question RE the 595SS, which version is this the ZR's or the R's.

From what I have seen the R's have a longer tread wear and are a harder compound. They have an A traction rating where as the ZR's have a AA traction rating and a shorter tread wear.

Which 595SS are you using??

From what information I have been able to find and reports from people that have used them the ZR's are an ultra high performance grade tyre but the R's are not.

The ZR's are no longer available in Australia, I don't know when they were dropped but as I understand it around 12 months ago most retailers stopped stocking them as the harder compound was all that was available and regarded as an ok but not an ultra higher performance tyre.

I would and am very keen to buy a set of the ZR rated 595's but being no longer available and the new 595EVO is also not available I will be buying another brand.

After reading this review I am currently thinking about getting a set of the new Goodyear F1 asymmetric

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartD...ay.jsp?ttid=101

My only issue here is I have used the previous version of the F1 and I found them quite good for grip but they wore quickly lasted about 20k.

With the previous F1 tread pattern they were a great tyre for the first 10k but after that they started to humm and tramline.

I have also had Michelins in the passed and they were exception tyres. They had great grip, super smooth, ultra quite and had great driver feedback. The best thing about them was that the rubber didn't go off with heat cyceling like other tyres. I got 65k out of them before I replaced them with exactly the same tyre, there was on a slight increase in grip between old worn out tyres and brand new ones.

Alternatively I am staying away from Dunlop as they performed well when brand new but very quickly the rubber went off and the grip levels were poor. The newest Dunlops may have improved here but I expereienced the same problem with 3 sets so it appeared to be a trend.

My current tyres Bridgestones the rubber has also gorn off due to heat cycling. They have about 60% tread depth, they lasted longer at peak performance than the Dunlops I had previously but still no where near as long as the Michelins that were almost as if the rubber never went off.

I would be interested to here your thoughts.

Thanks

Ok So I was just speaking to my tyre contact. The ZR compound is still available. Don't believe everything you read.

I'm running SS595's at the moment. I can't remember which compound. They are some of the best tyre's I've bought so far (For the price)

DONT BUY THE EVO's they are a cheaper version and from what I have heard they aren't that great.

What has really confused me is that you are saying the ZR compound is the high perfomance compound. My tyre guy is telling me it's the other way around.

From what quick research I just did over the internet. The R compound is said to be the softer compound where the ZR's are not.

[frozenpod]

Ok So I was just speaking to my tyre contact. The ZR compound is still available. Don't believe everything you read.

I'm running SS595's at the moment. I can't remember which compound. They are some of the best tyre's I've bought so far (For the price)

DONT BUY THE EVO's they are a cheaper version and from what I have heard they aren't that great.

What has really confused me is that you are saying the ZR compound is the high perfomance compound. My tyre guy is telling me it's the other way around.

From what quick research I just did over the internet. The R compound is said to be the softer compound where the ZR's are not.

Two of my friends recently purchased Federal SS595. They both ordered the ZR's compound and the R's arrived instead. Both questioned why they didn't receieve the ZR's and they were told after the R's arrived instead of the ZR's that the ZR's are not available in Australia.

They were also told that the EVO was not available in Australia in the sizes they were after.

The ZR's according to the federal tyre specification PDF on there website is the softer compound see link below.

http://www.federaltyres.com.au/specs/ss595.pdf

You will see that the R's have a 260 A A rating where as the ZR's have a 240 AA A rating.

The 275/40R17 has the same 240 AA A rating in the spec sheet but both of my friends who ordered the ZR and ended up with this exact tyre ie the R version found the tyre was stamped with 260 A A. This appears to be a typo in the spec sheet but for the rest of the tyres you can see the that the R's are 260 A A and the ZR's are 240 AA A.

The 240 AA A rating is the same or very similar to an number of ultra high performance tyres. This is the exact same specification of the pilot sports.

This rating isn't the be all and end all of tyres but it can be used as a guide as to the compound and life of the tyre.

From personally experience of driving on both pilot sports and the Federal R's there is no comparision in grip in both wet and dry conditions.

I have not personally driven on the ZR's but given there ratings and reviews they should be top notch and a lot closer to the pilot sports.

The 595EVO range appears to all have the 240 AA A rating and according to the distrubotors the EVO has more grip, is quieter and nicer to drive on than the SS.

Can you please post links to the info saying the R's are the softer compound.

