Trophy tyres

[pacey]

Whats everyone using ? ( assuming youve worn out the originals)

Is the best option to stick to the pilots or is there anything else worth a look ?

ive done the usual searches mytryes , blackcircles for prices just wanted to see if anyone is using anything different !

 

[Nik]

I'd say stick with the PE2's, I think they are great tyres.

I've also tried the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's and they offer just as good levels of grip in the dry, but i think they'd wear quicker and they are not as good as the PE2's in the wet.

 

[fazedesign]

I'm compiling a speadsheet of suitable tyres for the Trophy - I'll post it up here tonight.

I'm trying to get as much data as possible with all the ratings etc so owners can make a more informed choice when picking a new set of boots!

 

[Cue]

FYI, I'm still on the Pilots but I do have a set of Yoko's on 182 rims, which i'll be putting on the car soon to thrash about in. Will tell you how they compare.

 

[OliS]

FYI, I'm still on the Pilots but I do have a set of Yoko's on 182 rims, which i'll be putting on the car soon to thrash about in. Will tell you how they compare.

Which Yoko's are they? Am probably going to get the Parada Spec 2's when I need new tyres, if they are the same as your Yoko's I would be interested to hear what you think when you have changed over.

 

[Cue]

can't remember of hand - fitted them to the rims nearly 8 months ago, haven't run 'em yet though. Will take a look when i get home and post tomorrow.

 

[Cue]

yokohama A539's if that means anything to ya, sat on 195/45r16's

 

[OliS]

Yeah, I have run A539's in the past, awesome tyre in the dry, not so good in the wet - had a few scary moments!

 

[Cue]

oh, not run 'em yet - was keeping them for a winter tyre but may wear them over the summer then..... any thought's people?????

 

[OliS]

They'll be fine for winter, I only had problems when I was trying to push too hard in the wet. 195/45's aren't the std size for the Trophy rims though, they will be stretched over the rim more than the 205/45's that the Trophy is supplied on, which will give you less of of a footprint on the road, not sure if there will be any other downsides to running thinner tyres...

 

[Cue]

there not on trophy rims, there on 182 cup rims. I was the renault dealer that put 'em on and suggested the yoko's when i had a 172 - ditched the 172 for the trophy but kept the new rims + tyres..

 

[OliS]

Cool, and if you use the 182 rims in winter, your Trophy rims won't get subjected to the grime of winter roads!

 

[dcw@pr]

I've had eagle F1 GSD3s put onthe front of my car a few weeks ago. and I hate them! I don't know if they have stiffer sidewalls or what, but the ride is a lot more fidgety and crashy. They sound a lot noiser too.

I'm actually wondering if I have gone mad, I didn't think the change from the exaltos to these could be such a big jump. Maybe I am imagining it?

Anyone else found this?

 

[oliie]

I've had eagle F1 GSD3s put onthe front of my car a few weeks ago. and I hate them! I don't know if they have stiffer sidewalls or what, but the ride is a lot more fidgety and crashy. They sound a lot noiser too.

I'm actually wondering if I have gone mad, I didn't think the change from the exaltos to these could be such a big jump. Maybe I am imagining it?

Anyone else found this?

You're not imaging it! The difference between F1s and PE2s are like chalk and cheese. To me, the Michelin really has been a top-quality tyre and the premium for it has been worth every penny.

O.

 

[dcw@pr]

I've had eagle F1 GSD3s put onthe front of my car a few weeks ago. and I hate them! I don't know if they have stiffer sidewalls or what, but the ride is a lot more fidgety and crashy. They sound a lot noiser too.

I'm actually wondering if I have gone mad, I didn't think the change from the exaltos to these could be such a big jump. Maybe I am imagining it?

Anyone else found this?

You're not imaging it! The difference between F1s and PE2s are like chalk and cheese. To me, the Michelin really has been a top-quality tyre and the premium for it has been worth every penny.

O.

have you experienced the F1 GSD3s yourself on a trophy?

(PS, I realy liked them on my old focus, but then again they were replacing pirelli P6000s)

 

[oliie]

No - I had them on a MTM Golf GTI and subsequently replaced them with Bridgestone SO2s, and then Michelin Pilots (with the Pilots being the best by far in my opinion for the Golf).

O.

 

[George K]

I'll avoid expressing any personal opinion as tyres are such a subjective thing - go onto the US site tirerack .com or eurotuner/tech where quite often they do detailed comparative tests - in general the F1 does well because they find it so good in the wet. Of course they do not state how wet their wet is.

The difficulty is that different tyres suit different cars and it is rare to get the opportunity to make reasonable back ot back comparisons - my road car is a Volvo S60 D5, with sorted front suspension and over 90,000 miles I have continually tried different tyres, which has been interesting - there are real differences not only in outright grip, but also steering response, wet vs dry, ride and noise, let along longevity. I am on 225/45 x 17 and quite a lot of the tyres tried are not available in 205/45x16. One of the biggest problems is that some tyres are pretty poor in the wet once more than half worn.

The general conscensus is that the PE2 is as good as any for the Trophy., so apart from cost, is it worth re-inventing the 'wheel'. I have posted a couple of times that a friend is using Hankook RS2 and has found them very good - particularly for track days. They were 2 seconds quicker on the MX5 than newish F1's - but on the Volvo the F1 was much better in the dry (not the best) once half worn - which is borne out by production racing where road tyres are buffed down to about 3mm for best performance.