Atm im running Uniroyal Rainsport 2's and they car fantastic for grip in wet and dry and they dont mind the thrown into corners but these are too much of a soft compound for A, the amount of torque my car is producing B, my style of driving on some days

They have been on since May i think, around 6-7k covered and the front is getting rather close to the wear indicator. I need something with a harder compound.

Im wanting,

Mid range £70-90 per corner

Id rather have a tyre thats better in the wet grip then dry (this is where i love the Uniroyals, standing water dealt with ease)

I was leaning towards the Falken's and i still am but i think the compound is just as soft which i suppose i can live with if they give me as many smiles per mile as the Uniroyals have but just wanted to know if there is anything else to consider.

alot of good gripping tyres wear quick, ALL conti's for example.....

personally I strive towards more dry grip than wet, for which I would wholeheartedly reccomend maxxis Z'1 .... almost like a track day tyre in the dry (defy's the laws of physics!) http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Maxxis/MA-Z1-Victra.htm , and still good in the wet....

my tyre place reccomended me kumho KU39's (they rave about them) and kumho's always get decent reviews... however, although they match the maxxis in the wet, they are about 50% of the maxxis dry weather grip, which is poor :( .... so i wont have them again!

however for what you describe, I would go here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Vredestein/Ultrac-Sessanta.htm (vredestein ultrac-sessanta) I havent usd them, but know people who have and rave about them....

you remind me of myself being slightly obsessive about tyres lol..

I have just ordered the Vresdestein Ultrac Sessanta for 205 40 R17 87Y (octavia spider) and will have them on by the end of the month so I shall let you know how they go.. but I've been looking around a lot and tyrereviews.com is a top review website so I thought I'd give it a go.

When I buy tyres I focus on wet rating as in the UK (unfortunately) it is more wet than it is dry.. Which is what gives these Vredestein's a great review.

I currently have the 2 Falken ZE19's and 2 Khumo Solus which have been satisfactory but not good enough in the wet for my liking.

Currently I have Vredestein Sportrac 3 on the front axle, fitted them July last year and I estimate I've done around 10,000 mile on them. Nearside is about 2.5 mm, offside is about 1.8 so they're about ready for changing (is that level of difference usual?). I paid about £85 a corner for them. Oh and by the way, I drive fast and I've found them excellent in the wet and dry, although they were a little vague for the first few hundred miles. Noisier than the Klebers it had on the front before. Hope this helps you make your mind up!

Now I need to decide what to replace my Vredi's with. I wanted to try Falken 452s but they've stopped production and the 453 aren't available in the awkward 205/45 R16 size. Rainsport 2 is great but a bit noisy and has a reputation for wearing quickly (as mentioned by the OP). Vredi's Sessanta starts from 17" so they're out too. Want to spend about £80-90 per corner.

Don't fancy Toyo Proxes T1R as I've heard they're not brilliant in the damp, and apparently the Falken 912s suffer from similar issues in the damp. Seem to remember I've ruled out Hankook Ventus Evo V12 in the past but I cannot recall why now. Anyone got any experience of Vredestein Ultra Centros?

Edited 15 August, 201213 yr by ckyliu

Id rather have a tyre thats better in the wet grip then dry (this is where i love the Uniroyals, standing water dealt with ease)

Most manufacture's have moved away from 'V' tread patterns due to noise and they aquaplane at slower speeds when compared to an asymetric design. .

you remind me of myself being slightly obsessive about tyres lol..

You know it's bad when your walking along looking at the tyres on the parked cars.

Don't get kuhmo ku39 if you want more than 7k outta them lol

I find my falken 452's good in the wet or dry, I must drive carefully as they have never let go in the wet yet

its not the wear of the KU39's that bothers me Raf... I've only had them 1,000 miles or so.. its the utter lack of dry weather grip! very poor. 50% of the maxxis V1's I had before... wont buy them again.

its not the wear of the KU39's that bothers me Raf... I've only had them 1,000 miles or so.. its the utter lack of dry weather grip! very poor. 50% of the maxxis V1's I had before... wont buy them again.

Strange one that mine seemed to grip ok, not as good as the falkens which are a 205 profile instead of 225 profile of the ku39s which have crap fuel economy.

I just find the falkens good for all I expect of a tire. Wet and dry although come a bad winter they are lacking hence winter wheels and tires for me lol

Sent from my Galaxy S2 not a Crapple!

I've bitten the bullet and got Vredestein Sportrac 3s again, they were over a tenner cheaper than any other tyre mentioned here. And I'm given to believe 10,000 miles is not all that bad for a front set on a Fabia vRS that gets driven in a spirited fashion fairly often.

The only reason i mentioned wet grip more then anything is the road i use on a regular basis. The moor roads can be massively unpredictable in heavy rain and even though i know the road like back of my hand i still want to know iv got a good set of tyres on, these Uniroyals give such a positive feed back and not once have they let go in wet.

Tbh i would get alot more out of the Uniroyals if i smoothed out my driving but since they have been on iv had two different remaps and a set of coilovers put on so it has been put to the test alot so ill take 50% of blame for the wear rate.

I wounder if it worth getting another two for the fronts and see if i can anymore out of them now im happy with the set up of the car.

Also i know have Cruise control and this will take away alot of temptation to boot it all the time when doing the moor roads

you shouldn't have to taylor your driving style to suit the tyres Emma

and Raf, the mark Ii fabia vRS is very sensitive to tyres... not sure why... (It may not be the case with other cars, I know skud vRS uses them to good effect on a sorted octy mark I )

when new and OE, with the dunlops they suck, with the contis they rock.....

the wet weather perfomance of the KU39's is fine, its just the dry weather, I have to take miles less speed into a corner/roundabout than with the maxxis, (and waaaaiiiiitttt before applying power) but the V1's have massively good dry weather grip..... and I can poer out miles before you would think possible in a fwd car!

this is how it is... If I took you up hartside pass in my car now (KU39's front, contis back) you'd say "nice hot hatch!" If I took you up there on a dry day with the maxxis V1's you scream "aaaahhhh I'm going to die..." and then wonder about how a tyre can defy the laws of physics.....

again: emma. with the wet in mind, but maybe not SOOO specialised as the uniroyals, I'd go sessantas check out the magazine reviews ontyre reviews, they do well in the wet, but not as bad as the uniroyals in the dry

No im not tailoring my driving style to save my tyres im saying while these Uniroyals have been on it has been given alot of punishment while i have got to grips with the new remaps and the coilovers, so now that i am content i like the set up and i know what it can do (hopefully) i will not be hell bound on getting everywhere like my life depends on it!

Sharkrider; i AM that person (on certain..most days) that needs to be infront of the que so i need something that i know will keep me stuck to the road no matter what the weather. I am rather reluctant to change sometimes :(

I'd say being happy with performance but disappointed with wear is the better situation to be in. Uniroyals are tried and tested, but if you fancy a change I would plum for the new vredestein vorti's. I have previously been a sessanta fan, but found them prone to understeer, especially in the wet. The vortis have eradicated that for my driving style. And being asymetric they are a lot quieter than the sessantas. A great tyre and cheaper from tyremen.co.uk than camskil atm.

Tyres are a subjective opinion, but the vortis really suit the octy for me. Not saying that the above recommendations arent great too, but this is my opinion. Not tried any of the above apart from the sessantas.

HTH

Neil