evening everyone,

after 18000 miles I now am coming close to having to change my tyres I reckon ive got a couple of weeks to decide what to replace them with. Any ideas? It currently sits on Dunlops (17")

I was thinking along the lines of Goodyear eagles, michelin Pilot sports, or dunlops . but it would be an expensive mistake to ruin the handling / ride with the wrong tyres.

Now on to a worse problem how can I get biro ink off of my seat, were not talking a drawn line here but a great big blob right on the edge of the squab , colour ? black of course! soul destroying I can tell you when you get out and see what youve just done.

If any one can help I would be very grateful

Morgan

Morgan

I would go for the Michelin's - a little more expensive than some,but money well spent.

As for the Biro - you could try (if you have access) a steam cleaner -I'm not talking about the variety used in Valet bays - but the small handheld type you see advertised on the telly -- but obviously you would need to be carefull not to damage the material -- but it's probably better than using chemicals -- but failing that try a visit to your dealer and have a word with their valetors -- they may know a trick or 2.

I've got the Pilot Sports on mine. You may want to consider changing the tyre size from 205/50 x 17 to 225/45 x 17 as these cost slightly less and you get the benefit of more grip.

If its Dunlops, get the Sport 9090. Not bad tyres. My personal preference, in order:

P Zero Nero

Conti SportContact 2

Conti SportContact

Dunlop Sport 9090

Personally, I'm not a great fan of directional tyres on my car. In my opinion, yes, you do get better turn in but I find they run out of grip sooner than asymetrical ones. Maybe its just the way I drive?

Got Pirelli PZero Rossos: 225/45/17

Assymetric in design.

Changed from the original Dunlops which I thought noisey and not confidence inspiring. RS' orginally came fitted with Conti SPC1s.

It was either the Pirellis or Conti SPC2s for me.

Cheers.

Adrian.

I have just fitted Toyos to the 4x4 & I am well Ipressed, also a lot quieter than the original Pirelli fit

Originally posted by TaviaRS in this post

If its Dunlops, get the Sport 9090. Not bad tyres. My personal preference, in order:

P Zero Nero

Conti SportContact 2

Conti SportContact

Dunlop Sport 9090

Personally, I'm not a great fan of directional tyres on my car. In my opinion, yes, you do get better turn in but I find they run out of grip sooner than asymetrical ones. Maybe its just the way I drive?

whats your thought on yoko a048R?

Nice, but, personally, I prefer the Pirelli P Zero Corsa

It helps that you can get it in the right size as well

Is it safe to fit 225/45s to the standard vRS wheels, or do you need to stick with standard 205/50s?

Depends what you are running

Normal road tyres, yes it is, I've done the last 65,000 miles on 225/45s.

If you are running P Zero Corsas, best bet is the 215/45 17s. Another tyre I like (in the Corsa field) is the Kumho Ecsta V700, ultimate grip isn't quite as good as the Corsa or the Pilot Cup (both are asymetrical) but it is just over half the price.

Couple of links, as these tyres cannot be bought from normal dealers. If you want the Corsas or the Pilot Cups, talk to the nice people at Silverline Wheels and tyres. They are very helpful

If its the Kumhos, buy direct from them http://www.kumhomotorsports.com/products/index.htm

Jon

Originally posted by TaviaRS in this post

Nice, but, personally, I prefer the Pirelli P Zero Corsa

It helps that you can get it in the right size as well

225/40/18 is the right size!

And Corsas are available in that size, provided you have a 8" wheel

Go on, they're only

same as the a048?

which is better in the wet

I had 225/45/17s Goodyear F1 on my RS before going over to 19inch wheels.

I found the F1s to be a great tyre although they took sometime to come into their own.

Lloyd

I hadn't thought about changing the size- but had read about the pzero in circuit driver mag . I always believed it was better to stretch the tyre across the rim so the 225 worries me a bit it if should be on a 9" rim maybe the 215, especially as silverline are just up the road and I can get them to fit the slicks to my other car at the same time. Just got to try and resist buying bigger wheels as well.

How have you found the P zero in heavy weather TaviaRS? and cruising on motorway, not that we can do this much round the M6?