Can you also provide details that the ZR's are still available and how I can buy some.

Edited June 16, 2008 by frozenpod

[SKYWKR]

Hey guys,

Just after ppl's opinions on Kumho KU31 vs. Federal 595ss vs Nexen (unsure of which type)

I wanna use these on the rear rims but not sure of which brand. Im lookin at 265x35x18.

Any advice would be good

Cheers

[Bullet32]

Ok, sorry for the late reply, I have been away for 2 weeks.

Im going to have to read through all these posts thoroughly so I can help out.

[mesmerized]

recently purchased federal 595 RS 235/45/17, and they were awesome on the track. great value for money

[HuH]

Just got some new wheels and fitted up some Kumho Ecsta KU31 tyres on all 4. 255/35/18 on the back and 235/40/18 on the front. I paid $190 rear and $150 front each fitted and balanced. Good prices and great tyres - very happy with them. If anyone in Sydney is interested, go get them from Tempe Tyres. They don't just do 24" chromies on 4x4s, they'll cater for whoever and they're real efficient too.

[Bullet32]

I hope that the following helps with your questions regarding compounds and treadwear ratings...

The Federal 595 is available in 3 different speed ratings - H (210kmh), V (240kmh) and Z (300+kmh), these ratings represent the maximum speed that the tyre is able to do when at maximum load carrying capability.

It is also available in two different treadwear ratings - 240 and 260.

When you read the sidewall of a tyre that is rated as "Z" speed rating it will look like this - eg. 265/35ZR18. This simply explains the size of the tyre aswell as the speed rating. "ZR" only means that the tyre has a speed rating of over 300kmh ("Z") and that it is a radial tyre ("R").

The speed rating on a tyre does not tell the user anything about the compound used in the tyre construction, all tyre tread compound recipes are closely guarded by each manufacturer because if they were to release this information it would be like KFC advertising their 11 secret herbs and spices.

The different ratings that you are referring to are treadwear ratings such as 240 or 260, this is a rating that is only tested and used for the USA market and it is called UTQG (uniform tyre quality grading), it is an independant test that is performed by an American company who supplies these ratings to the US department of transport (DOT).

The 240 simply means that the tyre in question was tested against the control tyre which always has a treadwear rating of 100, so the tested tyre lasted 1.4 times longer than the control tyre.

Yes compounds are different from tyre to tyre and yes a V rated compound would be different to a Z or H rated compound but the UTQG ratings like treadwear, traction and temperature are only a guide, there is almost no way to determine exactly what is in the tread compound of a tyre unless you have inside information from the manufacturer.

[Bullet32]

DONT BUY THE EVO's they are a cheaper version and from what I have heard they aren't that great.

The Federal 595 EVO is not a cheaper version of the 595 and is in some ways superior to the 595.

The 595 EVO was made to be an ultra high performance tyre for the "tuner" market.

The EVO has similar tread ratings and has proven to give just as good (if not better) performance than the 595.

Attached is a photo of the 595 and 595EVO.

[DOCK]

Toyo Proxes4 225/50 16's hold 268rwkw through second gear with an rb30det without too many issues. They were $160 each and pretty damn good in the wet.

proxes4's are an amazing tyre. i have them on my (na)s13 and wouldn't fault them at all. and mates of mine with higher power cars (worked r33's and xr8's) who can fry the hell out of them still find the provided you drive sensibly in the wet, ie not throwing it into the corners at redline, will grip very well.

[Taleb Tyres]

Has anyone else tried the Dunlop LeMans tyres?

I'm running some 235/45/17 on the GTR and they do seem to do great in the dry, and pretty good in the wet (straight line stopping was great, cornering I'm not so sure about).

This is the first set of tyres I've had on the car so I can't really rate them, but the car seems to handle great in the dry with them on...

I run the lemans lm702 on my skyline in 265/275 19" and i have to say they are awesome tyres. Excellent dry traction, silica compound, It still wants to go sideways in the wet, but i have had wet traction significantly increased as well compared to say the b/s potenza.

Alot of people think a tyre needs to be rotational to have good performance, this tyre is unirotational, but has to be one of the best i have tried.

I havent tracked them yet to see how they cope but am trying to get down to a trackday soon.

[KURAUN]

i got a price for some Toyo Proxes Tr1's 225/40 r18 $350 per tyre

is that a fair price?