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Burning Rubber!
User avatar
By madat16
#3847301
Hi Guys

On my last three cars I've used Goodyear eagle F1 GSD3's (diagonal tread cut), 205 GTI and 2x EP3's.
On the 205 and the first EP3 they were phenomenal in the dry and wet and I really couldn't fault them.
Plus they come with thick sidewalls that protect the wheels.

When I purchased them for my current EP3 (around dec 2012) I had a lot of trouble finding them, only black circles had them and I sure they were old stock as a lot of local dealers said they were discontinued.

I'm running 215/45/17 on OEM wheels

Anyway its new tyre time and I've narrowed it down to the following:

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
Continental Conti Sport Contact 5
Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2 - Are these as good as the GSD3's?
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A - heard good things about the 040's in the dry but not great in the wet

Has anyone used any of these?
I'm after the best wet grip possible, as we all know how much it rains here.
I always found the GSD's gripped brilliantly on wet corners but could spin up a bit too easily in the wet.

I've searched the forum but there's too many different opinions over to many different threads for me to form an informed decision, so any help would be greatly appreciated
User avatar
By Norv
#3847302
I've heard uni royal rainsport 3 are meant to be really good in the wet, as are vredistein ultrac sessanta. I've got them on my 250 hp 2.0t a4 and they do take a hammering before letting go. I'm going to go eagles on the audi next time as the vreds do wear fairly quickly. They have a very aggressive tread pattern on them as well.
User avatar
By AdamB92
#3847305
Heard good things about the Uniroyal Rainsport's, but they are a wet weather tyre, so they will wear fast when it's dry (on the odd occasion).

It really comes down to how you drive, anyone can make a car let go if you don't drive to the conditions. I switched over from my semi slicks onto the Bridgestone RE050A's about a month or so ago, there's so much difference in the grip I have now in the colder conditions.

Both the Eagle F1 AS2, or Bridgestone's won't let you down. But neither of them are prominently a wet weather tyre.
User avatar
By w6ady
#3847307
I used the Goodyear assymetric 2 for a while good grip in wet and dry. However after a lot of suspension mods on my car the soft sidewalls became the cars downfall. Too squidgy in the corners lacked feel too. However before when my car had stock suspension they felt fine bit strange but that's what I had.
User avatar
By SteveDon
#3847308
I had uniroyal rainsports on my last car. On my ep3 I wanted to try something similar but different so after a bit of research went for Nokian zLine. I also have 215/45/17. I have been impressed. Get them through black circles. You will get lots of different opinions. Lots of people like to fit the OEM tyre.
User avatar
By madat16
#3847320
Thanks for the info so far guys.

However a bit of a typo, I'm actually running 215/40/17.
Has anyone tried the conti or michelins?
User avatar
By billster
#3847323
I've just had a set of Michelin PS3 fitted and they've been excellent in the wet and cold. Done around 2k miles since fitting and very impressed.
I've had CS5 before and the last two sets of tyres I had were Eagle F1 A2.
I'll be honest -they're all very good tyres, and the wet performance only seems to drop off when the tread starts wearing down. I'm thinking probably that the Goodyear are not quite at the same level as the Michelin or Contis in the wet.

The only minor complaint I have with the Michelin is that I don't really feel that they give as much feedback as the other two, when they're about to lose traction it always comes as a surprise.

I've always had 215/45 17 and always gone for the XL version with the stiff sidewalls.

I've not tried the Bridgestone yet but I've heard that they're very similar in performance.
User avatar
By Lewisgame
#3847327
I run Bridgestone's. Only time I can fault them is when it's very cold and damp. But I think majority of summer tyres fail in these conditions.
All the top brands are pretty much all as good as each other. Some are slightly better in some areas compared to others. But generally you won't go wrong with any of the top brands.
User avatar
By madat16
#3847361
billster wrote:I've just had a set of Michelin PS3 fitted and they've been excellent in the wet and cold. Done around 2k miles since fitting and very impressed.
I've had CS5 before and the last two sets of tyres I had were Eagle F1 A2.
I'll be honest -they're all very good tyres, and the wet performance only seems to drop off when the tread starts wearing down. I'm thinking probably that the Goodyear are not quite at the same level as the Michelin or Contis in the wet.

