The Tyre Review thread

[Ian A]

I can't be the only tyre beard on here,

Thought it'd be worth starting a thread for tyre reviews. I seem to spend ages deliberating over which to buy (and choose Michelin anyway...), real world feedback from people in similar weather / roads is as good as anything.

Brand / Model - Michelin Pilot Sport 5
Size - 255/35/19
Fitted to - Audi A4 Avant TDI

Got these fitted just under a week ago, biggest plus points would be low road noise, very impressed with just how much quieter they are than previous mid-teir & budgets. MPG would be up 10% too from the looks of it, which was a surprise. Can't comment on wear yet, but Michelin claim these are improved vs previous. Grip, wet and dry is very impressive, even on a heavy diesel estate. Up to £100 cash back too - Tyre offers and deals on MICHELIN tyres

Brand / Model - Michelin Alpin 4
Size - 195/65/15
Fitted to - VW Passat B5.5 estate

For the runabout motor, ended up using year round. Wear is amazing, this set going for 30k of year round use, on a car that spends a lot of its life towing, beating up and down back roads and down stone lanes. Not exactly a performance application, but highly highly recommended for a winter tyre set up. Not too noisy either, but they are narrow in my size. MPG would be a drawback though, they're about 10-15% harder on fuel than what replaced them. The braking grip in snow / ice is genuinely fantastic.


Brand / Model - Michelin Cross Climate 2
Size - 195/65/15
Fitted to - VW Passat B5.5 estate

Replaced the above, definitely a better all round option. Wear after 5k miles is noticeable, but not drastic. Lot of small cuts too. Winter traction is okay, not a patch on above but still good. Rain traction is fantastic. If they wear similar to above, they'd be a perfect year round set up. Fit and forget for a daily.

 

[ace275]

Great idea. I was going to go Michelin, but their kerb protection is hit or miss, so went Eagle F1. Kerb/Rim protection seems hard to find in alot of performance tyres.

Had eagles on the Jag and they were ok in the corners but wasn't impressed at them putting down power, but that may be down to the bad camber on the back of it. Hoping for a better result on the Legacy

 

[gary1365]

Big fan of the cross climate 2 as well but mine have noticeable edge wear. They seem to be wearing reasonably quickly. They've been on the car 15k miles and been swapped front to rear a couple of times. I found them as good as winters in the ice and snow but my car is running 205/55/16 so would be good in the snow anyway.

I have Bridgestone weather control a005 evo on the front now cc2 still on the rear. The Bridgestones turn in better and have less understeer than the cc2. They feel softer though and you can feel either the side wall or tread flex more. I think the cc2 are slightly better in the wet.

Another very good tyre I had was uniroyal rainsport 5. Very good traction in the wet decent in the dry but feel quite soft and flexible. Also wear very quickly. 235/45/17 on the passat.

 

[Boydie]

On my third set of Michelin PS4S 235/35/19 on my S3, getting around 18k miles out of them - opinions as well on all the VW Golf R forums are all the same and majority go for them

Pirelli P Zero Scorpion - 255/45/20:

These came stock on our Q5 - no complaints at all really from them, did what they were supposed to do for a SUV but the price of them kept creeping up each year to now I think they are £230+ when they used to be £140

Changed to Avon ZX7 255/45/20 and now have all 4 on the car and seem to be great and doing the exact same job for nearly £100 less a tyre

Track/Drag:

Accelera 651 Sport Xtra 235/35/19 - have these on my spare wheels and driven on them several times for a couple of weeks and 1 drag race. I have no comparison compared to Toyo R888 or Nangkang AR1's but for the money (about £65 a corner), they are brilliant I think.

 

[Coog]

Also a big fan of the PS4S. Have them on the R and will be my go to tyre from now on.

Fitted Goodyear Eagle F1 Asy 6 to the GTI which IMO aren't quite as good as the PS4's that came off the car but will try them on track later in the year and see. Might just need more mileage on them. Unfortunately PS4S weren't available in that size, otherwise I would have just gone for those.

Yoko AD04RS on the track car are excellent. 3 seasons in (roughly 2000 track miles) and they're wearing well and don't seem to go off on track either. I'd love to use them on road but wet traction is not good. Once they're warm they are really sticky.

Rainsport 5 on the TT. Very soft. Absolutely fine for daily driving and good in the wet. Some hallion only fitted a new pair so there's linglongs or something on the rear which, after fettling has made the car surprisingly tail happy. Not sure whether I'll fit another 2 RS or go for something a bit better suited to spirited driving. I'll probably go for another pair to save a few quid then replace the lot later on.

