I was using some winter alloys running Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas and i was so disappointed with them,

Im currently running Pzero Nero and have had them for 3 years this Jan, Im due for a new set and think im going for the Conti Sport Contact 3's

 

Personally I find the sessantas not as good in the wet as the (goodyear) Eagle F1 GSD3s I had before, although they're on a par in the dry.

 

Not a great comparison mate as GSD2's have been out of production for over 5 years AFAIK!
However, having also run both on a Newage I'd disagree on the statement in regards to GSD2's and 3's.
I felt the 2's had more grip than the 3's in all weather, BUT I'd say the sessantas offer at least 40-50% more grip in wet weather than either of the GSD derivatives.

On the Goodyears the car would fishtail badly in wet weather under higher speed cornering and understeer / slide at the front.
Sessantas just grip and don't slide anywhere near that degree either. Which is what i expect for the money you pay.
On a Newage that's why I'd immediately discount Toyos or Goodyear - sidewalls too soft and not enough grip as a result.

 

Good stuff coming here, thanks. Your experience with the Goodyears match mine

 

Sorry that was my mistake, you're absolutely correct but I meant the GSD3s. I did have a set of GSD2s after the GSD3s and they were worse than the sessantas in the wet.

 

It would be helpful if the op would reveal the tyre size he is after as Vredestein do not appear to manufacture the Sessanta in rim sizes smaller than 17 inch. If they do, I can't find them (in the usual classic sizes of 205/55-15 or 205/50-16). And believe me I have searched LOL

Anyone tried Nokian?

 

Looks like you're right - if you're below 17" the choices are more restricted - Sessantas appear to start at 17 like you say.
Always forget the original sizes on the classics were smaller.

Nokian are supposedly the name to have for winter tyres but never really heard anyone mention them for all weather / summer tyres.
Their winter variants certainly aren't cheap (or didn't used to be?).

 

Good example of one size don't fit all

Was asking about the Nokian cos I found this
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Si...0-16-Tyres.htm

Rated highly, but only by 6 reviews as opposed to 109 reviews for the Rainsport 2

Some of the Rainsport reviewers have concerns about sidewall flex so probably won't suit the newage cars. May be ok on the lighter classics tho. I certainly havn't had any trouble with sidewall flex on my GSD3's, not that I notice anyway.

Is it possible that softer sidewalls help wet weather grip in the same way as softer suspension? Certainly in my experience the wet weather handling suffers when a car has had stiffer suspension fitted.

 

Depends on the size and what you call cheep. Their winter tyres are exceptionally good and if you get them in a popular size they are reasonably priced. I just got a new set of WR A3s in 205/55 R16 for £350 from lovetyres which is a good price for a very good winter tyre. My last set were 215/45 R17 WR G2s at £89 each from mytyres, but that was 3 years ago and that size is now about £120 each for something similar.

I'm thinking of trying their summer tyres but I still have plenty of tread left on the sessanats so it will be a while.

 

well after reading those reviews I'm definitely going to try these next. If they're anything like their winter tyres they will be top-notch, and it sounds like they are.

 

Smallest size I could find for the Vreddies was 225/45/17 for my blob wrx.

 

No, it's the softer sidewalls that reduce the grip in any weather and make the car slide worse in wet weather.

I've run standard shocks and springs, std shocks & Prodrive springs, and back in Febraury went to BC coilovers with a 5/4 spring rate.

Whilst the suspension is stiffer, it has in no way contributed to any sliding; the damping is far better, but IMHO geo, tyres and ARB setup will all alter the behaviour of your car far more.

All of that said though - regardless of all the above, with the same setup, I feel that my car simply performs better on a stronger, more resiliant tyre like the Sessanta than it ever has done on the Goodyear.
In all weathers. Evidently, you're a Goodyear fan, and I was too, but once I tried the Sessantas I realised what I'd been missing - they really do take it up a level in my honest opinion.

 

You're not looking hard enough Jay
http://www.tyremen.co.uk/product/126...ssanta-xl.aspx

 

Ah, didn't try the 40's as the gap is big enough in my arches as it is......

 

Nokian Z G2 seem to be not bad price in the classic size

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/...-16-0-W-1.html

Yes, I am fan of the GSD3 as fitted to my non tracked, barely modified, daily driver classi. But I do understand they are not as good on the heavier newages especially with bigger rims and lower profiles. That said I will be replacing them soon and am open to recommendation, providing they fit and don't cost more than the replacement value of the car LOL. Unfortunately the Sessanta is not an option for me, hence my looking at the alternatives.

