Need to buy 2 tyres for the Cupra, but want to try something other than Goodyears

[Al]

Guys,

I have a need to buy 2 new tyres. Until recently, had 4 excellent Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics on the Cupra. One of these ended up damaged due to a poorly maintained council road so I need to buy another tyre.

However the twist is that I have a spare wheel I am going to have refurbished as well as the one that got damaged with the tyre above and will be putting new rubber on both.

Before anyone says anything about Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics being the best, I would agree from experience, but given that this is an unexpected expense, and because F1 Assymetric are working out at £120 each fitted, I had a look around and came across deals on other acclaimed tyres like the Toyo T1-R's, Toyo Proxes, Vredstein Ultracs and Yokohama Paradas etc which work out quite a bit cheaper for a pair fitted on the car. Obviously I am not keen on Ditchfinder 2009's or similar, but I am not blinkered by the hold that Assymetrics have over everyone although I know how good they are.

Therefore I would be interested to know if anyone is able and willing to recommend other tyres or advise against specific tyres. I am willing to look at most tyres, as long as they have sidewall protection.

There are some good reviews of tyres on the internet including some I have not listed above, but I am keen to see what you lot say.

Ta,

Horace

 

[J-me]

I put 4 conti sport contact 3's on my FR early this month and so far they have been great. The only problem is they are probably as expensive as the goodyears.

I used to have the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's. They were a good tyre but wore out a little faster than I had hoped.

Here's hoping the conti's last a bit longer.

J

 

[Adam's Cupra]

Tyre's

I have just replaced my fronts and went for Falken FK452 as they came out at £71 each fitted and looking at the reviews on the web seemed pretty good.. only had them on for 500 miles or so, so I can’t really comment on if there any good or not yet, but seem fine..

 

[mds1256]

i have the Falken FK452 on my FR and hate them... they are OK in the dry but in the wet they are not very good. I have always used Toyo T1-R tyres on my previous 2 cars and they are excellent!

like yourself it was an un expected need for a tyre change and couldnt afford the T1-Rs at the time so went for the Falkens, i was wanting to try GoodYear Asymetricas like the ones you have but funds were limited at the time, thats what will be going on next tho. I rate the Toyos really good and are cheaper than the Goodyears.

 

[warren_cox]

Michelin Pilot Sport 2's are fantastic.

Absolutely love them which is strange as I've always hated Michelin tyres in the past. Previously had Continental Sport Contact 2's and they were good in the wet, but strangely unbalanced when pushed hard in the dry.

Other than that there is Toyo T-1R's which I think are great, but they don't last fantastically long, and people on here seem to have mixed opinions.

Then there is the trusty GS-D3 Goodyears which are a dry weather winner for many.

Horses for courses, but given the weather / conditions / cars power I wouldn't be putting any old $h1t on there.

 

[erichuyn]

Aren't Michelin's "bad" in the wet?

Back to the point, if you want the wheel protection the 2 main tyres out there are the Continental Sportcontact 3 & the Goodyear F1 Assymetric.
But those cost about the same and the Goodyear is better! Have had both.
Steer clear of the FK452, wear out quicker/not really as good in the wet/no wheel protection/prone to cupping.
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/reifentest-sommerreifen-in-225_40-r-18_735985.html if you click trough the picture you'll see the tyres on wheels, which will give you an idea about the protection.
Looks like the Vredestein have reasonable protection.

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

you could try Dunlop Sport Maxx TT's i've got 4 on mine atm. the grip is very good in both wet and dry. i've had them on for about 9k so far, the fronts have about another 5k left on them, while the rears rear hardly worn at all.

Forgot to say, they are far superior in feel and grip to the Bridgestone RE050A's which were on when i bought the car. hated them so much i changed them at 13k (thats with rotating tyres back to front).

 

[warren_cox]

Aren't Michelin's "bad" in the wet?

Not when you have ABS / ESP / EBD / TCS / EBA and Haldex! No, seriously they aren't that bad in the wet. The asymmetric tread pattern disperses standing water very well and they are SO good in the dry you can forgive them for their shortcomings in the wet. They'd whip the @r$e out of any budget tyre wet weather wise.

 

[Street]

I used to have a set of Proxes 4 and they were fairly good in both the wet and dry, before those I had a set of Yoko Parada Spec 2s on my old Focus.. Although they looked cool and were really good in the dry, I found I was slipping and spinning all over the place in the wet and that was with only a remapped TDCi, an FR would be even worse!

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

I have heard yoko parada spec 2's were slippy in wet thats why i didn't bother with them. especially with the wet wet weather of scotland

 

[erichuyn]

Not when you have ABS / ESP / EBD / TCS / EBA and Haldex! No, seriously they aren't that bad in the wet. The asymmetric tread pattern disperses standing water very well and they are SO good in the dry you can forgive them for their shortcomings in the wet. They'd whip the @r$e out of any budget tyre wet weather wise.

However cost wise they are the same as the conti sc3 & goodyear f1 assy which is what djhorace is trying to avoid?!
The goodyear win against the michelin in almost every test, the conti's do better most of the time too. So I'd personally stick with those...