Anyone Running These Tyres????

[Trellis]

I know tyres are a topic thats been done to death but I've been offered a great deal on any of the following:

Dunlop SP2020

Firestone SZ80

Pirelli P6000

The S02's on the front of my Chim are still fine so this would only be for the rears.

So far I've steadfastly stuck with Bridgestones on all my TVRs - and I'm naturally wary of switching - so I'm hoping some people out there can tell me if they're running on any of these and more importantly what they're like!!!!

Any help gratefully received! Thanks!!! :wobble:

[rev-erend]

Not a great selection there ..

The Dunlops are often made for much heavier cars and do not get up to temp - dont grip, dont wear, last forever and go hard..

Firestones - have they ever made a good tyre. I don't think so..

The Pirellis are the best of this bunch..

Have you had a look at :

www.roadtyres.com/

or

www.blackcircles.com/

[zippee]

I speak from experience when I say don't touch the P6000's with a bargepole...
Found them to be bloody awful, constantly coming out of balance and the grip was non-existant in the wet.
This was on my old car, a Honda Prelude so I dread to think what they'd be like on a TVR.
Ran them for about 4 months before swapping them for Avon ZZ3's, a very good tyre IMHO.

[targarama]

Agreed, avoid the Pirellis. Not sure about the other 2, we have Dunlop SP9090 on our (much heavier Audis) and they're very very good).

Now we all like to save money, but personally with the tyres being the only thing between me and the road I suggest a few alternatives:

Toyo Proxies - cheap tyre, pretty good, used on the Tuscan and early Tamora/T350s.
Goodyear F1s - not cheap, but not Michelin expensive either. Great tyre, used on all the latest TVRs.

www.mytyres.co.uk is another place to look.

[Nuggs]

zippee said:

I speak from experience when I say don't touch the P6000's with a bargepole...

targarama said:

Agreed, avoid the Pirellis.

Actually, I'm running P6000s on my Chim at the moment and finding them quite acceptable.

I realise they're not ideal, and will go for the Toyos when the time comes to replace, but they came with the car and had plenty of tread left.

Breakaway doesn't happen unless really pushed and when the rear does go, it's nice and progressive. No traction probs in the wet provided a careful right foot is used (which would be the case with any boots).

[.Mark]

Had P6000's on an old XR2 and they were the best tyres I'd ever had on it. Got P6000's on the boring car and they are perfectly acceptable.
However, these are quite different cars to the TVR so it really is difficult to say. Personally I'd stick with Bridgestone as I have never had any problems.

Where are you and what have you been quoted, I got my last SO3's from a local specialist who does a mean price-match policy.

[trellis]

Thanks everyone - thats a big help -

looks like I'll be sticking with Bridgestones!!

I'm in Eastbourne and got my Chim MOT'd last night (which it passed with flying colours ) - as the rears are near the limit the bloke at the garage just happened to mention he could offer any of these tyres for £85 each (but can't supply Bridgestones or Toyo's).

Realistically - Is anyone going to offer to match the price of an £85 Pirelli with an S03??

PS I may be being dim but I thought Firestone was part of Bridgestone?

[edward1]

I used P6000's on a vectra v6 and they were better than anything from Michelin or Firestone that I had on it but not sure I'd try them on the Chim. I've been running Goodyear eagle F1's on the Chim and have been very happy with them.

I just got some quotes for the fronts and it seems I'll be sticking with them as, I was told that Toyo don't make the TR-1's for a 15" rim with a Z rating!

[targarama]

trellis said:

Thanks everyone - thats a big help - looks like I'll be sticking with Bridgestones!! I'm in Eastbourne and got my Chim MOT'd last night (which it passed with flying colours ) - as the rears are near the limit the bloke at the garage just happened to mention he could offer any of these tyres for £85 each (but can't supply Bridgestones or Toyo's). Realistically - Is anyone going to offer to match the price of an £85 Pirelli with an S03?? PS I may be being dim but I thought Firestone was part of Bridgestone?

You'll easily get Toyos for £85 each.

[19560]

trellis said:

Realistically - Is anyone going to offer to match the price of an £85 Pirelli with an S03?? PS I may be being dim but I thought Firestone was part of Bridgestone?

Realistically will you be able to get an S03PP at any price? P6000s are for heavier cars - standard on Jags.
F is part of B, the budget arm now, sadly. In the 70s they made some great F1 tyres.

[rev-erend]

edward1 said:

I used P6000's on a vectra v6 and they were better than anything from Michelin or Firestone that I had on it but not sure I'd try them on the Chim. I've been running Goodyear eagle F1's on the Chim and have been very happy with them. I just got some quotes for the fronts and it seems I'll be sticking with them as, I was told that Toyo don't make the TR-1's for a 15" rim with a Z rating!

I've just had Toyo TR1s'sss to my SEAC - 225 50 R.. 15's

there are now 3 grades of Zr rates..

see black circles.

I love the Toyo's .. they are much better that the Brigdestone S03.s.ssss

[.Mark]

trellis said:

Thanks everyone - thats a big help - looks like I'll be sticking with Bridgestones!! Realistically - Is anyone going to offer to match the price of an £85 Pirelli with an S03??

I'm sure mine weren't far off that. I'll dig the invoice out over the weekend and let you know.

[Bomber Denton]

Steer clear of them all!

The Dunlop SP2020 is a re-inforced tyre that was O.E. on the Ford Galaxy! Not a sport tyre!

The Pirelli is not a 'heavy-duty' tyre it is just their average sport equivalent. The carcasses on these tyres distort slightly when used and cause vibration and road noise - every time. You can rebalance them but that is defeating the object.
The Pirellis for the Jag are a stand alone product and are called the P6000J - they are a different tyre.

Firestone? I now sell Firestone as a budget, they were known in the 80s as Fireslides for a good reason - steer(if you can steer on these) clear!

Spend a smidge more and enjoy your car.

[rev-erend]

Glad a tire pro like bomber denton agrees with me

Get yourself some Toyo's .. they really are very good..

[Bomber Denton]

Zippee mentioned ZZ3s, I used tese on my old Chimaera for a couple of years and they were superb!

What sizes are you using, I might be able to save you some wedge?

[grahamw48]

rev-erend said:

Glad a tire pro like bomber denton agrees with me Get yourself some Toyo's .. they really are very good..

I'm just waiting for a couple of Toyo T1(S) to be delivered to my local depot.
They've quoted £90 quid each, fitted.

I have Toyos all round on the 390SE, and I must say they feel superb.

[Aaron C. Reskew]

Have you considered Yokohama A539's?
I have looked at the treadwear numbers on various tyres, and can see why some brands may behave very differently to others.
Take the SO2 as an example. It has a lower treadwear number than the SO3 and in my opinion is much grippier.
The higher the treadwear number, the harder the tyre compound i believe.
The Yokohama has a treadwear rating lower than the SO3 so in theory should be better.
I know there are other factors involved like performance in the wet etc but most will want to exploit their car's potential in the dry.
I also know a number of people that have used road legal race type tyres with the obvious advantage when used on track days.

[225]

I went from P zeros to Goodyear Eagle GDS3s and the differnce was amazing. THe goodyears had so much more grip it was unreal.
Now I know this was a different car (260bhp front drive hatch) but still I would recommend them to anyone. Some people say that they cause more road noise but thets be honest ya ain't gonna notice a bit more tyre rumble!

[Aaron C. Reskew]

225 said:

I went from P zeros to Goodyear Eagle GDS3s and the differnce was amazing. The Goodyears had so much more grip it was unreal. Now I know this was a different car (260bhp front drive hatch) but still I would recommend them to anyone. Some people say that they cause more road noise but thets be honest ya ain't gonna notice a bit more tyre rumble!

Just out of interest, the Goodyears are rated at 280 on the treadwear scale same as Toyo T1S and T1R.
Bridgestone SO2's are 180. I think SO3's are either 260 or 280.
Pirelli P7000 are 160.
Road legal racing tyres are under 100.
Kumho's as used in the Tasmin Challenge/BMW etc are only 50.
Toyo R888 are 80 i think.

>> Edited by Aaron C. Reskew on Monday 18th July 22:38

[m12_nathan]

Pirelli P6000's are made of bakalite if that helps.

The only thing linking your engine and brakes to the road is the tyres, the worst place to try and save money IMO. have you tried blackcircles.com ?