Tyre recommendation? Better than S-03?

[Gio]

How do rubber lovers,

 

my rear Bridgestone S-03 are just about to give up the ghost. 245/45 ZR16.

 

We don't seem to have had a tyre thread recently, so what would you recommend to replace? Car is stock, I do about 12-15,000 miles per year and I don't have a heavy right foot.

 

Only an idiot buys tyres because they look cool but I am very tempted by the Eagle F1 because of the tread pattern :nelson:

 

I must say I am disappointed with the performance of the S-03. I used to run S-03 on J-Spec (225/50) wheels at the back and got 18,000 - 20,000 miles out of a pair (18 or so months). Last year I "upgraded" to UK spec rear wheels (245/45) and only got 12,000 miles and 11 months use out of them.

 

If it happens again, I might go back to J-spec ;)

 

TIA - Gio (with a faint hissing sound as the tyreweld gives out......)

[Shunter]

Eagle F1's are my first choice

[MAC 1]

Gio,I won't use anything else that BF Goodrich,very good for wear, 12k from the rears,although more like 1k when I get her back LOL.

 

Had S3 and thought they were kak TBH.

[RichardS]

Eagle F1's are my first choice

 

Mine too :bow:

 

I've got these and they are the best tyres I've ever had, wet or dry. Been on the car a year (7-8000 miles) and still 6mm of tread :hyper: Michelin Pilot Sport are brilliant too, but pricey.

 

BFG are good too, had them on my Supra but they didn't last that long. Although they were the first tyre I ever had that didn't deteriorate in grip/performance when they were worn out. They were still good so I didn't notice they were almost illegal until pointed out by my mechanic :x:

 

Richard :hyper:

[kirbz]

i had f1 eagles and loved them (chunk now has them) i have toyo's on my new wheels and so far they seem very good.

 

kirbz

[Paul C]

i have supplied a lot of peeps on here with F1's, very good tyre with no complaints!

 

i'll be getting some myself soon (yes, my plastic tyres have finaly worn out :D )

[SteA]

Well on my S14, driving in the wet used to be an invitation to suicide :(

 

Now use 235 F1's and I can drive properly in the wet without fear of death, I would highly reccommend them :)

 

TBH I couldnt believe tyres could be so different in the wet till I tried them...

 

The new proxes are supposed to be a little bit on the excellent side too :)

[Gio]

Thanks Guys,

 

ain't it strange - when I joined, everyone (well, almost everyone) swore by Bridgestone S-02s. Then it was Toyo Proxes and now Eagle F1s.

 

So that's a set for me on the back (I assume no probs to having F1s on the back and S-03's on the front?).

 

Anyhow, they have a very coool tread pattern :D

[Shunter]

I remember a friend of mine saying that one of the jap car mags, highly recomended f1's on a test car they were driving, the artical listed the whell size, tyre size, specs of the car,etc. My friend thought that this artical was as good as the bible, and as he owns the same car as in the artical, Skyline, he promptley went to his local tyre dealer, who informed him that F1's were not made in the particular size as listed in the magazine artical. 245/45x17s

[SteA]

I remember a friend of mine saying that one of the jap car mags, highly recomended f1's on a test car they were driving, the artical listed the whell size, tyre size, specs of the car,etc. My friend thought that this artical was as good as the bible, and as he owns the same car as in the artical, Skyline, he promptley went to his local tyre dealer, who informed him that F1's were not made in the particular size as listed in the magazine artical. 245/45x17s

 

I had big "professional" tyre dealers tell me they didnt make F1's in my size either :rolleyes:

[Guest christopherdavi]

I work in the medical field. I've got a real problem with these anecdotal recommendations about tyres . In our BMJ and Lancet world everything has to be proven.

 

'I feel', 'I've been told that', 'the ads say' and 'It must be the case that....' the Stickysuperduper Tyre is better must be backed by FACT.

 

 

If you look carefully at the reviews of tyres you will see that, although there is a difference, the actual differences between 'top of the range' tyres such as Perrellis, Eagle F1's and Bridgestones and the crappy Kumho's and Hankooks is actually minimal.

 

You will note that a Nangking Floppity!! is 97 % as good as a 'Costafortune'. And half the price.

 

Now, to preempt an argument, if your car lets go on a roundabout at 54 mph rather than 56 mph, it's all a bit academic. You're still going to lose it.

 

So lets have some proof. I intend to buy some Kumho Ecstas 712(J Spec wheels) when I need tyres. Look at the reviews. Will someone point out any SIGNIFICANT differences

 

I can........ £55 each from black circle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Chris Davies

[Paul C]

LOL!! well my tyres lit up in the rollers all the way through the rev range, even with 3 fat knackers sitting in the back.

 

other cars with similar power didnt!

[Guest DaveCC]

I have used many different tyres over the years and i have found that on my Z that i have a sest of Mich. Pilot Primacy, they are the ones down from the Sport but they work just as well but with less on the price.

[SRRAE]

When I asked for a price for Mit Pilot stock UK rears, they wanted £197 each. That was Costco too which are meant to be cheap.

[Paul C]

Michelins are always expensive, the Sports are meant to be a very good tyre tho

[Guest russ]

had some crap on before got 1k miles out of them, switched to F1 seem good. but will probably have the same problem as mac when the new lump goes in so already have a set of wet weather slicks to go on :dance:

[SteA]

I work in the medical field. I've got a real problem with these anecdotal recommendations about tyres . In our BMJ and Lancet world everything has to be proven.

 

'I feel', 'I've been told that', 'the ads say' and 'It must be the case that....' the Stickysuperduper Tyre is better must be backed by FACT.

