Wheels 2005 Tyre Test

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from wheels.com.au

Wondering what Wheels magazine's verdict was for the best tyres? After two days testing over 70 tyres at the Calder Park Thunderdome, a performance tyre from Goodyear, the Eagle Revspec RS-02, came out on top. It's the second win in a row for Goodyear; last year its Eagle F1 GS-D3 was declared the Wheels tyre test winner.

Published in Wheels magazine's May 2005 issue, this year's test presents a thorough shakedown of the quality brands offered on the Australian market. Headed by Features Editor and safety debate convenor, John Cardogan, the test is now in its third year.

In the 2005 running Wheels tested nine 215/60R16 tyres on a Ford Fairmont to represent the family car owner. The result showed that there is less than five per cent between the top and bottom performer. It was close, but there was a clear winner.

Not forgetting the sports sedan buyer, nine premium 235/45R17 tyres were tested, this time on the Commodore SV6. Again the result was close at under five per cent between first and last place.

Based on six objective performance tests, using appropriate experimental controls combined with rigorous data collection and analysis, the Wheels Tyre Test incorporates onsite expert advice from technical representatives from no less than eight of the world's premium tyre manufacturers.

Between them the brands tested account for 70 per cent of the Oz replacement tyre market. This fact alone ensures that the outcome is relevant - whether you are a private or fleet buyer.

The 2005 Wheels Tyre Test is published in the May 2005 edition of Wheels magazine, in newsagents now.
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the tyres were tested for

Stopping distance - wet and dry
Cornering - wet and dry
Slalom - dry


Stopping Distance - WET
1. Maxxis Victra MA-21
2. Michelin Pilot Preceda
3. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
4. Toyo Proxes T1R
5. Kumho Ecsta KU19
6. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
7. Dunlop Direzza DZ101
8. Yokohama AVS Sport V102A
9. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Stopping Distance - DRY
1. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
2. Michelin Pilot Preceda
3. Toyo Proxes T1R
4. Maxxis Victra MA-21
5. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
6. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport
7. Yokohama AVS Sport V102A
8. Kumho Ecsta KU19
9. Dunlop Direzza DZ101

Cornering -WET
1. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
2. Toyo Proxes T1R
3. Maxxis Victra MA-21
4. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
5. Kumho Ecsta KU19
6. Michelin Pilot Preceda
7. Yokohama AVS Sport V102A
8. Dunlop Direzza DZ101
9. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Cornering - DRY
1. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
2. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
3. Michelin Pilot Preceda
4. Maxxis Victra MA-21
5. Yokohama AVS Sport V102A
6. Dunlop Direzza DZ101
7. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport
8. Toyo Proxes T1R
9. Kumho Ecsta KU19

Slalom - dry
1. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
2. Michelin Pilot Preceda
3. Yokohama AVS Sport V102A
4. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
5. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport
6. Maxxis Victra MA-21
7. Dunlop Direzza DZ101
8. Toyo Proxes T1R
9. Kumho Ecsta KU19

Noise
1. Maxxis Victra MA-21
2. Michelin Pilot Preceda
3. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport
4. Yokohama AVS Sport V102A
5. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
6. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
7. Dunlop Direzza DZ101
8. Toyo Proxes T1R
9. Kumho Ecsta KU19

Price
1. Maxxis Victra MA-21 - $198
2. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport - $201
3. Kumho Ecsta KU19 - $235
4. Dunlop Direzza DZ101 - $288
5. Michelin Pilot Preceda - $290
6. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02 - $298
7. Toyo Proxes T1R - $312
8. Bridgestone Potenza S-03 - $355
9. Yokohama AVS Sprt V102A - $359


the OVERALL results (Noise and Price don't count) in the 235/45/R17 size were:

1. Goodyear Eagle Revspec RS-02
2. Michelin Pilot Preceda
3. Maxxis Victra MA-21
4. Bridgestone Potenza S-03
5. Toyo Proxes T1R
6. Yokohama AVS Sprt V102A
7. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport
8. Dunlop Direzza DZ101
9. Kumho Ecsta KU19
 
Maxxis tyres - I havent heard of these

I couldnt find an australian site either to find out more info...
I'll check this Wheels issue out soon
 
less then 5% difference between the top and the bottom.. !! :eek:

if that the case.. realy, bugger all difference bewteen 1st and 9th!!!

ill follow my wallet with that in mind.

thanks for that ;)
 
Did they test for durability?

Gee everything about performance - but nothing about durability? or doesn't this count these days - this is the best tyre but it only lasts..................??

Incidently I was reading a book "The Indianapolis records" by Alan Hess on the record breaking A90 Atlantic assault on the USA stock car records at the Indianapolis track April 12th to 18th, 1949 - after three hours on the track at a lap speed of 78 mph the nearside front tyre on the Atlantic was badly worn and destinct signs of wear on the the other three after that was changed the car did a total of 473 miles and all four had to be changed...and the higher the track temperature the worse the wear.... still the car did claim a total of 63 records even though the front end collapsed and stub axles broke etc... and they wore out the entire USA stock of standard spec tyres!.

Yep Tyre technology has come a long way since then (or has it???)

