Tyres

[4cvgordini]

Out of interest, are your P Zeros the latest PZ4 & if so, the sport or touring version? I ask because the PZ4 is considered to be a very good "wet" tyre. What's the size?

I always try so-called "Moose" brake-swerve avoidance manoevres in the wet with any new tyre type. (I also investigate limit behaviour laterally & under braking).The P6 I spoke of behaves very well under these stresses as rears on my two rear-engined Renaults.

Incidentally, I recommend such courses heartily.

 

[lowpugV2]

Out of interest, are your P Zeros the latest PZ4 & if so, the sport or touring version? I ask because the PZ4 is considered to be a very good "wet" tyre. What's the size?

I always try so-called "Moose" brake-swerve avoidance manoevres in the wet with any new tyre type. (I also investigate limit behaviour laterally & under braking).The P6 I spoke of behaves very well under these stresses as rears on my two rear-engined Renaults.

Incidentally, I recommend such courses heartily.

I shall have a look, but I would hope they are the sport versions. The previous owner installed them just before I purchased the so he probably chose the cheaper option. Their size is 235/35 r19 so should be in the performance category. Edit: I just checked, they are not the PZ4.

I know the skid pan is extreme conditions and I was being instructed to keep pushing past the limit but the pzeros let go so quickly and didn't recover so it made it very hard follow their guidance. One example was constant radius and staying just on the threshold of grip. Of course I'm part of that equation but the instructor felt the tyres were not helping at all and we had a Michelin PS4 S shod Hyundai i30 as direct comparison.

And yep, highly recommend course. I got lucky and there was only 4 other people there so had lots of car time and one on one.

 

[4cvgordini]

Hmm! I'm no great enthusiast for the older P Zero (on wet grip grounds) but the PZ4 is quite another beast & I'd shortlist it. My other shortlist tyres would be Continental's Sportcontact 7 & Bridgestone's Potenza Sport. The PS4 (or replacement PS5) is a distinct step down (the PS4S is more the rival to the above pair).None of the Michelins would be as crisp in response.

Ordinarily, I'd choose the SC7 (I pay particular attention to Jonathan Benson's own Tyre Reviews tests as he speaks to tyre behaviour & not just times) but the P-S is an excellent tyre & has the advantage of being the subject of a current "4 for the price of 3" deal. I'd move quickly before month's end & get it. Alternatively, hang around for two or three months until the next deal. Bob Jane & Jax sell them & BJ will match & slightly beat) anyone else's price.

The Benson test I mention is linked below & you might also want to read Benson's summary of the spread of tests on the P-S versus the SC7 on the other link.

2022 Tyre Reviews UUHP Summer Tyre Test - Tyre reviews and ratings

It's the 2022 Tyre Reviews Ultra Ultra High Performance Summer Tyre Test! You can watch the video here, or scroll down for the full write up and data! In this tyre test, I'll be testing ten of the ...

www.tyrereviews.com

Potenza Sport VS SportContact 7 - Tyre reviews and ratings

Compare the differences between the Potenza Sport and SportContact 7 to see which tyre is best for your own driving needs!

www.tyrereviews.com

Enjoy! Peter

 

[Haakon]

Have been happy with Goodyear Eagle F1 Sport on the Alfa. In 225/45-17 they were $550 a set of 4 on a sale, so I cancelled Plan A which was for some Michi PS5 which would have literally been twice the price.

These are not the same Eagle F1 featured in European tests, but an Pacific Asia market only more budget version made in China. But they are quiet and good in the wet and made a noticeable handling improvement over the factory fitted Spanish made Bridgetstone Turanza T001 (which to be fair were fairly average tyres...).

 

[lowpugV2]

I got made redundant last week so I'm considering budget more than ever. Current prices of the top tyres would put me at around $1400 for a set. Might have to wait for the next round of sales.

Annoyingly 18" tyres are far more affordable but that would mean finding and buying a set of 18" wheels that can accommodate the stupid large (but excellent) brakes on the 308.

Cars are never easy.

 

[Aln]

I have the Bridgestone Potenza Sport on my lightly modded Megane RS265. 245/35?/19. Very happy with them over the new Bridgestone RE-003s that I bought the car with. I did about 20k on the Re-003s before I changed them when half worn. The dry characteristics were still OK, but in the wet were dangerous in my view. They had obviously heat cycle hardened over the 18months I had them.

