tyre replacement time.

[nick viner]

Anyone got any ideas about what to buy for new road tyres for my camel.
At the moment it is shod with goodyear eagles F1 tyres. They were on it when I bought the car fourteen months ago. It had 84 Ks on it and as the tyres looked fairly new I feel they had not been on for long. I have done about twenty six thousand Ks. on them and the rear ones are going to need replacing soon.
I feel that whilst the goodyears are good grippy tyres, they don't last long. A common problem.
So what is going to be a good longer lasting replacement?
Any ideas would be welcome.Remember they are larger and low profile. I think the rims are sixteen inch.

[Uncle Arthur]

Yokohama S-Drives.

[Mr Morlock]

Nick Toyo T1R seem a very good tyre with an excellent reputation and I fitted them after getting some favourable reviews from trusted sources. Bear in mind that many of the super grippy tyres with high prices also do not wear well.

[NMX516]

Michelin PP2's. Accept no substitute

[snailspace]

I had the Toyo T1r's and found they had great grip but little feedback, the Toyo proxes 4's may have marginally less grip but you know what they are doing and give more confidence IMHO, the proxes 4's have covered more kays too but the tyre guy wouldn't give me the camber i wanted so .. . . . . .my 2c

[nick viner]

Nark, I love the Eagle F1 tyres for grip they are really good but as for milage... forget it.
I guess I want it both ways.... don't we all. best grip, as I do go on club runs up the twisties but mainly is used for cruising on the weekends.
Price? I guess being low profiles they are probably going to cost up to $250.00 per corner.

[RobH]

The current Motor magazine that came out on Wednesday has its annual tyre test in it so that might be of interest to you.

[Mr Morlock]

you will pay about $185 for Toyo T1R.

[Caffeine]

I'm on my second set of Bridgestone RE001's at the moment, excellent, best I've ever dríven on an MX5, and they're the (6th and) 7th set of tyres I've had on my car.

Last set lasted around 40 to 50000km, weren't yet down to the wear markers when they were replaced.

[Charlie Brown]

you will pay about $185 for Toyo T1R.

Yep you get what you pay for.

My feelings on the T1-Rs on the NC are well documented , as are the RE001 , which cornering in the wet is bordering on unmanageable.

As you are only doing weekend and club runs, mileage (kilometreage) shouldn’t be of great concern. Safety in the wet, noise, stopping power & handling should be.

The BEST tyre for a MX-5, that captures just about everything most people want, without doubt is the Michelin PP2’s. They are THE tyre for an MX-5. Forget the bull***t about the cheaper tyres being better. They’re not. Sure you pay a little extra (but not over T1-Rs) over the cheapies but then work out their cost over 40,000 kilometres or 3 years vs the better performance in ALL conditions of the PP2 and it’s a no brainer. Pay the extra $200 or $1.28 per month and get the best . That’s cheaper than buying a paper a week!!!

Don’t believe me? Do a search through all the posts on tyres and see what you get.

Now I’m not saying the PP2 will be fantastic on your Magna or Mazda3, just the MX-5. If you want something for a car other than a MX-5 then do a search on their forums as the individual characteristics of specific cars vary.

[Benny]

I have to agree with Charlie Brown on that one.
While there are tyres with more grip than the PP2's, they often feel very dead and unresponsive.

The PP2's make the car feel alive and pointy.
They have great steering response, good grip and are also quiet on the freeway.

The only tyres I've found that are better are the Falken Azenis RT615's, but you'll need to go to 17" rims to get a size that fits.
Oh, and Falkens only last around 8,000km.

[Mr Morlock]

the first thing any tyre fitter/ specialist asks you is what sort of driving do you do. The fact is that most people buy tyres that suit their budget and their driving style- you might expect that we have an "average driver". I never push my car in the wet erring on the side of caution for road surfaces that often are unkown- diesel etc. You will not get the best grip on the market and long / acceptable life in the same tyre. Some of the tyre life mentioned by forumites are unacceptable at least to me but everyone is fully entitled to make their own choices on the cost of running their transport and the selections they make. Best comes down to a variety of aspects.

[RobH]

Due to the low amount of klm's I do in the mazda I prefer the tyres to offer high grip and am not concerned about tyre life because chances are they will go hard before I get the chance to wear them out. The driving style in the Mazda would be considered spirited so sticky is good.

When it came to putting tyres on our X5 (the family car) I was keen to get a tyre that would last a while. We managed to get about 80,000 klms out of the last set and I hope to get the same out of this set. The X5 has 295/45/19's on it so they are not cheap @$500 each. The Michelines that were on the car when I bought it were quoted at $750 per tyre, ouch.

[NMX516]

I too am with Charlie brown on this one.

When I first bought my NB8A, it had Good Year Eagle F1's on it. I had read a few reviews and they generally got a good wrap, however, I found them diabolical in the wet, and average in the dry. AJ will be able to recall following me over Mt Glorious here in Brisbane one day in heavy rain with the F1's on, and it was a spectacle for him of watching an NB slide around. I was taking it very easy and just doing my best to stay off the walls and armco...

I then bought PP2's. I will happily rave about these tyres all day, and they lasted ~25,000kms including 8 track days. AJ had got about 40,000kms from his if I remember correctly, all with weekend, 'spirited' driving. They are very predictable in wet and dry, grip very well, are quiet, comfortable, well constructed, and long lasting. Sure there are cheaper tyres available, but what price is your safety? Tyres are one thing i will never settle for second best with.

Last year I was lining up to sell the NB8A, and the PP2's were just about done - wouldn't have passed a road worthy. RE001's had got some good reviews on here, and yes, were cheaper than the PP2's, so I decided to try them, thinking I would be selling the car soon after. Worst thing I ever did. My thoughts on those tyres are well known around these parts, so I won't go into that again.

Needless to say, I now have PP2's on the SP as well... It will take a lot for me to use another road tyre on the MX5. I also have a set of Toyo 888's, which I use for the track, but I wouldn't be too keen on using them as an every day street tyre due to noise, tyre life, and they don't handle standing water too well.

Those of us who use PP2's swear by them, with good reason.

[Rocky]

I replaced the standard Bridgestone Turanzas at 20,000Kms as they were 5yrs old and a bit hard. I was very happy with the Turanzas but the popular opinion on the Forum was for the PP2s. My impression of the Michelin PP2s is that they have very good grip and are very progressive. I find them very 'squirmy' and 'tram-tracky' in most circumstances EXCEPT when I put them under pressure, and then they are terriffic and confidence-inspiring. I can reduce the 'squirmyness' with 36psi or above but on the crappy country roads up here they shake my fillings out so I run them at 34psi(hot) most of the time. I would imagine that they perform differently on the various Series of MX5.