Tyre choice

[pentoman]

I know nothing about tyres so please help..
I have 3 Pirelli P6000's on my Cossie Merc, the fourth one exploded on a track day . Apparently these tyres are crap, and given my sidewall exploding experience I don't want another one. So I have to choose something else. What can anyone recommend?

This is a choice of tyres in the correct size and speed rating that I've found online.

Blackcircles.com VALUE CHOICE 205/55 R15 V £31.09
Fateo AR550 205/55 R15 V £35.17
Nexen N 2000 205/55 R15 V £38.29
Pirelli P7 205/55 R15 V £47.92
Sportiva Z 55 205/55 R15 V £50.78
Goodyear NCT5 205/55 R15 V £51.71
Toyo Proxes T1-R 205/55 R15 V £51.96
Hankook K 105 (Extra Load) 205/55 R15 V £52.58
Firestone SZ80 205/55 R15 V £53.51
Falken ZE 512 205/55 R15 V £54.72
Kumho Ecsta Sport KU 31 205/55 R15 V £54.72
Kleber Dynaxer HP 205/55 R15 V £60.99
Pirelli P6000 Powergy 205/55 R15 V £63.45 <- nooooooooooo!
Cooper Cobra VHP 205/55 R15 V £65.52
Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 205/55 R15 V £79.59
Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 205/55 R15 V £81.00
Dunlop SP Sport 01 205/55 R15 V £88.13

I will probably do 2-3 track days a year in the car; it's primarily a road car. I don't track it to try and be faster than anyone else so am not worried about outright grip. Bear in mind it's a Mercedes saloon, I want something decently quiet and long lasting, as good in rain as in the dry (what is the point in tyres that are crap in the wet?!?), but that will cope fine with a track day and not blow out dangerously! And of course I'd rather not pay top dollar!

thanks
Russell

[900T-R]

Out of that lot, I'd go for the Toyo T1-R every day of the week.

[bigbadbikercats]

900T-R said:

Out of that lot, I'd go for the Toyo T1-R every day of the week.

They certainly seem to suit a wide variety of cars as they're also the top "owner reccomendation" for my wife's[1] MGF and having fitted a set a couple of weeks back I'm entirely happy with them so far, even if they weren't ideal in snow...

[1] Well sort of. I seem to have been monopolising it lately and it'll definitely be seeing a few track days this year as long as Melindi promises not to let anyone laugh at it

--
Jonathon

[BadgerBenji]

Is your cosworth mercedes still have a full interior, you might want to check out the weight rating for the tyres, as that is not the lightest of cars, and was probably a contributing factor in the tyre blowing out before.

Have you checked the Yokohama range, the A539 is a handy road tyre, that performs well on the track.

[pentoman]

Yep full interior. It's basic spec - half leather not electric, no A/C etc so I believe weighs 1300kg.

I've spoken to my 'tyre man' and am probably going to go with Yokohama A539 as suggested here. Well priced, hopefully a good performer, and hopefully won't blowout .

Russell

[BadgerBenji]

Good choice

[gtdc]

Anyone caught laughing at the Cossie Merc will be fisted.

Oh how they all laughed on the other sides of their faces when that german Merc came over to do the BritCar 24 hours a couple of years ago. It was auto, looked like a taxi, drivers seemed to be circulating with tartan blankets on their knees, only took on fuel every 11 hours (or so it appeared)... finished quite well too.

Melindi
www.goldtrack.co.uk

[seanlazyass]

Toyo T1-R, Goodyear Eagle F1's, Avon ZZ3's (not sure if correct size). I'd go for the Toyo's or Goodyears, although the A539's are also good but not as good in the wet.

[spokey]

Toyos.

[Neil_Bolton]

Christ I wish my tyres were that cheap these days

However, I'd go for Toyos anyday - worked well for me on the Golf.

But on the BMW, I've read several reports that they do not suit the car at all, and so I have Michelin Pilo Sport II's on the front.

