Tyre Opinions

[project.r.racing]

Originally Posted by MISCHIEF

anybody used them and anyone used toyo proxes 4?

Read the whole thread, there has been a few comments on Toyos.

[FEM]

I hear the G3's are really good aswell, but not the same for the RE001's. I hear they are just an overrated tyre. However the tyres performance depends on the driver and car aswell.

[DVS]

Originally Posted by project.r.racing

Read the whole thread, there has been a few comments on Toyos.

umm ok then show me where someone mentions the proxes 4

[zappy65]

Originally Posted by tinastar

Alot of people seem to rave about the RS's. They seem to be the go for the money.

I still want a RA1 or a R888 but they will be no good unless they are warm, i dont particularly want to be constantly warming my tyres up

T1R from the Toyo is good aswell i hear, i heard from tyre power at slacks creek that there is no better tyre out, not even the KU31....

Yeah these guys sell TOYO and KUMHO, they are resonably priced too! Ross gave me a price of $159 for the TOYO on 205/45/16, why would you look at semi slicks (TOYO Proxes R888), they are really soft for what we drive on, they do heat up quick but at a cost to wear obviously.. yeah for race but no for street..???just my opinion...and its been raining heaps lately...

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

This thread just became alot more relevant to me, since I just found out GIIIs are no longer made. My GIIIs only last about 20,000km, so I'll be needing replacements soon...

[project.r.racing]

Originally Posted by tinastar

What do you think about the Federal 595rs?

I just wet for a drive in a R33 fitted with 595's. Handled real good, but not as good as the Kuhmos. But that could've been other factors like weight, suspension etc. I reckon that you try either:- Kuhmo Ecsta SPT's (KU31's) or Federal 595-EVO's.

Ryan

[LordWorm]

tires are always going to be a personal choice - they will respond differently to different driving styles, and respond differently on different cars.

comparing 2 different types of tires on 2 different cars isn't going to yield the best results - really the only way to get a true comparison is to back to back test tires on the same car, under the same conditions, preferably in a double blind test (to eliminate any brand bias, which exists with absolutely everything).

Obviously this approach isn't very cost effective, or even practical, so my advice would be to go with someone who has the same car as you, with a simillar approach to driving that you have, and go with their recommendation.

Even then, the results may vary - for example, I run toyo P4's and love them - i've put them through some pretty torturous runs around the hills. However, Chicaboo - who has a simillar driving style to me, had the same tires on his astina (ok, the protege and the astina differ slightly, but they are relatively close) - absolutely hated the things - always felt like they were "going off" and that the car didn't feel as stable on the road.

So, take the recommendations on board, try the tires out that you think get the best results results for those recommending, and if they don't work out, remember to try one of the other recommendations another time.

I know, its not the black and white answer you are looking for, but with so many things, its a personal choice - what works for one person in one car, needn't work for you in your car....

My 2 cents....for what its worth.

[chicaboo]

Originally Posted by LordWorm

Even then, the results may vary - for example, I run toyo P4's and love them - i've put them through some pretty torturous runs around the hills. However, Chicaboo - who has a simillar driving style to me, had the same tires on his astina (ok, the protege and the astina differ slightly, but they are relatively close) - absolutely hated the things - always felt like they were "going off" and that the car didn't feel as stable on the road.

The P4s grip like hell for Brendan now, and he wouldn't be able to get his BG to drift with them in a million years... But when I had the soft stock struts on the car, they were quite grippy for long periods, so I think they lend themselves to a more softer setup like Brendan has now, and what I used to have.

But for the most part we do have different driving styles depending on conditions, you arse-slap the car around abruptly for most corners and get the oversteer over and done with, whereas I like to hold the car on a continuous tail-slide around the entire corner (probably heats the tyres up more?). It needs to be a very sharp twisty road (eg: downhill into Kennelworth) before I will revert to suddenly arse-slapping the back of the car around*.

*Interestingly, if anyone has ever played Live For Speed racing simulator(http://www.lfs.net), the only way I have found to out perform the S4 RX7 Turbo looking cars in the most basic FWD NA thing they give you, is to do the arse-slap tecnique on the corners. I CBF'd telling ppl how to do this, but try it in the game, it's very much a simulator and won't tolerate arcade-like driving styles that you find in Need For Speed.*

Back to tyres: I found the el cheapo Yokohama C Drives very nice on the TX3 when it had soft suspension (and bellying out on the road), but since the struts and springs were done (hard as all fark!), the tyres once again felt like black porridge just like the P4s. So I tend to think once again, that P4s like a softly sprung car... So I am still stumped as to what tyre can tolerate my driving style? I'm trying out Nexen N2000 on the TX3 soon.

Gav.

[Rupewrecht]

Originally Posted by project.r.racing

I just wet for a drive in a R33 fitted with 595's. Handled real good, but not as good as the Kuhmos. But that could've been other factors like weight, suspension etc. I reckon that you try either:- Kuhmo Ecsta SPT's (KU31's) or Federal 595-EVO's.

Ryan

Do you find the KumHos have a stiff sidewall? Or that they're quite flexible when cornering hard? As i miss the stiff sidewall that the Dunlop FM901s that i loved but they no longer make here.

