I need two new fronts. I originally tried to find 225/45 16" but the choice is now scant to say the least. (I don't want TOYOs anymore)

So, we come to the 205/50 16".....

After doing a bit of research on here it comes down to these four:

1) Continental Sport Contact 2 (not the Premium contact 2) for £66.09 per tyre (not fitted) from Tyre leader.

2) Michelin Pilot Sport 3 £88.14 per tyre (fitted) from ASDA.

3) Bridgestone Potenza RE002 £74.94 per tyre (fitted) from ASDA.

4) Dunlop Sport Maxx RT £80.94 per tyre (fitted) from ASDA.

I'm most interested in grip levels (especially in the wet) over fuel economy. Price-wise I don't mind paying the slight extra for the Michelins if they're the best ones....

Any thoughts please??

Can't comment on the above ones, but after deciding wet grip was the most important for me I had a set of Uniroyal Rainsport 3s fitted the other day. I decided to test them in puddles at high speed and they are fantastic. My old tyres would pull the car to one side but these just don't cause any movement in the steering wheel at all. I now feel confident driving in the wet again. Dry grip is excellent too, but it's still early days...

see the Tyre'd about Tyres thread

Hi Slugcatcher - thanks for the info. Saw your post and it gave some great info. What's the wear like on the Uniroyals or is it too early to tell? I've read that the sidewalls are pretty thin on these - surely that has a negative impact on handling? Cheers

Yes, still early days.

However, yesterday as the sun was shining I went out for a blast on a nice dry road and took one of my favourite bends with extra gusto. The car just felt nice and sticky and I didn't think they were too soft. Ask me again in 6 months!

If I remember correctly, Asda tyres were doing a good deal on them as well.

try these tyre links.........

read up on the michelin alpin 5, sounds like its offers phenomenal grip level in the dry and especially in the wet

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Search/Size/205-50-16

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Fiat/Coupe-20-Valve-Turbo.htm

http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/car-tyre...n=0&usage=1

Joe - as per other threads - the Conti's are superb - not just for grip but the improvement in ride quality is huge IMO. I went to them from Toyo's.........

What's on the back..?

What you choose for the front, may have adverse effects to the back.

Thanks for the replies. I've got Falkens on the back (452's I think).

Nello - I know the conti 5 and conti 3 are the mutts nuts but are the conti 2s equally good? From what I've read the only contis available for standard wheels are the conti 2s? Is that what you've got on yours at the mo? Thanks in advance

Joe

Yes Joe - I'm no boyracer these days but I've been massively impressed by the difference in ride quality - not just grip. I had Toyo's before sitting on Eibach springs so I did sacrifice the ride slightly as I love the mildy lowered look. Its night and day - you would think I had changed suspension components its so much improved.

All four of the tyres you've listed can be classed as "premium"

If you fit only two, your handling will be compromised - trust me, I spent a year trying to work out what was the matter with my car when I had Conti SC3s on the front and Toyo T1Rs on the back

Toyos all round now, and the balance is restored, but the grip has gone - will be top-end tyres next time round - possibly AD08R

Go for the Michelin PS3's if you can justify the money.
I've recently put some on my Boxster and they are excellent.

Thanks Dazvr6 - I think I'm leaning towards these. Nigel - any idea what the AD08Rs are like on wet roads? Aren't they semi-slicks? Cheers.

Joe - no idea - I believe Trappy has them fitted might be worth asking him

from feedback I've read, they are OK in the wet, but not good with standing water

I do have them and I've had no trouble what-so-ever in the wet. When I first bought them, I was told that the wet weather performance was good - it's just the wet AND cold where they suffer.

It hasn't been cold enough to freeze and so they weren't used in 'slush', but cold and dry OR wet, they seem to be better than the old Falken FK452s.

In the warm and dry they are incredible. I still haven't managed to get it to slide because I slide out of the standard leather seats long before the tyres give up...

I'll be swearing by them in future

Thanks Nigel and Trappy. Your comments plus JBT's recommendation for the Yokos are all swaying me towards getting them - time to dig a bit deeper in the pockets than I was planning to!

Cheapest I've found them so far are from camskill at just under £172 for two including delivery. Anyone know anywhere cheaper??

Joe

Tyreleader or Oponeo???

Can I ask how new the Toyos are? I have the 'new' one's all round on an MGF and I can literally feel the sidewalls giving/squashing when I am cornering hard...having looked it up it appears other owners of MGF/TF have the same issue, I deliberately did not go with them on the VX because of this issue....I cannot imagine how scary they would be on a Coupe?