Morgan

Corsas are OK in the wet, just avoid standing water! They only come with about 3mm of tread so standing water is a no no. When the ground is wet they seem to get warm enough to dry the road out. Not ideal for an every day set of tyres oh and you'll be very lucky to 4000 miles from a set. I love them but they are special occasions only (especially with my mileage - best part of

Morgan,

I had no problems with the 225/45/17s on my RS. And I don't have any problems with my 19inch wheels. Well not unless have have some people in the back, but that isn't a problem as I don't have any friends :(

Lloyd

My RS is fitted with Continentals.

I have Kwik Fit Centaur Supreme 2000 (175/70 13) all round on the Lancer , and let me tell you , they are phenomenal tyres , ive done the Nurburgring in 6 mins with them fitted and they have masses of dry and wet weather grip , also the massive KWIK FIT branding impresses the hell out of the doormen at the Loews Hotel Montel Carlo (and posh spice said she'd leave David for me if i let her drive the Lancer)....Hey guess what...I lied , theyre ****!!! (and so is the car!)

PS to be sensible I had the Conti sportcontact on my vRS in 205 50 17 size , and they seemed fine to me , hardly worn at 14K easy miles.

PPS Im on holiday for 3 weeks starting on friday..get in there!!!

Ive just gone from the std fit Dunlops in 205/50/17 to a set of Goodyear Eagle F1s in 225/45/17 albeit the slightly older GSD2 pattern instead of the GSD3s. Got a little desperate for them so got them at my local independant instead of mail-order.

First impressions are good. More lateral grip and the front is far less understeery though this could also be because the dunlops were pretty worn. Finding them a little soft on the sidewalls running 32psi front and 31 rear so going to up the rear to 33 or so and see if that makes a difference as the rear seems to be slowish at turning in. Going to experiment.

Had a blast with a 306 rallye and golf gti whilst getting used to them at the weekend and they seemed good - especially so when trying to keep up with a Supra and barreling into a roundabout a little too quickly and thinking ****! but finding they gripped well..

Havent tried them in the wet yet - found the dunlops were pretty understeery on roundabouts in the wet so hopefully these will be better! Mind you, wouldnt mind the 19k distance I got out of the Dunlops!

Paul..

Paul - pardon my ignorance but how do you tell that they are soft on the sidewalls? Is it a seat-of-the-pants thing?

Its the turn in I guess - Stiff sidewalls react quickly and the turn in is crisp and it feels right.

With softer sidewalls you feel the car start to turn but it feels less crisp as if its rolling over slightly on the sidewalls.. I guess it is a seat of the pants thing but these feel different to the dunlops - especially at the rear where its turning in and the backend doesnt feel settled - doesnt feel like its going to spin or anything but takes a tad too long to settle on the corners.. The fronts dont feel too bad though will play with the pressures and see what I can do with them!

Im guessing that upping the rear pressure will change the way it behaves a little.. Its only when youre pushing on that it feels like it! Not a very scientific answer I know..

Maybe someone else could explain it better?

Paul..

Paul,

I've found the dunlops have really gone understeery as the wear takes its toll , they seem to get a bit warm when pushed and then they really go off, .

I would go with increasing the rear pressures this will certainly reduce any understeer, but its all a questin of balance and what you prefer, A stiifer front roll bar would help too!

Has this anything to do with the width of the tyre on the rim do you think? or may be affects the front geometry by altering the ride height etc. Maybe its just the increased grip allowing you to push harder and find a problem you hadn't found before. maybe when I,ve sorted mine out I can give some comparission on different makes.

Morgan

So far had a quote for Pirrelli P Zero Rosso's any one tried them? and conti's and pilots but a bit steap on the price. Want to explore sizes before I commit.

Sorry Morgan.. I didnt make myself clear I dont think..

I found the Dunlops (like yourself) to be understeery - esp when worn but never had huge amounts of confidence in their level of grip anyway. Theyre now binned (well after 19k)

Im finding the F1s to be better grip levels and the understeer isnt an issue anymore but the car doesnt feel right at the back end now - not understeery or oversteery but not settling as Id like - Im putting this down to the pressures being a little low.

Dont know the complete answer but not trying to combat understeer by raising the rears (though I do know I could do this for this reason) but trying to stop the sidewall flexing on turn-in which Im finding disconcerting and maybe 2psi will do that.

To be fair I havent down a back to back test yet and waiting for the wet for the real differences to display..

Paul..