Have just got a new (to me) 06 2.0L option pack Mx5.
Have been looking at tyres recently, and looking at the last service records on this car 2 of the 4 tyres (OSF and NSR) are advised for changing, and I’ve seen shoulder wear on the OSF as well.
My NSF is a different brand from the rest so |I want to get them all the same, so just buy 4 new tyres. (whilst getting them balanced, and also going in to get wheel alignment).
So for 205/50 16 tyres, what would you recommend? I’d like something good but not cost me the earth.
I’ve seen a lot of people recommend the kumho and yoko, but what about other brands like dunlop sprt blue response?
The Dunlops are excellent, had fast response on our daily driver, stable and predictable, great grip wet and dry and quiet to boot. Turanza ER300 are also very good, not quite as quick handling but they last a little longer.
The original A11A on mine tramlined dreadfully once they were part-worn, even with the alignment done.
Goodyear GSD3’s were good on grip, and very sharp steering but got very noisy - as in “Oh, the diff is packing up!” and went egg-shaped. Very expensive to find that out the hard way. Lifelong buyer of Goodyear now has no faith in the band (or its customer attitude).
Current Toyo T1R don’t steer as sharply as the GSD3, but they are quieter and seem to work well wet or dry, but don’t like being rotated front-back.
In the Winter I use Nokian WRG3 which in the wet suck-up all the water (you can see spray behind the car on these tyres even when other cars aren’t giving any!) and I’ve happily driven (carefully) in snow, slush, and on ice (NB I live on top of a hill). They are quieter and more stable than the Toyos in cold weather but noisier in warmer weather.