My experience of stiffening up suspension dates back to rear drive Escorts and front drive Orion ghias. Stiffer suspension sharpened them up no end but, combined with the invariably wider than standard tyres fitted at the same time, the cars did slide more in the wet. Just in a nice controllable manner, not bouncing along hoping LOL

My only experience of suspension mods in the Impreza is the difference noted on fitting new KYB shocks all round and applying maximum allowed negative camber at the front to help reduce understeer. Worked very well too

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Nokian/Z-G2.htm

In tyre tests it has been a solid performer (look at the tests not the customer ratings even though the ratings are very good)

 

So for a set of four 205/50-16 delivered that's
£395 for the Nokian
£385 for the GSD3
£330 for the Rainsport2
£304 for Toyo T1R

Looks like the GSD3's have priced themselves out of the market, sure I only paid £65 each last time. And Camskill want £110 each....jeeze

Rainsport 2 work out a £155 a set delivered in 195/50-15. Think I may try a set on the wife's Fiesta Zetec S first then. Based on the RainExpert's worked on the spare 1200 Fiesta in 185 guise, have high hopes.

 

I found the opposite actually. There`s a left turn (on a roundabout) on my way to work and normally can take it at 40mph with my old tyres, no problem (wet or dry) With the Sessantas it slides...big time

 

What were your old tyres?

 

Sounds unusual to me. I can take some roundabouts at 50mph with no probs.
What pressure are you running them on?

 

Ummm, 34 I think I`ll check.

 

I usually inflate my fronts to 36 PSI, and the rears 33 or 34.
Never had any problem with understeer or skidding and I do drive the car hard on occassion. For a little more you could get them filled with nitrogen (? think that's the one!).
If you're skidding big time it sounds like you're either running them at too low a pressure, or possibly you've got a set of bald tyres?

You learn the limits of the car and the tyres - my observation was that the Goodyears were about as good as the Vreddies in the dry, but significantly worse in the wet.

Once worn the Goodyears were more worn (say after 5000 miles), I found they got close to scary - had a few dicey moments with the car fishtailing for grip at what I'd say were relatively low speeds - I don't have the same problem with the Vredesteins in either scenario, and hence that's why I'll never go back to Goodyear on a newage.

As per other poster's comments though they may be better on a classic due to the lighter weight.

 

yokahama prada spec 2 s are terrible 1st rain day i drove on them back end everywhere on my type r wasn t even pushing just driving normal

 

There is one VERY significant fact that is not being strongly reinforced here, and that is the type of car and more importantly the sizes of the tyres.

To the op.

It's all well and good people telling you their experience with a particular tyre, but it really does mean bugger all if it's not the same size and car.

Perfect example is toyo t1r on 17's on a newage, perfectly fine for the money 6yrs ago.

Same tyre on a classic but 18's horrendous.

I now run falken 452's on 16's on a classic, and they are as said before better than toyo t1r, but they are a different size so again not a fair comparison.

Point being you need to compare like for like.

 

You can if you like throwing money away, I would rather use air and give the money to charity

 

Thought the point was that nitrogen retains the pressure regardless of temperature whereas air won't - isn't that more relevant at this time of year?

 

It doesn't, if you are looking for 100th of a second on a racetrack, go for it, if you are looking for consistent road tyre pressures, save your money.

You can achieve the same with dehumidifed compressed air, which pretty much all tyre centres use.

Compresed air is 80% Nitrogen anyway, and the difference in expansion (temperature related) between oxygen and air is so tiny as to make no difference in road use.

Check your pressures once a week minimum and inflate to the correct level (likely to be more than your manufacturer specifies) and this will be of far more benefit than using pure nitrogen, which for the most part is used in motorsport for safety reasons in the pit lane.

And finally, to quote tyre bible, who are pretty much the myth busters of the tyre world...

Seriously, save your money and don't get dragged into a BS world.

 

- each to their own I guess. I've never paid to have mine filled with nitrogen, was just something I'd heard about. Interesting what u posted above; as you seem to be some sort of track fiend have you tried it yourself?

 

I was a BSB superbike chief technician for a Suzuki Privateer Team, Later Yamaha, and have been involved in racing for over 30 years in one form or another, about 8 years myself racing. So yeah I could be regarded as a track fiend or ex-track fiend

We used bottles of Nitrogen in BSB and then switched to dehumidified compressed air as it was easier to manage a compressor than a bottle

We had to cycle the air in tyres 3-5 times to ensure minimal water vapour, as it is this that has the most affect on pressure change with temperature.