i cant decide on what tyres to get, help?

[timmomr2]

ok well my car is nearly back on the road and ive done a fair bit of work to it. its only running standard turbo (rev3) at 1.2 bar so power wise isnt a huge issue. i have just fully pollybushed the car and added brand new tein superstreets with topmounts to it though. i want tyres that will compliment these mods there is no point in me getting budget tyres with over a grands worth of suspension parts and nearly a grand again on the brakes.

what tyres are really good for fast road use and occasional track maybe. im looking for 205/45/16 and 225/45/16 and ideally i dont want to spend more than £300 but at the same time i dont know if my choices are going to work well.

some options i have considered mainly off camskill are

pirelli p zero nero on the front
falken fk452 on the rear

T 1R's all arround (but im not keane on these as i dont think there quite that good after the las pair i had that were very spongy)

another option is hankook RS2's all arround but they are nearly £400 and id rather see if i can get some really good tyres more arround my budget.

or again i considered toyo R1 R on the front with proxies on the rear to keep cost down but i think that is to much of a miss match from front to back.

any help would be great as i could do with ordering very soon. i have to admit ive not really found anywear cheaper than camskill either.

cheers timmo

[uglee]

It's very subjective and so many variables involved to give a definitive answer. I have used Kumho Ecsta SP KU31 for the last 4 years and they are an excellent blend of grip/wear.

Might not give the final 1% of extra grip some people look for but as an everyday tyre they are great and very planted even in the wet. Have a few friends who run them and no complaints from them either.

You should come well under your £300 budget for them too.

[Rahzel]

I'm running the Khumo KU31s at the moment and can't fault them. For the price they are excellent!

[jem]

I was using Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's and liked them a lot, but they didn't last all that long.

I've recently fitted Falken FK452's all round and they are fantastic. Just as grippy as the F1's and the ride if smoother.

for reference, I'm running 17's, TEIN superstreets and whiteline ARBs. But as has been said, it's a very subjective thing, what one person likes, another will hate.

[easty-5]

I am running Falken FK452's all round in 215/17 and 245/17. They are excellent, have covered one trackday so far and the grip was amazing. Maybe my TRD LSD helped with that too though

[lemonyfresh]

Im running Falkens all round as well - ive found them awesome so far - nice and grippy, but not too insane on price
(and they look cool as well )

[timmomr2]

ok well i like the feedback on the falkens, one issue is they dont seem to do them in 205/45/16 do you think it will be ok to mix them with the pirellies as they are also supposed to be very good tyres? or dose anyone know somwere that stock them in this size

[Mike 'MR2' McHugh]

ok well i like the feedback on the falkens, one issue is they dont seem to do them in 205/45/16 do you think it will be ok to mix them with the pirellies as they are also supposed to be very good tyres? or dose anyone know somwere that stock them in this size

Hey Tim,

Im going to be in the market for some new tyres soon and have been looking around so good timing on the thread

Im also 245 on the rear so would be interested in what prices you find on the Falkens. Im currently goodyears all round and the front have plenty left on them so the usual rear change for me .

[Kinsy]

Get some 205/50/16 Falkens, considering the standard tyre sizes are 195/55/15 dropping to 50 width seems to make sense to me?

[JJ]

My experience with Falkens are they've been rubbish... Theres no comparison when pushed between the Good Year F1's to the 452's ! The good years are stronger in the wet and excellent for wet weather too.

Yes, the short comings are they dont last as long and a bit pricier, but you've got a larger margin of error if you enter a corner a little too quickly.... No price on safety, dont skimp on tyres and brakes !

T1R's are probably on par with the Falkens.... Ive tried all sorts of combinations... the best fun I had was F1's on the front and T1R's on the rears... makes it lively on a track day with good turn in...

Personally, I run Good Year F1's on the front and Toyo R888 on the rears, seems to work for me, keeps the rear in check too !

[timmomr2]

well i slightly altered my sizes and ordered 215/40/16 on the front and 225/45/16 rear and i went for the falkens all round. it came to just under £300 delivered for the lot. im going to test this set up and if im not happy ill be going to 17" wheels so that i can go a bit wider on the back.

to be honest i dont consider wet weather performance because i dont have any confidence driveing in wet weather it dosent take mutch to go from damp road to a bit of fresh tarmak that is like ice with water on it.

if anyone is on the look out for tyres ill leave a review on here of the falkens but bear in mind my car wont be done for about 2 weeks and it will feel totally different to when i last drove it.

Im also 245 on the rear

id just like to offer some advice if your looking for this size on 16" wheels. i had 245/45/16 toyo proxies on my mr2, they were to wide for the rim slightly ill admit but these tyres are no good for conering IMO. the side walls are so soft that i got more lean than my feat punto. they would be good for streight line grip though. toyo have just brought out a 245/35/16 profile that i was considering but then decided that for the price you could probable get better performance from a better quality 225 width, the tyre walls were just way too soft

[RumbleStrips]

I've got Hankook RS2s and really like them. More grip compared to the Toyo T1R I had on before.