I would be interested to hear your opinions on the car's balance after you've driven it properly. Last time I had Toyos at one end and a properly grippy tyre at the other, it screwed my handling completely

I've since gone back to 4 x Toyos, simply for the balance, but my next tyres on the Coupe will be top-end.

IMHO, Toyo T1-R are no longer competitive (performance or price), even as a mid-range tyre - Rainsports are massively better for similar money

I was advised during the last MOT that they are all getting a bit low now (though still over the legal limit). They're curently at around 14,000 miles in 28 months... I'll be buying another set

That's pretty impressive for what is touted as a hybrid road/track tyre

I only get about 9k - 12k from a pair of Toyos

Yeah but I only have fairly serious power

Ah, yes - I forgot about that. You should be getting 20,000+ then.....

Used Kwik Fit - I wouldn't normally but it as convenient. They charged £24 for fitting, balancing, and disposal. But then ramped up the price when I had the tracking checked. Tracking cost another £45 and they tried to sell me a deal of having the tracking done up to 8 times in 2 years for £120.If I drive the Coop all the time I'd have considered it!

Cheers Stuart, I will follow suite I think seemed great value all in, even with tracking

A new set went on yesterday. Final count was just over 15,000 miles but all four were just on the wear indicator strips and beginning to feel it.

Great to hear Trappy!

I just put tyres on mine. Dramatic change! The tyres on the car must have really been shot at. You notice the difference just looking at the car. It is sat at least 5mm higher! The sidewalls do seem quite stiff but I've hardly had the chance to scrub them off yet. After reading all the advice on here I disregarded it and went for Falken ZIEX ZE310 a brand new tyre from Falken. They look great and have fab rim protection. The ride has changed dramatically too! Really smooth, really quiet, and ten times better over speed bumps (but that's probably down to how soft the old tyres were) I'll check it out on the twisties on my way home

Sounds good! The Falken did well in this year's AutoBild (sister mag to Auto Express) test of standard tyres:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bild-15-inch-Summer-Tyre-Test.htm

Wow that's a great review site Neil, thanks for posting.
Looks like I might have chosen a good one there! I must admit they do look really nice (I know that's not why we choose them but it does make a difference) and it sounds like they'll do the job as well, and all for £75.00 a corner fitted!
Big up for Tyrecare in St Helens too. The car is lowered a little so they drove it onto wooden blocks before jacking it up. Then they found the correct jacking points for the coop (and showed me some damage where someone previously hadn't) They started each bolt off by hand then used an air wrench then finished them off with a hand torque wrench. Boss service (took them ages though )

It is a great site to find pro reviews for a tyre you are interested in.

However, I completely ignore the user reviews because I just don't trust people comparing their latest purchase with that worn set that they have just replaced

The average user's breadth of experience and ability to really know how good a tyre is just too hit and miss. I don't see why anyone should trust my judgement, hence I don't trust others in my position.

What is interesting is how consistently Hankook is improving. They are now right up with the best and still better priced as the established names.

Driving style factored in also?

I am looking to buy a new set of tyres as my Toyos are well past it purely on age.

I can't believe how the choice of tyres for 225 or 205 has dwindled over the past two years, most of the decnent tyres mentioned on this theard just aren't available anymore, which is very worrying for the future.

Will probably go for Hankook K125 on 205/50.

The Nexen 6000 225/45s on mine are shot, and when searching for Y-rated 225/45s there were none!
Picking up a fresh set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4s in 205/55R16 tomorrow.

Felt weird, choosing a narrower and taller tyre. For the original wheels. I'm getting old

Looking at the reviews they are getting and the price you can get them for, they appear to be the clever person's choice. Michelin PS3 are available but cost 60% more.

We have the previous version on the Tucson and they are pretty good, even in the wet, which was their apparent weak area. The K125 is supposed to be a step better in the wet bringing them up to the top group of tyres.

Isn't the standard size 205/50R16?

It is, but the selection of 205/50 is rather limited. Hopefully 55's will fit just fine, accentuating the Coupé's grand touring capabilities. Springs are standard.

I'm sure 55s will catch the Arch liner on 3/4 lock to full lock.

