I feel like I have asked this before so my apologies if I have.
With lockdown easing, I want to do something about my 308's tyres. They seem to be very ordinary.
Not long after getting the car ( a year ago), I bought some just-used Partner 16in steel rims and bought a set of new Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003 tyres in a 205/55R16 91W size. This is a popular size and these tyres were cheap, $110 each, from Bob Jane. I'll have to check the m'facture date again, but I have checked before, they are not old tyres. I have been running about 36psi all-round. I had a set of the same tyres in a 17in on a MX-5 but didn't drive on them much before the car was sold. They seemed pretty grippy, supple and quiet from memory on the MX-5, but never drove on them in the wet.
In the 16in size on the 308, these tyres are terrible in the wet. It's hard to quantify, except to say that turning a 90-degree left at a set of traffic lights, rolling in second gear at maybe 20-30km/h and gently easing onto the throttle should not induce wheelspin and traction control. But it does. I have left a wet intersection from a standing start several times with the inside wheel spinning madly, a car coming at me and me trying to feather the throttle to resume something like grip on the road. This was from quite assertive starts, yes, but not a clutch-drop, throttle mashing burnout effort. I'm too old and stupid for that.
There is some tyre vibration and noise that I have started to notice, maybe it was there before but I haven't driven the car much, or consistently, over the last year.
I want to buy a new set of tyres, was thinking of PS4s. I don't care if they are overkill, don't care if they wear out in 5 minutes. I just want a set of tyres that I can trust. It would be nice to know that the tyres might have a bit of a scrabble for grip in the wet rather than giving up straight away. Nice to think a quick sprint through the twisties once in a while won't be met by howling tyres on every corner too (although these RE003s might be alright for that in the dry, I don't know because I haven't tried). I know this std suspension isn't perfectly tied-down for such driving, but grippy tyres would help.
Or should I just play with tyre pressures a bit more? I did try 32psi for a while, but I honestly can't remember if it made a difference. Hadn't been driving enough. These RE003s have a good rep, maybe it's just me.
With lockdown easing, I want to do something about my 308's tyres. They seem to be very ordinary.
Not long after getting the car ( a year ago), I bought some just-used Partner 16in steel rims and bought a set of new Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003 tyres in a 205/55R16 91W size. This is a popular size and these tyres were cheap, $110 each, from Bob Jane. I'll have to check the m'facture date again, but I have checked before, they are not old tyres. I have been running about 36psi all-round. I had a set of the same tyres in a 17in on a MX-5 but didn't drive on them much before the car was sold. They seemed pretty grippy, supple and quiet from memory on the MX-5, but never drove on them in the wet.
In the 16in size on the 308, these tyres are terrible in the wet. It's hard to quantify, except to say that turning a 90-degree left at a set of traffic lights, rolling in second gear at maybe 20-30km/h and gently easing onto the throttle should not induce wheelspin and traction control. But it does. I have left a wet intersection from a standing start several times with the inside wheel spinning madly, a car coming at me and me trying to feather the throttle to resume something like grip on the road. This was from quite assertive starts, yes, but not a clutch-drop, throttle mashing burnout effort. I'm too old and stupid for that.
There is some tyre vibration and noise that I have started to notice, maybe it was there before but I haven't driven the car much, or consistently, over the last year.
I want to buy a new set of tyres, was thinking of PS4s. I don't care if they are overkill, don't care if they wear out in 5 minutes. I just want a set of tyres that I can trust. It would be nice to know that the tyres might have a bit of a scrabble for grip in the wet rather than giving up straight away. Nice to think a quick sprint through the twisties once in a while won't be met by howling tyres on every corner too (although these RE003s might be alright for that in the dry, I don't know because I haven't tried). I know this std suspension isn't perfectly tied-down for such driving, but grippy tyres would help.
Or should I just play with tyre pressures a bit more? I did try 32psi for a while, but I honestly can't remember if it made a difference. Hadn't been driving enough. These RE003s have a good rep, maybe it's just me.