Tyre Choice

[plhorner]

Morning All,
I'm just contemplating changing the tyres on the 3.2, I've just about killed the rears by running them at a too higher a pressure on the last track day I did []. The fronts are still relatively untouched inspite of 3 track days and 20k miles, however they have been on the car for 5 years and I'm a little concerned about ageing (of the tyre's, not me !!![]). Anybody know anything about this issue?
With regards to tyre choice, what do people recomend, I'm not bothered about the N rating business. I know Richard Bernau is a big advocate of Falkens, how well do they wear, wet and dry grip etc, how hard wearing are they?

I await a big discussion with anticipation!!!

 

[Guest]

Not entirely true Phil. My Falkens served a purpose, I recognise they have limitations but on the price/perfmance curve they stacked up at the time I bought them.

If I was to summarise my opinions on 3.2 tyres it would go something like this:

1. You sould buy a tyre appropriate for your intended use
2. N-ratings are not a "must have"
3. Some brands are underpriced in the UK market because they are unknown
4. Some brands are overpriced in the UK market because the brand recognition or prestige allows a premium price to be charged.

I would characterise Falken as one brand that fits into category 3. There are others.

If you want me to dig out the old tyre treatise I posted a while ago I can do so - it may be in the 3.2 register section of the PCGB site. However, I think the best and most up to date tyre review I have seen is the US Tire Rack site. They have most brands and have some tests and comparisons and lots of user feedback. Create a short list and phone the retailer of your choice and see what is priced most competively.

My car currently runs on Dunlop SP8000s (fr) and Falken FK451s (rear). Not ideal, but they happen to have tread (unlike all the other tyres I own or owned a couple of months ago) and for the very limited driving that I do over the winter they are adequate. I will probably buy a set of matched tyres in a couple of months and they will not be Falkens. I need something appropriate for my use. I want them to be super dooper wet weather tyres that I can use for wet track days - so most likely they will be the latest Goodyear Eagles - maybe Dunlop SP9000s or Bridgestone SO3s - but I have not researched it yet. My mileage on road tyres is now so low that I figure I can spend a bit more knowing they will last a long time (in terms of years) rather than my last purchase which I knew would be thrashed to bits on track days as well as limited road use.

I certainly stand by my earlier comments along the lines of "you can buy good tyres for not a lot of money". That may mean a less well known brand like Falken or it may mean a great deal on Contis.

HTH

Richard

 

[plhorner]

Thanks for that Richard, I know you can always be relied upon on such issues!!
Interestingly, I'm actually quite tempted by a set of Conti's, I've managed to find a set on mytyres.co.uk for £335.80 delivered compared with £246 for the Falkens. I've been running Conti's (Sport Contacts) on my hack recently and I can't get over the way they perform. I feel so much more confidence in them than the Pilot Sports that were on before, I'll just have to wait and see how they wear.
I'll have a look at Tire Rack and read the comparrison / feedback.

Cheers,

 

[911sse]

I have run Conti Sports, Goodyear Eagle's F1 (type before the latest incarnation) and I have now went back to Bridgestone S02's. They are still available, but IMHO, with a new set of 4No on, with the lazer alignment done, the car feels amazing!

Just wish I didnt have a foot of snow outside at the moment!!!!!!

 

[Guest]

I fitted Conti Sport Contact N1s to my car and they are excellent - haven't let go yet, whatever the weather and I use my car daily.

We had a recent discussion about N rated tyres and it does seem that they are not necessary on these cars, but I have to say that I think I would still buy these ones again just because they're so good.

 

[plhorner]

Iain, out of interest, what did you pay of a set?

Cheers,

 

[Guest]

£378.35 inc VAT, & fitting/balancing etc.

 

[Guest]

Hi Iain,

Glad you like the Contis. Are they the SportContact I or the SportContact II? As they are N1, I guess they are the 'I's. If they are the 'I's then while I think they are no doubt perfectly adequate, you can do better (but maybe not for that price, I concede []). If your criteria ia simply maximum performance, I can think of 4 tyres that I would rate more highly. The Conti (either iteration) are/were fitted by Porsche to new cars as the "comfort" option. They have softer sidewalls than the other OE spec tyres of recent years. Feedback on Tire Rack suggests that they also wear quickly and that they become noisy once part worn - in addition having less ultimate stick.

Don't get me wrong, they are a perfectly acceptable choice and your comments suggest they work well for you. It would be very useful to know what you compare them with though. If for example you had Avon ZZ1s before these then I bet the Contis are a mile better. If you had say SO2s before these and think the Contis are better, I would find that very interesting.

HTH

Richard

 

[Guest]

I think you're right they are 1s.

I have nothing to compare them with as they are the first set of tyres I put on the car and the previous tyres were rather old and worn. I bought the tyres following a recommendation on the 911UK.com forum and it was also suggested that the N1s were better than the N2s. The other thing that attracted me to the Contis was that they were good all rounders with very good wet grip. So I thought I'd try them!

I am recommending them because I drive them quite hard, every day and they haven't let me down - I'm not saying that they're the best - I simply don't know, but I'm very happy with them.

I have now done nearly 6k miles on them and they are showing little sign of wear yet - so I don't think that there's a problem there.

 

[Guest]

Just found the limit of the Contis.....

Some prat decided to go right out of a roundabout from the left lane, so I nailed it on the exit on a slightly damp road and weehee!

All very controlled though and they gripped back very quickly - glad it wasn't any more slippery.

Oh and the culprit quickly disappeared in the rear view!!

 

[dtunnicliffe]

Guys and Gals, I'm probaly the odd one out here but for what it's worth I seem to be getting pretty good wear from P6000's. The car is only used for the road, never been tracked and they are running on 17" Turbo 3's reps from Mille Millia (or however you spell it..). They are quiet and well mannered BUT just coming on to 5,000 miles they look fine with no sign of wear. Its's choice at the end of the day. (My CLK 230K is running Michellen Pilot Sports on 18's - I doubt I will see 20k out of them...)


