Ricky

Going for a set of 18" Prodrive wheels for my 2005 Subaru 2.0 Sti Type Uk. I believe the right size of tyre is 235/40/18 but if I'm wrong please correct me. But basically my question is whats the best tyres availble for grip but with an acceptable road noise.

Options I suppose are tyres like :

Yokohama A048
Pirelli P-Zero corsa

Im have no doubt the Yoko's (or indeed any other road legal track like tyre) would grip well but I have heard bad reports about cabin noise etc.

So can I please have your opinions as to which tyre you would choose and why ? and I dont just mean the two tyres above. Open to all options.....

Thanks in advance !

Ricky !

bpm1588

you can't go far wrong with the pirelli's,they came on the 18" prorive wheels that i had.good grip in all condition's and no road noise etc....a lot nicer to drive than the sti 17's with bridgestones that where originaly fitted,i think they are well suited to our n.ireland roads.
saying that i have michelin ps2's in 235/18's on my a4 and they are really really good,its surprizing how hard you can push them without losing grip and thats on a fwd car,i can only guess they'ed be even better on a sti.
i am hearing good reports for verdistein sessanta's as well,might try them next time round.good value as well

SirFozzalot

Have a look at Vredestein.

Very good tyres and have come highly rated in a recent EVO magazine test (finished 2nd overall)

I have tried them and I was very impressed. A few others in the ESC have them and I haven't heard any negatives yet.

renny

iTrader: (2)

Ricky,

I've just been reading through this section and someone mentioned that 225/40/18's are preffered for the the pre-Hawkeye models due to the wider tyres rubbing on the arches?

As for tyres,anyone i've spoken to who have used the Vredestein's rate them very highly.I've not used the Yoko A048's but am currently using Parada spec 2's - quite noisy but grip well in the dry and not bad in the wet.

Hope this helps.

Ricky

I thought that pre 05 cars were 225 and 05 onwards were 235. Well I hope thats the case cause I have ordered 235/40/18 in Michelin Pilot Sport 2's and will be fitting them tomorrow. I actually know nothing about this tyre apart from a few peoples opinions on the net but will know soon if they are any good or not !!! Ha !!! They are certainly expensive enough though !!!!

mellinator

mate i have toyo proxys 18" tyres and i find them great.
I do not honestly think they give an unacceptable amount of road noise.
I drive from glasgow to aberdeen all the time and can honestly say that by the time i reach the end of my journey I do not need pain killers
Plus the fact the tyres ahave saved my *** a few times from a right off incident!!!
The stopping power on the tread is fantastic.
Pricey but worth every penny matey)

skan

toyo t888 warm em up and there mental

Robbieben

Currently using Hankook RS2's, IMO better than Toyo's and Bridgestone for wet and dry use, good milage so far too, dry grip is comparative to a track tyre, they are really good

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

Not being funny here but I've tried allsorts over the years.
Pirellis are far, far too soft and dont last two minute.

Up until last year I'd have done my best to talk you into some Toyo's but I got offered a free set of Hankook Ventus Sports K104's last year. I thought they would be ****e but for free I didn't really care.

Long story short I've just paid for a second set. A year and 20,000 miles later. The rears were still ok but the fronts had gone on the inner wall due to toe in.

They are by far the best tyre I've ever had they grip better than anything I have used before in the wet and the dry and when they do let go at the limit the slide is progressive and controllable.

I would like to add that the car is running 500bhp and is a daily driver and I'm not exactly kind to either the car or my tyres.

Cheers

Daz

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

All uk STI's run 225 section tyres I'm afraid, although there shouldn't be a problem running 235's which are std on JDM cars..!

A 235/40 has a bigger rolling circ compared to a 225/40 tyre, so your speedo will read ~4% lower. In actual fact this will make it more accurate..!

I've had similar thoughts about going to a 235/40 18 from a 225/40 18, but in the end decided to stick with the 225 for weight and possible gearing issues..

FWIW, I'm going with either Vedestein Ultrac Sessanta's or GY F1 Asymmetrics (£85 v £105/corner respectively all-in).

renny

iTrader: (2)

Are you talking about pre Hawkeye models ?

I know Subaru sell the Pff-7's with 235/40/18 tyres for MY06 onwards.

As you've said though,it will make the speedo more accurate as mine reads quite a bit over at the moment !

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

I wasn't aware of this, presume they're an 8J wheel..?

I know that the 18's on the GB270's are 225/40's, I wrongly assumed that it was the same for all 18's..

As I said, I'm due for new rubber and thought about 235's as they would look better IMHO, but the extra weight and possible effect on my UK 5sp gearing put me off. A case of, if it ain't broke..!

53

iTrader: (41)

GB270's are 18x7.5" IIRC for which 225 is spot on. 235's on the MY05's onwards is better as they run 8" as standard which can be stretched and exposed on 225's.

On an STi running 225/45/17 standard UK size to the 235/40/18 its only an increase of 1mph showing 60mph when you are actually travelling 61mph. Wouldn't worry about gearing.

renny

iTrader: (2)

Just checked Subaru website and the Pff-7's are indeed an 8J wheel with 235/40/18 tyres - on MY06-MY07 cars.

renny

iTrader: (2)

Spot on - my Pff-7's could have done with 235's to add a little more protection - will be investing in some next time around as only have 225's on at the moment.

RonnieB

I have Pff7'S with 225/40's on my MY06.
I agree that they give little protection to the rims, thinking of going 245/35, any thoughts???? Rubbing etc.???

renny

iTrader: (2)

Hhhmmm,i think 245's may be pushing it a bit mate.

I could be wrong but i haven't heard of anyone that runs these.

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

The new GY F1 Asymmetric offer a lot more rim protection on my 8J oz's than the Toyo's I had on previously, even though they're the same 225 size..!

In fact, I thought they'd fitted 235's by mistake, they look so much wider..!

Don't think I'd fancy them on a 7.5J and certainly not a 7J..!

Compare toyo's in first pic to GY's in 2nd,3rd:

bigarf

iTrader: (67)

have been running toyo t1r for 2 years now and thought they were a good tyre as it was time to put 4 new ones on i thought ide try something different,a lot of people on here were raving on about the vredestein ultrac sessentas so ordered 4 from camskill and what a difference they made the car now feels like its on rails ive tried a lot of tyres over the years but these must rate as the best

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Same here with my GY's..!

I thought the T1-R's were good, just seems they're not as good as some of the newer tyres..

The one thing I really didn't like about the toyo's was their brown trouser inducing capabilities in standing water..!

Personally my recommendations would be:

GY asymmetric
Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta

I'd also throw in Bridgestone's RE050A, as they seem very suited to the Impreza (note not quite as extreme as 070's)..

I doubt anyone would be disappointed fitting any of these..!