Tyre Choice?

[kjd4000 0]

Not too sure which tyre to go for.

 

Have done a search and the T1-r and f1's seem pretty closly matched, but i can't find much on Avon ZV1's,

 

The car is a 205 1.6 GTI, so they will just be used for keeping me on the road as its my everyday car, no trackdays or anything like that just the odd bit of 'spirited' driving.

 

I have Avons currently and they are really quite good and seem to last for ever but the dreded MOT is up soon so i need to make a decision. My ZV1's are 195/45/15 so my next question is do i stick with this size (which cost a bit more) or go with the more usual 195/50/15?

 

Any help would be great specially if you have used 2 or all of these tyres.

 

Cheers

Kieran

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Eagle F1's are the best road tyre I have used, especially in the wet. Toyos are OK performance wise, and cheap. Avons when I have used them I did not rate.

Personally I use 195/50/15 on 205's with 15" wheels.

[Fox 3]

I'm glad this topic has turned up, I'm just considering my next set of rubber (ooher!)

 

I've had eagle F1's before and was pleased, but have heard good things about Continental Premium contacts so might give them a go

 

www.tyre-shopper.co.uk seems to have some good prices for 195/50/15's too

[kjd4000 0]

Hmm i may be stupid but i cant seem to find any eagle f1's to buy online not even any prices, i will keep searching.

 

So if i think avons aren't bad now then f1's of t1-r's are going to feel great! The thing with the toyos is there are new sets on the bay atm for 122 delivered, which i don't think is bad at all. But if f1's are better i would rather pay a bit more.

[James_R 3]

Just road and spritied driving, can't get much better than Rainsports or F1's Rainsports are just in another league in the wet.

[BusEngineer 7]

I cannot speak highly enough of F1's for fast road use, i had them on a previous MGF and they were fantastic so i put them on the 205, better still!

 

Its got to be F1s

[kjd4000 0]

This is exactly what i wanted (so far) it seems like f1's are looking good, the other topics i have spent ages reading seem a bit more even.

So cheers for the posts so far!

[welshpug 1,662]

not surprised you cant find anything on ZV1's, they were superseded a long time ago, I've recently got ZV5's fitted, very good so far, just a bit noisier than Michelins that were on before.

[Baz 421]

Most avons i've had suck, have Zv1 & 3's atm somewhere, F1's are ok until you get heat into them, Toyo T1's the same but marginally better in the dry, not so good in the wet.

[JimLad 1]

If you go for F1's I've just been shopping around for F1's and the cheapest I found was blackcircle on the net at £38ea + £10 delivery.

 

If you look in the discounts section on here there's a code that gets you an extra few quid off as well.

 

That's 195/50/15's btw.

Edited August 28, 2008 by JimLad

[kjd4000 0]

Most avons i've had suck, have Zv1 & 3's atm somewhere, F1's are ok until you get heat into them, Toyo T1's the same but marginally better in the dry, not so good in the wet.

 

So would you say due to our beautifull weather the fact that toyos are better in the dry is cancelled out buy the f1's being better in the wet?

[damien 22 1 Cars]

F1's for me, the toyos are very good but i found them too soft and just dont last

[Alastairh 47]

If you go for F1's I've just been shopping around for F1's and the cheapest I found was blackcircle on the net at £38ea + £10 delivery.

 

If you look in the discounts section on here there's a code that gets you an extra few quid off as well.

 

That's 195/50/15's btw.

 

You could do better with the price. Try phoning your local garages. Most will price match / beat it. I don't bother with the net tyre shopping anymore after doing this.

 

F1s are good for a daily. But take them close to a track and its not pritty.

 

Al

[Ethos 0]

I have f1s on both cars, excellent in both the wet + dry.

[Baz 421]

So would you say due to our beautifull weather the fact that toyos are better in the dry is cancelled out buy the f1's being better in the wet?

 

Not particularly, there really isn't that much in it i find. I'm running a set of F1's atm, aswell as a set of T1R's and a couple of T1S's, and they're pretty evenly matched, although the Toyo's are now a bit 'scrubbed' as i've been using them all season for sprinting. I'd prefer to run the Toyo's all the time, and be a little more careful in the wet, although the F1's are great, the Toyo's don't seem to suffer the same annoying treadblock squirming when hot, which makes them more trustworthy IMO.

 

FYI T1S's have slightly harder sidewalls than the R's, so last a little better. (iirc and have go that the right way round!! )

[kjd4000 0]

well i do value your opinion as you seem to know your stuff on this forum. ebay atm are selling T1-R's for £122 and free delivery where if i were to get eagle f1s they are more around the £200 mark would you say that i would be better off buying the Toyos? r=Rather than spend out more on the f1s?

[Baz 421]

Why thankyou, i do try!!

 

I would purely for the saving in that case yes! Even if they are slightly inferior in the wet and wear out marginally quicker, for the price you really can't grumble!

[kjd4000 0]

Bloody ebay small print it says free postage but it isn't!!

 

So its now looking about £156 on there. Some more shopping around me thinks!

[kjd4000 0]

Just thought i would ask your views on profile aswell Baz 195/50/15 or 195/45/15. much difference? pros/cons?

[Baz 421]

Again not loads in it profile wise, 45's do make the ride a little harsher, and also the speedo over-read, don't seem to be that much different handling wise really, for the money i'd stick with the 50s.

 

At the risk of waffling on... Arguable that 50's have more progression between the limit and loss of adhesion than 45's due to more give in the sidewalls, (even more-so for 55's etc) so are a little more controllable at the limit, or oppositely squirm around making you unconfident, but in real terms it isn't that different between the 2, again i have a set of 45 A539s on a set of rims i use fairly often, they're not that much different apart from the harsher ride to the Toyo & F1 50s.

[Fox 3]

Well, I took the plunge yesterday about 15minutes after writing in this topic and went and bought £200's worth of Conti Premium Contact 2's for my new wheels.

 

So far, with less than 100miles on the grip is outstanding, it reminds me what it was like when I first fitted the F1's to the 106.

 

Hopefully when I get a few miles on them they will get even better!

[steve@cornwall 100]

Well, I took the plunge yesterday about 15minutes after writing in this topic and went and bought £200's worth of Conti Premium Contact 2's for my new wheels.

 

So far, with less than 100miles on the grip is outstanding, it reminds me what it was like when I first fitted the F1's to the 106.

 

Hopefully when I get a few miles on them they will get even better!

 

 

IMO anything will seem an improvement on the Avons- got the 195/45/15 ZV1s on the 1.9 - worst tyre I've ever had in the wet

[kjd4000 0]

well thats good news looks like what ever i get will be better.

[welshpug 1,662]

lol, if they're ZV1's they'll be years old and gone hard, unsurprising they're so bad!

[NeilGTi85 5]

Ive just got myself some new Toyo T1R's for £130 for my GTi-6, My last set was amazing. I've never tried the F1's but have heard they wear quicker then the toyo's.

 

Neil