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Tyre Time

5K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  TMX 
#1 ·
Hi All,

It is that time again, shopping for tyres and since we haven't had a good old tyre thread in a while.........

I'm looking for summer tyres or perhaps All Seasons that still give decent performance

So far I've shortlisted:
Nokian WetGrip - New but seem to look pretty decent from this: 2019 Summer 53 Tyre Braking Shootout - Tyre Reviews
Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance
Hankook Prime 3 K125

Fuel Economy, Road Noise and Tyre Wear are less of a concern to me compared to Wet and Dry road Cornering and Braking

Most of the driving is fast country A and B roads with some slow commuting thrown in. No track use and no offroad mud use. I have some winter wheels that will need tyres but after the last couple of winters, I'm beginning to wonder if winters are worth having

Anything else I should be looking at in the 215-60-16 size?
 
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#3 ·
Unfortunately the Eagle F1s aren't available in a 16" rim at all. The 17" rim sizes are limited. Seems with newer cars having much bigger wheels, manufacturers aren't doing performance tyres in "little" 16 and 17" wheels anymore :(
 
#5 ·
What winters do you have fitted Ian?
I ran my winters all last summer as just never got round to switching. I'm running Hankook winters and they did rather well considering they're not designed for temps over 10c

My winters are also needing to be replaced - Can't make up my mind if I'll bother with winters this time round.....Now I've said that, we'll get the best/worst snow on record :biggrin:
 
#6 ·
Wintrac xtreme 215 55 17's.

They aren't in great condition, but I can't decide whether it's worth keeping hold of them and sticking them on steels just incase we decide to do anything daft over winter...like venture up to Dartmoor... but generally there is a distinct lack of snow and ice.......or just keep running them until I need new tyres in general..
 
#9 ·
Looking a Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2's next, reasonable price, quiet (67-68dB) and do very well in performance reviews, they look like they would suit the FSTi well. I have Dunlop SP Sport 01's on the Miata and they are great in the wet and dry on that car and are pitched as Dunlops more mid range sport tyre.

My favourite tyre in the dry was Yoko AD08R's but they are not a good all year round tyre, standing water can be a bit sketchy.
 
#11 ·
Looking a Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2's next, reasonable price, quiet (67-68dB) and do very well in performance reviews, they look like they would suit the FSTi well. I have Dunlop SP Sport 01's on the Miata and they are great in the wet and dry on that car and are pitched as Dunlops more mid range sport tyre.

My favourite tyre in the dry was Yoko AD08R's but they are not a good all year round tyre, standing water can be a bit sketchy.
^ Update to the above post, had the Dunlop RT2's on for about a month and wow are they good. Way more grip than the Bridgestones I had on before and the road noise reduction is mega... its almost like the Bridgestones were made the same way as the ones on these...

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Can't really pitch them against the AD08R's as it was a completely different car but I'm really pleased for £460 a set.
 
#10 ·
I have been running Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance (215/55/17 98W) in our 2.5XT over the last 35k km.

The first impression was (definitely when compared to Bridgestone Turanza ER300) that the tires were a bit "marshmallowy"- definitely less stiff side wall and more balloony look...

Performance wise these are excellent for a family car- great grip wet or dry, quiet, comfortable and slightly better on petrol. These wear beautifully at <1mm/10k km- at the moment still have ~4mm left so will do another 20k or so...

Would I recommend or buy again- definitely
 
#13 ·
So I've picked up some WRX 17" alloy wheels for the summer tyre plans, which gives me much more choices now.
My old wheels and tyre set up was: 215/60/16 on a 16x6.5" ET+48

My new plan is 225/55/17 on a 17x7 ET+55 Is this likely to cause rubbing on the inside?
It would give a 1.9% positive change in Diameter, which should make the speedo a little more accurate

A wheel calculator says the inner sidewall will be 0.48" / 12.2mm closer to the suspension.

A search on the wheels and tyre section gives massively varying results with some saying it will fit with no issue and some suggesting a 5mm spacer.......I don't believe the US got the 17" WRX wheels I'm sporting so keeping it in the Euro section.
 
