Best tire option for me?

[Willtl 54]

I've probably been a bit lazy starting a new topic rather than trying to find an old one, but I'd appreciate some tire help. In the last month the car has been sliding about too much - at speeds I would not expect any other car to slide at. Whilst this may have been what the tire choice was designed for, I don't find it fun and it actually takes away a lot of my confidence in the car.

I only have stock wheels, so tire options need to be limited to the stock size. So my question is, what brand and spec tires should I be looking for that I can put on my stock wheels that will give me maximum grip and I can get back some confidence in the car?

[Deacon 1357]

Maximum grip in all weathers would be tough for any one tyre.

For all rounders the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 are becoming very well regarded as are the Yokohama V105.

Maximum grip in the dry would come from a track biased tyre but it'll not be so great in the wet or cold. In winter maximum grip would probably come from a set of winter tyres but they won't be so great when the temperatures rise. Uniroyal Rainsport 3's are excellent in the wet but have very soft sidewalls so their dry grip is a little limited.

It's very much a horses for courses thing.

I run track biased tyres in the summer and winter tyres in the winter as they both suit what I want well. Others have different preferences though.

 

[Willtl 54]

Thanks, just to confirm, the stock tires grip is pretty poor and I'm not going to feel there is no improvement by changing them?

 

Any views on Goodyear efficient grip? My local Costco has these.

[S18 RSG 429]

There's been a lot of discussion about tyres in the past few days, and judging by that evidence, you'll struggle to get one definitive answer.

It really depends on your budget.

A good, relatively cheap and well tested tyre is the Yoko V105 as Jeff mentioned, in a similar price range are the Hankook V12 Evo 2 and Vredestein Sessanta's, both of which have great test results with magazines/online articles.

On the more premium end, you have the Michelin PS4, Continental Conti6 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asy 3. 

All those mentioned above will be significantly better than what you have without doubt, and should have no problem handling all weather conditions.

[Church 209]

Willtl: stock are not THAT poor. They have limited grip, but that can be pro aswell (for example to intentionally give car easy power-oversteer nature even with stock NA limited engine power, also less rolling resistance = greater fuel economy). For someone not hardcore tracking, or eg. just learning / familiarising with car, they can be used just fine, and their main drawback might be their too high price relative to alternative tires. Grip is not the only tire characteristic. Also noise, threadwear speed, economy, comfort, progressiveness, handling. Even extra rubber shoulder on stock primacies might be wished feature for some to protect against kerb scrape wheels.

If all you want is more grip and at specific driving ways (eg. overall, or on track, or in winter), then yes, there are many alternatives better on that and often cheaper then stock. But i wouldn't call primacies crap/shit in general by all accounts. Most from those that call them so simply have different wishes/priorities/preferences/usage specifics, that other tires fit them better. That doesn't mean it is same way for everybody.

[GT86Bob 61]

The irony for me is that I'll be fitting Primacys for the TSS N2 class. Anyone know what the difference is between Primacy HP and Primacy 3 ?

[Willtl 54]

1 hour ago, Church said:

Willtl: stock are not THAT poor. They have limited grip, but that can be pro aswell (for example to intentionally give car easy power-oversteer nature even with stock NA limited engine power, also less rolling resistance = greater fuel economy).

If all you want is more grip and at specific driving ways (eg. overall, or on track, or in winter), then yes, there are many alternatives better on that and often cheaper then stock. But i wouldn't call primacies crap/shit in general by all accounts. Most from those that call them so simply have different wishes/priorities/preferences/usage specifics, that other tires fit them better. That doesn't mean it is same way for everybody.

The problem I've had is over the last few weeks (when maybe a little damp) the car has slid which I would not expect from my "normal" style of driving. I'm not really interested in easy oversteer, I just want the car to handle as I expect it.

[TTR 509]

Just now, Willtl said:

The problem I've had is over the last few weeks (when maybe a little damp) the car has slid which I would not expect from my "normal" style of driving. I'm not really interested in easy oversteer, I just want the car to handle as I expect it.

Just get Pilot Sport 4's haha.

[surrey86 352]

Primacies are poor in the wet, even for a 'touring' tyre. I like them in the dry, give the car a nice balance.

[SimonB95 33]

Just now, Willtl said: The problem I've had is over the last few weeks (when maybe a little damp) the car has slid which I would not expect from my "normal" style of driving. I'm not really interested in easy oversteer, I just want the car to handle as I expect it.

Just get Pilot Sport 4's haha.

