Just bought my first MX5! Advice needed on new tyres....

[ricksaxby]

Hi everyone. I've recently bought a mk1 '93 1600 in Mariner Blue and love it! I've done a couple of mods already such as a new stainless exhaust from mx5parts.co.uk (which sounds awesome!) and also i've whacked a sticky number plate on the front (I think they look better.... even though they are 'illegal').

My next purchase is going to be a set of 4 new tyres. The tyres on the car are OK and have plenty of tread left on them but as far as I am aware they are pretty crappy tyres (Arrowspeed HP130's at the back, BF Goodrich Touring at the front).

Just wondering what everybody recommends? I want grip but not so much that I can't have the occasional bit of sideways fun!! I like the look of Goodyear Eagle F1's (awesome tread pattern) but they seem difficult to get hold of in the size I need for my standard wheels (185/60 R14) and are also relatively expensive. In total I do not want to spend more than £200 in total (including fitting).

Your advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

[Fruitcake]

I use Dunplop SP Sports and quite like them. MX-5s are very tyre sensitive and so when I found some I liked, I stuck with them so can't really give much of an idea of what other tyres are like.

[Paul V]

How does it handle with those tyres?

Are you changing because they do something wrong or they are just a bad name?

I have Kumho on my MX5 and think it handles excellently, they are very predictable as when the car does let go its still easily recovered.

[MX-5 Lazza]

NOT Dunlop SP Sport. They are the worst tyre I've ever experienced on an MX-5! When I bought my old Berkeley it came with Dunlop SP Sport 2000 tyres and they were truly awful - not good in the dry and dangerous on wet roads. I dumped them after about 6 months in favour of Yoko A509 despite the fact they were barely worn! I haven't heard of a single good Dunlop tyre on any car!

For 14" wheels you are limited in your choices. I think the Toyo T1S or T1R are available and are pretty good as are Goodyear F1 GSD2 but I think they are hard to get hold of these days. I've heard good things about BF Goodrich Geforce Profilers too.

You'd be better off getting yourself a set of 15" wheels (there are loads available 2nd hand on forums and ebay. The tyre choice is much wider and tend to be cheaper too - I paid about £160 for 4 Goodyear F1 GSD3 fitted & balanced

[ricksaxby]

Although I cannot make a direct comparison I used to have a Triumph Spitfire 1500, it had Pirelli's (P6000 i think?) and it seemed to handle much better. I have lost it a couple of times in the MX5 and the handling just doesn't feel as tight as it should. The Spitfire on the other hand I could chuck round a roundabout and control it if I lost the back end. I'm just wondering whether investing in a good set of tyres would be a wise idea. I have read on various forums that tyres can make a massive difference to the handling, especially when it comes to MX5's.

I am taking the MX5 on a trip through France in June so the last thing I want to do is lose it on a mountain road in the alps and plunge to my death!! Obviously I will be driving very carefully so this wont happen.... ;-(

[MX-5 Lazza]

In that case you'll need to get a full alignment done too. If the alignment is bad it doesn't matter what tyres you have you'll never get it to handle.
MX-5s have very adjustable chassis with toe, camber and caster at the front and toe & camber at the rear. If it hasn't been done for a few years it'll need doing.

[GravelBen]

My Mk1 has Dunlop LeMans LM600s on it which seem pretty good, plenty of grip wet or dry.

[deevlash]

GY eagle F1's with the cool V pattern have been discontinued and replaced by a new assymetric tread pattern.

[MX-5 Lazza]

deevlash said:

GY eagle F1's with the cool V pattern have been discontinued and replaced by a new asymmetric tread pattern.

Only in certain sizes - not in the common MX-5 sizes. According to Goodyear.co.uk

185/60/14 : GSD-2
195/50/15 : GSD-3
205/45/16 : GSD-2 (though I thought GSD-3 were available in this size)
205/40/17 : GSD-3

The smallest size F1 Asymmetric available is 215/45/17.

[Fruitcake]

MX-5 Lazza said:

NOT Dunlop SP Sport. They are the worst tyre I've ever experienced on an MX-5! When I bought my old Berkeley it came with Dunlop SP Sport 2000 tyres and they were truly awful - not good in the dry and dangerous on wet roads.

Really? I've found them OK. My old one had Michelins on, which I thought were crap. I find the Dunlops alright - not great on track but good on the road. They allow me to do little drifts in the wet and aren't too far off in the dry.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Try some real tyres - you'll be amazed at how bad the Dunlops are

[Paul V]

Get the alignment done first, then decide if is worth junking the tyres. wheels in motion are apparently very well regarded in the MX5 circles.

[franv8]

I've got some Yokohamas on mine - 205's on the 14" rims (sorry - 'bout 7000 miles away from car at the moment so can't give the exact details) - but they are fairly 'standard' ones.

My car is lowered, and may have different shocks (nothing too fancy - was an import and our Jap friends just can't leave anything alone), but I think the Yokos are fabulous handling, I seem to be able to get away with murder on the twisty bits, predictable too. Also, the wear rate is next to imperceptible - a real surprise given Yoko's normal reputation.

Think I paid about £50-£60 a corner fitted.

[franv8]

PS - got Kumho's on the other car, and have used on the road, track and strip - they were about a third of the price of Goodyears (255/50/16 for £70) and do a very good job, certainly in the dry. Surprisingly good on wear too, I always used to equate grip with high wear rates.

[skinny]

i'm going to go for dunlop SP sport fast response for the next set (soon)

they outperform every other tyre according to the tyre tests on mytyres.co.uk, plus they are mid price.

[MX-5 Lazza]

skinny said:

i'm going to go for dunlop SP sport fast response for the next set (soon)

they outperform every other tyre according to the tyre tests on mytyres.co.uk, plus they are mid price.

Don't they test on a fwd family hatch and a rwd M3 or similar? The results never seem to tally with MX-5 experience.

[skinny]

maybe - i'll still give them a go tho, the F1's seem difficult to get hold of (and i didn't really rate them when i had them) T1R's / T1S's again are hard to find, Michelin PE2's you don't rate plus they are very expensive...

i reckon the dunlops seem a fair alternative, we'll see how they go. will be a step up from my proxes CF-1's anyway!

[MX-5 Lazza]

Are you still on 14" wheels?

[skinny]

road wheels yep

[MX-5 Lazza]

Ah, right, so your choice is much more limited then. Even the F1s will be GSD-2 (GSD-3 are much better).