The Germans are rather strict and if it is not a size allowed in the little green card, one has to have it individually checked. If it catches anywhere, especially when they push the suspension up at opposite corners and turn the steering, it does not get allowed.

The 20V is funny here though. The std. tyre size is the diddy 205/50-15 but the significantly bigger 205/50-16" are also allowed!

Let us know how you get on. I would also hope that it would fit. Wider with same diameter fits. Slightly bigger diameter and same width could also work and might have been done in the past???

They fit! Went out for a long sunny drive today, and pressed the car a fair bit in corners and roundabouts, over potholes and speed bumps. Not even a hint of rubbing. And the Pilot Sports did what I hoped; tramlining has almost disappeared, the car feels more planted and surefooted, and the ride comfort has increased. The wheels look a bit more "meaty" as well. On the negative side the whole car sits a bit higher, and I suspect road noise has increased. That might be due to not taking the time to mount the side skirts back on before taking it out.

edit: not tramlining - following the ruts in the road. Don't remember the correct terminology.

What about maneuvering with full lock? No rubbing on the arch liners?

No rubbing. Haven't tried with the car full of people tho.

I'm a big fan of Hankooks been using them for years.
I had K115 all round on my daily drive, replaced the fronts for goodyear efficient grip and was hugely disappointed, then due to a kerb incident and a pothole incident had to replace the goodyears...went back to K115 and was amazed by transformation. I agree I think they are great in the wet despite that being a supposed weak point.
My rationale was that PS3s are an old design, now supplanted by PS4, and the reviews show how they perform poorer compared to new designs.
The new hankook K125 should be even better than the K115 and a lot cheaper than PS3.

Decision made.

My thoughts too. I deleted all the others from my Coupe shopping list a couple of days ago. It is a top-flight tyre at a great price and my Coupe is only a 20V so why bother looking further.

Well a quick check for 225/45 R16 reveals only a couple of choices.

I made some noises about changing tyres last year - but after my run to Nurburgring, I've been so swamped with work and commitments, TRS has not had much road time.

Now with the 25th Anniversary hopes dashed- a tour of Route Napoleon and maybe back via Stelvio Pass is planned. Heading out just as all you guys are heading back in. And I need to sort the pull to the left, and put some newer rubber on her

I'm not really minded to take a thinner tyre. But want to move on from the Toyo's - continentals have been mentioned - but the choice out there seems starkly thin....

For fun I just toured a few places online - with kwik fit coming up with a warning that there are no tyres available for a coupe (I would never use Kwik Fit anyhows but interesting to price shop).

MM

MM 205/50R16 is the standard tyre size, of which there is plenty of choice including the Bridgestone RainSport3, Yokohama BluEarth-A AE50, Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance and if you are willing to spend a little bit more even the Bridgestone Turanza T005, Continental Premium Contact 6
Why are you so avidly set of the 225/45R16 anyway?

In Germany, in the 225/45 R16 size, found:

Nexen N'Fera SU1 XL RPB 225/45 R16 93W @ 71.51 €
Hankook 225/45 R16 89W Ventus Prime2 K115 @ 96.41 €
Toyo 225/45 ZR16 93W Proxes T1-R RF FSL @ 127. 88 €

None of these really appeal but the Hankook would do as it is a good all rounder (The newer K125 is apparently a lot better).

In the 205/50 R16 size, just the fairly famous ones available include:

Falken 205/50 R16 87W ZIEX ZE-310 EC 205/50 R16 87W @ 74.53 €
Nokian 205/50 R16 87W Nokian zLine @ 78. 28 €
Hankook Ventus Prime3 K125 XL 205/50 R16 91W @ 81.29 €
Vredestein 205/50 ZR16 87W Ultrac Satin FSL @ 85.94 €
Goodyear 205/50 R16 87W EfficientGrip Performance FP @ 96.84 €
Dunlop 205/50 R16 87W SP Sport Maxx RT MFS @ 102.99 €
Continental 205/50 R16 87W PremiumContact 6 @ 109.67 €

It's what the car was supplied with back in the day BBR - and I don't really like a skinner tyre for the coop, as the wheels are small enough anyway to start with.

That sounds promising Neil-R,

Hankook isn't really a name that I consider to have good tyre reputation - but everyone here seems to rate them as up and coming!

Regards

MM