Tyres Tyres Tyres

[Fido05]

I know there's lots of older posts on the subject but tyre technology moves on. Any recommendations for tyres for a Tuscan 2. Road use only, mostly dry (unless caught in a summer downpour in Europe) price less important than duetting the best tyres. Also a little confused, car has 235/40's on the front, 255/35 rear. Lots of people suggest 225/40 on the front but many TVR specialists still supply/fit 235's?? What are the pros and cons and is there really any noticeable difference if the car is set up properly.

[MackieTVR]

I have just replaced my Tuscan 2 S tyres from Toyos to Goodyear Eagle F1's Asymetric 2 and the difference is very noticeable in a good way (£530 fitted & balanced), I then decided to have the whole geometry set up by laser and this has taken it to another level again, mine is a 2007 with 19K miles however 3 out of the 4 corners needed setting up (£130 - took approx 2 hours 15 mins)

I would recommend doing both

[ILoveMondeo]

Another vote for the Eagle F1's,

I found the toyos I had 2-3 sets of on my last tuscan gave amazing grip in dry warm weather only, and sucked at all other times, slightest bit of damp and they were crap, even cold and dry they weren't very good.

Had avons something or others on the current tuscan when I bought it, fairly quickly replaced with the eagles, and they've been great.

[fullleather]

If they are in your size and its mostly dry weather, AD08R tyres...got mine going on next Saturday, cant sleep through the excitement even! try 'Black Circles'

[MrChips]

I've previously had Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's in 225/40 and 255/35. Fantastic tyre for the road and coped well in the wet too. Recently changed for AD08r's and they are a lot stiffer so i've had to soften the Nitrons to compensate. At the moment after 500 miles I think i preferred the Eagles although there's no doubting that the AD08s can grip very well in the dry. The also look much much nicer but everyone knows you never buy anything for the car just because they look nice

[GTrr]

Toyo R1R. Best of both worlds.
225 front is better.

[Englishman]

I've a Mk1, but changed both front and rears from Toyo's to Goodyear asymmetric 2's in the last year. Went for 225/40's at the front and handling has improved significantly IMHO.

[Speed 3]

I had F1's on the front of my Mk1 when I bought it. They were only 9 months old with 900 miles on them when this happened on the M61 two months after I bought the car:



Needless to say I lost trust in them and have Michelin PS3's all round now. Nothing to compare them to (F1's didn't last long enough) but they handle fine as far as I'm concerned.

[stevieeg]

Pirelli P-Zeros. 235s front 255s rear. Much improved driveability and stability over the Falkens the previous owner had fitted.

They need to be replaced soon and I'll probably stick with them.

[Speed 3]

stevieeg said:

Pirelli P-Zeros. 235s front 255s rear. Much improved driveability and stability over the Falkens the previous owner had fitted.

They need to be replaced soon and I'll probably stick with them.

Always been a fan of P-Zero's, not sure why they get such a kicking in most quarters, especially if longevity is not a concern.

[Fido05]

OK. Goodyear's seem to work very well and get excellent reviews on the Tuscan with lots of owners recommending them, maybe possibly fragile side walls? There's the P Zero, undoubtably a very good tyre but with mixed general reviews and possiblly not many Tuscans running them. Let's then throw into the mix the new Michelin PS4 which seems potentially very good but with few reviews and none I can find for a Tuscan . There's then the question of 235 or 225 on the front. WOW HELP!!!! All obviously really good tyres and it probably just comes down to personal preference and what works best with such a light and powerful rear drive car. (I wish you could try them back to back ). Still not decided but will post my findings once I've got a few miles under the new tyres whatever they are.

[Whitey]

Speed 3 said:

I had F1's on the front of my Mk1 when I bought it. They were only 9 months old with 900 miles on them when this happened on the M61 two months after I bought the car:



Needless to say I lost trust in them and have Michelin PS3's all round now. Nothing to compare them to (F1's didn't last long enough) but they handle fine as far as I'm concerned.

Wow! Any idea's on why that happened? I was considering F1's or Toyo T1-S for my Tuscan soon.

[Speed 3]

Whitey said:

Wow! Any idea's on why that happened? I was considering F1's or Toyo T1-S for my Tuscan soon.

Nope, there was nothing obvious and no slow puncture evidence. Didn't bother following it up with Goodyear as I hadn't bought the tyres myself. Wasn't as dramatic on 3 wheels as you'd expect !

[Sagi Badger]

A very common question, what tyres?

I have 19 inch rims on both my cars, Continentals on the Sag, 255 on the 8.5 inch front and 275 on the 10 inch rear and the Tuscan has 255 Michelin super sport all round as the rims are 8.5 inch wide.

So why 255s, its because the sidewalls are vertical and not stretched like a 225 would be although the narrow tyre seems to be the choice, unless like me you do the maths and look at the size guides. I reckon I get less, almost zero, tramlining like this even with the shallow 30 profile.

The Contis are a good tyre, never had a slip, unless I wanted it, and they deal with standing water well. The Michies do stick, like I never thought they would and I can't help but think I have more rolling resistance and noise from the stickier tyre. In the rain they do well and I rate them as the better tyre for the application overall.

I have another set of rims on the way that I will fit up with AD08Rs and see how many miles enjoyment they can be reduced to. I will report in a couple of months

J

[MPoxon]

Sagi Badger said:

I have another set of rims on the way that I will fit up with AD08Rs and see how many miles enjoyment they can be reduced to. I will report in a couple of months

J

I will be interested to hear your thoughts on the AD08Rs. As you know I really rate mine.... get some heat into them and they stick like st to blanket. By the same token they were happy sat a 70MPH on the motorway in the pouring rain this weekend.

There are not many tyres you can confidently pull 1G at a 121MPH....

[Basil Brush]

Also to add to the mix, not all tyres measure the same width for a given carcass size, so one manufacturer's 235 could be the same actual width as another's 225.

I don't know if still the case but there were german and chinese made versions of the original GY asyms, with a fair few reported quality issues with the chinese ones.

[MrChips]

Basil Brush said:

Also to add to the mix, not all tyres measure the same width for a given carcass size, so one manufacturer's 235 could be the same actual width as another's 225.

I don't know if still the case but there were german and chinese made versions of the original GY asyms, with a fair few reported quality issues with the chinese ones.

My AD08r's at the front are 225/40 and certainly seem much wider contact patch compared to the Eagles.

[Jhonno]

Speed 3 said:

I had F1's on the front of my Mk1 when I bought it. They were only 9 months old with 900 miles on them when this happened on the M61 two months after I bought the car:



Needless to say I lost trust in them and have Michelin PS3's all round now. Nothing to compare them to (F1's didn't last long enough) but they handle fine as far as I'm concerned.

9 months since they were put on the car, or 9 months from manufacture date? Can be a BIG difference..

[Speed 3]

Jhonno said:

9 months since they were put on the car, or 9 months from manufacture date? Can be a BIG difference..

Yes I do realise that. It was 9 months from fitment and they were bought new by the previous owner. Manufacturing date was the prior year IIRC

[Whitey]

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3's are out in May in 255/35/18 but not in 225's. I don't want to put F1 version 1's on the front with version 3's on the back so think I will consider Toyo, Pirelli's or Bridgestones instead.

I still have a fair bit of rear tread left to make smoke signal's with before I need change the tyres