Dave []

 

[911sse]

SO2's are still available, and yes, they are the best road/track combo..........

@ £105 for the fronts, £120 for the rears fitted on my SSE.

I have got 10,000 out of the rears, maybe 4000 more to go, great tyre..............



For the track there is the Dunlops and the Toyo's Proxes, great advice above!

 

[plhorner]

ORIGINAL: sihinch

Thanks all for your thoughts.
Whilst browsing the internet for tyre prices I found a website with what seems to be very good prices. Mytyres.co.uk

Si,
I bought some tyres from them for my hack, really good service. O.k. once you figured in fitting at your own expense the deal isn't quite so good but you should still be quids in.

John,
I think the summer tyres issue is due to the fact that the company deals with a lot of european countries where winter tyres are a legal requirement. Obviously over here its not relevant information.

HTH

PS somebody mentioned P6000's earlier in the thread, I've got a pair on the back of mine and had 20k out of them and that includes 2 track days. Had it not been for the fact that I ran them too hard on the last track day and took the centres out of them, I'd get a good few more miles out of them. Not the stickiest tyre in the world but they certainly last well - almost too well!!

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: 911sse

SO2's are still available, and yes, they are the best road/track combo..........

@ £105 for the fronts, £120 for the rears fitted on my SSE.

I have got 10,000 out of the rears, maybe 4000 more to go, great tyre..............



For the track there is the Dunlops and the Toyo's Proxes, great advice above!

I won't quibble that these are a good tyre (for the road) but IMHO technology has again marched on and they are no longer the "best". The SO2 dates back to the original Sony Playstation (anybody still own one of those?) so its now quite old tech. I think the Michelin Pilot Sport (2nd generation) is probably at the top of the tree now and the Goodyear GS D3 is also probably better. There may also be others.

If you are talking track tyres then the SO2 is at best one of many road tyres that is adequate for track use. If fully treaded, they will overheat and wear quickly (possibly blister or chunk). All road tyres suffer these problems but some say the SO2s are particularly bad. You can manage this to some extent with short sessions and careful monitoring of hot pressures. Any R-compound tyre will be better on the track for both grip and wear rate - but that is a whole other conversation. If you use road tyres for serious track day work then expect them to last a summer at best.

RB

 

[911sse]

Well Richard, after three track nights at Knockhill under their belt, along with 1No Crail and another Knockhill soon
week after Crail on the 15th, I would beg to differ slightly on that opinion of the SO2's.

Treads are wearing evenly since I have put 6000 miles on the car in two months. Thats now 12,000 on the rears, there is at
least 2mm above the marker points....

Oil and filter change next week!!

Just talking to all the other trackies, they seemed to be well thought of.

But, I have bought a set of Mille Milgia cups at the weekend and a set of Dunlops or Toyo's
will be going on there................

Thats just IMHO.................

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: 911sse

Well Richard, after three track nights at Knockhill under their belt, along with 1No Crail and another Knockhill soon
week after Crail on the 15th, I would beg to differ slightly on that opinion of the SO2's.

Treads are wearing evenly since I have put 6000 miles on the car in two months. Thats now 12,000 on the rears, there is at
least 2mm above the marker points....

Oil and filter change next week!!

Just talking to all the other trackies, they seemed to be well thought of.

But, I have bought a set of Mille Milgia cups at the weekend and a set of Dunlops or Toyo's
will be going on there................

Thats just IMHO.................

Not wanting to be rude, but it depends to some extent how hard you drive. I can quote you my cold/hot pressure changes from my old SO2s when I used them on track compared with PZeroCs if you are interested, but the short story is that road tyres generate a lot of heat (and hence pressure) and are inefficient at getting rid of that heat. If you are down to 2mm above the wear bars then that will help you a great deal. Ironically a shaved road tyre will last longer on track and perform better than its full tread equivalent. I am not saying you can't get by with road tyres on track (heck, they are good for learning on), just that sooner or later you will realise their shortcomings.

If you now have a second set of wheels for track days, you may want to look at a set of R-compounds rather than road tyres. The Dunlop D01J or D98J come in 235 and 255 for 17s - they would be awesome. Bye bye understeer []

I know this has strayed from the original post but whatever...

RB

 

[911sse]

Not rude, others may agree, that I take it flat out all the time, 95%, keeping the 5% in reserve for other drivers errors...

Albeit, I have made 2No errors at Knockhill myself.

Considering I drove from Aberdeen to Bramar to Tomintoul to Strathdon to Aviemore to Spean Bridge
to Fort William to Killin to Aberfeldy to Blairgowrie and ending in Forfar in a little over 5 hours on Sunday.
That included 2No fuel and pee stops, that speaks for itself.

Maybe the fact the tyres are not filled with air helps!!!! At £2-3 per wheel, the gas option (cant remember which type)
seemes to help.................................

I think it will be the Dunlops for the Mille Miglia Cups once I ruin the Conti's that are fitted to them.

 

[Big_nige]

I've just fitted Toyo Proxes T1Rs all round on mine, pretty impressed so far. Got them from www.camskills.com 2 x 205x55 2 x 245 x 45 total delivered £280 plus £40 for fitting and balancing at the local tyre shop. Probably be abit cheaper if you're running 6s and 7s

 

[jasonld]

I have also fitted Toyo Proxes T1Rs all round. Much better grip in the wet and dry and no road noise, compared to my last set (Bridgestone S02's) Fantastic tyres ..Im really please with them.

I got mine from Bracknell Tyre & Battery Ltd, 300 all in.

J.