Best tyres - online reviews

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
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I’ve had a new Toyo CF1s in 185/60R14, and I prefered them to new T1Rs in 195/55R14 (fit this size and you have to inform your insurer). They had more than enough grip for me to use on the road and unlike T1Rs they didn’t melt on a track. Neither of those Toyo options is a performance tyre.

YMMV

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Nitrogen bottle? Do you even know the equipment we use? There is no nitrogen bottle. We have separate nitrogen collector which take the compressed air and extracts all oxygen and other gasesthrough a membrane to leave 99% dry nitrogen which is then fed directly down the lines.
Sell my services on here? By offering free nitrogen? To peeps who've bought their tyres elsewhere? We have plenty of contraversial policies at work, many of which lose us sales. All based on safety recommendations from tyre/car manufacturers. We turn away sales quite often as a result. We do not use nitrogen as a marketing tool. We don't even advertise the free service. We use it for its benefits and the fact that it's better for the longevity of our three 14k fitting machines.
Both Michelin and Bridgestone have issued press releases recently stating the benefits of dry nitrogen and they recommend nitrogen for its much more stable pressures. They don't sell nitrogen. 
We have air dryers on our top of the range compressors but you still get plenty of water vapour. The nitrogen membrane and secondary dryer then remove all water vapour during the process of extracting the dry nitrogen. The only vapour then inside the tyre is that which was trapped in the tyre upon seating the tyre on the rim. 
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No, I have literally no idea what equipment you have in your workshop. Does that change gas constants? Does it change the basic physics of how gases (and everything else, come to that) react to temperature?

[quote user="noelfezza"] We don't even advertise the free service. [/quote]  My apologies, you'd published on a public forum that you offered the service. I confused this for advertising.
This next bit is the nub of the matter:
[quote user="Captain Muppet"] ...your statement of "nitrogen does not contract or expand with changes in operating temperature" which I quoted in bold in my previous post is wrong. [/quote]
That's the bit I take issue with, because it's wrong. I should have highlighted that somehow.
64

 I think the conclusion that can be drawn, taking note of the very wide range of views is that on-line reviews aren’t really worth a lot. Under any tyre that has more than about 10 reviews you will find someone that loves it to the point of saying it is the best tyre they have ever driven on and and someone that hates it to the point of saying they are so dangerous they thought they were going to die.

65

 I had exactly the same problem as you. Had Uniroyal rain experts fitted and run them at 30 psi all round. Eventhough they are not marketed as sports tyres I have found them really good. I no longer worry about low speed slides in the wet. Buying 14 inch tyres is getting harder these days as the choice of tyre becomes more limited. Good luck in the search for tyres.

 

paul

66

 

I can supply you the original Yoko A460 tyre that came with the car. They are pretty good.

67

Having had a quick read through this thread hoping that I might get some advice re tyres Iam now in a little bit confused. My current setup is 15inch x 7 j alloys with Toyo T1Rs which are great on the road and on track days but on my first track day whith the tyres when new I had serious problems with wearing the outer edge (due to the softer sidewalls of the Toyos) Nick then advised upping the pressure by 2 lb and this made a big difference as regards traction, I now have a problem in that I have just bought a set of 17" wheels that  are in need of some decent tyres just for track use, I dont want to spend mega money but I still need good grip at high speed. profile is 40 so they are going to be stiffer than 50 that I have on the 15" or am I wrong. So at a quick glance is it T1rs or Uniroyals for a cheap getout, at the moment they have Nankoons fitted and I haven`t a clue what they are like, I have heard that the NS2 are ok?

Mikey 

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the lower the measurement of the sidewall the less flex you will have in the tyre and will result in a more responsive feel to the steering 

The Toyo T1R is a terrible tyre for sidewall flex and I can’t wait to get rid of mine for that very reason, to the point they feel squidgy on the road and track compared with premium branded tyres i’ve had, and in fact some other mid-range tyres. 

Good grip can still be had, i’d like to try the Yokohama AD08 next, although they are about twice the price, i’m a firm believer that with tyres you get what you pay for more often than not. 

