MNA24

Hi All,

Just a question regarding tyres for my Hawkeye WRX, after a year of ownership I'm wanting to swap out the tyres the previous owner stuck on the car as they are terrible (Haida HD921 215/45ZR17 87W) for Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (215/45 R17 91Y). Is there any difference or benefit in going for the XL version over the standard?

Cheers.

MrRtm

Xl = extra load, you need Xl for our cars

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

Particularly as Goodyear have relatively soft side walls anyway

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Do you think XL tyres have stiffer sidewalls?
Run flats have stiff sidewalls - are they good for handling/ride?
XL changes the sidewall construction, to allow higher inflation pressures, for heavier vehicles - it doesn't follow that the sidewall will be stiffer.
Some performance tyre sizes are only available with the XL designation.

MrRtm

Pilot Sport 4's are no better tbh, I've killed 3 in the past year, all sidewall issues too

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

Pilot Super sports are good, my last set did 20000 miles plus, great performance tyre on a spec c

2pot

iTrader: (3)

What's happening?

SouthWalesSam

iTrader: (1)

After 6 or so years of banging on about how good the Eagle F1s were I made the mistake of fitting them on a Golf R to replace the OEM Bridgestones the car came with.

I'm moving over to Pilot Sports now.

MrRtm

Bought a set of 4, 2 had sidewall issues and were replaced under warranty by michelin, 3rd (but was the 2nd to happen) was my fault after mounting a kerb, although still it was the sidewall that failed. Still run them on my car as besides that they've been great.

MNA24

Why was it a mistake?

SouthWalesSam

iTrader: (1)

Loss of steering feel.

The Eagle F1s are a very good allrounder, excellent value and superb in the wet in rainy Wales.
But the loss of steering feel (which provides a chunk of the enjoyment and confidence when pressing on) compared to the Bridgestones was immediately noticeable.

MNA24

Ah right I see. Wet performance is a must for me as my the current Haida HD921 tyres understeers and slides when the road is even slightly damp. There is no steering feel what so ever with those tyres either. They are fine in the dry when it's warm outside but are not confidence inspiring.

My only comparison i have is the Continental Sport Contact 3s on my Suzuki Swift Sport which are kinda in the same realm as the Eagle F1 5s and the steering feel and grip in wet and dry on those are great once the tyres are warmed up a bit so I'd be happy with a similar experience on my WRX. The price point of the Goodyears is very appealing too.

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Eagle F1s were the go to tyres when I had 205s back in the day as I think the softer sidewall suits lighter cars. Michelin Pilot Super Sports are the best full tread performance tyre I've used and will be fitting another set once the current F1s expire.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Michelin PSS were superceded by the Pilot Sport 4S 18" - 22"
The US has Pilot Sport 4S in 17's:
215/45 ZR17 91Y
225/45 ZR17 94Y
225/50 ZR17 98Y
235/45 ZR17 97Y
245/40 ZR17 95Y
245/45 ZR17 99Y

The Pilot Sport 4 16" - 21" Michelin consider this as good as the PSS, with better life and wet grip.

SouthWalesSam

iTrader: (1)

Yes, and we love them on the 18s our E350 coupe on which they've really sharpened up the feel while still being comfortable and quiet.

And this is one of the reasons I'll be switching the Sube from F1s to PSes when next it's time to change.

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

Super sports are still made, they are Toyota's choice for the new Supra. Imo PS4s aren't in the same league as SSs.

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Can't get the PS4s in 17" in the UK. So PSS would still be my tyre choice for that reason.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Michelin only list the super sport in 205/45 x 17? Isn't that a BWM oe size?

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Super sports are still listed for 97 sizes, the majority of which are for OE. But, I'd suppose they'd have to continue supply Super Sports for a contacted period, as the 4S came out in Sept '16

1 x 17" still listed
22 x 18" still listed

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Yes have them on my 7" WRX wheels but they will also fit on 7.5" STI wheels.

Jonny Cut Corners

Back to the OP's question;
XL tyres have extra reinforcement to allow you to run higher pressures for higher load carrying capacity, over and above normal rating.
So they're a bit heavier and stiffer than standard tyres but not quite as bad a run flats.

XL's are normally spec'd on bigger cars/ family wagons. Nothing to do with handling, potential corning G forces etc.
BMW M3 CSL doesn't have XL tyres spec'd for example.

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

I've just noticed that mine are actually 215/45/17 but made in 2014. I don't what year they stopped producing them in that size but there is a good chance one could still find some old stock.

