Tyres What You Recommend

[Josh_Quant 27]

Getting alloys painted soon and want some fresh rubber on them...

 

what would you buy for fast road application?

Edited January 1, 2017 by Josh_Quant

[welshpug 1,657]

Michelin Pilot sport 3.

 

or Yokohama AD08R for something more track biased, not idea for this time of the year in the UK though.

 

 

Yet to try them yet, but Michelin now do a cross climate tyre in the original size for a 205 15", I was very impressed with the Alpin.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

The AD08R's are great on the road in summer, not too bad in winter, and reasonable on track. I've got them on my 205 and also my mini.

 

Camskill usually sell them quite cheap this time of year....worth being on the shortlist at least.

[Alan77 78 1 Cars]

+1 for Pilot Sport 3's, or Falken Ziex 914's as a cheaper option

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I used the 914's on my good wood and have them for my van. All I've ever needed for the road.

[calvinhorse 870]

Pilots are phenomenal in wet and dry and they last forever

[dcc 855]

The 914s were crap for me. Lasted 11k on my misses golf. I only suggest you avoid them. They were very good on my 106, but I only had them for 2k or so.

 

The pe2 and newer ps3 are great. I'll be buying new tyres for some wheels soon and i am considering a set of ad08r

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Perhaps they don't like a heavier car. Lasted all of my ownership with the v6, plenty of hearty launches!

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I also don't rate the 914's. Replaced with Michelins and the difference in grip is night and day.

The EU tyre ratings are useful to filter out the crap. A rated wet grip are what I buy now without exception.

[welshpug 1,657]

in this particular size the premium brands are cheap enough not to bother with mid range tyres, even better if you find part worns.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Pilot Sport 3s on mine. They're ace and well priced for how good they are.

[DBG 16]

Bridgestone RE003.

 

Having owned PS3s on many of our cars I was talked into trying the RE003s. They are fantastic wet or dry (I believe the dry grip particularly is better than the PS3) and look cool too

 

My only comment against the Michelin is the wear rating is lower, so they are grippier, but may not last as long.

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

I run Toyo R1r's and find them excellent in both wet and dry. I've not tried pe3s so can't compare.

[welshpug 1,657]

Bridgestone RE003.

 

Having owned PS3s on many of our cars I was talked into trying the RE003s. They are fantastic wet or dry (I believe the dry grip particularly is better than the PS3) and look cool too

 

My only comment against the Michelin is the wear rating is lower, so they are grippier, but may not last as long.

 

 

have you compared them to the 002? no 003's up here, the 002 has a poorer wet grip than a PS3, which is quite important up here

[DBG 16]

No, I've never really been keen on the Bridgestone tyres (mostly owned Michelins or semi slicks), so no comparison with the RE002 unfortunately. The 003 are reasonably new in believe, with many people (on the Aussie Peugeot forum) raving about them.

 

My only comparison is with the PS3s and I believe they are equal in the wet and better in the dry. They are also 'fatter' than the PS3 so fill out the guard nicely.

[Josh_Quant 27]

The AD08Rs have good reviews and about £70 a corner so very tempted by them...

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Always found the 914's very good for the money

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Just today I put a set of the (nearly new) Pilot Sport 3's on my 2nd Mini as per recommendations from here and took it a blast.

 

First impression is they don't seem quite as grippy as the AD08R's on my other Mini but they seem very progressive and Controlable. Actually made it a bit more fun to drive and I'm very happy with them.

 

Big difference compared to the 4 odd crappy tyres that came off. Should be even better when the roads are cleaned and heated up a bit. The rubber/sidewalls seem very soft on them, maybe they don't have as much reinforcement as the Yokos.

[welshpug 1,657]

they will take quite some time to wear in so don't go off initial impressions, have another think when they're a few hundred miles old.

 

they certainly wont be anywhere near as stiff as a yoko track tyre!!

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

They are well worn in WP, by previous owner.

 

When I said soft I wasn't meaning the flex, I was talking about the actual rubber itself ????

[Mac Crash 78 1 Cars]

No actual rubber content in them... have them on my own car and they have been through the wars, heavily scrubbed but still very, very good tyres... best quality

as far as road tyres go.

 

In no way whatsoever though can they be compared to a warm A008 or A048 (which do have real rubber content) for grip levels... that is obvious though but so is the price difference.

 

Road use - Michelin every time

Fast Road - depends on how you define that and your wallet... hard side wall is very important though on a 205

[calvinhorse 870]

Dobboy, I wonder if minis handling relies on stiff sidewall tyres? They all come from the factory with run flats which are very stiff?

[TAG 25 1 Cars]

Nankang NS-2R are £54 a corner for 185/60/14, and similar for 15 inch sizes. Much more grip than PS3 when warm, but will wear out faster too.

 

AD08 are no longer E-marked for typical Pug sizes, something to consider.

 

I had a set of PS3s that DCC had second hand and had done 10k miles on himself, and they lasted ages on my 205 and later 306.

 

If you just want a pretty good road tyre, PS3s are a good shout, if you want something a bit more track based without going to R888 etc, then I'd certainly recommend the NS-2R.

 

They also do the NS-2R in a softer compound again in 195/50/15, which is tempting.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Dobboy, I wonder if minis handling relies on stiff sidewall tyres? They all come from the factory with run flats which are very stiff?

I don't think so Calvin, but ditching the RF's defineately removes a bit of the trashiness of the standard "SS+" suspension they come/came with. Changing the springs has made both of mine feel a lot nicer too.

 

I guess the box standard car on RF's would be more prone to snap? whereas from first impressions of the PS3 it looks more prone to be progressive. I've only tried the PS3 yesterday on cold dirty roads so they'll probably feel much better come better weather. But they did feel good, and as I said fun, in that the car was moving about but I felt in control....honest!

 

Another thing I noticed yesterday was that the PS3 back tyres on the Cooper S didn't heat up as much compared to the back AD08R's on my JCW would normally do if driven the same.

 

It's maybe not fair to compare the two tyres/cars as the JCW has a bigger rARB and an LSD, or maybe it is, and AD08R's may be better suited to a 205 as there's more chance of heating up the backs?.... If you're that way inclined on empty windy roads.

 

Having said all that......I've got AD08R's on my 205 and the backs have never really warmed up, although I don't drive it quite as lively on the roads for fear of pranging it.

 

I've also used AD08R's on track, and switched to A048's for the following session, (with two different cars I've had) and there is a big big difference.

 

Basically you'll struggle to get to the limits of an AD08R on a dry road, but will get to their limits easily enough on track.

 

The AD08R is far superior to the older AD08 from what I've read.