Another tyre of note that I thought was excellent was the Dunlop BluResponse. Transformed the MX5 from the Kuhmo's that were fitted previously. They did go off fairly quickly but it was progressive to that point and they recovered pretty quickly.

 

[dddrrift]

il throw a mid range out there.... Kumho PS71's, stuck them on her Q3, and then her X3. good grip level dry/wet, have got 25k out of the current set just coming up to the markers now. Noticed the wet perfermance dropped off a bit when about half worn but still very good for the price point. nice side wall for slicking too, similar to a Pzero.

 

[DC.]

Have been using the Eagle F1 for a while now and have no complaints.

How many of us actually need the best tyre available when the vast majority of the time a good, mid-range tyre would suffice?

 

[Coog]

Think you could apply the 'good enough' mantra to many things, not just tyres.

 

[Ian A]

il throw a mid range out there.... Kumho PS71's, stuck them on her Q3, and then her X3. good grip level dry/wet, have got 25k out of the current set just coming up to the markers now. Noticed the wet perfermance dropped off a bit when about half worn but still very good for the price point. nice side wall for slicking too, similar to a Pzero.

Used to run these on a golf GTI, very impressed for the money. Car was stage 2+ and got driven like it, but they performed very well.

 

[Phil_EK9]

Had a set of Goodyear Asymmetric 5 on my FN2, great tyres. Would happily buy them again. Grip in all conditions, wore well, good feel through the wheel.

Replaced them with Kumho PS71 in a panic. Feel very soft, grip feels good in the dry but not so great in the wet. Goodyears are worth the extra imo.

 

[Burt2000]

I’ve a set of Goodyear F1 Asy 6 on the impreza and I’m impressed by them they feel like a step up from Asy 3 I had on the other car but I’ve still to get more miles on the 6’s over summer as they aren’t even run in yet.

I couldn’t get Michelin in that size but the Goodyear were £25 per tyre cheaper and have a rim protector too. In this review they have the GY just ahead of the Michelin PS4S, more so in the wet but I’d say they are very similar in performance.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

In depth analysis of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S with key results such as wet, dry, noise & RR evaluated.

toptirereview.com

 

[cauld1]

Used to run these on a golf GTI, very impressed for the money. Car was stage 2+ and got driven like it, but they performed very well.

I have them on my golf GTI, only around 240 brake and I think they're utterly ***** wet and dry, but especially in the wet. Cannot wait to get them in the bin and something decent back on! Only reason I haven't changed them yet is because they're nearly new.

On the E34 I've Continental ContiSports on one set of wheels and old pilot sports on another set. Both are pretty good but the pilot sports are much better.

 

[Ian A]

I have them on my golf GTI, only around 240 brake and I think they're utterly ***** wet and dry, but especially in the wet. Cannot wait to get them in the bin and something decent back on! Only reason I haven't changed them yet is because they're nearly new.

On the E34 I've Continental ContiSports on one set of wheels and old pilot sports on another set. Both are pretty good but the pilot sports are much better.

Weird that, although thinking on it, my use use was almost entirely better weather and had a runabout for wet & winter days.

 

[dddrrift]

I have them on my golf GTI, only around 240 brake and I think they're utterly ***** wet and dry, but especially in the wet. Cannot wait to get them in the bin and something decent back on! Only reason I haven't changed them yet is because they're nearly new.

On the E34 I've Continental ContiSports on one set of wheels and old pilot sports on another set. Both are pretty good but the pilot sports are much better.

yeah thats strange, i had the opposite experience, good in the dry and was able to plough puddles like they wernt even there up until about half worn! They couldnt be that soft a compound either as iv 25k+ on this set with maybe a few k left before hitting the markers here. Thats on a heavier car too, F25 X3.

Maybe your just a hooligan

 

[GrantR]

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 225/40/18 on 220d, fantastic tyre on wet and dry, wears really well got near 20k out of the rears and 25k on the fronts.

Have replaced them with Uniroyal Rainsport 5, fantastic in the wet but when pushing on in the dry as @gary1365 said can squirm.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S in 265/30/20 and 285/30/20 on the M4, lots of hype and I just don't think they live up to it, great in summer time but if the road isn't dry and 15+ degrees can have serious issues with grip.

Switched the rears to Continental Sport Contact 7 in 285/30/20 and proper difference changing from the 4S, cold and wet days plenty of grip, even with some lairy driving yet to see TC flashing.

 

[Graham]

Have been using the Eagle F1 for a while now and have no complaints.

How many of us actually need the best tyre available when the vast majority of the time a good, mid-range tyre would suffice?

I have almost always ran a good mid-range tyre such as Hancook, Toyo, Uniroyal etc.