As i'll be up for tyres early in the new year, and am thinking on some Toyos/Federals, or now maybe some Kumhos

[LordWorm]

Originally Posted by chicaboo

But for the most part we do have different driving styles depending on conditions, you arse-slap the car around abruptly for most corners and get the oversteer over and done with, whereas I like to hold the car on a continuous tail-slide around the entire corner (probably heats the tyres up more?). It needs to be a very sharp twisty road (eg: downhill into Kennelworth) before I will revert to suddenly arse-slapping the back of the car around*.

Yes we do have different styles - but i don't think they are heavilly different.. our approach is very simillar... controlled power understeer, lift off oversteer... only thing is i hit the thing hard on entry, where as you use more finesse....but i dont think that from a technique point of view, we're that far apart so my point about the P4's working differently for 2 people with simillar driving styles still holds - which further emphasises my point about tires being down to personal preference...

[FEM]

Very interesting discussion!

I Think the 595 Evo or the RS's will be the go for me next. I have never tried Federal. I rarely try performance tyres anyway - i burn them out doing burnouts to fast heheh.

Dan

[chicaboo]

Originally Posted by LordWorm

Yes we do have different styles - but i don't think they are heavilly different.. our approach is very simillar... controlled power understeer, lift off oversteer... only thing is i hit the thing hard on entry, where as you use more finesse....but i dont think that from a technique point of view, we're that far apart so my point about the P4's working differently for 2 people with simillar driving styles still holds - which further emphasises my point about tires being down to personal preference...

Yeah, but I keep finding the P4s work better (for me) with a soft setup, and not so well with what ppl would consider more of a sporty setup. You might encounter the same thing when you have the coilovers done?

As for the finesse thing, I just prefer to keep my cornering smooth for the most part on all but the tightest of corners. It lets me make subtle quick adaptations (based on the 'D' Meter ) without fear of not being able to pull the car back into line when need be. This is the problem Brendan had when he hit the wall in the TX3. He was too abrupt getting the arse out on a left hander, but couldn't pull it back for the right hander that came up right after it. Meh, so now I have a pre-mangled race bumper/apron for track days.

But that's another thing, beyond driving style - what works with one tyre for a stable 2600mm wheelbase on an Astina or Protegé, doesn't necessarily translate to a twitchy/nervous 2400mm wheelbase on a KE TX3. So tyre comparisons to R33 Skyrines probably don't mean much for us FFers.

Gav.

[LordWorm]

Originally Posted by chicaboo

Yeah, but I keep finding the P4s work better (for me) with a soft setup, and not so well with what ppl would consider more of a sporty setup. You might encounter the same thing when you have the coilovers done?

As for the finesse thing, I just prefer to keep my cornering smooth for the most part on all but the tightest of corners. It lets me make subtle quick adaptations (based on the 'D' Meter ) without fear of not being able to pull the car back into line when need be. This is the problem Brendan had when he hit the wall in the TX3. He was too abrupt getting the arse out on a left hander, but couldn't pull it back for the right hander that came up right after it. Meh, so now I have a pre-mangled race bumper/apron for track days.

But that's another thing, beyond driving style - what works with one tyre for a stable 2600mm wheelbase on an Astina or Protegé, doesn't necessarily translate to a twitchy/nervous 2400mm wheelbase on a KE TX3. So tyre comparisons to R33 Skyrines probably don't mean much for us FFers.

Gav.

'D' meter (tm)
heheh

[project.r.racing]

Originally Posted by Rupewrecht

Do you find the KumHos have a stiff sidewall? Or that they're quite flexible when cornering hard?

Hard tyre wall. Square shoulders, thick centre rib down middle. so more lateral grip when cornering and stable at high speeds.

My kuhmos have done:- 48 laps @ QR, 6 tarmac motorkhanas (all wet,) 1 grass motorkhana, 2 autocrosses. I wouldn't judge them to be anything other than great.

Ryan

p.s. I'm doing number 7 tarmac motorkhana (wet) today.

[Rupewrecht]

Excellent. i might give them a try then. Cheers!

[Smikey]

Found this review
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....ticle_id=10252
Seems like they have a fairly good 'control' (same car, just diff tyres) and driver didn't know what tyre was on. Shame there's still way too much choice when it comes to tires, here's the list anyway (alphabetically) - Goodyear F1's won.

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A
Continental ContiSportContact 2
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx
Goodyear Eagle F1
Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212
Kumho Ecsta MX
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
Pirelli P Zero Rosso Asimmetrico
Toyo Proxes T1R
Yokohama Advan Neova AD07

[project.r.racing]

Some of those are ****e tyres, cheap and nasty tyres pretending to be performance tyres. Steer clear of most of those. Toyo T1R and Yokohama Advan are only 2 good tyres theres.

[Daspiffy84]

I've just gotten a set of Goodyear LS2000, the step down from the F1 i believe...
They are going great guns so far especially in this wet weather, well compared to how my near bald tyres were doing before hand... i had potenzas on before...
road noise is near non existent and the ride is so much smoother... so i'll keep you updated on how they wear.
I also got the tyre protection thing for 6 bucks a tyre, may have been suckered in... what do you guys think???

[newman]

i recently bought some new BFG g-Force Sport, Im extremely impressed with them. affordable too

[smithy]

I fitted a set of rims and tyres off the latest MX5 onto my V6 hardtop and they had michelin pilot proceda tyres fitted.These tyres are awesome in my opinion.They grip extremely well in the wet and dry and turn in and braking are excellent.And they are quiet on the freeway as well. Maybe a bit expensive at $260.00 each RRP but overall im very impressed.Mind you I have never had premium tyres before.