Having got away with a few more months of wear by swapping front and rear wheels, I've now reached the point where the backs have finally had it. It seems that the general concensus is that the following options are worthwhile:

Yoko A520
Yoko AVS Z01 (but where from???)
Goodyear Eagle F1
RE011 (but again, WTF d'you get these?)

From the reports I've read, it seems like all these hold up well compared to the original equipment Bridgestones. My STi came with S01s, which might be knackered now but were fine when new. I'm assuming that the RE010s that UK cars get (is that right?) are quite a similar compound to the S01s -- please tell me if you know different.

But anyway, the point is that I'd like to go for whichever on the above list are hardest/longest lasting. This is mainly because I do the odd track day, and I don't want the problems people with S02s have been reporting (i.e., three laps and the tyres have gone off).

At one time or another, various people have described each of the above tyres as "soft" or "very soft". To try and put this into perspective, pretty please can anyone who has had real experience of two or more of the above types please comment and say which one seemed harder. Judgements relative to S01s, S02s or RE010s would also be useful.

TVMIA

-= mike =-

PS. Oh yeah - this is all assuming 16" size, standard 98/99MY dimensions.

[This message has been edited by mike_nunan (edited 24-06-99).]

Hi Mike,

My original RE010s were replaced at 14k miles, with about 2mm tread left. I went for Yoko A520s all round for £400 all in.
I was scared off the S-02s due to the horror stories abounding on this BBS, and to the much higher price.

I've now done about 2000 miles on the Yokos and these are my (very subjective) observations....

Turn-in is much improved, and grip is noticeably better, in dry and wet conditions.
Overall handling is nice and progressive. The increased grip may be down to a softer compound than the RE010s equating to shorter life (of the tyres!). I have also heard that Yokos don't last as long as other makes, but then they are quite a bit cheaper than the 'big boys'. You pays yer money, and takes yer choice....

I would recommend them, but if you wanted original spec RE010s, you could try Subaru dealers who may well have a surplus of these from people that have upgraded to bigger wheels. I know Intermoto of Liverpool had some a while back, and let them go at a VERY reasonable price. Email me direct if you want any further info.

Tony

Another option would be the Toyo tyre I have these on my STI V for the reason of wanting a harder tyre for the road as the RE010's that where on the car originally would sometimes start moving rubber around which would build up as a band around the tyre and then would give you bad vibrations under braking. I have not used the Toyo's on a track day due to having Slicks for trackdays but I have not had a problem on the road with them. The front of the car is very well planted although I am not quite happy with the rear end but that is more to do with trying to get the Leda suspension sorted to my liking.

The tyres have quite a high treadwear rating being 280 which means that they are quite a hard tyre.

Darrens

Thanks both.

Tony: The 520's certainly seem to have a reputation for being soft. It's not the overall wear rate I'm worried about, so much as the way soft compounds respond to track day conditions. I suppose I could get a second set of wheels and tyres, but I'm trying to avoid the overhead if I can. It's a fair point about the RE010s, but I don't like the dual compound aspect of Bridgestones in general -- they seem to lose a lot of grip long before the tread wears out. (Anyone know, is this something that happens with other makes of tyres also?)

Darren: This is the first I've heard of the wear rating. That would certainly take a lot of the guesswork out (and remove the need for my little survey). Is this a figure that appears on the sidewall, or is it data that's available from the manufacturer, DoT or whatever?

Anyway, keep 'em coming for now! Cheers

-= mike =-

All tyres have 3 ratings printed on the sidewall. These are Treadware Traction and Temperature as know as Uniform Tyre Quaklity Grade (UTQG). It is a guide as there is some debate as to how the exact results should be interpreted.

Treadwear is a percentage improvement that the tyre has over a given control tyre so the control tyre is consider to be 100% a longer life tyre has a higher % rating and a softer tyre a rating of less than 100%.

Traction is the braking performance of a locked wheel on a wet asphalt surface AA being best

Temperature is the the tyres ability to resist heat buildup A being the best.

Some of the aritcles I have read say that these tests can only be compared within a given manufacturers tyres because of the possible interpretation of the results.

At first it sounds like the answer to your problem but then when you dig into it a bit more closely it is not quite as clear cut.

If you want to have a look at alot of the tyres try www.tyres-online.co.uk which has details of most manufacturers tyres and the fitments that they do the tyres in.

Darren

Mike,
I think that you are being a little optimistic expecting ANY road tyre to stand up to the rigours of track days - In the same position I would go for the best deal on yokos or toyo proxes - which can be had for as low as £75 each fitted - that way it is less painful if they wear out real quick.
I followed Tony N around a few quick roundabouts on saturday and can assure you that his car is very quick on yokos (prodrive suspension) and I was not feeling so confident in my sti with original equip SO1s !! There was an sti on Toyos at the NW meet this weekend too - they look to be a clone of the Bridgestone SO2 pattern but unfortunately don't have the very sensible edge rubbing strip that the SO2 has. Most folks say the toyos are very sticky too. As your car has leda etc. I would have thought you would want the best grip + performance and maybe the way to go is to sacrifice a bit of wear for the grip of the Proxes/A 520s - both these tyres look good too. I think the RE010 on my previous UK car were slightly better than the SO1s I have on the STI 5 - they lasted a brilliant 17k miles too. My money would go on the SO2s despite some adverse comments - mainly because of the protection from kerbing the rims - but I am not intending doing any track work - if that were the case, I would definitely go for the cheaper Toyos/Yokos and be less tearful when they get scrubbed out on the first track outing!

hope this helps you decide!
cheers,

Paul W

Hi,
I got my 215/40 ZR17's (Toyo Proxy T1S) from Silverline in Warwick (also Banbury where they do Prodrive customer work) for 90+VAT including fitting / balancing per corner. 4 wheel alignment was £30 +Vat.

cheers

Andy

17" slicks - the cheapest quote I got was 150 each (Inc VAT) for Michelins by Wheels Around (also do mail order) Tel 01764 662897. They are the UK Yokohama Motorsport agents, and can also do great prices on road tyres.

My 215/40 x 17 S02 PPs were 120 each including VAT etc, which isn't much more expensive than the prices being quoted for Toyos. The rim protector is designed to protect the rims from kerb scrapes when parking. At least the edges of the rims are now protected, whereas with the P Zeros the rims were slightly proud of the tyrewall. They took a few hundred miles to give their best, but they are now just as good in the dry as the Pirelli's, and much better in the wet.

Increasing tyres pressures for track use should help both handling and temperature build up.


[This message has been edited by JohnS (edited 28-06-99).]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Re slicks, my main motive for doing track days is to find out more about my car's handling as an aid to improving my road driving. I'd prefer not to run slicks, since they will obviously alter the handling a fair bit.

Having done a track day on my S01s, I found the wear rate to be reasonably acceptable. All I want is to make sure I'm not getting something that's gumball-soft in comparison. I have seen/heard several comments similar to R19KET's in the past, that you can kill S02s in one track meet, and I just want to avoid getting tyres that are soft enough that that might happen.

Cheers,

-= mike =-

PS. Is anyone out there running Eagle F1's?

Guys,

Agree about road tyres on the track,I trashed my S02's in one meet, but I don't think any other make would have made much difference.
Darrens got it right, by using slicks.

As for the rim protectors on the S02's,on my 7 x 17's, they are a waste of time.

I've been quoted £85 + vat' for 215 x 40 x17 Toyos,mail order.Seems cheap ???.

Anybody know where I can get some cheap 17" slicks,can't find any bellow £150 !!

Mark.

I have used F1's but not on an Impreza. I had two sets on a Cvalier 4x4 Turbo producing 270bhp. One set did 23,000 miles and the other 19,000. (Had more power on the second set). Dry grip good, wet grip fantastic, did one track day on the first set at Castle Combe (old circuit) and took 0,5mm of tread off in 10 laps doing 1min 15 's but otherwise ok. Size ... 205/50/16 but no rim protector.

Bob

Thanks Bob. 0.5mm in 10 hard laps isn't any worse than the S01s, I don't think (I didn't measure the tread wear, but it seems about right). I might take the plunge and give 'em a try. Any final comments from anyone else?

-= mike =-

I've had F1s in 205/50x16 on a V6 Mondeo, and now have them in 215/40x17 on my Impreza. My impression matches that of Bob's, namely good dry grip, much better wet grip than the PZeros I had previously, and a pretty decent lifetime.

Only downside is they tend to be quite expensive, in comparison with say Yokos or Toyos.

Cheers
Alastair

I went through several sets of Michelin MXV3A (also called Pilots) on my old Impreza (at about 15k a set) and I have to say I think they were much better than the Bridgestones on my 99my which seem decidedly twitchy, particularly on the back end. They only have 4000 miles on atm so can't comment on comparative wear, but I would seriously doubt I'll buy Bridgestones at the first change.

In the survey, the Bridgestone SO2 problems were with 16" wheels only. I'd go for Yoko A520's next time.

I've got Goodyear F1's 215/40x17 on my Impreza and they are about half worn (maybe slightly more on the fronts) after 10000 miles. Excellent in the wet and they look good. I didn't consider any others as I got them for £90 each - trade.

Theres a previous thread from Pete Croney in the wheel/tyre section - where he gives his view on some tyres.

I have got a price for Avon ZZ1 of £78, I thought I might give them a try, has anyone used them yet