The tyres on my ND are the originals from 2017, a tad hard and have a few cuts.
I was thinking of going for Yokohama Bluearth ES32’s… score quite highly in all the reviews.
Agree Rainsports were excellent on my Mk2. I tried Kumho for my NC and stuck with them, on a third set now one set is on the daily driver (not an MX-5) can’t fault them.
Update: my dealer came back to me and I was told that 16" wheels are not to be used on my car (I think it is something to do with the extensive written documentation that comes with the car, that specifies all these things). So I went with 205/45/R17 Pilot Alpins. There was no bad weather this winter, but they worked well. The big problem here in the late winter is the frequent oscillation between below 5° and the next day 10°+. Ideally one should change the tyres appropriately. In the event, right after my change to the summer wheels, the temperature took a dip to 0°-5° for a week or so. I find the Potenzas a bit harsher than the Michelins, but maybe they will improve when “broken in”.
David
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Winter tyres grip fine at higher temperatures but they will wear quicker.
Tried for the Sport 105 84v but have been offered Bluearth es32.
Did E1MXV get the Bluearth?
Anyone else any experience?
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I did indeed get the Yokohama Bluearth ES32’s. so far so good i cant fault them…
Just looking at the available sizes of Yokohama Bluearth E32’s and it appears it does NOT come in 195/50/R16 for my ND 1.5, but in 195/55/R16.
Is your MX5 an ND 2.0 ltr or did you fit a 195/55/R16 to a ND 1.5 ltr?
Hello ET1, The E32’s was what i asked to be fitted. But it looks like ive the Blue Earth - GT AE51’s fitted, probably as you say the E32’s don’t come in 195/50/R16. Still cant fault them, grippy, low noise and return good mpg.
ES32 does not come in 195/50R16. AE51 does, as does the Advan Sport V105.
I very much liked the V105 so I got some more. It is a ‘sport’ tyre and does have a stiff sidewall (I kept the ‘good’ one just in case). The AE51 Blue Earth is a ‘premium touring tyre’ according to Yokohama, so probably not as stiff.
That said, I came across some very good pricing on the ‘W’ speed rated version of the V105 and got those a month or so back. They don’t feel quite as good as the V rated ones they replaced - maybe because they have more tread! They aren’t bad, but do feel a little bit more understeery at the moment. I’ve just done 2,400 miles on them in the last 2 weeks and I’m still noticing it so I must check my tyre pressure gauge. There seems no logical reason for the 84W to be much different to the 84V.
P.S. Oddly, the 84W’s are clearly marked ‘OE’. For what, I’m not sure…
Thanks E1MXV for checking. Would like to stick with the Advanced SPORT V105. Still trying to source from local tyre supplier/fitters.
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Interesting that you feel a difference between W and V tyres. Would have thought the more expensive and higher speed rating W would have meant an improvement if anything. That said I know nothing about these things anyway. My experience with tyre fitters is that they never inflate the tyre to its correct pressure (Usually way over) after fitting new tyres, or after puncture repair.
I’m really not trying to feel a difference, my expectation was that they would just feel the same, apart from that light steering you get with a brand new set.
The W rated were cheaper, by maybe £20 each. I ordered them from Tyre Leader, and they were dispatched from Eden Tyres which is Derby I think. I speculated they might be cheap because they were ‘old’ but the manufacturing date was late last year so nothing unusual. Camskill listed them even cheaper, I spotted afterwards.
They also list the 84V, £10 dearer. I got the local fitters to put them on.
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