Hello everone,
I have a stock 1990 Mk 1 which has done very few miles. Because of this, the tyres have plenty of tread but must be over 10 years old. They are Firestone Firehawk 690. The other day I lost the back coming out of a roundabout at a very moderate speed. Never happened before an it was very scary. Luckily there was no major damage, apart from a kerbed alloy. That’s made me wonder about the tyres. Superficially they look OK, but I’m assuming they must lose grip being so old.
So I’ve decided to change them. My question is what’s the best tyre in the above size? The choices seem to be very limited.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks
There’s the usuas Toyo T1s, Goodyears - both very well regarded tyres for a 5.
I would also consider the Kuhmo (or is it Khumo?) - I’ve had these on a 300bhp Volvo T5, and on my prev Eunos.
They performed very well, even in the wet.
Thanks - the problem is that I don’t think that the T1 or Goodyear F1 are available in my size. Hence I need to find an alternative
From http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/EagleF1GSD3_2/index.jsp?page=sizes
| 85/60R14 | 185 | 60 | 14 | 82 | V | GS-D2 design |
They don’t list as GSD3, but GSD2, essentially the same tyre I believe
these guys list them----------------------
I think Goodyear hydragrips are available in that size for 14’s. Great tyre.
Fantastic in all weather conditions and can be had for less than £40 a corner.
Note the out of stock icon…
Toyo T1-R 195/55-14 around £50 each plus fitting. In principle, the T1-S is available in the same size, as its still listed by Toyo. You get a bit more tread contact, without the increase in diameter.
Would they be too wide to fit on 6" alloys?
http://www.toyo.co.uk/sub_products.php?identity=products&category_id=22
Click on tyre type (T1-R, T1-S…) and see sizes and rim widths.
I’ve had those tyres and I thought they were fine. However, if they are cracked in anyway they’re useless. Check the tyres for cracks, if there aren’t any your off wasn’t down to the tyres.
As for the best tyre, Toyo seem quite popular - my personal opinion is that provided the tyres are made for the UK/Euro market, are in date and are to the prescribed specs it doesn’t make much difference for normal world driving. It is of course a different matter if you track the car, otherwise I personally wouldn’t spend fortunes on named brands. In my experience grip and tyre performance is mainly dependenat on getting heat into the tyre - i.e not pushing the car when the tyres are cold and always feeling for grip.
Just my view
I would respecfully disagree with the above comment. The mx-5 is one of the most sensitvie cars ive driven regarding the tyre choice. Yes you wont notice it 4 out of 5 times when you run down to the shops. If the weather is a little damp you certainly will.
Ive had 4 different mx-5’s and multiple sets of tyres. They do matter, its like night and day differences from a “sporty” good make to a cheap brand of “normal” tyres.
Im not talking about track performance but firstly safety and secondly confidence and grip levels. Youll find a bend that a regular chap is happy to drive around at 40mph in his focus can feel very twitchy and unsure in a 5 with a cheap tyre.
For the original poster, im sure its written somewhere that tyres only have a certain life. They are date stamped so you can check when yours were made. Im sure ive read that at a certain time they are fit for the bin, and i think 10 years old would fall into that category.
IMHO Jonathan
It is sensitive to alignment not tyre choice IMHO. I’ve probably had well over 10 different sets of tyres on my NA and currenty have a set of Toyo R888’s, Bridgestone Potenza Grid III and have just sold a set of wheels with Uniroyal Rainsports. I have tried most of the tyres out there from Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 to the tyres the OP currently has, so my opinion is generally based on my own personal experience. If the alignment is dialed in the tyres will be able to do their thing, which is to provide grip and steer. If the alignment is out or tyre pressures are out of sync the car will not behave as it should
These debates give the impression that the EU somehow allows tyre companies to import sub standard tyres into the country without any form of control.
Just my view
This was posted elsewhere
Mytyres.co.uk have got some runout stock of F1 GS-D2s in 185/60x14.
£50.90 each.
I would very much agree with Jonathan on this. I have been through many sets of tyres and while there a reasonable argument to which I would subscribe that many midrange tyres give similar reasonable levels of grip in the dry when warm, it is the wet and damp that will expose the differences.
Many of the cheaper performance brands will give up their grip much quicker and often more suddenly in the wet. R888 are a very competent tyre even in the wet but are not what you would recommend as a shopping tyre mainly for the limited life and difficulty in standing water.
T1R’s are better than many tyres out there, but the Goodyear’s will out perform them in the wet by some margin.
Anyone tried Falkens I keep hearing good things but not sure what they would be like on the 5 had my original Bridgestones replaced due to cracking only had 9k on them, got talked into Rikans by the fitters! Worst choice ever, no grip in snow and dodgy in the wet. I am looking at replacements before next winter, toss up between Eagles F1 or the Falkens know the Smart Roadster crowd seem to like them
Has anyone tried Continental tyres?
After twice spinning my Prelude VTEC in the wet on the tyres it had when it was imported, I changed to Continentals.They were recommended by Cambridge Performance Tyres and were far better then the original things, whatever they were.
I haven’t changed the tyres on the MX5 yet. Currently it has Bridgestones, they’re ok in the dry but not as grippy as I would like in the wet.
I have the same tyres as OP on mine , they aren’t too bad, but not good enough for me to really push on in the wet, they strike me very much as ‘summer tyres’. Could have been something spilt on the round about, there was a couple last night which were super slippy, had masses of oversteer on those at moderate speeds.