Right, seems like I've had no luck with part worn tyres yet so I guess that I will be buying new tyres.

I am taking 5 tyres into consideration:
- Hankook Ventus RS-2 Z-212
- Toyo T1-R
- Toyo PX4
- Falken 452
- Avon ZZ3
Either 215 or 225 wide.

I will be running FK Coilovers with 100NM so... as I'll be only using my coop on a track and occasionally on weekends should I go for 45 or 40 profile? My guess is that 100NM and 40 profile will make my teeth fillings pop out? I am also concerned with wet grip on our lovely damp roads.

What would be your choice guys? Any idea how long do the above tyres last?

I have T1Rs on my Scottie which have lasted 15000 miles; the fronts need replacing soon, but the backs are fine.

On the Moon VT6 I have Falken 452s; I replaced the fronts just after I bought the car in Nov 2010, but again the backs are fine - they are 30 months old.

I don't track the cars and am a bit of a wuss driving - I would imagine that a set of tyres would last about 5 heavy track days. My choice? The Toyos. Cheaper than the Falkens and make less road noise. I've never yet lost either car in dry, wet or icy conditions, which is a testament to my wussiness

mostly on track from that list i would go for the hankook, but the federal 595 rsr are another good affordable option.

I must admit that I did consider the 595 rsr, thou, they only come in 205/50 size for 16 rims... still, hankooks are cheaper.

Don't touch the Toyo PX4 - they aren't suitable for the Coupe

I bought a set of four and they were so bad, I made Toyo replace them with T1-Rs

See my thread about my experience with them

thanks Nigel, I will stay away from PX4s then.

From that list I like the T1 Rs

Don't think that they will last too long on the track though. They are the best that I have used, but I haven't used many of the others

'old style' Vredestein Ultrac's in 205/45 17 are damn fine rubber.

I've used the Toyos and the Avons, would suggest the toyo's are the better tyre. The Avons are more expensive I think but suffered from greater understeer.
If you can check the rims for cracks when they take the tyres off, always good to reduce one of the worries

I had the same dilema as you and other when it came to new tyres.

My car runs around 330Bhp and is my 4th coupe, I have used 225/45/16 in many different brands over the years.

The best tyre I have used on the coupe until I changed to the tyres I am using now which are described at the bottom of the post were Conti Sport Contact 2's very good grip wet, dry and from cold fantastic tyres but getting harder to find these days as they have stopped making them in this size.

I found that Falken 452's were good when warm on the areveage UK dry day but gave way far to easily when cold, and in the wet had very little grip when pushed,

Toyo T-1R's were ok all round but you will need to change all 4 as they are a 93 load rating so if you have a mix as I found to my cost they will make the handling very dangerous on B types roads with tight conrners,

Khumo Ecsta KU31's were utter rubbish in cold, wet and dry,

Don't even think about Avon zz3's they were the worst tyre I ever tried and the garage I bought them from told me they were the best of budget brands like hell!!!

Never had Federal or Hankook so can't give my view so you'll have to listen to others

I have the same suspension setup as you and I have Michelin Pilot Sport 3 in 215/45/16 90v extra load and they completly transformed the handling in fact I would say they are on par if not better than the Conti's in the dry not tried in the wet yet. But at high speed on the Autobahn they are very safe and stable.

Ian

Johnny, i just bought 2 x 225/45/16's for about £100 each from my mate who's a director at Continental - they are still making them it seems

I have obviously been mis-informed by my garage out here in Germany they said they could only get old 2010 unsold stock at around 140Euro a corner.

That being said I am very impressed with the Michelin Sport 3's. The more I drive them the better they get so will honestly say they are as good if not better in the dry.
Ian

And how much are they going for?

I had these Khumo Ecsta's fitted to my 20vt for my trip to Spa last year. I was expecting them to be pretty useless, but was actually really surprised. They gave great grip throughout 2 flat-out sessions on track, then were faultless on a spirited drive through the Alps (including the Stelvio Pass etc).

Although compared to the more track focussed tyres they are probably pretty useless?!

I was 104Euro per corner and 10Euro fitting per corner so it came to 456Euro all in.

Didn't see it as a gamble as I have the same tyre but in 235/35/19 on my Zafira VXR with 280Bhp.

Maybe I didn't give them long enough to wear in about 250miles before I got rid off them maybe they work better in hotter climates but Germany in september/october is around 5 degrees if lucky.

Ian

just switched from kumho ecstas to toyo proxes t1-r. What a difference!

Don't want to come over as a tyre snob, but the Coop at least deserves better than part worn rubber.

Toyo T-1R's. I've used these for years, IMO loads of grip and predicatble in the dry and wet.

I agree, please don't buy part worns for a ~200bhp car.