Seeing as I'd need a second morgage to afford them on the back, I purchased some Marshall's that came highly recommended as they have the same Silicon technology of the more expensive models.

SO far I am impressed

[BadgerBenji]

seanlazyass said:

although the A539's are also good but not as good in the wet.

Got to disagree on this, used them on several wet track days the ultimate grip might be abit less, but the breakaway characteristics are alot more progressive with the A539's.

[spokey]

Neil_Bolton said:

But on the BMW, I've read several reports that they do not suit the car at all, and so I have Michelin Pilo Sport II's on the front.

They work fantastically on my E34 M5 and my E30 Z1.

[pentoman]

Melindi, is this the britcar one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v95

Yokohamas are £42+VAT from where I'm getting them Neil

As these yokohamas are an 'ultra high performance' tyre, does that mean they're likely to lose grip quickly (well less progressively than my P6000s)

[iguana]

pentoman said:

Melindi, is this the britcar one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v95

Yokohamas are £42+VAT from where I'm getting them Neil

As these yokohamas are an 'ultra high performance' tyre, does that mean they're likely to lose grip quickly (well less progressively than my P6000s)

ha ha to describe the 539 as an 'ultra high performance' tyre is a laugh, they are great on track on hatches & wear very well & dont get ripped up & I'd hazzard a guess would suit you fine in the taxi, im a big fan of the 539 but they are just a cheap road tyre that works well on track.

Breakaway just as progressive as p6000 ditchmasters, but more grip untill they do & when they do let go its nice & completly progressive, they grip very noticably less when worn tho.

I find fine in wet but the Toyos TR or S or Goodyear are definatly better.

[pentoman]

Cheers, every single tyre seems to be a 'high performance tyre' usually with 'superior grip in wet' and 'excellent dry weather performance' and 'long lasting' so the whole market is a bit stupid if you ask me as every tyre seems identical, yet they can't be! At least Pirelli were honest, describing the P6000 as a good energy-saving long lasting tyre, making no claims of slick-like grip!

Toyo T1-r are barely any more expensive than the Yokohama... but I heard they were quiet a hard compound..?

[pentoman]

Searching the internet for "yokohama A539 blowout" turned up a page with a guy talking about a P6000 blowout!:

www.opelaus.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-368.html

man said:

I've Never used Pirelli P Zero, But the rest of Pirelli Range is Overated and Over Priced for what they are.
Pirelli P5000 to hard and wont grip even if they're ran lower Psi than Recommended
P6000 to soft and just Tear chunks and the blow out the side walls

[BadgerBenji]

The A539 is the control tyre for the stock hatch series, if i remember correctly.

[pentoman]

I couldn't get A539s so have gone with T1-R. Fingers crossed this won't be happening to them:


We reckon it may have happened due to being removed and replaced on different rims a number of times.

[pentoman]

Tyres fitted. The back end seemed very wobbly at first, possibly because the tyres were new and the roads wet? It's settled down a bit now after ~200 miles, but I'm still sure there's something wrong at the rear... The back feels like it's rolling a lot, almost to the point that I think it's going to skid out. It's like there's 400kg of luggage in the boot and no anti roll bar. I'm going to get the back inspected thoroughly as it feels like something might have broken. The ride feels normal though, there's no knocks or wobbles.

[simply tyres]

pentoman said:

Tyres fitted. The back end seemed very wobbly at first, possibly because the tyres were new and the roads wet? It's settled down a bit now after ~200 miles, but I'm still sure there's something wrong at the rear... The back feels like it's rolling a lot, almost to the point that I think it's going to skid out. It's like there's 400kg of luggage in the boot and no anti roll bar. I'm going to get the back inspected thoroughly as it feels like something might have broken. The ride feels normal though, there's no knocks or wobbles.

Hi There... The Toyos can take upto 500miles before they settle in,they are quite slippery until then,but after they become outstanding.
Steve