mattski

Hi,

I am possibly going to have to replace my tyres, fronts are getting pretty low (and was about to swap front-to-back ... sigh!)

So, what I would like to know is what do people recommend? I currently have Yokohama A539s and am really happy with them but would something like SO2's make a big difference in comparison?

Also, the tyres are about 5 months old, is this sort of wear 'normal'? btw the fronts are o.k. but the tread is getting a little low.

ta,
Matt

p.s. Wheels are 17" Prodrive ST2s.

GaryC

Biggest difference with SO2s would be in the wet. Worth going for SO2s, given the weather at the moment!

Wear rates depend on mileage not time 5 months at 200 miles per month is appaling, 5 months at 4000 miles per month is exceptional.

I get 14/15000 out of 17" SO2s, but thats 80% motorway

Markus

Spooky!
Just this minute got my tyres done as the fronts were as bald as Jean Luc Picard and the rears were 'getting there'

Went from Bridgestones to Toyo Proxes T1-S, I've only had a quick 15 min drive in them, along dual carrigeway (did have some RS nutter trying to race, but I ignored him and he went off to overtake everything in sight at the slightest opportunity, but I digress) so I can't really say how good they are yet.

The tread pattern looks nice though

Will give a report when I've had them on for a while. Have been told by others that the Toyo's do have pretty good wet, as well as dry handling, so should be handy for the flood ridden roads at the moment.

sorry for the not so useful post.

manny

I have Goodyear Eagles fitted and have done 6K miles and there is loads left on them. Grip very well too, not sure how much for 17"s but probably worth it anyway.

DocJock

SO2's have unbeatable wet grip, it is almost like driving in the dry.

DJ

mattski

thanks for the suggestions everyone, a place in Leamington is willing to do me a set of 4 Toyo Proxes for £400 all in (balanced, fitted inc vat etc)...what do you reckon?

SteveB

iTrader: (1)

I did a set of SO2's, 215/40/17 recently for £496 all in.

Steve.

mattski

heh, £4 cheaper than the Leamington place

boomer

What does the panel feel about mixing SO2s( or similar) on the rear with RE010s on the front (still with 3mm tread)?

Any probs with the diff?

Gotta convince LeasePlan!

mb

Josh L

Mattski,

I had a set of the Toyo's on my '98, and was most impressed. A small point though......

I was told to be very gentle for the first 50 miles or so, as they seem to take a while to scrub off the surface. Apparently they can offer very little grip during that time.

Josh

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

Toyos put on a couple of hundred (city) miles ago, unfortunately changed wheels from std to 17" at the same time so cannot compare like for like. However there is a lot more grip in both dry and wet than the std tyres. Isolated roundabouts can be taken at 30 in the wet with no understeer.
Heading north before the weekend, so will give them a chance to 'bed in' properly.
Too early for tyre wear - 4.5k from std tyres, so I just have to hope I will get more from these ones

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Hiya Mattski,
Ive just taken the SO-2 route (17's on PD 7's) well worth it, ive been "playing" on the wet corners and roundabouts and well, all i can say is that the grip is amazing she'll still slide a touch but alot more contol than on the standard bridgestones its definately the way to go, especially now that winter is here
The tyres aint totally 'scrubbed in' just yet but i dont think im that far off, ok they may be some of the more expensive tyres that you can buy but you may as well get the best

Tony

Markus

mattski:
Got my set of four Toyo's for £325, inc VAT, fitting and blancing. Not too bad. 400 is what I was expecting to pay. Oh, the alloys are 16 rather than 17 so it's not a 'real' comparison.

JoshL:
Thanks for the info! did notice a lack of grip coming down the long drive at work last night. Hit the brakes to test and skidded a bit, oh well, best get on the motorway and get some miles put on the toyo's

HunterB

boomer,

I was advised to replace all four tyres at the same time if one pair (front or rear) had less than 4mm of tread remaining. Made sense to me because there's bound to be some strain on the centre LSD if the rolling radii of the front vs rear tyres is different.

When I had a company car, I had a hard time initially convincing the leasing company a) that different tyres shouldn't be paired on the same axle; b) that if the tyre fitter deemed one of my tyres to be illegal, there was no way I would keep it as a spare; c) that if the fitter wouldn't fit the tyre depot's own brand to his own car because he said they were cr@p, then I didn't see why I should be forced to stake my life on the leasing company's cheapskate attitude.

