I am looking to put a new set of tyres in the ND. It’s spring summer use only. Currently leaning towards pilot sport 4 or 5… is one more suited to mx5 than other?
Is there any benefits in going for an alternative size to the stock OEM? If so what would you recommend. Currently the car is in stock bilsteins and standard springs. Although I’m keen to put the Eibach on
The launch edition is on 17inch wheels
Also any recommend a decent fitter who won’t ruin my rims in north herts area?
Thanks
I’ve just switched from 205/45 PS4s to 215/45 Asymmetric 6s. I thought the PS4s were great for grip but the unnecessary XL strengthening made the ride a bit more brittle than it needed to be. A slightly softer, deeper sidewall suits my car a little better on the fun but dreadfully surfaced roads of Norfolk.
In terms of PS4 or PS5, I can’t say which is better. What I do know is that they’re both a lot more expensive than the Goodyears, and I don’t have any indication that the latter are any worse at anything so far.
I don’t know , but I have run my ND on PS4s since the original Bridgestones were replaced in 2018. Grippy in the dry , good ride , progressive breakaway and SO much better in the wet
I had PS4 (3 sets) and PS5 on another car. Can’t really compare of course, as it was 215hp, front wheel drive, but for what it’s worth I thought the PS4 were better. Certainly in the wet. PS5 had better wear though.
The knock on the Asymmetric 6 going by some reviews, are wear rates.
Personally I stuck with the BridgeStone Potenza s001. As I liked them, and had decent time out of them. Plus they aren’t XL plus I didn’t want to start changing tyre size.
I’d already changed the wheels, so had priced in bigger tyres when I initially notified them of mods. On other cars I haven’t had any increase for a small change in tyre size, but there may be an admin fee if you can’t do it self-service online.
My up! gti got 195/40/17. Some internet heros gone to 205/40/17.
I wonder surely they tested a car/R&D and concluded the tyre size which is best.
Of course finances is a more personal thing, not science. If someone wants to save a tenner a corner…after shelling out £25K for a car, or are paying 400 a month or whatever, it’s up to them.
Oh here we go, rolling out that old trope of why 205, R&D concluding which is best!
The actual reason is twofold, what tyre can get the job done for the average driver and what discount the car manufacturer can get out of the tyre manufacturer. Thats a lot of tyres when you consider the lifetime of a car model (currently 10 years for the ND (and 10 years for the NC)).
So what if you want to go beyond the average driver. No technical reason why you can’t put a 215 tyre on a 7" rim as it sits in the middle of the size that is permissable. It’s only a 5mm increase in sidewall which gives a 1.5 mph increase at 70 which I’ve found helps to correct speedo error. So no cons.
Not sure why you needed to do such an aggressive opening line, containing the gem ‘old trope’, but there we go. I was only asking a question
Likewise, we could say disregard what a manufacturer says, in this uber safety orientated car world, and just take it as Gospal what we read on an internet forum.
Moreover, it might all be smoke and mirrors and waffle, but watching the finer points of why asymmetric LSDs and KPCs and tweaked steering are used, it makes you wonder when they’ll say, regarding tyre sizes, ‘oh, who cares, we just lob any tyre size on which gets the job done for the average driver’
I’d also like to see who changes tyre size when it costs them MORE money to change to that size, not, as is invariably the case, less.
Personally, when I read internet stuff which says ‘I didn’t like the size on the car, and I wanted to spend more money, so I changed to size X’, then I’ll pay at touch more attention. Literally every car I’ve ever had got the change of tyre size debate, and in 100% of cases, ‘cheaper’ pops its head up.
I don’t see how my opening line could be considered as aggressive.
And you weren’t asking questions you were expressing your opinion.
I never said ‘slap any old tyre on it’, Mazda already fitted 205/45x17 on the NC so I can see a reason why the tyre size as well as my comments above, wasn’t changed. In regards to asymmetric LSD, KPC and tweaked steering will react differently on different brands of tyres. If you test those on Bridgestone tyres and change to Michelin then surely the car will react differently.
People do spend more money on their tyres without changing size, for example going from Bridgestone to Michelin PS4/5 which is a better tyre.
People do spend more money without changing size, of course, but that point is moot when my comment was that money very often seems to be mentioned when ‘changing’ tyre sizes are discussed. Invariably LESS money. My argument was I can’t recall in literally any time tyre size change has arose, over any car, when the size change means more money.
That is a good point you made, granted, about how different tyres will react differently to things like steering, KPC etc
(For completeness, the example you gave- even for the same 205 tyre size maybe isn’t the best. PS5 and the likes of AS6 are typically cheaper than the S001 Bridgestones. Try having a search. Granted again, that will vary depending on what deals are on etc). Also, ‘better tyre’ is again personal opinion. Personally I don’t like the PS5 at all.
My guess is they tend to be used on heavier cars, so wear more quickly for more frequent replacements, and Economics theory suggests a greater turnover can stimulate market competition and keep prices lower.
205/45/17 is a less popular size. As a result demand is overall lower compared to more popular sizes. Less market demand, less competition, higher price as a result. In a nutshell.