69

 Mike, if you don’t want to spend mega money go back to 15’s

I can get you 215 40 17 RS-R’s which will head and shoulders above any of the tyres mentioned here, and for 17" they are pretty cheap, just not cheap compared to 15"

70

Thanks Nick, what sort of price are we talking including fitting etc the next time Iam at Blyton

Mike

 

71

 

 

17", you are looking at £138 each

72

Ouch, think I will take your advice and stick with the 15" for trackdays as I have been pretty happy with them with the increased  pressure that you recomended, might get the 17"  refurbed and use them for the road , thanks anyway Nick.

Mike

 

73

" nitrogen does not contract or expand with changes in operating temperature."

If this is true, its the only element in the universe that does!   

74

Er, sorry about the previous post  I saw the subsequent posts saying pretty much what I said  Yes, I think you’ll find that the big difference is the water vapour, which will of course be different every day  Everyone knows how much bigger a drop of water becomes when it becomes steam  I THINK its about 1800:1  Bearing in mind that air is 80% nitrogen anyway (ask any diver) I can’t see that replacing the other 20% wouls make that much difference   

So why are aircraft tyres filled with nitrogen?  Safety - they wont explode and catch fire if there’s no oxygen under pressure present 

75

As you ask, the reasons for aircraft tyres being filled with nitrogen are two-fold, firstly the pressure in the tyre will remain more constant if taxiing over a long distance in hot conditions as you say, mainly due to the dryness of the nitrogen, also the nitrogen is ozone free which is better for the rubber too. The other real reason is that aircraft wheels are fitted with fusable plugs designed to melt and allow the gas in the tyre to be released in a controlled manner rather than expoloding and damaging wiring and hydraulic piping usually found in undercarriage bays, as a bonus, in the event of a brake fire, which can and does happen, the nitrogen gas released via the inner rim where the fusable plugs are located ,will to some extent extinguish or at least delay the fire, hopefully until the aircraft is able to make an emergency landing.

Heres a photo from where and when I did my apprenticeship:

Anyway, back to the thread, I now have Yokohama Parada2s in 195/50/15 fitted for next weeks<a target="_blank" href="/forum/forums/t/37709.aspx"> Nurburgring on a Budget 2012 Trip and am astonished as to the grip level (wet and dry) and at only £43.00 ea. delivered from Demon Tweeks represent the best choice for track-days for the money in my book, plenty of rubber and very little void on the  outer shoulder makes a lot of sense to me and at that price it really is a no-brainer!Thumbs up

 

76

How did you manage to take the photo while you were flying that Phantom (?) Smile

I defer to your greater knowledge - I thought the most dangerous time for an aircraft tyre was at landing, not taxiing  

Cornering ability isn’t really a major concern with aircraft tyres Smile although I would imagine that braking in the wet is 

77

 I didn`t take the photo or fly the F4 Phantom in the above, not quite sure where you got that idea Andy?Don't know

This crash in 1991 will shed some light on what happens when there isnt enough nitrogen in an aircrafts tyres and it then taxis for 5 miles in very hot temps, recently shown on Air Crash Investigation…

78

 

We had Prada 2’s on RaceWorx and really couldn’t get on with them. Melted quickly, gave nothing special in grip, wore quickly and horrible in the wet.We got on far better with Proxi4’s which out lasted and performed them.   

79

I guess if you were selling them Nick they would score higher marks? The RSR`s are overpriced!

80

I put PS2’s on my Civic track car, never rated them. In fact worst of the 3 tyres i ever ran on it. Wore out in no time. We’re dangerous around anything resembling standing water and in the dry were only ever better than average within a certain temperature range. Too hot they seemed to have no progression and when cold just had no bite. Had two nasty aquaplaning moments within 4 months I had them. I had the Exalto’s 18 months with no ‘moments’. They did give good wet grip, provided you avoid puddles. I went back to Exalto 2’s. I even preferred my Turanza ER300’s. They do however look nice.