I am hard pressed to believe the Michelin PS4S could be $140 better tyre than the Potenza Sport. If I have any complaint, it would be they can be a bit noisy on gravel chip style roads. Not really a problem.

Mine were $960 fitted from Costco and have around 20K on them. Expect to get 35K at the rate they are going and will be happy to buy them again.

 

[4cvgordini]

Hankook sometimes do "4 for price of 3" deals as well & the Ventus S1 Evo3 tests well & is cheaper than the shortlisted tyres.

Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3

Will the Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 suit your car? Find the best tyre for your car read 37 reviews for the Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 and compare to other Ultra High Performance tyres at tyre reviews

www.tyrereviews.com

 

[schlitzaugen]

Hmm! I'm no great enthusiast for the older P Zero (on wet grip grounds) but the PZ4 is quite another beast & I'd shortlist it. My other shortlist tyres would be Continental's Sportcontact 7 & Bridgestone's Potenza Sport. The PS4 (or replacement PS5) is a distinct step down (the PS4S is more the rival to the above pair).None of the Michelins would be as crisp in response.

Ordinarily, I'd choose the SC7 (I pay particular attention to Jonathan Benson's own Tyre Reviews tests as he speaks to tyre behaviour & not just times) but the P-S is an excellent tyre & has the advantage of being the subject of a current "4 for the price of 3" deal. I'd move quickly before month's end & get it. Alternatively, hang around for two or three months until the next deal. Bob Jane & Jax sell them & BJ will match & slightly beat) anyone else's price.

The Benson test I mention is linked below & you might also want to read Benson's summary of the spread of tests on the P-S versus the SC7 on the other link.

2022 Tyre Reviews UUHP Summer Tyre Test - Tyre reviews and ratings

It's the 2022 Tyre Reviews Ultra Ultra High Performance Summer Tyre Test! You can watch the video here, or scroll down for the full write up and data! In this tyre test, I'll be testing ten of the ...

www.tyrereviews.com

Potenza Sport VS SportContact 7 - Tyre reviews and ratings

Compare the differences between the Potenza Sport and SportContact 7 to see which tyre is best for your own driving needs!

www.tyrereviews.com

Enjoy! Peter

Where did you see the Contisport contact 7 in Oz?

I mean in the sizes we would be interested here.

I have trawled all the sellers I could find and none have it in 185/55/15.

 

[lowpugV2]

Where did you see the Contisport contact 7 in Oz?

I mean in the sizes we would be interested here.

I have trawled all the sellers I could find and none have it in 185/55/15.

I can't imagine they would produce such a performance oriented tyre in that size. It's a shame that it's virtually impossible to find decent tyres under the 17" size. If I remember correctly the last decent tyre I fitted to my old 306 was some conti sport or max contact 4? Maybe... Either way, they were great in the 195/55/15 size. But you couldn't get anything else performance based apart from the good ol re003 potenzas.

 

[schlitzaugen]

It is listed on the Continental page.

 

[4cvgordini]

Where did you see the Contisport contact 7 in Oz?

I mean in the sizes we would be interested here.

I have trawled all the sellers I could find and none have it in 185/55/15.

lowpug v2 was interested in this size & BJ (& Jax) list it:

Continental SportContact 7 235/35R19 91Y (XL) | 235/35R19 Tyres for sale

Gives you confidence with safe and stable driving behaviour on wet and dry surfaces. Tailor-made for different vehicle classes to give you the typical SportContact™ feeling. The EV-compatible symbol…

www.bobjane.com.au

It's only available in large diameter sizes.

You're lucky that you could get the admirable PremiumContact 2 in 185/55-15. I loved it as fronts on my rear-engined Renaults & all round on the Djet. But it's no longer available in 165/65-14 or 165/70. When the Djet's tyres in the latter size finally shag out (the compound seems really stable & the car is still a delight on slick roads) I'm not sure what I'll do.

Small sizes are now largely populated by eco-tyres- not my priority & still in compound conflict with wet grip despite the addition of silica. The P6 is about the only ray of sunshine & who knows how long it'll last. (It's stalemate, the P1, was briefly listed in 165/65 but quickly axed.)

In 185/55-15, my current shortlist would be the FM800 Dunlop & its stablemate, Goodyear's Efficient Grip. The former has excellent lateral wet grip, nice limit behaviour & a stable compound. I can't speak for longitudinal wet traction as they were RER rears. The latter has generally tested well.

