**Unofficial Tyre Thread**

Any opinions on the Vredestein Quatrac 3? I have an MG ZS 180 as a 2nd/winter car and would like tyres good in the snow and winter without the faff of having another set of summers
 
Going to be needing tyres on my Astra soon. It has old SC2 on the rear and quite worn Kumho Ecsta on the front.

Right now it frightens me in the wet so I want something decent now that my car has a decent wheel size! 225/40/18.

I could go with SC2 or SC5 or is the older F1 AS2 better than those?

Best tyre I've had was the Pilot sport 3 on my old Almera Gti and it seemed to have more grip than what I have just now.
 
Jonny ///M said:
Going to be needing tyres on my Astra soon. It has old SC2 on the rear and quite worn Kumho Ecsta on the front.

Right now it frightens me in the wet so I want something decent now that my car has a decent wheel size! 225/40/18.

I could go with SC2 or SC5 or is the older F1 AS2 better than those?

Best tyre I've had was the Pilot sport 3 on my old Almera Gti and it seemed to have more grip than what I have just now.
Click to expand...
Unless I'm mistaken, the F1 Assy 2 is around the same age as the CS5.
Wouldn't go SC2 as that tyre is ancient.

Get whichever's cheaper :)
 
The SC5 is about a tenner more than the AS2 so will stick with the AS2.

Think I'll put a pair on the back and out the sc2 on the front until next month when I'll ens up with a full set of SC5 then.

My mate works in a scrapyard and priced a pair of budgets at £150 fitted.Don't want to do that as i sit at 80-90 on the A82 quite often in the damp and don't want to end up in loch lomond.
 
Ordered a set of 595 RSR's today, really interested to see how they hold up especially on track. I know a coupleof people will say iI should've gone for ad08's or R888's but the price difference is just too vast to ignore. Will report back how I get on once I've done a few hundred miles :)
 
Does anyone have experience with the mk3.5 MX5 tyre choices? 205 45 17s look as though they're an odd size and seem vastly expensive compared with the 215 or 225 equivalents!
How would it handle a higher load index tyre? OEM spec are 84W, I've found Uniroyal Rainsport 3s at a reasonable price but they're 88Y so am edging towards just taking the pricey option of putting another set of the potenza RE050As on.
 
Jonny ///M said:
The SC5 is about a tenner more than the AS2 so will stick with the AS2.

Think I'll put a pair on the back and out the sc2 on the front until next month when I'll ens up with a full set of SC5 then.

My mate works in a scrapyard and priced a pair of budgets at £150 fitted.Don't want to do that as i sit at 80-90 on the A82 quite often in the damp and don't want to end up in loch lomond.
Click to expand...

That made no sense at the time but I'm changing the fronts to AS2 on Thursday and will get the rears done in three weeks time to be running AS2 all round.

I hope they are as good as they say :)
 
Jonny ///M said:
That made no sense at the time but I'm changing the fronts to AS2 on Thursday and will get the rears done in three weeks time to be running AS2 all round.

I hope they are as good as they say :)
Click to expand...
I had them on my Z3 and they were brilliant.
Currently running Conti CS5s on my S3 but grip isn't an issue with the 4wd so I can't really compare.
I've tried to get some wheelspin on dusty gravel but even that fails miserably.
 
Jasebta said:
Does anyone have experience with the mk3.5 MX5 tyre choices? 205 45 17s look as though they're an odd size and seem vastly expensive compared with the 215 or 225 equivalents!
How would it handle a higher load index tyre? OEM spec are 84W, I've found Uniroyal Rainsport 3s at a reasonable price but they're 88Y so am edging towards just taking the pricey option of putting another set of the potenza RE050As on.
Click to expand...

Most people go to 215s from what I've seen, its what I've got on my car...its okay, and actually brings the speedo closer to accurate readings according to GPS.

Slightly higher load index doesn't seem to make a huge difference either.
 
