Paul Wilson

I've had 2 sets of bridgestone SO-2's and love them but they are on back order from Bridgestone.

The tyre company (Just Tyres), whilst not reccomending them, suggested Goodyear F1's as an alternative (apparantly Impreza drivers are a picky bunch so they don't reccomend anything)

I'd be especially interested in anyone who has had both tyres, but I need to order them tommorow morning so don't delay

p.s. how are they at protecting my alloys from dodgy parking?

p.s. concerning price in the 205/50-16 size they cost £104.99 fitted and balanced, the same as the SO-2's, also they are foolish enough to offer a milage guarantee of 20,000 miles. They base the replacement cost on the price you originally paid, so it was not worth me claiming this time as I managed to make this set last for 14000 miles and paid £150 for each tyre.

BHORT

Seems that the price is now £88/tyre from tyres online for some reason

Brendan

SecretAgentMan

I run those in 17" 215/40, and IMHO they're great.
On of our members here (at least) runs F1's on the stock wheels, and he's satisifed.

Lot's of grip (very good in the wet), and the wearrate is fairly decent.

Abt wheel protection, nope, just curbed on myself (17x7), was in a hurry, tired and all that (excuses excuses), and overdid the parking job...



/Jerry - Sweden

[This message has been edited by SecretAgentMan (edited 17 August 2000).]

dholmes

Hi,

Autocar tested a number of tyres at MIRA and performed various tests ( Braking wet and dry, Cornering wet and dry etc etc).

The S02s came out top followed closely by the F1s. The F1s generally came out top in the Wet tests and the S02s were the winners in the dry.

I have run on F1s for the last 18K ( they are now due for change) and have been so impressed that I will be getting them again.

I got the F1s instead of the S02s because the likelyhood of reaching the types limits on public roads in the dry is very low, however it is much more likely in the wet. Therefore I use the types with the best wet grip.

Hope this helps

Darren

PS. I think there is a more expensive version of the F1 that allows you to drive for a few miles to the nearest garage after a puncture, thus making the spare wheel a thing of the past.

Paul Wilson

Cheers guys, the F1's it is then.

XRS

I'm running F1s on my STi IV and they are fine. Don't pay over the odds though, Wembley Tyres do them for around £60 fitted. Try a search.

BarryK

Sixty quid a tyre! Fitted! Does that include VAT balancing and valves? 205/50/16 ZR I presume.

Where is this place (probably Wembley, right?) cheapest quote I have is from Oldham tyre & Exhaust at £94 each fitted inc VAT, balancing and valves. Everywhere else seems to get stuck at £110.

Have these tyres fallen off the side of a ferry?

BHORT

Contact tyres-sold-online.co.uk. These deliver through the post and I was quoted £65.25 per tyre including everything. They even supply a voucher for fitting although I have not tried them yet they seem helpfull.

Brendan

BarryK

Yeah I've seen tyres sold on line's site. Has anyone had experience of the "free" fitting voucher?

At these prices I can get 4 tyres for £20 more than I might get nailed for two! Rip of Britain? Bring it on Europe..........

Apologies this is not in the "tyres" section if you're watching Simon or Moray!

[This message has been edited by BarryK (edited 17 August 2000).]

pwebb

wembley tyres can't do the f1s at £55 + vat anymore - bridgestone stopped them importing the tyres via france - thus they had to send back 1400 tyres they had in stock.

cheapest alternative is oldham tyres (rough) - where I paid £376 - all inclusive for 4 tyres z- rating a couple of weeks ago-
ask for bob or brad.

the F1 tyres are excellent - can only recommend them but they DON'T have a rim protecting strip like S-02s do - so kerbing is a risk.

Paul W

BHORT

All sounds very dodgy, I suppose that people in France pay about £40 per tyre. Anyone in France out there to let us know.

Brendan

rupertu

Does anyone know what Micheldever are doing the 16" F1's for? My original Bridgestones are now officially shot, even in the dry, at 9K miles - do they always wear out this quickly?

JamesS

Beware of `cheap` named tyres.

Tyre suppliers have a set of quality levels - The very best tyres from a batch (in terms of tolerance and performance) are supplied as original equipment to the motor manufactures - Ford, VW, etc etc.

The second level down are sold to tyre wholesalers - Elite, Quik Fit etc.

Third level down are sent to `less picky` markets ie India, Thailand etc etc

Final level goes to remould.....

All I`m suggesting is that if a main brand tyre appears to be too good value it probably is!!!!!

The Zohan

I have F1's on my car. Had 'em for about 5K miles now. Fab in the dry - fabber in the wet and i would go for them again.