 

[4cvgordini]

Actually, I note that Michelin's PS3 seems still available in 185/55 (Jax list it although BJ does not) & I'd rate it over my above short-listed tyres.

 

[lowpugV2]

Actually, I note that Michelin's PS3 seems still available in 185/55 (Jax list it although BJ does not) & I'd rate it over my above short-listed tyres.

I wonder how old they are? I really liked the PS3 I had on a fiesta. Really had a nice mix of grip, comfort and not noisy. It meant I could hear more rattles

 

[4cvgordini]

One can always check date before handing over any money.

In 185155-15, another tyre newly available in Oz & which tests well is Falken'sZE310 Ecorun (I know, an "eco" tyre but . . .). For one test, see the 2023 ADAC summer test at Tyre Reviews.

On PZ4 versus classic PZero & variants within PZ4 see:

How Tyres Change For OE Approval the P Zero Story - Tyre reviews and ratings

Here at TyreReviews we often get asked what modifications are made to OE marked tyres such as * for BMW, N for Porsche, MO for Mercedes and AO for Audi. Usually, we have to give the ...

www.tyrereviews.com

 

[LettCat]

Nicely put re your first line.
I see the brief second link says this:
"Proof it's easy to make a tyre work in the dry, and must harder to make one work in the wet."
Which is no doubt true. The dry performance is just about the compound (ok roughly speaking), but the wet performance obviously enough is significantly about the black are of tread patterns et al.

I have always felt, however, that conclusions typically drawn from these comparisons about wet stopping distance, are often not very realistic. When one drives any vehicle, one does (or should.. ) get a feel for how well or otherwise it stops in dry vs wet. Just like one gets a feel for maximum cornering speed vs straight line, in any vehicle. (almost) everyone adjusts their speed on these sorts of bases (though admittedly some more effectively than others...). I drive my own cars at different speeds in identical circumstances, because I have an idea of the safe and absolute limits of all of them.

You're right. I always drive more carefully when it rains. I think a lot of people do. We can rely on tires, but it's better to rely on head.

 

[4cvgordini]

You're right. I always drive more carefully when it rains. I think a lot of people do. We can rely on tires, but it's better to rely on head.

Obviously it's a good idea to drive mindfully but, as noted above, events can impinge on one & then one will be relying more on one's tyres & trained-in reactions.

I don't think that anyone was suggesting that one should drive thoughtlessly & just hope that tyres sort matters. Good headwork & good tyres are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Greenpeace]

Just out of interest, Monaco is the slowest track on the F1 calender and it is relatively unchanged since 1950. It's a "cornering track".
Fangio lapped it in his Alfa Romeo in 1950 at 1:51 on 5.50 x 16 tyres.
61 years later the boys from Top Gear took the three latest hot hatches from Renault, Citroen and Fiat around the same track equipped with the latest and greatest in wide low profile tyres and managed times between 2.15 and 2.21.
Now I know the Top Gear boys aren't Fangio, and that the Alfa had more power, but it does show that just because you have tall, skinny, old tech tyres doesn't automatically mean you're going to go slow, any more than having wide, low profile modern tyres automatically means you're going to go fast.

Fangio in his 1950 Alfa. I think I had the same tyres on my 1949 Morris bread van.

 

[4cvgordini]

I agree that one can be quick on shittish tyres.
My wildest drive on deserted country roads in Sth Aust. at night in '65 was in a bog standard R8 1100 on ZX tyres (with very elevated pressures, especially at the rear). This fang included the only time I've ever had an R8 on two wheels & back down again.
So, though obviously no Fangio, this was, for me, a very quick drive. The ZX is a rubbish tyre by modern standards. My current R8 is better shod & would have been a better steed then. Ditto for Fangio, I imagine that he'd have been faster with better tyres.

 

[Greenpeace]

This fang included the only time I've ever had an R8 on two wheels & back down again.

You can have a drive of my Reliant if you'd like to reminisce the 2 wheeled experience.
Can't guarantee the "back down again" though..

 

[4cvgordini]

It sounds like a hoot of fun. I did almost buy a Guzzi-based Morgan 3-wheeler "replica" called a Triking although its single wheel is at the back. As things panned out, the Djet got that bucket of money.