hi everyone,just bought my first mx5.its a 2006 2.0l,its curently got dunlop tyres on it which seem a bit unforgiving and hard.what would you reccomend i replace them with.they are not worn out but not sure how long they have been on the car,thanks paul.
- My model of MX-5 is: 2006 2.0l option pack
- I’m based near: __bath
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __tyres
Depends on your budget and whether this is a sunday car, or a daily user in all seasons.
All tyres have a date code.
In this picture of a muddy Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 it is 4614 which means they were made in week 46 of 2014.
I expect I’ll be changing them this year simply because they are old, not because they are too worn.
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The lower end of the NC tyre market starts with Kumho PS71 which I personally have no experience of but a lot of other owners do so I’ve read.
Moving up the ladder there are Michelin Pilot Sport and/or Goodyear Eagle F1s.
There is a vast field of opinion on what tyres are best but please give it some thought and research (and pocket money) as they are your only contact with the tarmac.
But once, buy wise…
I have the latter makes on 2 sets of wheels for road use and a set of Nankang NS2Rs for track use.
NickD might want to offer his advice too,
pretty much a weekend car,but want to be able to drive it quite hard.
My car was on a set of Kumho when I bought it. I didn’t know the brand, but the tyres were new.
I had to change one after hitting a rock on the motorway at 70mph.
The tyre held up and didn’t even lose pressure, but it was slightly shredded so I replaced it. I found out later it would not have been an mot failure.
Now I know they are the cheaper option, I am quite amazed at how well these Kumho perform.
Great on fuel, good in torrential rain (we beat a much faster BMW 1 series in a very wet race home), and wearing out nicely after 13k miles (still good for another 13k I’d say). Not great on ice, but that’s the car I think.
You could always get your geometry set for fast driving to help, but ultimately these are not racing tyres.
I do push in corners and roundabouts with confidence and a happy grin, but I drive within speed limits.
The thing to remember with tyres is they will be on your car for a while. So a cheap tyre at £60 compared to an expensive one at £100 sounds like a big cost difference, £40 per corner or £160, yikes.
For many, they will be on the car for four years, that is £40 a year, or significlantly less than a pound a week.
Don’t buy cheap, buy recommended.
Also check the sizes, what is on your car now may be wrong, so check door pillar sticker, or manual. Lots of people put the wrong size on to get a better choice of rubber, or for a particular handling trait. Don’t follow the previous owner, make your own decisions.
Last point would be that tyre prices are quite volatile, and Michelin and Goodyear often have promotions which can be worth £15 to £20 per tyre.
For the record I am on Goodyear Asmy5 which cost me about £80 a corner last spring, but see they are currently around the £100 mark. I would happily fit the same again.
Avon V7 is what I have and I can’t fault them. Very good wet grip also.
I have had cheap tyres on RWD cars, they are fine in the dry but once it rains they tend to become quite useless.
thanks guys for your input,i have checked and the tyres have been on the car since 2016,so time for a change.had p zeros on my skyline but have seen lots of good reports about michelin ps4 so maybe one of these a bit more research.
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On my BMWs I had PZero, shocked how bad they were cold. Got PS4 now and they are great. Asym5 on the MX5 are very similar to PS4. Not sure I could tell the difference.
I put 4 new michelin PS4’s on mine when I needed a new set of tyres. Was v disappointed with them. They wore out quickly on the rears (OK at the front) and had to replace after 15k miles. I’ve gone back to Bridgestone Potenzas which were the OEM tyres that lasted 25k miles. But beware, there are several grades of the potenzas…an no, I dont burn rubber on the rear…
Longer life usually means a harder compound and less grip. It’s that trade off between the two to be where you are happy. Some people want lots of grip and can live with the wear, others don’t drive as hard and want a longer life in the tyre.
Not 100% true, but a fair estimation, as there are probably other factors involved
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I have Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 on mine. Much better than the Bridgestone Potenza they replaced.
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Loads of decent tyres out there, go with whatever you feel comfortable with.
I went with Kuhmo PS71’s all round in December. £70 a corner. C and A rated on fuel and rain respectively. Really can’t fault them. Excellent grip in the dry and wet.
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This has been an interesting thread to me, as I’ll be changing the ageing Goodyear F1s on my NB very shortly due to age, not wear. My car only comes out during the summer, doesn’t do many miles and doesn’t go on the track but I do prefer a performance-orientated tyre (not a track tyre). I’m only in the wet if it’s unplanned!
When I’ve looked at the usual online suppliers (mytyres, blackcircles), most of the tyres mentioned on here don’t actually seem to be available. I thought the Vredestein Sportrac 5 sounded like what I was looking for, but although it’s on the Vredestein website, I’ve really struggled to find them anywhere in 185/60 R14. Goodyear Eagle F1s are no longer available and Michelin PS4s aren’t available in this size. The only Goodyears I see are their EfficientGrip Performance. Khumo PS71s have been mentioned, which I’m not familiar with, but the only Kuhmo tyres I’ve seen advertised are EcoWing ES31. I have seen Dunlop Sport BluResponse .
It seems to me that most of the tyres that are widely available seem more aimed at standard saloon cars rather than a performance tyre for a sports car (albeit one with relatively low power.
Cheers,
MarkP
I’ve got the Kumho (PS71) on my daily driver now and have the Kumho KU39 on my NC. The NC is about ready for a new set on age, not worn out, been on over 6 years and around 24k miles. Going for the PS71 for that👍