I'm after a full set of 195/50 15" or 195/45 15" (if i have to) performance tyres for my golf, no toyo's though as i don't rate them in the slightest. Under 70 per tyre would be a bonus and as i stay in the **** end of nowhere i'll be buying them online and prob fitting them myself or get a mate to do it for a few beers. Tyre wear isn't high on my list of priorities but grip and feedback/confidence in the wet and dry obviously is. I'll be interested to hear if anyone has opinions on the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2?, a mate has these fitted to his turbo'd 2.0 redtop nova, he gets through tyres pretty quick and has tried many brands over the past few years but he's started to stockpile these as he says "there's nowt else in a 15" like it" but i just cant take him seriously for being a vauxhall fanboy, even though i have a grudging respect for his car. My golf's suspension/running gear/braking etc has just had a full 3k+ rebuild and 4 wheel alignment done so i want a decent set of tyres that can exploit the handling (when suitable & safe to do so of course). Cheers,
He's not wrong you know. The PE2 is a serious performer. At 70 per tyre you could start looking at Hankook RS2 and Yokohama AD08 as well which are like a semi track type tyre with more extreme dry grip than normal road Tyres. I would say Federal RSR as well, I run them and found them to be pretty amazing apart from on standing water. However these are no longer cheap so not an option now. Gurds
Cheers singh, I did consider the more semi-track orientated tyres but as the car is used as a daily i have to compromise somewhat as the roads round here in Galloway, whilst being deserted and fantastic to drive on are very uneven and prone to standing water so i'd rather plump for a good all rounder - looks like i'll be going for the Michelins then. Cheers for the thumbs up.
Ordered from mytyres.co.uk - 240 for 4, quite happy at that price, if they are as good as reports say i may stockpile a few sets myself.
I was buying the uniroyal rainsport 2's in that size for 50 a corner, loved them, especially in with the UK climate.
Falken ZE - 912 = Uber Cheap! I am running them at 225 x 50 x 16 on the Audi. They are AAA rubber and grip really well in both wet and dry. They steer precisely and don't 'tram line'! But are quite noisey! http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop...._pro_Seite=15&Transport=P&dsco=124&sowigan=So
The Eagle F1 looks uber interesting. But. Are they available in 195x 50 x 15 or 195 x 55 x 15? I looked at the Goodyear UK, IE and US sites, but they only showed 16" and larger tyres. If they are available and cheap, I would be interested for my MkII Ronal R8s!
I'm still on my Vredestein Quatrac 3's, great grip if a tiny bit vague at times but it always rains here and temps are down more than up so summer tyres just don't cut it.
They arrived t'day, i tried to close up pic of the tread pattern - nice deep (8mm) water channels and an aggresive cut on inner/outer edges, I'll keep a note on the wear rate when they're run in. daved : I've got Falken Ziex 912's 195x40x16 on the ronal blanco wheels that came with the car when i bought it, good tyres for the money but i find they get squirrley/go off when pushed for any length of time, especially on my fave 9 mile stretch of deserted galloway road. I don't want to put the car back on 40/16" so i bought a set of oz superturismos in 15" which the michelin's will go onto for the summer as i'm running nokian wrg2 winter tyres in 185/65/14 with 14" bottletops at the moment.
I am a bit confused! So you bought Michelins? Which tread pattern? Were they < 70 per tyre including fitting costs??
Sorry. I have re-read all of the posts again and realise that you have bought the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2. As you suggested in your first post.
I've got Vredestein Sportac 3 on both the Zaffy and Beetle TDI and the grip is gr8 (205/55x16). Bought them since they got 2nd top rating on Auto Express a few years ago. The top rated tyre was loads more expensive. One main problam I find is that 'cos they are directional you can only change them front-back same side to equal wear and a wrecked tyre means swapping tyres on wheels to match tread depth front-back side-side ! Why o why don't tyre fitters take care of our alloys when fitting tyres !
Good thread, I'll be looking for some new tyres soon, currently running Toyo T1R's in 195 45 15, been quite happy with them in the dry, but get tram lining often and they are pretty pants in the wet. Also will be going for 50 profile as the 45 isn't the best on track when your clipping the kerbs.
Quick update : Done 1400 miles in the past month and after a run in period i've started to push them a tad more, excellent feedback in the dry with no understeer unless you've overcooked it mid corner but even then it's very controllable and very short braking distances, in the wet they are in a different league altogether compared to my previous falken zx912 and toyo's, i mostly drive on Galloway B roads with off camber corners and variable road surfaces, my previous tyres (see above) were prone to wandering when encountering changes in road surfaces especially in damp conditions and didn't inspire any confidence in the wet but these michelins seem to grip and will not let go. Obviously all the above is dependent on your particular car set-up, eibach springs, Bilstein B6, eibach roll bars, fully polybushed and all new steering/ball joints, topmounts etc fitted to my car so that makes a difference. I'd definitely buy them again and would have no problem recommending them to others.
