I take interest in what tyres are put on the cars I drive.

In 2006 my new Focus ST had Continental Sport Contact 2. These were not too bad but a bit nervous in the wet, never knew when they would let go.

When I had to change tyres the Goodyear F1 Asymetric had just come out and after reading a couple of reviews I went for them. They turned out to be one of the best tyres especially on a ST, massive of grips, even more so in the wet and very controllable with very good feedback so you could really lean on them in the corners.

They wore out after 20000 miles and I replaced them with the same, GY F1 Asymetric.

In looking at what was going on new VRS's it seemed it was either Conti SP. Contact or Dunlop Sport Maxx.

From what I've read the Dunlops do not have many good reviews. I would have preferred the Conti's.

When the car arrived last week I was told by the garage that it had Dunlop's on, not that happy but obviously nothing I could do about it.

Now after collecting the car today a close inspection shows that they are Dunlop Sport Maxx GT

Further internet investigation shows that there are 3 versions of the Sport Maxx

1. Sport Maxx

2. Sport Maxx GT

3. Sport Maxx TT

After reading stuff on the web tonight it appears IMO that the GT is much better than the normal Sp Maxx

Quotes from a review

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The Sport Maxx TT is the Dunlop answer to the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric and offers a strong balance of wet and dry performance and good wear / noise characteristics. The Sport Maxx GT is aimed at the more 'hardcore' end of the market and sacrifices a little wet grip and life for ultimate dry road holding and driving experience. We had to try a set of these!

To ensure maximum performance Dunlop seem to have thrown every piece of technology available at the Sport Maxx GT. Instead of filling this report with technical specification and marketing lingo check out the excellent Dunlop web site here to bring you up to speed. One piece of information really stood out to us, in a blind test these tyres lapped a 1.3 mile circuit 1 second faster than the direct competition. A full second over just 1.3 miles is quite incredible.

Fitting day came on a warm summer afternoon. We did a final spot of data logging on the FK452s then visited the garage to have the new rubber installed. Given we had grown quite fond of the Falkens we were a little apprehensive...

It took less than a mile of driving to put our fears to rest. The steering was alive, the increased grip clearly apparent and the car instantly felt sure footed. After a suitable amount of motoring to bed the tyres in it was time to find where the new limits were so we ambled off to our usual test section and readied the data logger...

The test route consists of 3 miles of slow and high speed corners which challenge the cars road holding, stability and feedback. We started out at a slow pace but by just the second turn the improved grip was obvious. Turn 3 is a slow right hand after a long straight which tests the cars ability to lose speed and the first time we step on the middle pedal with anger it feels like we've hit something - the retardation of the car on this rubber feels comparable to a trackday specific tyre! Later the data logger confirms it, with the Sport Maxx GT pulling an extra 0.15 G under braking than the Falken FK452s could manage.

The rest of the course continues to show how these tyres are in a class of one. The limit of grip is higher than we've experienced on any other set of tyres, the progression of the slide once grip is overcome is slow and controllable and the feedback through the steering wheel is good. The only complaint is a small amount of high speed folding, where the tyre feels like it's tucking under the rim at the front. We've felt much worse on UHP tyres, but this still disappoints us slightly.

While expensive, the Dunlop Sport Maxx GT is a tyre that excels in every way a performance driver desires. We thoroughly recommend these if you want the ultimate dry performance without sacrificing wet performance like you would with trackday rubber.

End

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The few corners I took on them on the way home seemed to show they had very good grip, will see how they are in the dry

Size is 225/40 ZR18 92Y XL with a wear index of 240

Edited 16 January, 201016 yr by PowerMalc

A very reassuring post Malc.

I trust mine will be shod in the same

I'm still going to get some winter tyres in the Autumn though

SportMaxx GT

Edited 16 January, 201016 yr by ChrisRs

Skoda fit all sorts of tyres onto their new cars, its pot luck really what you get as they fit whatever they can get a good price on at a point in time, could be Continental, Dunlop, Michelin or another brand.