#14 ·
Foresters run a ET48 offset on the stock XT 17x7 so your 7mm nearer the strut. Can’t imagine it would be an issue. Pretty sure I tried my Legacy Spec B stock wheels (et55) on my FSTI and they were fine

Currently running Crossclimates on our XV in that tyre size. Not sure they would suit the Foz though? More suited to a mixture of surfaces and due to the tread pattern they are pretty noisy. Thoroughly recommend PS4’s for fast road use. Not sure if they do them in a 225 55 17. Not as sticky as the AD08’s in the dry but almost as good. Ruddy bloody fantastic in the wet too
 
#15 ·
Instead of starting a new thread i'm just going to add on to here.

What do people recommend for a good winter/all season tyre for the FSTi? I'm getting AD08R's for summer/trackdays as I had them on my 335i and rated them highly. But want a general tyre for winter use.
 
#19 ·
I generally agree with that, but AD08R's are a very good up until it gets cold and/or very wet (like it has been for the last 2months). Great on my RWD BMW because I could just hang the arse out easily, not so great when i'm driving the length of France and the traction control light is having a one man disco on the dash. So AD08R's for summer and trackdays, but need something to use the majority of the time. Michelin CrossClimate+ or Bridgestone Weather Control A005 seem to be the ones to go for.
 
#20 ·
Does France require Winter tyres by law?
If you have a bump in France in winter and you are without winter tyres, are you determined to be automatically at fault?

If so, I would be looking at something with the 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol on the side. Maybe The Nokian AllWeather or Goodyear equivalent?
 
#26 ·
I thought I would update this thread and caution anyone going this path. So finally test fitting the below wheels I got off ebay today didn't go to plan.
They are 17x7J +55 Offset wearing 205/50/17 Impreza size tyres. (For reference Forester wheels are 16x6.5 ET+48mm or 17x7 ET+48mm)
529869

205 wide tyres fit with ease
215 wide tyres would be close to the rear shock and would probably want 3mm wheel spacers to be safe
225 wide tyres will not clear the rear shock. I'm not even sure 3mm spacers would be enough

I also have 16" Impreza Classic STI wheels 16x7J ET+53 Offset with 215/60/16 Goodyear Ultragrip Plus tyres and these clear the shock without needing spacers
I'm on KYB Excel G rear shocks.

I've so far been very happy with the Goodyear Ultragrip Plus winter in dry, wet, frost and mud. No snow experience with these yet. I got them from Tyreleader.co.uk and recommend (y)

Looks like I'll be going with Nokian PowerProof or the new Goodyear Efficient Grip 2 for summers as the F1 Assymetrics aren't available in 215/55/17 and 225/55/17 wont fit.

I've also had the thought of moving these WRX 17s on and picking up a set of WRX STI Spec C 17" wheels with the rare +48mm offset but can't find any for sale
 
#30 · (Edited)
I've also had the thought of moving these WRX 17s on and picking up a set of WRX STI Spec C 17" wheels with the rare +48mm offset but can't find any for sale
I've come across a set of these wheels on fb market but I can't justify the £650 ono the seller wants. Beautiful wheels though. If interested I can dig out the link.
Another set of wheels I like (17x7 ET48) but they will cost even more imported: [Used]Wheel SUBARU Vx 2014 DAA-GPE - BE FORWARD Auto Parts
Regarding tyres, I've just ordered a set of these to put on the OEM wheels of the XV: Continental AllSeasonContact
 
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#28 ·
I thought the Impreza used 205-50-17. The wheels came off a 2005 WRX from memory. The guy sold up and bought an Audi.
The tyres that came on them are definitely 205-50-17 Nokian WR A3 so perhaps he went a size down width-wise as they're winters
 
#31 ·
MY05 Impreza wheel/tyre info
529888



Currently running these on the WRXSTI (y)


but will return to Eagle F1 Assymetric 5's for the Summer months if we get one
 
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