At the end of the day, I asked for the names of the person I was speaking to, the Sales Director and the Managing Director so that I would know who to sue IF or WHEN the wrong combination of tyres put my car off the road. I got four new tyres.

I wouldn't entertain two pairs of different tyres on my own car although this is a difficult (but not impossible) argument to win with a leasing company.

Brian

steve McCulloch

Steve B

Are the so2'S the decent ones - where did you get them in Bristol' for that price - looking to replace my Toyo's - which I wont be getting again - fancied Falken FK451 - but cant find anyone around Bristol that sells them!

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Steve,
The so2's are the decent ones, probably the best tyre that bridgestone make, there is a noticable difference, especially in the wet havnt tried the dry grip yet as its not stopped raining since ive had them put on (there a better buy than the air con i got for summer!!!)

Tony

GaryC

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by steve McCulloch:
<B>Steve B

Are the so2'S the decent ones - where did you get them in Bristol' for that price - looking to replace my Toyo's - which I wont be getting again - fancied Falken FK451 - but cant find anyone around Bristol that sells them![/quote]

Steve, whatever you do, don't get Falkens. I had 451s on the wheels as part of a deal, they were worse than crap. Unless you enjoy very little grip, massive understeer, or looking for easy sideways action, avoid like a plague of RS drivers.

harj

Ive had Toyo's on my cars for the past couple of years and some F1 Eagles on my Focus, Goodyears are great no matter what the weather. Toyos are excellent too especially the new T1S's which have a harder outer wall as the old ones use to dissapear after a few roundabouts

You can use the Toyo's for trackdays and they still look good unless you do Dono Try Mark and Mal @ Tyres Northampton cus im sure they can sort you a great deal out on either 01604 751555!!

Harj....

mattski

thanks for the comments everyone...

steve, why won't you get the Toyo's again?

Andy Hall

Just been quoted £401.16 for 4 x 16" SO2PP at Micheldever Tyres.

steve McCulloch

Mattski

The Toyos'- T1s were the first tyres I put on after the original OE ones. To be quite honest I didnt notice much difference, especially in the Wet

An informed member had FK451's - switched to Toyo's (both on 16's) and said the Toyo's had no grip compared to the Falkens!

I need to totally sort the handling out on my sti5 - its crap! - but thats partly to do with the thicker rear roll bar (but it has also got the anti lift kit, rear linkages, bump steer removal and other geometry set ups)

I think I need to consult the experts after xmas to ensure everything is ship shape - Cheltenhams only just up the road.

I was gonna put the Eichbach springs on - but another memeber with an sti5 4 door had tried them and said they were crap

Anyway - I digress!

mattski

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply... I would like to get the handling on my car better, not that I push it that far

It would be interesting to see what options are available, I don't really intend on lowering it but if it will make a difference I may consider it.

Would you consider some of the suspension kits around, i.e. like the Leda?

ta,
Matt

BarryK

Well, my UK dealer put Goodyear Eagles on the front and didn't say anything about the wearing back ones knackering anything mechanical.

That is unreal. Worn tyres breaking a car's drive train. What kind of crap car is that?

sickboy

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by BarryK:
<B>Well, my UK dealer put Goodyear Eagles on the front and didn't say anything about the wearing back ones knackering anything mechanical.

That is unreal. Worn tyres breaking a car's drive train. What kind of crap car is that? [/quote]

Nothing to do with the fact that they'll get the work to replace your diff then?? ;-)

BarryK

How dare you impune the upright reputation of my dealer!

Why, the suggestion they are simply fishing for warranty work is tantamount to libel and you will be hearing from my ship's cat!

I am sure if they felt there was any likelihood of mechanical damage, they would have told me. They have a living to make.

Markus

BarryK,
I do remember seeing something a while back on this here bbs about the awd servos or something burning out if the tread difference between tyres is too much (2mm?). I was a bit scepticle about this as well but I'd rather pay 325 quid for 4 new tyres than have to fork out a lot more to sort out the 'hardware' side of things.

anyone care to comment on this servo type thing?

steve McCulloch

Mattski

Leda... hmmmm let me think about that one.....

Pay over the odds for a kit that requires subsequent trips back and forth to the factory for them to sort it all out, again and again. (I've heard all the horror stories - again and again, seen one or two overview reports - I dont want to go there at all)

No thanks - it musty be said that the car sits a bit too high - albeit lower on moving, the rear end IMHO sits too low!

I would be willing to fork out up to about £500 - but not £1500+ well over the odds on petrol and time!