I wasn't that impressed with the Toyo's grip - and the wear rate

Been reading this thread and others, and been looking around myself for tyres, very poor selection for 225/45 R16. But there is a lot more available for 225/50r16. So keeping the width but a slightly larger sidewall. What difference does this make and will they fit?

Fitting a 50 profile with a 225 width tyre will increase the diameter by 22mm and show a speed that's 3% slower then you're actually travelling, not advisable as they'll also scrub the front arches and liners on full lock.

Whilst I've seen a wider range of tyres, here's what TyreReviews.co.uk lists for 225/45

Nokian WRG2 (70)
Tigar Hitris (9)
Uniroyal Rainsport 2 (223)
Dunlop SP Sport Fast Response (94)
Barum Bravuris 2 (121)
Marangoni Meteo HP (14)
Falken FK451 (10)
Nexen N Blue ECO (18)
Toyo R888 (30)
Jinyu YU61 (28)
Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212 (13)
Bridgestone Potenza s02 (14)
Bridgestone Turanza ER300 (147)
Michelin Primacy HP (168)
Falken FK452 (204)
Toyo T1R (239)
Yokohama S Drive (52)
Continental Sport Contact 2 (210)
Bridgestone Potenza RE050 (49)
Bridgestone Potenza s03 (7)
Dunlop SP Sport 9000 (57)
Kenda KAISER KR20 (49)
Pirelli P6000 (162)
Hankook Ventus K104 (11)
Falken ZIEX ZE329 (9)
Sunny SN3800 (58)


OK - some of them are obsolete and some of them really ought to be but there's a decent choice

Change the size to 205/50 and there's six times as many to choose from - they will probably be cheaper and you won't be able to tell the difference

I have used both PS3 and RE002. RE002 definitely better in terms of grip. The current version is RE003 which claim even better wet performance. I am definitely putting that on next.

Partly on the strength of Slugcatcher's review on here and some positive reviews around the net, and partly because they were cheap, I've just had four Uniroyal Rainsport 3 fitted to my Alfa GT diesel commuting hack. New summer tyres were always going to feel great after four months on winter tyres, but I have been very impressed with the noise levels and the grip. I'll wait to see how long they last (some reviews suggest the wear rate is a bit high)

However, I drove the Coupe for the first time today and I've now realised just how much the Toyo T1R has been left behind. Despite the Coupe having had lots of money spent on suspension (and the GT was recently treated to £80 of secondhand shocks and springs...), the GT is handling MUCH better than the Coupe. The Toyos aren't bad, they simply aren't as good as they used to be compared with the competition.

Time for some proper premium rubber on the Coupe, I think...

I currently have Uniroyal rainsport 3 on he front of my bmw 3 series (so not driven wheels) already close to the wear indicators after 4000 mile's! Admittedly my tracking is slightly out but that's some serious wear!

I just had standard 205 Dunlop SportMaxx RT tyres fitted all round yesterday as they come top for summer and wet weather driving. Will let you know how they go

Cost was £360 for all four balanced with new valves

Nigel, honestly, get the best tyres you can for the coop and do all 4 in one go! Seems like a bit of initial outlay but the enjoyment you will get will outwiegh that and its all done and dusted for a while then too.

I did this on my 420bhp coop and on my e46 M3 and ive now just done the same with my MK2 Golf GTI (1.8T) Its the only way.........trust me.

Im not sure what you can get in your size but if you can get Michelin Pilot Super Sport get them......you can thank me later....

I have been reading the reviews for tyres and suprisingly, the NOKIAN tyres seem to be scoring mighty impressively for contact with the road including wet weather conditions and comfort !
i currently have rainsport 3's upfront and eagle F1's on the rears.
After hearing from the other guys on this, i will be changing all four to the same compound at the same time.
thanks for the info guys !

Absolutely agree! Tyre technology moves on every year. The best latest tyres this year are significantly better than the best from a few years ago, never mind the average ones.

Good tyres are the cheapest upgrade you can make. Here, decent tyres seem to start at about 70€ and the very best is about 105€. The extra outlay is only 140€ for four every few years but you get the benefits every time you drive the car. And with four matching tyres, the balance of the car is also almost always better.

I’ve recently fitted Toyo Proxes T1-R tyres all round (225/45/16). Seems that tyre technology does move on even if the tyre name does not. The rating label is now - Fuel F, Wet C and Noise 70DB so the compound seems to have been changed recently.

£320.00 fitted from Protyre. The handling and road compliance has changed massively for the better but you would expect that with new tyres.