I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Tyres
So, I’ve read many threads on tyre choices but so many opinions aren’t there? Well, I drive 100 miles round trip x 5 days/week and mostly the motorway. Accepting that road noise on a roadster goes with the territory and that I live in a rural setting (great for driving) combined with my daily commute, my question is: Any thoughts on replacement tyres that offer a good balance of safety, fuel efficiency, cost and noise reduction. I know it’s a big ask but experience will always trump the opinion of the local garage who are hoping for the biggest sale of whatever tyre they can get a good deal on from their supplier. (Yes, I’ve always been somewhat cynical when parting with my hard-earned cash).
This is generally true, but new tyres appear every year, and are often better than their predecessors.
For me the biggest problem with tyres is that no detailed performance specifications or measurements are available, beyond the few tests that are conducted on selected models by motoring magazines. For instance, I would like to know the minimum usable ambient temperature of a summer tyre, and likewise the maximum usable ambient temperature of a winter tyre. For these to be of value to the public, there also needs to be some explanation of how the parameters are measured and what the figures mean (e.g. graphs of stopping distance versus temperature). There must be all kinds of parameters that are measured by the manufacturers, but never published. All that we are fed are non-quantified claims garnished with superlatives. There are many blanks in this list that could be filled in by people here.
3 x MX-5s & 6 brands of tyre = Goodyear F1 Assy5 are the dogs danglies! Massive dry or wet grip, long life. Maybe Michelin PS4 are better, but haven’t tried them.
As a rule of thumb, below about 8 degrees winters will grip better than summers wet or dry.
But there are many variables… so there are no black and white rules.
So dont over think things, buy a decent brand, and you wont go far wrong. Goodyear Asym6 of Michelin PS5 are about as far as I would look for a predominately summer use tyre.
I would not go with an all climate tyre, not on an MX5, maybe on a boring hatch/functional car, but the MX5 is a fun car, so wouldn’t compromise it with All Climates.
If you will use the car daily all year round, get a second set of wheels with winters. Cost a few hundred quid, but worth it, and two sets of wheels mean double the milage.
Have you died? Then your tyres are OK.
The data you are after is irrelivent to real life. Are you going to change your tyres throughout the day dependant on what the temperature guage says? Are you going to stop driving halfway through a trip because the tyres are outside of “parameters”? Are you going to ensure that a pedestrian only steps out if the temperature suits the tyres you are using? What if there is rain, but what if there is rain but it is above a certain temperature threshold? What if there is heavy rain? There is an infinite combination of circumstances. What about the test when is is warm, but wet to a puddle depth of 0.7mm but the driver is distracted by a text message?
As it is, breaking tests, if done correctly, are an average of at least 10 results and the pedal application is done by machine triggered at exactly the same point every time to remove human error. However, have a different read surface, a man hole cover, the difference between sun heating the road or cloud cover, or even coming off the motorway after 20 miles or that you have been driving around town at 30 mph for the last half hour and the results will be different and that is before you consider any type of wear or age.
Don’t over think things, there are way too many variables.
Have the Rainsports improved recently? I inherited a set on my NC1 3 years ago with plenty of tread, and they were terrible in the wet, including some exciting aquaplanning.
They may have simply been aged rainsports. Tyres these days go hard and lose a lot of (wet) grip after 5 years or so.
It’s worth checking the production date (wk/year) that’s always stamped into the sidewall somewhere, even when buying ‘new’ tyres.
So I have Michelin PS4, they are great but give little feel. For my preferences I would definitely go for the Goodyear F1 Asymmetric next time because I want stiff side walls and feel through the steering. BUT given your priorities around noise etc I’d go with the Michelin PS5. Compared to the original Bridgestone they are so much better and stopping in the wet is so much better. I use Tyre Reviews YouTube for my reviews.
Recently had my original bridgestones replaced with a set of kumos. The original were a bit over 2 years old(12500miles), some drives they were great and some they were terrible, but either way they provided no real feedback with no consistency at all.
Its like night and day with the kumos, i can feel what there doing, i can feel them wanting to step out or if there is solid grip.
After reading extensively about tyres, I was none the wiser beyond the fact that different tyres are best for winter and summer. Remember that I live in Vienna, Austria and, while winters are not as cold or snowy as they used to be here 40 years ago, we do have a long period when temperatures are consistently below 8°C, and laws that prescribe winter tyres in adverse circumstances.
I find internet reviews contradictory, depending on the car used, the size of the tyre, etc, and it doesnt seem to me to be hyper-scientific to rate a tyre on a scale of 1 to 5. So I have bitten the bullet and ordered a set of 16" wheels and Michelin Alpin 6 tyres for my new RF which is due to be delivered around Christmas. I intend to take a trip to a colder part of the country during the winter, and, if I survive until April, when I shall refit the Potenzas, or whatever come on the car from Japan for summer use, I shall hope to be able to give a (subjective) evaluation of the Alpin 6 for any here that may be interested.
Cannot go wrong with rainsports , great in the wet , greater in the dry , i don’t use anything else and i have a really heavy foot , motorway use and road use in the corners, (not a track car) they still grip right down to the last mm, loads of confidence with them, great value for money
M-m
