Impreza WRX tyre choice
Discussion
So much choice and opinion out there, but I have narrowed it down.
Mix of town / A road driving, nothing too spirited, no trackdays and 5k pa. I currently have a set of Goodyear excellence which are 3 years old and don't seem to be wearing out at all, they may have gone "hard" and need swapping out.
Rainsport 3's with the higher load rating. Had these on my old Mazda 6 shed and they were brilliant.
PS4's , slightly more expensive, but I think maybe a bit of overkill given that I tend to drive fairly sedately so won't be able to max out their potential.
Toyo Proxies, I read so many different opinions and reviews, I have driven another WRX with a set of these with 3k on them and the car was much more planted than I expected, they seemed to perform very well, but I'm not sure that this is because my current tyres are crap in comparison.
I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this. Budget isn't really important because at 5k pa I probably won't need another set for 18 months to 2 years.
Mix of town / A road driving, nothing too spirited, no trackdays and 5k pa. I currently have a set of Goodyear excellence which are 3 years old and don't seem to be wearing out at all, they may have gone "hard" and need swapping out.
Rainsport 3's with the higher load rating. Had these on my old Mazda 6 shed and they were brilliant.
PS4's , slightly more expensive, but I think maybe a bit of overkill given that I tend to drive fairly sedately so won't be able to max out their potential.
Toyo Proxies, I read so many different opinions and reviews, I have driven another WRX with a set of these with 3k on them and the car was much more planted than I expected, they seemed to perform very well, but I'm not sure that this is because my current tyres are crap in comparison.
I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this. Budget isn't really important because at 5k pa I probably won't need another set for 18 months to 2 years.
Depends what you want from the car really - my '06 WRX wagon had Rainsport 3s and I loved them for the grotty b-roads where I lived at the time. They far more compliant than the previous Bridgestones and dealt with minging roads very well, but were noticeably softer when pushing on. If you'd rather go 'sporty' then I'd agree that Eagle F1 AS3s are worth a look 
Thanks for the suggestions chaps.
my WRX is also due for suspension refresh when it hits 100k next year, I'll see what Gaz have on offer at the time as their products are very good and at a good price point as well.
They're both decent choices, although the Goodyear Excellence have "gone off" in recent months. They just refuse to wear down and on 2 occasions the car has got to the point of "skating" coming out of a roundabout under power in the wet, I've got no confidence in them anymore so I guess I'm a bit put off a goodyear choice again.
Looks like RS3's might be the choice then. If they behave well on a wagon then they should be well up to the job on a saloon.
my WRX is also due for suspension refresh when it hits 100k next year, I'll see what Gaz have on offer at the time as their products are very good and at a good price point as well.
They're both decent choices, although the Goodyear Excellence have "gone off" in recent months. They just refuse to wear down and on 2 occasions the car has got to the point of "skating" coming out of a roundabout under power in the wet, I've got no confidence in them anymore so I guess I'm a bit put off a goodyear choice again.
Looks like RS3's might be the choice then. If they behave well on a wagon then they should be well up to the job on a saloon.
I wasn't too impressed with the Toyo Proxies T1R I had on mine. Just didn't seem to have much grip in the wet, especially across the front axle on roundabouts etc. They also seemed to require a very specific pressure to make the steering feel direct - any lower than 34 PSI and you could feel the difference. Maybe the T1R didn't have as stiff a sidewall as the OEM Bridgestones I used to run, but I am just guessing.
I have sold the car now, but I was either going to go back to OEM or Michelin.
I have sold the car now, but I was either going to go back to OEM or Michelin.
There seems to be a lot of love for the Goodyear F1's, I'm now asking myself the question if I should allow the poor experience of the Excellence on the car I'm having cloud my decision.
I've just been round the car and measured the depths, 3.8mm all round as an average so a fair bit of life left in them, but they are just not wearing down. They do have cracked sidewalls however, where the tread meets it. My other reason for the rainsport choice is that I often start work early in the morning when the roads are damp, so the drive to work via some B roads has gone from being a bit of a fun blast to a bit of a chore.
I have checked the RS3's, GY Eagles and the Vredenstein Ultra Satin, the wet grip etc comes out pretty much equal and are around the same cost give or take a few quid, I've binned the proxies as an idea now, I might well have a chat with my mate who runs the tyre shop and see what he thinks might be best. Incidentally, I notice that Uniroyal now have a Rainsport 5 on the market but only in the more popular sizes. Nice looking pattern and tyre as well.
decisions decisions.
I've just been round the car and measured the depths, 3.8mm all round as an average so a fair bit of life left in them, but they are just not wearing down. They do have cracked sidewalls however, where the tread meets it. My other reason for the rainsport choice is that I often start work early in the morning when the roads are damp, so the drive to work via some B roads has gone from being a bit of a fun blast to a bit of a chore.
I have checked the RS3's, GY Eagles and the Vredenstein Ultra Satin, the wet grip etc comes out pretty much equal and are around the same cost give or take a few quid, I've binned the proxies as an idea now, I might well have a chat with my mate who runs the tyre shop and see what he thinks might be best. Incidentally, I notice that Uniroyal now have a Rainsport 5 on the market but only in the more popular sizes. Nice looking pattern and tyre as well.
decisions decisions.
the michelin pilot super sports are supposed to be the best , so when i put on some vredestien ultrac and could not notice the difference other than they were 100 £ cheaper per tyre as they are 275 mm wide then that says good things , i have had toyo and bridgestone goodyear etc and did not think much of them v what i’m using now , the tyre rating on that site is 90 on per cent so you can’t go wrong
I've had Goodyear Asymmetric 3's on the WRX but one was a fake/knockoff (didn't spot it when I bought the car) which upset the handling massively so binned the fake and another I didn't trust and put Eagle Asymmetric 5's on the rear, I originally put the 5's on the front but it was too tail happy so swapped them to the rear for stability, the 5's are better than the 3's in every respect imo.
Now it's winter time I'm using Rainsport 3's as they get upto temperature a lot quicker.
Now it's winter time I'm using Rainsport 3's as they get upto temperature a lot quicker.
nw942 said:
I wasn't too impressed with the Toyo Proxies T1R I had on mine.
Are they still making/selling those? Horrible things, ok for grip but vague squishy sidewalls that also get cut up very easily, I think mine all died from sidewall cuts well before the tread wore out.I liked the Bridgestone RE002 on the Legacy, decent grip (though not so good in cold conditions) and much better feel than the T1R or the old Eagle F1 GSD3 (never tried the F1 asymmetrical but heard it was better).
I'm a bit out of date on current options though.
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