The only minor complaint I have with the Michelin is that I don't really feel that they give as much feedback as the other two, when they're about to lose traction it always comes as a surprise.

I've always had 215/45 17 and always gone for the XL version with the stiff sidewalls.

I've not tried the Bridgestone yet but I've heard that they're very similar in performance.
Thanks for the info.
Which ones have the option of the XL sidewalls? I know the F1's have the thicker rim protecting sidewalls.

Also has anyone tried 215/40 and 215/45?
Im guessing the 45's give a slightly smoother and quieter ride, but do you lose a lot of feeling or feedback?
User avatar
By AdamB92
#3847367
I run 215/45 on my track wheels, and yes you do lose some steering feedback, although it's not at all bad on the road as you'll never be pushing near the limits to need the greater feedback. My road wheels I run 205/45 (stock size), the car feels a bit more nimble, but for what you want a set of tyres for, I don't think you're really going to notice too much difference regarding the performance.
User avatar
By billster
#3847371
madat16 wrote:
billster wrote:I've just had a set of Michelin PS3 fitted and they've been excellent in the wet and cold. Done around 2k miles since fitting and very impressed.
I've had CS5 before and the last two sets of tyres I had were Eagle F1 A2.
I'll be honest -they're all very good tyres, and the wet performance only seems to drop off when the tread starts wearing down. I'm thinking probably that the Goodyear are not quite at the same level as the Michelin or Contis in the wet.

The only minor complaint I have with the Michelin is that I don't really feel that they give as much feedback as the other two, when they're about to lose traction it always comes as a surprise.

I've always had 215/45 17 and always gone for the XL version with the stiff sidewalls.

I've not tried the Bridgestone yet but I've heard that they're very similar in performance.
Thanks for the info.
Which ones have the option of the XL sidewalls? I know the F1's have the thicker rim protecting sidewalls.

Also has anyone tried 215/40 and 215/45?
Im guessing the 45's give a slightly smoother and quieter ride, but do you lose a lot of feeling or feedback?
They've all had the extra load option. Continental and Goodyear were both 91 rated, and from what I remember the Michelins are 91 as well.
User avatar
By madat16
#3847394
billster wrote:
madat16 wrote:
billster wrote:I've just had a set of Michelin PS3 fitted and they've been excellent in the wet and cold. Done around 2k miles since fitting and very impressed.
I've had CS5 before and the last two sets of tyres I had were Eagle F1 A2.
I'll be honest -they're all very good tyres, and the wet performance only seems to drop off when the tread starts wearing down. I'm thinking probably that the Goodyear are not quite at the same level as the Michelin or Contis in the wet.

The only minor complaint I have with the Michelin is that I don't really feel that they give as much feedback as the other two, when they're about to lose traction it always comes as a surprise.

I've always had 215/45 17 and always gone for the XL version with the stiff sidewalls.

I've not tried the Bridgestone yet but I've heard that they're very similar in performance.
Thanks for the info.
Which ones have the option of the XL sidewalls? I know the F1's have the thicker rim protecting sidewalls.

Also has anyone tried 215/40 and 215/45?
Im guessing the 45's give a slightly smoother and quieter ride, but do you lose a lot of feeling or feedback?
They've all had the extra load option. Continental and Goodyear were both 91 rated, and from what I remember the Michelins are 91 as well.
I've never really thought the load rating, but that makes perfect sense now.

I'm leaning towards the continental's now, just need to decide 215/40 or 215/45.

On both my ep3's I've always changed from the stock size to 215/40 due to price and options in that size, even though both times I went for F1 GSD.

I might try the 215/45 with the higher load rating to compensate.
I'll have to have another look at prices now.

I only use the civic for fun now as the van is the daily drive

Long time ago I had and Ep3 for 220k kilometers in[…]