Youre partly correct mannyo...They tend to be shod in batches depending on how many they purchace at the factory.

The latest batch appear to be Dunlop Maxx GT's. When I bought my Fabia vRS, earlier ones came with Continentals, mine with Bridgestones.

It was never random, so I fully expect this lot of tyres for the Octavia vRS to be Dunlop for the time being

Wait till it snows again, got the same tires on my new vRS, they are bloody awful in snow conditions, its most embarrasing having your 3 week old car pushed off the carpark

Wait till it snows again, got the same tires on my new vRS, they are bloody awful in snow conditions, its most embarrasing having your 3 week old car pushed off the carpark

3 Weeks old? You were lucky, I needed help getting my car off the car park 36 hours after collecting from the dealer :S

Conti's were LOUD.

Even my in-laws noticed it when I half inched the tyres off his A3 when he traded in.

Got his Avons on right now. Seem to be a lot better than the Contis.

3 Weeks old? You were lucky, I needed help getting my car off the car park 36 hours after collecting from the dealer :S

Well it answers the question of what the spoiler is for

Well it answers the question of what the spoiler is for

It's to tie people too so they can be dragged along if they harm the paintwork on my new baby

I had "original" sport maxx's on my Golf GTI (absolute rubbish IMO - replaced them with Assymetrics as soon as i could) so its good to know that the new vrs will get a better tyre..

Thanks

I had the SportMaxx on my Octavia when I picked it up (brought second hand) and was initially impressed with them in the dry warm weather we had in August. However, come September and the rain they were frankly scary!

Anything other than a bone dry warm tarmac and they struggle. In the snow I could not get proper traction where the SporTrac3s of my wifes Fabia vRS.

Personally I have swapped the rears to Ultrac Sessantas and will follow the fronts shortly.

It's to tie people too so they can be dragged along if they harm the paintwork on my new baby

I'm glad I am not the only one paranoid about my new car! It's that bad I note who is parked next to me in the company car park so I know who to jump on if I get a sneaky dent

I'm glad I am not the only one paranoid about my new car! It's that bad I note who is parked next to me in the company car park so I know who to jump on if I get a sneaky dent

Ooh, that's sneaky... Mines currently parked up at the train station whilst I'm in London and I didn't think about taking the reg down on the cars either side :S

I had "original" sport maxx's on my Golf GTI (absolute rubbish IMO - replaced them with Assymetrics as soon as i could) so its good to know that the new vrs will get a better tyre..

Thanks

I've had 2 sets of GY Asymetrics on my ST and was very impressed with them.

These Sport Maxx GT seem an improvement on the Sport Maxx from what I can remember when I drove the demo car back in October.

Early days yet, only 150 miles and had no rain yet

When I picked up my new vRS, which is fitted with Dunlop Sport Maxx GTs, the salesman told me they were runflats. I don't think they are though are they?

Bob.

When I picked up my new vRS, which is fitted with Dunlop Sport Maxx GTs, the salesman told me they were runflats. I don't think they are though are they?

Bob.

They are NOT runflats.

You might only have an inflation kit in the boot though, unless you ordered a spare.

Just had a look at mine wrapped in white plastic in the compound and it has Dunlop Maxx GT's on

I ordered a spare wheel...so they wont be runflats!

Mine are the GT's as well.

although i wish i had also ordered the spare wheel option. Anyone else sorted out a spare wheel after the event? Costs n all.

They are NOT runflats.

You might only have an inflation kit in the boot though, unless you ordered a spare.

Bit bad of the supposedly knowledgable salesman to tell me they were then! It's OK though I ordered the full size spare

Picked up my fl vRS on Monday this week. It has the Continental sport contact 2 tyres on it. Not really had chance to test the roadholding yet - driving carefully as brand new!

Sport Conti's are great, they last ages and have a good balance of grip wet and dry. I guess it shows that they are good by the price of them on E-Tyres compared to other normally more expensive tyres, either that or they are popular.