205 55 16 - what tyre doesn't suck?

Tom_ed1987 said:
You have loads of choice in that size. I use 215/55/16 and the Dunlop Sportmaxx RT is very good.
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Iirc that's why I went for 205's over 215's, much more choice and bit a bit cheaper, my owners manual specifies either, on stock 16's so it was a bit of a no brainer really, it was either a 'midrange' 215 or a 'premium' 205 for less money with more choice. I for such a small difference I doubt you'll ever notice as there are pros and cons when it comes to width, and it's a very small difference anyway.
 
The sportmaxx isn't nearly as good as the sport contact or eagle f1s. Had them on the wheelsni bought for the e46 and they absolutely did not live up to my expectations. They aren't a bad tyre but shouldn't be in the price bracket they are IMO - dry feel is good but outright grip down on the contis and Goodyear's wet and dry
 
If you can't get Eagle F1's and you just have midrange tyres available, check if AD08's are a available, they are on the extreme end when it comes to being a road tyre so be prepared for what comes with that, but I had no choice on my mx5 and have not regretted it at all.
 
New plan : Get some 17" oem Honda alloys :)

I believe, though I'm now going to check - 225-45-17 opens up the choice a lot more?
 
Seems odd that 205/55/R16 has such a dearth of choice available, given it's the size on the standard alloy wheels on the Ford Focus Mk2 Zetec (most popular trim level of a very common model) like mine, as well as others I'm sure. I've got Goodyear Efficient Grip on mine and have never had any issues, but I guess I'm not a very 'enthusiastic' driver in a 1.6 Focus...
 
People get a bit too hung up when they can't find sport contact or eagle f1. There are still very good, suitable tyres available from the same manufacturer.

Never tried the efficient grip but I'm sure they are a good tyre with all the right qualities/compromises for your average hatch etc.
 
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The older S2000s have this size on the front, pain in the ass as they don't make the original tyre (Bridgestone RE050A) in that size anymore.

I was lucky when I needed some managed to find some stock somewhere but think now they just aren't available.

If it were me in that size I'd be going for either:

Bridgestone RE050As if you can find any (lovetyres say they have 1 in stock at the moment!)
Any of the other 'sporty' Bridgestones you can get in that size, plus the 040 isn't bad either
Michelin PS3
Conti PremiumContact 5
 
JonnyT said:
Seems odd that 205/55/R16 has such a dearth of choice available, given it's the size on the standard alloy wheels on the Ford Focus Mk2 Zetec (most popular trim level of a very common model) like mine, as well as others I'm sure. I've got Goodyear Efficient Grip on mine and have never had any issues, but I guess I'm not a very 'enthusiastic' driver in a 1.6 Focus...
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There is loads of choice, just not in the high performance sector for the big brands, they just populate it with either older performance or premium/eco/efficient tyres because it's not a size you've typically found on performance cars for many years now.
 
Just got a set of Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance on a Focus 2.0. Superb grip, need to really get on it in first in the wet to have a chance of wheelspinning. Pretty quiet and lateral grip seems better so far than the Michelin's I used to have.
 
rodenal said:
The sportmaxx isn't nearly as good as the sport contact or eagle f1s. Had them on the wheelsni bought for the e46 and they absolutely did not live up to my expectations. They aren't a bad tyre but shouldn't be in the price bracket they are IMO - dry feel is good but outright grip down on the contis and Goodyear's wet and dry
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I have Sportmaxx RT's in 205 55 16 and they are excellent tyres, no issues with grip at all and at least as good as AS2's and SC5's in most conditions. My guess is you werent using RT's but some other Sportmaxx Variant like the mediocre TT.
 
Definitely gt,which I'm sure are good ones- I checked as I looked up how expensive the things were when changing. As I said I didn't find it a bad tyre but it was absolutely not as good as a sport contact or eagle f1 in the dry or wet for outright grip despite costing the same kind of money - in 255 35 18 anyway.

I've actually still got them in the shed as they had a good 5mm left. Need to decide what to do with them

Edit - it was gt, changed above
 
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I see Kumho KU31's come in that size - I have them in 225/50 16 on my Scorpio Cosworth and I've been happy with them.
 
I put Hankook K115s on my last car. At the time they had good reviews and were better than the Primacys they replaced.

I was looking now I would probably go for Efficient Grips.
 
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