But in recent years, thanks to hefty discount from Continental, I have been getting Premium Contact 6's or 7's for a smidge cheaper than a good Toyo. It made sense to use them on my car as well as I think two cars that the wife has fitted them to.

They are night and day better than anything I have ever had in the past. Both in the wet and dry.

 

[purplea4T]

Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2 in 225/45 17 size. Firm sidewall, and quite a sporty tread pattern.
Decent in the wet, not great in the low temperatures, superb if you really got a bit of heat into them but absolutely ***** in snow.
I got 20k out of a pair on the front of an Octavia and replaced them like for like, think they came in at about £85 each fitted last September.

 

[Phil_D]

PS4S's on the RS6 are superb, big heavy car and they feel very planted, was on Hankook's and they are night and day better.
PS5's on the Tuscan and they are spot on (couldn't get PS4S's in time for euro tour last summer) softer sidewall than the PS4's, bit more comfortable and less perceived road noise
Eagle F1 Super Sports ordered for the Cerbera will report back on them (again would have gone PS4s but no stock)
Sag currently on Toyos, they are old and need changed.. If the supersports are good will stick them on, if not PS4s when they come back into stock.

 

[Lyons]

Big fan of Kumho and Hankook too. Also had Vredesetin a couple of times in the past and was impressed by them too. It depends on the car though. I never had any issues with any of those brands on any of the cars they were on, albeit 300hp was the highest and most were family cars.

The R was the only higher performance one and I had PS4’s on it and thought they were absolutely fantastic. Never felt it would’ve benefited further from PS4S’s.

 

[Captain Starlet]

Probably an unpopular opinion but I would generally just go cheap/mid range. Replaced the Rainsports with a Nordex and don't notice much difference, no idea if they are louder or impact MPG.

Would religiously get the best for the motorbike where I'm a lot more likely to need a performance tyre, but for the daily I just slow down and drive within the limits of the tyre.

 

[GrantR]

The tyre review videos are very informative, tbh there doesn't seem to be that much of a difference between budget ditch finders and decent midrange tyres, I know which I'd rather have during emergency wet braking!

 

[Graham]

The tyre review videos are very informative, tbh there doesn't seem to be that much of a difference between budget ditch finders and decent midrange tyres, I know which I'd rather have during emergency wet braking!

I'd disagree.

I've driven a van several times that was fitted with Accellera's, it struggled with traction in were and dry. I've driven a car fitted with D-Mack's and after the wife saying she near went through a hedge, I took it a spin and they were horrible to drive on, especially in wet.

My car came fitted with a two brands I've never even heard of, I think Bota or something like that was on the rear, the poor 530d almost swapped ends on the 7 towers roundabout at 20mph one morning.

On decent branded tyres, I've never had any of these issues under normal driving.

I am spoiled by the fact that I'm usually in new press cars which are always fitted with premium or higher end branded tyres. So I definitely notice a difference if I jump into something with ditch finders.

 

[GrantR]

I'd disagree.

I've driven a van several times that was fitted with Accellera's, it struggled with traction in were and dry. I've driven a car fitted with D-Mack's and after the wife saying she near went through a hedge, I took it a spin and they were horrible to drive on, especially in wet.

My car came fitted with a two brands I've never even heard of, I think Bota or something like that was on the rear, the poor 530d almost swapped ends on the 7 towers roundabout at 20mph one morning.

On decent branded tyres, I've never had any of these issues under normal driving.

I am spoiled by the fact that I'm usually in new press cars which are always fitted with premium or higher end branded tyres. So I definitely notice a difference if I jump into something with ditch finders.

Oops I originally meant to say not much of a difference price wise

Agree with above

 

[Graham]

Oops I originally meant to say not much of a difference price wise

Agree with above

Got you. I think a better budget tyre for my car was about 20 quid cheaper than a toyo, so wouldn't even be worth considering for anyone who cares about their occupants, or other road users.

Sadly, in reality, the vast majority just throw on the cheapest there is.

Give it a few years until people start fitting ditch finders to EV's, forgetting that an EV weighs at least 500kg more than an ICE equivalent. There will be carnage when ir comes to people getting them stopped in the rain.

 

[Burt2000]

I’ve a set of Firestone all seasons on the daily and they are great, especially in greasy roads or snow, it’s a 1.6d i30 though so doesn’t need high performance stuff and I’d rather run all seasons in this country on a run of the mill daily driver. Scooby gets the best i can get in 17” and the etron is on new conti premium 6’s (but they are free )
The etron absolutely eats tyres, weighs 2.5 tonnes. Needed new fronts after 10k miles, doesn’t get a hard life but I think it’s the braking that’s uses more tyre.