Will said:
Most people go to 215s from what I've seen, its what I've got on my car...its okay, and actually brings the speedo closer to accurate readings according to GPS.

Slightly higher load index doesn't seem to make a huge difference either.
Click to expand...

Seems a no-brainer except for the insurance premium, RE050As in 205 are £105-110 at the cheapest I've found, in 215 they're £85-90.
Odd that more rubber costs less but supply and demand I guess?
 
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/amigafan2003/IMAG09031_zps64694559.jpg

Got four Uniroyal Rainsport 3 205/55R16Y from tyreleader for £45 inc del (now back up to £48) which I think is a pretty good deal. Stepped down from 225/50R16 as choice is limited in that size and the size is pricey. Should also help with the cars tendency to tramline a little and improve the ride a fraction as well (car is a Scorpio Cosworth, manual gives either 225/50 or 205/55 as tyre size options on the 16" rims).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Managed to do my drive to Oban and back on the new AS2 and they seem to be a nice tyre. Haven't had them in the wet yet or at the limit but the feel changing direction and keeping a steady speed through high speed corners feels lovely and less vague.

Roll on next month for a full set :)
 
Personally got four ContiPremiumContact2's in ultra narrow 165:70:R14 from for the Polo, bought them online for £39 each inc shipping. They seem like a fantastic tyre for the money really, they grip no-end despite being on very narrow wheels, wet performance seems pretty good too, they have actually given me confidence when driving, rather than feeling on a knife edge like I did when I had my cheapo tyres. If you really push it and start to lose grip, it feels managable and easy to correct as well, whereas with the cheap tyres there was grip, and then there was none, and then you were in trouble.

They certainly aren't the quietest tyre in the world though, I have noticed. They are slightly less noisy than my mismatched budget tyres, but the road noise hasn't been reduced by as much as I had hoped.

Dad had a set on his A6 and mentioned that they didn't seem to last very long, but I am hoping that mine should last a bit longer than his given that the car is lighter and the tyres have a higher profile?

:)
 
Last edited:
14k on my vRS Mk3 and happy with it so far.

However will need to change front tyres soon and wondering what people are going with.

Came with Continental sport contact 2 225/40/18 on anthracite geminis.

I'm generally a motorway driver - not particually wild on the tyres.

Can get the same tyres again for around £95 a corner

OR

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 for £90 a tyre

Or

GoodYear Efficient Grip Performance for £104
 
Was looking at picking up some winter tyres for the 530D whilst they're a reasonable price as I need to change in the next month or so. Anyone know whether the Nokian A3 is any good (cheap at £92 a corner) or is there a better choice?

Will stash them in the garage till the temp drops.
 
Don't waste your money, you live in Rutland not Salzburg. Gave in to the girlfriends winter tyre worries last year, total waste of time and money given we had a typical British winter with hardly any snow. Enjoy the fact our dull and predictable climate frees you from worries like this.
 
I had Continental Winters on my 335d a couple years back and they were invaluable. Despite enough torque to affect the worlds rotation, and an auto gearbox, I was the only car on the street who was able to leave the street for a full week one year. And then continue on the 50+ mile commute north to Aberdeen.

I now have Dunlop 4D's for my Passat, and Dunlop RFT winters (can't see the model designation just now) for the 530d.

Sure, last year they were a waste of time. But the it was only a couple years ago we were hit by a prolonged period of snowfall and freezing temps. It could happen at any time, so it is comforting to know you don't NEED to be totally stuck if it does hit unexpectedly.

I know a few folks in Aberdeen who swear by the Nokians though. I would imagine they are pretty decent. A lot of my colleagues in Norway also use them.
 
Cheers guys. I know it's probably not value for money but if it makes things a bit easier/safer over winter I wonder whether it's make a noticeable difference.

I guess it's my first winter with RWD and I do a lot of driving at night with on calls. I'll have a think about it :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom