What tires do you use? (1 Viewer)

[transcendent]

Or don't you care?

See I'm one of those people who are happy with a decent car, decent performance and handling but what's most important are the tires. I wouldn't mind spending more on tires cause that's where it counts. Sure you have to count on the fact that your brakes must also be reliable but with regular servicing this should be an issue. I remember when I dad put on a new pair of Pirellis and I could feel how great the car gripped the road. A few months ago he put on Dunlops and on corner I could feel the lack of grip, the greater lateral slide that's just gotten worse. I drove my sister to the station today and on a runabout at medium velocity I suffered oversteer, I think. The front side of my car shifted sideways for about 1.5 metres before I gripped again. That has NEVER happened to me with other tires but has happened with these set. I was wondering if anyone else notices this when driving.

 

[loquasagacious]

From the sound of it you experienced understeer in the roundabout.

Tyres are the single biggest determinant of handling and generally represent the best bang for buck in terms of improving it.

Personally I'm running Olympic Sprinters which I've found to be a quite capable tyre.

The performance brands like Pirelli and Yokohama are good.

Other cheaper ones to look out for are:

Falken (very good IMO)
Nankang (rebadged yokohamas - some nice sticky compounds)

 

[Jiga]

I got Falkens, size = 215/55/R16 91V, I rate em! Only thing I dont like is they lack grip in the wet.

Btw, what are tires?

 

[CieL]

rofl downgrading from Pirellis to Dunlops..... daym.....

I'm running on shit tyres atm... Dunlop Sports, the car came with them and I haven't needed to change the tyres (yet). But the other day I got angry at some old woman who didn't indicate and stopped right in front of me.. and I pressed it on a quiet t-junction and my front right tyre lost grip during turn for a split second.. *sigh* but back when they were new they were good.. uphill start flooring it, the astra next to me skidded whilst I maintained constant grip..

Wouldn't mind a set of Pirellis or Continentals myself =]

But 1.5m is quite a distance.. must be a huge roundabout..

 

[petar13]

I've found Kumhos to be quite competent. Especially if you can find them a tad cheaper, they're great value, with very good performance in wet, dry and don't increase your NVH rating, like others do. Stay away from Bridgestone. Michelins are fantastic if you can afford them.
However what works for one car usually doesn't work for another - so I'd search car forums for your specific model, and determine the general consensus on the best tyre. But yeah, I've been guilty of using some very cheap tyres before, and it becomes almost scary how badly the car handles.

 

[CieL]

What do you think of Hankook tyres?

 

[petar13]

Honest to say (I assume you were writing to me - if not, ignore), I haven't tried Hankook. Although Kumho and Hankook are both Korean, I don't know if they have the same qualities. I don't remember seeing Hankooks being offered last time I purchased tyres anyways.
Unless you own an old car, or have upgraded alloys, the best bet is to stick with the manufacturer's recommended tyres, as their choice is backed up by hundreds of hours of testing.

 

[CieL]

ahaha sorry, forgot to address you, petar13..

By "manufactuer's recommended tyres", do you mean the exact tyres they came with, or the same specs? I don't exactly want Dunlops again =.=

I thought they just gave you the tyres in accordance to the budget of the car... And I remember when I was at the dealership, looking at the exact same model of my car, they had a different set of wheels for each of the demonstrator models T__T

 

[petar13]

I meant the exact tyre model that they have in the owner's manual. Although, if its the Dunlops in your case, it's rather surprising. It was my understanding that they pick the most suitable tyre for noise, handling, and price. It's possible that they've revised the tyre model, after complaints (like your own), and thus demonstrators are with newer tyres.
However, they usually only recommend one tyre (I'd check your manual, to make sure it's the Dunlop). Sorry I can't help you much here.

 

[shortygb]

Bridgestone Turanzas

 

[seremify007]

On my own car.. I'm using the stock 195/65 I think.. my Mum uses Pirelli 205/55, my father the same.

My cousins use much higher grade tyres (230/45 IIRC) on all their race cars.

 

[DaddyK]

I have nangkang's if thats how you spell it, 195/50's. Sweet, i have the lowest profile so far!

 

[Kabeio]

Round ones. That is all.

 

[alexxxz]

i've got michelin pilot preceda 225/45/17's. excellent tyre. they are quiet, great performance and good treadwear.

if you do a bit of spirited driving every now and then steer clear from the cheaper tyres! you pay for what you get! nankang, falken 326's, cheap hankook's and cheaper varients of any brand stay away from if you arent just a daily driver! its worth forking out the extra $$ for a decent set of tyres.

 

[loquasagacious]

My suggestion is not to follow manufacturer recommendations for tyres as they will favour ride and noise over handling and especially on older cars tyre technology has advanced considerably and you might as well take advantage of it....

 

[seremify007]

My suggestion is not to follow manufacturer recommendations for tyres as they will favour ride and noise over handling and especially on older cars tyre technology has advanced considerably and you might as well take advantage of it....

That's not always such a bad thing though. Some people favour ride and noise over handling- my Terios is bumpy enough as it is

 

[loquasagacious]

True enough - but I hope none of them can be found in the Car enthuseist forum lol.

 

[Jiga]

if you do a bit of spirited driving every now and then steer clear from the cheaper tyres! you pay for what you get! nankang, falken 326's, cheap hankook's and cheaper varients of any brand stay away from if you arent just a daily driver! its worth forking out the extra $$ for a decent set of tyres.

I disagree, Ive got some ZE-326's on my car atm and I have nothing but praises for them! And i would say Im a very "spirited" driver...... I give them quite a good working out around some tight corners at speed along my way to uni everyday among all other things

 

[alexxxz]

no offence mate the tyres are dogshit. thats why falken has scrapped them from the range and replaced them with the 329's. in the wet you'd better off walking.

 

[Jiga]

Well I wont deny they are ordinary in the wet (But must consider they are about due for a change), but in dry conditions (where you actually throw the car around unless of course you want to get rapped around a poll in the wet), they are very good from my experience

And I was also under the impression that alot of the cheaper performance tyres dont fair to well in the wet?