tyre profiles

[GHOST]

What profile should you have on a 17" wheel to keep to the MR2's stars wheel/tyre height?

Currently I have 245/40/17's on the rear but on a previous Rev3 I had 245/35/17's.

Luckily I live near Camskill but they don't seem to do a 40 profile in T1R, only in a 35 at 245.

Any opinions or guidance appreciated.

[Nic]

245/35R17 is closer to the stock rolling radius, see here:

http://mr2.gordaen.com/wt_calc.php

[MR2 Rich]

I might be my searching skills but the only 245/35/17 on Camskill I can find are Hankook or Falken? Blackcircles have the same 2 on their website.

[GHOST]

Yeah I found the same thing. What are other people running on 17" wheels?

[shinny]

245/35/17 is a very good fit on a 17x8J rear wheel... there is no better tyre size for that wheel on an SW20 IMO. Unfortunately it's an odd size so you get limited model choice though but my chosen Falkens were available last time I bought tyres

[Torero]

I'm running 17x8jj fronts and 17x9jj rears and mine are 225/40 and 255/40. I went to Camskill and had the Hankook Ventus V12 and can't fault them.

They had a great rating for wet and dry plus low noise factor, which let's face it is great when on the motorway as the '2' is not the quietest of cars.

[GHOST]

Not really had any experience with Hankooks, might look into them. I'm pretty much expecting to have to spend shy of £500 on a full set but with winter coming you can't take chances. Whatever cheap crap is on the front of the car makes the nankangs on the back seem like they're made of glue!

[MR2 Rich]

I have had Hankooks on the front of a few of my cars/vans and they were good tyres, albeit I only had 150bhp max going through them, but like chalk and cheese compared with cheap ditch finders.

[GHOST]

To be honest its only ever been Toyos for me for the last several years but I'm open to suggestion

[Nic]

Mine came fitted with Falken FK452 tyres, impressed with them, good all weather tyre and not silly money. When I changed the wheels I would have got FK452's again but they weren't available in the sizes I needed so went for Toyo T1R's.

[mrturbotom]

I would rate the tyres mentioned in this order from personal experience.
1. Hankook v12 evos (currently on mine with 245/35/17 rear)
Excellent in the wet and dry.
2. Falken 451/452.
Good all rounder, good mileage lifespan.
3. Toyo proxes
Reasonable dry performance, mediocre in the wet. Terrible in the very cold. Fast wear rate.

[cosmos]

[quote="Torero"]I'm running 17x8jj fronts and 17x9jj rears and mine are 225/40 and 255/40. I went to Camskill and had the Hankook Ventus V12 and can't fault them.

They had a great rating for wet and dry plus low noise factor, which let's face it is great when on the motorway as the '2' is not the quietest of cars.[/quote]

Didn't think size 225x40x17" existed?
Check out Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta….Youtube impressive.

[GHOST]

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta. Never heard of them but not too expensive and an interesting tread pattern. Any good?

[cosmos]

Check out tyre reviews it appears 90% of buyers buy again, good for wet and dry driving and at 67db quieter than other contenders in this sector from a Netherlands family company.
Many German BMW owners rate this black circle.

[GHOST]

Just been reading some reviews actually and they all sound good. The reviews on the Falkens are brilliant actually but there seems to be a lot here using them. I just want a set fitted for less than 500 quid that aren't going to try and kill me when I decide to pish the car a little.

[cosmos]

Also consider Uniroyal Rainsport3
Have read Falken452 get noisier as they wear down?

[GHOST]

Yeah I heard that too. Vredestiens are looking good though.

Anyone got any experience with Bridgestone Potenza S001's. £114 for 245/40/17's at Camskill.

[GHOST]

Damn Camskill was closed today after 1pm so I went round a few places and got a good quote for Toyo T1Rs 215/40/17 on the front and Toyo T1 Sports at 245/40/17 on the rear.

Not had any experience with the T1 Sports? Anyone got them?

[Gullzter]

Ive had a few fwd cars with bridgestone potenzas and i felt better on them than the likes of pirelli.. Best tyres ive had a car sit on in terms of grip.
Not sure what they would be like on a rwd but wouldnt mind trying someday!

[Alex O]

I think a lot of people find a tyre that's ok and stick to it (cos the expense is such a gamble to move on to something else), however, I have tried the following if it helps:

Toyo T1R: thought they were good at the time albeit a bit soft in the sidewall. Having tried others I realise they were pretty useless.

Falken 452: good initially but by half worn they have given up 75% of their grip. Quite fun if you like sliding the car about but I would steer clear if you want lots of grip.

Vredestein Sessanter: never had on my car but my friend has them on his 200sx (running 350bhp). He hates them, says the grip levels are dreadful and won't buy again.

Goodyear Eagle F1: used to use the symmetrical version until it was discontinued. They were the best tyre I had ever experienced. Tried the newer asymmetric 2 and they are EVEN better. I have had a couple of sets but hard to find a good size combo as they don't do a lot of sizes that suit the MR2. It is purely for size reasons I won't get again but they are brilliant!

Yokohama AD08: this is next on my list as I believe they are almost up to Toyo R888 level of grip in the dry but also work in the wet which the Toyo certainly doesn't. Price isn't too bad for 17s on Camskill.

Hope that helps?
Alex