Uniroyal Rainsport 5

[Matt99man]

I know this has been done to death, I thought I’d done all the research so went out a bought a set of Rainsport 5’s…now I’ve done about 150 miles in them now but they really done feel that great, very soft and not as good as the old Toyos. I’m running 22psi front and 24 rear.

So…

Do I need to run them in some more….are my expectations too high.
Should I increase the pressures to compensate for the softness?

Thoughts?

[dave_s13]

22psi is nearly flat

[Matt99man]

dave_s13 said:

22psi is nearly flat

Not in a Chimaera…standard pressure

[DCerebrate]

Rainsport5 is the best all round tyre that I have used. Would suggest a trial of 4psi higher. After all, many modern cars tyres are operating at 45psi; perhaps they are designed for higher pressure than 22psi.

[leef44]

Agreed, the squichy and soft feeling is due to the pressures being too low. Need at least 28psi, maybe even 32psi.

Modern tyres need modern pressure.

[BritishTvr450]

What size are the new tyres.
I know the RS tyres are known to be good using larger wheels such as 17’s etc.

They are a winter tyre so very soft. Car moves around more but should offer better hold to the tarmac, more compliance.
Takes a bit of getting used to and does take usually 100 miles or so to bed them in.
Give them a few weeks and they might harden very slightly through heat cycles.

I’d try small increases in tyre pressure keeping to the same front to rear offset we have always used so 22f 24r as standard.
32 sounds far to hard as older style tyres would perform very badly on a TVR at those pressures.

I’d be very systematic and use the same piece of road to test its effects.
An emergency stop being my first testing point of reference

[SMB]

I run rs5s on a chimaera, std pressures just fine, you need a good few miles to get the release gel off the tyres. if you want a slight firmer ride increase by 2psi. Ignore the higher pressures comments where cars are running low profile or weight 1.5-2times a chimaera.

[mk1fan]

I pumped the tyres (RS3) on Tamy up to 40psi while she was parked up. Didn't loose any pressure which was a good sign. I forgot to lower them when I drove up to the TVR Tickler in Downham Market last month. It was an interesting experience

Back to 24psi all round (225/40 on each corner). Much better.

[TwinKam]

leef44 said:

Agreed, the squichy and soft feeling is due to the pressures being too low. Need at least 28psi, maybe even 32psi.

Modern tyres need modern pressure.

Utter nonsense. Tyre pressure has more to do with the weight of the car than the modernity of the tyres.

[Colin RedGriff]

I've got RS's on the std wheels on my Griff. I found I needed to increase the presure all round as it fekt a bit soft on the road.

[indigochim]

BritishTvr450 said:

I’d try small increases in tyre pressure keeping to the same front to rear offset we have always used so 22f 24r as standard.

What's the consensus if running 16" all round? 24 front and rear or leaving the fronts slightly lower?

[mk1fan]

What ever feels best to you. Geo, driving style, tyre load rating etc .. I'd start off at 24 all round and go from there in 2psi increments. If the tyres are all the same size then the same pressure in each should be fine for our cars on the road.

[Olivera]

Not a great choice of tyre for a sports car, unless you're a a 'Sunday trundler'. A wet weather tyre like the Rainsport has extra tread depth and lots of channels to displace water, great for the rain, but in the dry the tread/channels deform under cornering and gives squidgy steering/cornering response.

[stevemiller]

Sorry for jumping in to a TVR chat. I have RS5 on a Fiesta Van 205/45/17. They are a soft wall tyre that brings some extra comfort and is very good in the wet and cold/wet. The trade off is they are not as sharp in cornering than others used to date Michelin/Yokohama used over the previous 84k miles the van is now on 115k. They suit me for the use I have but there are better tyres out there for not much more if you are looking for a sharper turn in. I will most likely buy again as at the price point for me they are hard to beat.

[fieryfred]

I am not a trundeler, nor a fine weather only driver. I have 215/45/R17 & 245/40/R17 rainsport running at 24psi.
They are a great all round tyre. The problems i have come across on other cars is not the tyres but the suspension.
Give the rainsports a few more miles & check your suspension. Otherwise take a hit & go back to Toyos.

[blaze_away]

FWIW I run RS6's front 22 rear 24 and find them excellent in all weather's.

Most significantly I have real top end shocks (Intrax) and fully adjusted and corner weighted.

A famous LeMan driver drove my car, for a TV motoring feature, a few years back on RS5's then and said it handled great

[gamefreaks]

They are very soft and you can feel the sidewall movement under hard cornering.

Can try experimenting with pressures.

I like them as I prefer a soft tyre and don't mind giving up a bit of sharpness in handling in return for comfort and wet weather grip.

[never_thought_id_buy]

I have RS5s on my Chimaera. 16s front, 17s rear. One section down from standard but same widths. I'm running standard pressures of 22F 24R. They replaced some very old Toyos. As has been mentioned above, it does take a while for the release agent to wear off.

Even once run in, you can feel that they have an even softer side wall than the Toyos. They're definitely not as precise and my car wanders a bit on the motorway. However, they grip really well both in the dry and especially in the wet. Having had a few 'moments' with the Toyos, even when they were a lot newer, I know which I'd rather have for most of my driving.

But if you're looking for the ultimate in feel and precision, you'd be better off with a different tyre. But I don't know which one!

[indigochim]

The problem I found was, especially for the original wheel sizes, was finding a tyre that fits and is also the right speed rating. I find the RS3's I have to be more than adequate in the dry and more importantly vastly superior in the wet or snow.

[steviegtr]

I have been down a similar route. I ended up opting for Toyo Proxy T-R 1. I am running 24 front & rear. Car seems good on them.
Steve.