Tyres - PE2's vs Parada Spec 2's

[fazedesign]

I've stretched another couple of months use out of my tyres since I first started considering replacement but I need to get them done now. It's come down to a choice between the standard Michelins or Yoko's at about a tenner a wheel less...

Has anyone put Parada's on their Trophy and what did they think?

 

[DomB]

funny - i'm having a similar dilemma at the moment..... I reckon that the only real difference will be how long they last, with the Yokos going down faster. It seems silly to change from the tyres that michelin developed for the 182 (but not trophy), but having only ever used Exaltos I cant really comment on whether aftermarkets like the Paradas would be better.....

 

[OliS]

I'll be going for the Yoko's myself, but I've got to try and squeeze another trackday out of the Michelin's first. Although the trophy was developed on the PE2's, I do believe there will be tyres out there that will offer more outright grip such as the Yoko's.

 

[George K]

When I was at the Autosport show I asked Yokohama why the Parada is not listed as either !.A or !.b. They said that they do not intend to list it as they do not see it as their performance tyre (they were almost offhand about it), which still is the 539. However at Wiscombe today, which was wet, the 539 runners were not impressed, although they reckon they are good in the wet.

There are zillions of posts on Cliosport, although in fact they are inconclusive as very few people have objective back to back experience.

Interestingly the Parada has a very high treadwear index (280) so in theory should wear quite well.

My own acid test would be to make sure that the wet performance does not deteriorate too much when half worn (which I found with Pirelli P Zero Rosso on another car) and is often a complaint for the 539.

If contemplating track use I would also make sure that the sidewalls are relatively stiff - which seems to be an issue with the Toyos T1S/R.

 

[fazedesign]

Thanks for that George - I used to have A539's on my 205 and thought they were pretty good, but more so in the dry than wet. The certainly improved turn-in response over the previous tyres, which I presume was down to a stiffer sidewall.

I take treadwear index with a pinch of salt given that the PE2's have a TI of 240 whereas A539's are 280 but I was getting through the Yoko's quicker on my less powerful 205. Also, my boss runs Stunner Scudo's on his Caterham for hillclimbing (List 1A) which seem very soft (using the non-scientific dig finger into tread test) yet have a TI of 280 if I remember correctly. He seem's quite please with them anyway, compared to the Bridgestones he was using before....

 

[George K]

Further news from Wiscombe - one of the most competitve and well driven Elans was as quick in the dry on 539's as previously on A048's!