Performance, durability, Price. in what order your pocket permits. :wink2:

Ken :)
 
very interesting!!!im about to look at new tyres in the coming mnths so this info will be handy.
one thing i noticed though.no pirrelli tyres.not even a mention>why is it so-,my brother joked that they were only testing QUALITY TYRES ha ha .
this from a man who is still waiting for KLEBER to make tyres again,ha ha ha ha ha-BAZZ
 
Yay preceda!

I've been raving about these ever since i stuck em on my 205, and it's good to see they perform as well as i thought!

I believe they're of a harder compound than most of the other tyres in that test, which is why their dry grip isn't tops despite the asymmetrical design. Also, i think the feel would be better too (but they don't do subjective at wheels).

Mmmm, i can't recommend them highly enough. Uber performance, great tyre-life, and quiet as a .. err.. quiet thing. ;)
 
Cubits said:
Yay preceda!

I've been raving about these ever since i stuck em on my 205, and it's good to see they perform as well as i thought!

I believe they're of a harder compound than most of the other tyres in that test, which is why their dry grip isn't tops despite the asymmetrical design. Also, i think the feel would be better too (but they don't do subjective at wheels).



Mmmm, i can't recommend them highly enough. Uber performance, great tyre-life, and quiet as a .. err.. quiet thing. ;)

they seem pretty pricy though or am i being a tightarse.?
i still have 14's on my 205 so my choice is even more limited.
i put on pirelli p6000 powergy's and they seem to do the job although i dont push it as much as most with their 205's,they were 125 a corner which is pretty cheap compared to whats out there.
horses for courses i suppose.
id love a nice set of rubber though.-BAZZ
 
Tyres are the most important part of the handling package, and given their long average lifespan, i don't think it's "insane" to pay 160 a corner.

Why waste the 205's chassis on cheap tyres? It deserves nice ones (just look at your car, how could you say no to that?). ;)
 
Stopping Distance - WET
.
.
.
9. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Cornering -WET
.
.
.
9. BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

Pretty much confirms what I've experienced with these tyres. I bought a set a bit over a year ago for the 505, not bad in the dry but really hopeless in the wet - I have absolutely no confidence in trying to corner on a wet road without some sort of sliding involved.

Wheel's quoted price of $200 for them seems a bit rich - I paid about $150 each for them.

Richard
 
silverexec said:
Pretty much confirms what I've experienced with these tyres. I bought a set a bit over a year ago for the 505, not bad in the dry but really hopeless in the wet - I have absolutely no confidence in trying to corner on a wet road without some sort of sliding involved.

What about snow performance?
 
bowie said:
in Para Matta :clown:

Hey, you left out an "r" - and it's North Parra. You'd be amazed at the difference in temperature between regular and north ;)

Seriously though, I was referring to last year's snowy Vic cruise that I attended.
 
As Nate posted my comments from the Ford Forum, not much left to say! haha!

Maxxiis make good bicycle tyres where they've been using silica for years to increase grip in road racing. They're damn cheap too at $150 for 205/40R17s (GTI 180 size).

But otherwise, hard to take much notice of a test using a big heavy RWD car. Still interesting read. A shame Wheels dropped off the subjective comments which made for the best reading of tyre tests.

It would've been good to see the RS-02 and GS-D3 both in that test, as now we have no idea which is better.... I imagine the GS-D3 is still the better of the two, with the RS-02 being worse off in the wet.
 
SLC206 said:
What about snow performance?
I'm trying to remember if I had the Goodrichs back then, actually I think I did.
That day was cool and scary at the same time :D . There was one time when it was snowing and I couldn't keep the car moving as we'd come up to a rise in the road, and the wheels just kept spinning. I made it to the top of the rise after spinning the wheels the whole way, and I remember looking back in the mirror and seeing these zig-zag tracks behind me. :eek:

So snow performance: non-existant.

:cheers:
 
I was down at my tyre place today trying to extract some info from the guys... only problem was that all they wanted to talk about were toyos.

At $135 a corner on the Mi16 the toyos seem like a bargain, but i can't help but think you get what you pay for. Does anyone have any experience with them?

Also, are the Michelins worth $230 each? They seem to do well on the tests, but the people i have spoken to seem fairly indifferent towards them.
 
230?! My god that's a ripoff!

Wait, what size are you looking at? I've seen them for 160'ish in 195/50R15 (mine were 170, but i wasn't choosy).

They're very nice, i've noticed a few other people on here taking a liking to them too.

Seems like you went to a very toyo-centric place, so you really can't believe what they say. I've had similar issues with dunlop-loving tyre dealers trying to tell me michelins are snappy and terrible in the wet (he was like 80, and michelins were snappy, about 20 years ago...).
 
Cubits said:
Wait, what size are you looking at?

They were quoting on 195/55/15, and i thought that seemed like a lot... I also looked into pirelli p6000s which were looking like being about 200 each.

I went down the place that we've used for years, but i think the new guys were being really dismissive (w@nks) because i'm fairly young. (disappointing cos i actually recommended them yesterday)

Does anyone have places around melb that are more competitive with pricing?
 
Nothing wrong with Toyo though. The T1S, T1R and Gu:wn are all very good tyres.
 
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