 

 

If you look carefully at the reviews of tyres you will see that, although there is a difference, the actual differences between 'top of the range' tyres such as Perrellis, Eagle F1's and Bridgestones and the crappy Kumho's and Hankooks is actually minimal.

 

You will note that a Nangking Floppity!! is 97 % as good as a 'Costafortune'. And half the price.

 

Now, to preempt an argument, if your car lets go on a roundabout at 54 mph rather than 56 mph, it's all a bit academic. You're still going to lose it.

 

So lets have some proof. I intend to buy some Kumho Ecstas 712(J Spec wheels) when I need tyres. Look at the reviews. Will someone point out any SIGNIFICANT differences

 

I can........ £55 each from black circle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Chris Davies

 

I know exactly what you mean, I also work in the medical field and am involved in scientific research however, from my point of view....

 

You have a lovely big club, either try some different tyres from other members on their cars (I'm sure they will take you for a spin) or yours or go through the slow process yourself of buying then wearing out tyres.....

 

I am not sure why it would be different on your cars but when I try other brands of tyres e.g. my last set of avon ZZ's, in the wet I got uncontrollable wheelspin in all gears above 2000 rpm. With a lot of the tyres I really struggled to do sub 8 secs to 60 in the wet, then add in corners :eek:

 

With F1's in the wet, with the same smooth boost profile, I can redline in every gear without real problems (and minimal controllable spin) and return sub 6's to 60. I suppose you could say thats me testing the ecological validity of F1's on my car.

 

For me that is not just a little difference, that is a massive difference, and tyres are by far the best money I have ever spent on my car. A simple test of straight line runs in the wet should show more than a monetary difference between tyres.

 

I do rate toyo proxes but average miles between new sets have been shockingly low for several SXOC members, although I wouldnt mind trying the new ones.

 

Cheers

Steve

S14 owner

[RichardS]

I know exactly what you mean, I also work in the medical field and am involved in scientific research however, from my point of view....

 

You have a lovely big club, either try some different tyres from other members on their cars (I'm sure they will take you for a spin) or yours or go through the slow process yourself of buying then wearing out tyres.....

 

I am not sure why it would be different on your cars but when I try other brands of tyres e.g. my last set of avon ZZ's, in the wet I got uncontrollable wheelspin in all gears above 2000 rpm. With a lot of the tyres I really struggled to do sub 8 secs to 60 in the wet, then add in corners :eek:

 

With F1's in the wet, with the same smooth boost profile, I can redline in every gear without real problems (and minimal controllable spin) and return sub 6's to 60. I suppose you could say thats me testing the ecological validity of F1's on my car.

 

For me that is not just a little difference, that is a massive difference, and tyres are by far the best money I have ever spent on my car. A simple test of straight line runs in the wet should show more than a monetary difference between tyres.

 

I do rate toyo proxes but average miles between new sets have been shockingly low for several SXOC members, although I wouldnt mind trying the new ones.

 

 

Cheers

Steve

S14 owner

 

Agree totally not once have I lost the back end in the wet since fitting my F1s, no matter how close my right foot goes to the floor ;)

 

Japanese Performance mag reckoned they were way better than Bridgestones. Plus Evo mag tested loads of tyres last year and the F1s came top by a LONG way. Proof against the competition I say :hyper:

 

Richard :cool:

[Gio]

I tried three places - including the usually all-conquering Micheldever Tyres and they all said "can't get hold of Eagle F1s - don't know when the next stock is arriving." Ah well, the hiss of air escaping past the nail (b*gger) meant I had to get something so at least they had S-03s in stock.

[SteA]

I tried three places - including the usually all-conquering Micheldever Tyres and they all said "can't get hold of Eagle F1s - don't know when the next stock is arriving." Ah well, the hiss of air escaping past the nail (b*gger) meant I had to get something so at least they had S-03s in stock.

 

I was in a performance wheel place in stockport yesterday that looked like it had stacks of them in :cry:

 

And my local tyre place gets them on 24 hour delivery, although he sometimes has to ring a few different places. I wonder if its a down south thing, as a few people have said that about delays, maybe its cos its so wet in the north west they give us the lions share ;)

[Paul C]

I tried three places - including the usually all-conquering Micheldever Tyres and they all said "can't get hold of Eagle F1s - don't know when the next stock is arriving." Ah well, the hiss of air escaping past the nail (b*gger) meant I had to get something so at least they had S-03s in stock.

 

iv got a pair of 245/40 R 17's in F1's coming from my supplier no probs :confused:

 

it seems some sizes are hard to come by now but thankfully mine were kept in stock :dance:

[Daves_Zed]

When I got my Zed (Jap Spec) it had Yokohama 215(???) 16's on all round. In the dry, they were fine, but in the wet they let go very easily. So I changed them for the correct size (225) Toyo Proxies, and they haven't let go once yet, and I'm pushing it even more now ;).

 

So what I'm trying to say, apart from the different width, there was a difference between the two different makes. Both, suposidley, top brands! And yes there was a decent amount of tread left on the old ones.

 

The Toyo's seem to be wearing well at the mo, and I'm not saying that I'll defo go for another set when these wear out, but I'll see how well they perform between then and now.

[ChrisC]

I've been very happy with the Fulda Extremo's that I've got on mine.

I've not managed to lose grip no matter what I'm doing but maybe thats to do with the sizes I've got.

 

I'm planning on either Eagle F1's or Toyo's next time.

The only problem is the price on these big wheels.

 

I remember asking my local KwikThiefs for a price on Bridgestones in 295/35/18's...

Only £480 EACH! :o :rofl:

[zcar]

Seeing as no ones said it yet, I'll raise a hand for Proxes. Love em to bits. Am even gonna replace the bridgestones on my everyday motor with some when they get to that point!!!

 

Nick

:cool: