Best Hot Hatch Tyres

Associate
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oo thats interesting, new compound ?
I've read that the SportContact 5 was a bit mediocre, and I can tell from experience of them fitted to my new Leon Cupra, they're not the best. The latest 18" UHP tyre from Conti is the PremiumContact 6, with the SportContact now being 19"+ only and in competition with the Pilot 4S et al.
 
Soldato
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Might as well post in here as I have a similar question. (Hope you don’t mind OP!)

when I come to change my tyres (Pirelli P Zero’s) What do you think would be a good alternative ?
 
Soldato
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Ad08r is quite a soft tyre. Not sure how they are on heavier cars, they might overheat if you push it hard.
 
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Associate
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I have Pilot Sport 4 on my Golf mk5 GTI with 320hp so similar to the Focus. No complaints from me. Road use only not tracked.
 
Associate
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My car is 225/35R18 and I run Kumho Ecsta Le Sport KU39 on them - they do the job on a car very similar to your ST and a good price as well - tend to buy them from ebay when they have 20% off and get my local garage to fit them.
 
Soldato
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They are crap, I have them on my 300bhp Glanza V and they squeal and don't grip anywhere as good as the old R version even at the 32psi hot pressure, barely wear either even after 3 track days & road driving. Going for Nankang AR1 next.

Nankang AR1 is a semi slick track tyre. The AD07s were made for road use by lightweight cars (specifically the Elise for the LTS ones) and have good wet grip as well.

But these soft performance tyres are being killed off by another half-baked EU regulation.
 
Soldato
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PS4 or PS4s in bigger sizes are the go to

Goodyear F1 , contis and even the Dunlop sportwhatevera theyre called are all good too but they are all about the same price and the Michelin seem to last longer.

Semi slicks on a light road hatch are just a danger in the rain and wear out quick in the dry. I wouldn't bother unless you have deep pockets.
 
Soldato
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235/35 R19 Y According to the spec sheet. (I’ve no clue what this means. I’m not very good with sort of thing) edit. Got it wrong. So corrected.

235 is the width of the tyre in mm. 35 is the height of the tyre as a percentage of width (235 x 0.35), r19 is your rim diameter in inches so 19 inches and Y is the speed rating.

Pilot sport 4 or 4s would do well.
 
Soldato
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235 is the width of the tyre in mm. 35 is the height of the tyre as a percentage of width (235 x 0.35), r19 is your rim diameter in inches so 19 inches and Y is the speed rating.

Pilot sport 4 or 4s would do well.
Thank you for the explanation ! I’ve had the car over a year now so should really look into some new tyres :)
 
Caporegime
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Running Premium Contact 6 on my Fiesta ST as I couldn't get PS4s at the time and I'm happy with them. Good wet grip and I've never felt the limit of them in the dry.
 
Soldato
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Pilot Sports for a road car, hold up alright on track too, I use to use R888 on track but they only good for a couple heat cycles and fun in the wet, especially pushing lots of horses through the rear :D
 
Soldato
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If you are serious that you don't care about tread longevity, these are the fastest tires in my sport right now. (Autocross)

Bridgstone RE-71R
Falken RT 660
BFG Rival S 1.5
Yokahama ADVAN A052

They have 200 treadwear ratings, but that's just so they slide by the street-tire class rules. They all wear faster than the 200 treadwear rating would imply.
 
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Associate
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Nottingham - UK
Although I agree peoples thoughts on the Cup 2s, I have now run them on my track MX5 for several years and actually found their wet grip surprising. Don't get me wrong they aren't as good as a UHP road tyre but they certainly aren't as scary as some people may have you think (I expect a large number of these people haven't actually run them but going on forum folklore). What I would say is more concerning is how they perform in the cold. I generally found if it was wet it was entirely still useable on the road and even track to some degree, however once the temp drops they become extremely sketchy. As a 'summer' road car I would probably suggest they would be fine, however as an 'only car' sort of situation they really aren't ideal.

Another vote for PS4s for this usecase :)
 
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