MNA24

Well, I've ordered the Extra Load version of the tyres Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (215/45 R17 91Y) as there are some instances where I'll have the car loaded with passengers and a fully loaded boot. I won't necessarily be upping the tyre pressures in those situations but the reinforced tyre will hopefully perform better and be safer.

MNA24

When I was looking at owners manuals online, I noticed that the USDM WRX Hawkeye is fitted with 215/45R17 91W on the stock 17" x 7" wheels whereas in the UK they are fitted with 215/45R17 87W on the exact same wheel. I was slightly concerned about the higher load rating not being quite right, but in other markets, the same load rating I've gone for is used as OE but with a slightly higher speed rating 215/45R17 91Y. I'm guessing there isn't much difference at the end of the day since very similar tyre pressures are used in the US and UK owners manuals. any ideas?

SouthWalesSam

iTrader: (1)

Maybe Americans weigh more?

Let us know how you get on with the F1 Assy 5s.

MNA24

That did cross my mind

Will do, should be a vast improvement on my current tyres and I've read they are a decent improvement on the Assy 3s. Got the Assy 5s for £72 a corner (unfitted) which was a fairly decent price, should hopefully have them early next week and fitted pretty soon after.

MNA24

Well, I've had the new tyres fitted and I've noticed a distinct difference in how the car drives. This is only based on my commute though as I've not had the chance to go for a proper drive yet. I found that the car seems more stable and less bouncy in general and a little more firm in terms of comfort which is a good thing as I felt like I was bouncing all over the place in the seat with the old tyres. Cornering is now like the car is on rails whereas before I could feel the grip just wasn't there and felt I was running wide ever so slightly. The steering feels lighter and I can feel a bit more feedback from the road surface. Going to have to wait a while before I test them in the wet I think based on the current weather.

The only issue is I have to take the car back to the garage as I think the steering wheel needs recentering as I had the tracking done and when holding the wheel straight the car drives to the right, I have to turn the wheel slightly left to go straight. It does this on all road types and if I let go of the wheel the car doesn't pull in any direction. This leads me to believe the steering wheel is just on a bit wonky.

Gary B

I've been running those tyres on my Classic for a number of years now. They don't have quite the dry grip of my prior P Zero's but make up for it in the wet and especially damp conditions. I chose XL sidewalls just for some extra protection on the UK's pot-hole ridden roads more than anything else. I also run XL's on my other car.

When I was researching XL tyres, it was advised that they benefit from running a *slightly* higher pressure. For example, the stock pressures on my car are 28 rear, 32 front (IIRC) and I run the XL's 2 PSI above that and the car drives lovely. Tyre wear - I've had a couple of sets of these XL's now - has been perfectly even over the tread width, so pressures are evidently spot on.

One thing I have noticed with the XL's, due to the stronger side wall, is that when I picked up a slow puncture due to a screw, the tyre looked fine despite being at only 20 PSI! Thankfully I check my tyres regularly, so I'd not driven on it at that pressure.

Note: these tyres have already saved me money as a particularly nasty pot hole - filled with water an hard to see on a rainy night - actually tore into the sidewall a short ways. On the XL's this just damaged the rubber and got no where near the cording, whereas it would have popped - or at the very least made illegal / unsafe - a normal side walled tyre. I did indeed pop a tyre this way on my other car, while it was still running the crappy standard tyres as supplied when new.

I'm a total convert of XL's now. They're great on my other car - which is pretty heavy - yet they're also great on my Classic which is 500kg lighter!

Re: Your tracking. I've experienced this in the past from a somewhat lazy garage - a main dealer - though not on the Scoob. They were just adjusting *one* side to get the car to track straight, whereas adjusting *both* sides is the proper way to keep the wheel straight. Used to annoy the hell out of my having a wonky steering wheel! In extreme cases I've know people who've been told their car "cannot be setup properly" due to them having run out of adjustment on *one* side, as that's the only one they've tried to adjust. Doing it properly on both sides fixed the issue. Not had a problem with this is years though, but then I've used the same tyre guy for a while now and car has been fine.

Cheers,

G.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

A car requires a tyre of a minimum load index - dependent on the maximum axle weight.
If you run an XL designated tyre, with the same load index and pressures, as the specified non-XL tyre, then the load index of the XL tyre will not be achieved. You'd have to run 6psi higher on the XL tyre.
Or, run an XL tyre with a higher load index, than specified, so the specified minimum load index is maintained at lower pressures.
Sidewall stiffness/strength is not required to attain an XL rating.
Xl rating is the tyres ability to contain higher pressures - usually a change in construction of the 'heel' (where the tread meets the sidewall).