 

Have to agree with this. Had PS4s on mine now for about 3 months. The difference compared to the Primacys is just fantastic

 

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

 

 

[Church 209]

Willtl: dunno. I've been even on track when wet/rain on primacies .. they seemed ok for fun laps, and just like brakes heated less, they wore less .. wet in summer though. Imho lack of grip in wet NOW can be attributed rather to low temps & them being summer tire.

[Willtl 54]

16 minutes ago, Church said:

Willtl: dunno. I've been even on track when wet/rain on primacies .. they seemed ok for fun laps, and just like brakes heated less, they wore less .. wet in summer though. Imho lack of grip in wet NOW can be attributed rather to low temps & them being summer tire.

I think you are right, it is a combination of the wet and the temperature as I'd not really noticed a problem before (other than a slight wobble once) in the other months.

[nerdstrike 186]

Roads in the south east have been super greasy all week, and I've been having a ball with the wandering rear. The Primacies don't deliver much joy when it's cold and wet, and I've had a few hilarious failures to pull away on a gentle but wet slope with them, but they're hard wearing and surprisingly grippy when they're on form. Just not this week!

I'd wear these tyres out (perhaps in an expedited way) then switch to something a bit softer

[Lauren 2259]

It's just the weather at this time of year. Things will improve as temperatures and conditions improve. I really like the Yoko V105's and am on my third set (I think) now, though it may be the fourth set on the rears. It significantly improves grip over the Primacy tyre and is still nice and progressive so you can play with it still. 

Contisport Contact 5's have better grip off the line but not as much grip when cornering in my experience. Goodyears make a good road tyre, but sidewalls are soft which robs feel and they don't tend to stand up to track use, if that's a consideration for you. A lot of people are going for PS4's though I have yet to try these. 

If you're just doing road driving either the Yoko, Contisports F1's or PS4 look like the obvious candidates. 

[kaisersalsek 47]

My yokos get loose really easily and have still got 4mm on the rears. Makes me wonder what the primacies must be like!

[Willtl 54]

2 hours ago, nerdstrike said:

Roads in the south east have been super greasy all week, and I've been having a ball with the wandering rear. The Primacies don't deliver much joy when it's cold and wet, and I've had a few hilarious failures to pull away on a gentle but wet slope with them, but they're hard wearing and surprisingly grippy when they're on form. Just not this week!

I'd wear these tyres out (perhaps in an expedited way) then switch to something a bit softer

Thanks. I might consider this a bit longer. I think what I'm worried about more than anything, is having an accident as a result of the tires.

[Church 209]

Slight toe-in in rear for alignment imho may help not just on track to allow opening throttle sooner out of curves, but also on low-grip on unfitting tires, to less fight with babying throttle, no?

[Kodename47 446]

11 hours ago, GT86Bob said:

The irony for me is that I'll be fitting Primacys for the TSS N2 class. Anyone know what the difference is between Primacy HP and Primacy 3 ?

The 3 is the replacement of the HP. The other halfs A3 now runs them as direct replacements. Last time I checked they weren't available in our stock sizes though, only smaller wheels so I assumed the 3 wasn't a sporty tire where as the HP kind of is.

[Bfranklyn86 52]

20 hours ago, maurice said:

Primacies are poor in the wet, even for a 'touring' tyre. I like them in the dry, give the car a nice balance.

This is the issue. The discrepancy between their wet and dry performance is something I've never experienced before. It's like it's a different tyre.

i want to replace them with some V105s which seem to be good performance vs cost, but again apparently fall badly in the wet. So I'm not too sure what to go with.

[Guest]

.

[Lou_m 2]

1 hour ago, Bfranklyn86 said:

This is the issue. The discrepancy between their wet and dry performance is something I've never experienced before. It's like it's a different tyre.

i want to replace them with some V105s which seem to be good performance vs cost, but again apparently fall badly in the wet. So I'm not too sure what to go with.

V105s seems to get praised for their wet handling from Evo tyre test. I've only tried them in the wet in my friends Clio 200 and they were pretty impressive 

 

http://www.evo.co.uk/features/18309/the-best-tyres-2016-evo-tyre-test/page/0/6

[Lauren 2259]

1 hour ago, Bfranklyn86 said:

i want to replace them with some V105s which seem to be good performance vs cost, but again apparently fall badly in the wet. So I'm not too sure what to go with.

The V105's are good in the wet to be fair. When I talk about how they are, I'm not talking about traction off the line, but how well they grip when cornering in the wet. I seem to get a feeling that a lot of people talk about wet grip in terms of how easy or not it is to spin the tyres up under acceleration. 

[Bfranklyn86 52]

Sold. V105s it is. Thanks people.

[Guest]

.

[tristanom 2]

I'm a fan of Michelin. A bit expensive but has good treadlife.