Anyone running these?

Seem to get good reviews but don't seem to be readily available at most online tyre places.

Try www.mytyres.co.uk, they have the biggest choice out of any of the tyres sites I've tried and prices are reasonable but do vary daily because they're based in Germany, so it depends on the Euro exchange rate. You get free shipping to UK if you order a pair, and I would recommend you arrange your own fitter if you use them.

I just bought a set of these because the reviews are so good. Not got them on the car yet as still running winter tyres but will review them when they have been on the car a bit.

Went for Hankook Ventus Prime 2 in the end, seem pretty good so far.

I just bought a set of these because the reviews are so good. Not got them on the car yet as still running winter tyres but will review them when they have been on the car a bit.

Any update?

I'm going to need two more new tyres in the next month. Also seen Falken FK453s, anyone tried these?

The Ventus Prime 2 is good in both wet and dry conditions. It feels more like a touring tyre than a sports tyre though, but not sure how much of that is down to my standard (soft) suspension. I want something with a little bit more steering feedback.

My tyre place told me that Hankook are phasing these out to be replaced by the S1Evo2:

http://www.hankooktire-eu.com/tires/tire-presenter-single-view/view/singleView.html?aoetirepresenter%5Boffset%5D=0&aoetirepresenter%5Btire%5D=967&aoetirepresenter%5Bback%5D=216&cHash=0365725593f4fe48f9f9180330c7c5fc

The S1 Evo came second in a recent EVO magazine tyre test and it also came in the rare size 205/45R16 (Fabia vRS size), but the S1 Evo2 isn't available in this size.

Yeah ATS told me they couldn't order them from Hankook any more. The Evo2 isn't available in mk1 Octy VRS size either (205/50/17).

The Evo(1) is still available on oponeo.co.uk.

Didn't order from Oponeo as their checkout system is not secure, beware!

Paid a little extra and ordered 2x S1 evos from mytyres.co.uk. Should have them fitted within the next week.

Edited 11 July, 201213 yr by vrsTom

Just an update with my opinion on these after having them on for a few weeks and about 1k:

Much better steering feel than the Ventus Prime 2's I had on the front before (now on the back). Feel more like a good sports tyre. I've also had Goodyear Efficientgrips on the front, hard to remember but I think the S1 evos feel better than those too. However the improved steering feel comes at the slight cost of ride comfort and possibly noise (hard to tell). Grip levels seem about the same as the Ventus Prime 2 in both dry and wet. The S1 evo is now discontinued and replaced by the S1 evo2 (but not available in 205/50/17 I don't think).

I have four of them in 225/45/17 on the vRS and love them. I figured when changing all four I may as well make it cheaper for myself and move to the more common size. They're awesome and probably my favourites out of everything I've tried over the years. I've had Michelin Pilot Exalto 2s, Pilot Sport 2s, Goodyear F1s (both the old ones and the Asymmetrics), Toyo T1-Rs and Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas. The Vreds are a very close second, but I think they may turn out to last a little less time. Dunno about anybody else, but my vRS seems to eat tyres like nobody's business and is always laser aligned. Oh well...

Did you notice any difference in fuel economy? Some people say they have noticed the decrease.

I went for 205/50s as they provide adequate grip, didn't want to reduce fuel economy and all my tyres match the spare. The price difference seems to be about £20 a corner.

I'm expecting to get at least 15k out of a set, what are you getting?

I've been out of the UK for almost a year out of the past 18 months and during that time, she's only been taken out once every 10 days or so to keep things moving. So difficult to be sure during that period.

However, prior to that I would say probably around 12k from most of them. The Michelins always last longest, but are the most expensive to buy. So far, the S1 Evos have done around 6 or 7k (bearing in mind the break) and the fronts still have 3 or 4mm left. So plenty to go I'd say.

And no, no noticeable drop in fuel economy. And I have a spreadsheet going back to 2007, so I'd know!!