I know its that old chestnut again.
I’m looking for new boots to replace the current yokohama on my car. Tyre size is 205/50/16. Just looking for some recommendations.
I’m looking at: Khumo HS51, Uniroyal rainsport 3, Vredestein sportrac 5 and Michelin pilot sport 3.
I had Khumo’s on my previous mx5 2.5 and liked them are they still a good bet on the mk3.5?
Cheers everyone.
I’m going to jump in first and sound my usual grumpy self in the process and say “why wouldn’t they be?”
What is likely to happen next is everybody will list what tyres they have on their car and say they are the best.
It all depends what you want.
The HS51 will give you good communication as to what is about to do and be progressive when it does it. It is not the most sporting tyre or the best ultimate grip.
The Rainsport is very good in the wet, certainly when it has decent tread depth. It is a soft tyre with a large tread void and so the usual complaint is “they don’t last long.” I think they are squidgy toot it depends how you drive.
The Vredestein is another all round decent tyre with decent grip and good progression.
The Michelin will cost you the most by far. It’s a decent tyre also. Is it a good tyre? Yes. Is it 20% better than the others as the price would suggest? No.
The wet grip rating is only about straight line wet braking, not about aquaplaning or lateral grip so don’t get overly fixated on the label.
I’ve just fitted a set of HS51’s in that size to my Mk3.5 and like them. Only done a couple of hundred miles so far but they feel better than previous tyres (Yokohamas on the front) and seem quieter. I paid about £80 a tyre fitted from https://www.blackcircles.com as nobody near me seemed to get Kuhmos. A small family run garage down the road fitted them and I was happy with the service from them and Black Circles.
Ian
^^^ Good man, Kumho for me too. Fitted by Nick above, when they are worn out I’ll be having some more.