I thought I'd share my experience with some tyres.
Bridgestone Potenza
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
We read tyre reviews, and they're useful, but a bit of a blunt tool. A tyre effectively becomes part of the car's suspension, so different tyres will suit different cars. Spring rate, dampers, even the weight of the car will effect how well a tyre works on your particular car. In a test, they typically fit ten different tyres to a BMW or a Golf and throw it round a track. This tells you something about how the tyres work on that car, not yours, and isn't as good as living with them in the real, pot-holed, world.
We have two Leon FRs that came with the Bridgstones. One is a facelift diesel ST the other a pre-facelift petrol hatch but both are 150hp and both have 18'' wheels. Having driven both on the stock Bridgstones and now having the Michelin on the ST and Goodyears on the hatch I think I have a pretty good idea of how the tyres compare on the Leon FR. All have done hundreds of miles on the motorway, city streets and some of the best Scottish highland roads this country has. So which one is the best? Well, it depends.
The suspension on the facelift and pre-facelift cars is not the same. The best way I can explain it is that the facelift car feels like the SE springs and dampers with thicker anti-roll bars. I actually think that may be exactly what they've done but the bottom line is that the later car is softer over rough road but is less settled, bobs around more but still corners flatter than the SE. The pre-facelift is firmer, tighter but prone to being jittery. More on that later.
Bridgstone
They are a firm tyre but still comfortable on the softer facelift car. Grip is ok if nothing special, not great in the rain and a bit noisy on the motorway. On the pre-facelift these tyres are terrible. They work against the suspension feeling too harsh around town but not settling at speed. They never feel right and I assumed that the suspension set up on the car was simply not very good. Silly Spaniards. I was wrong. It is these tyres. They are fine on the facelift but a mistake on the pre-facelift.
Michelin
In terms of ride comfort these tyres are pretty similar to the bridgestones. They are firm tyres, actually a bit firmer than the Bridgestones, but on the face-lift car it's ok. However, the grip is noticeably better, turn-in sharper and they generally inspire more confidence. If you want sporty handling these tyres are great but they're not going to help comfort around town or on the motorway at all. Personally, I wouldn't put these on the pre-facelift car.
Goodyear
My desire to post this was really about these tyres. I love them! I don't think I've ever felt that a car was transformed so dramatically as changing the pre-facelift FR from the Bridgestones to the Asymmetric 5s. It's like everything just clicks into place and the car works as you feel it should. It is better everywhere! Around town the car is more comfortable, no longer crashing over every rut or crack. On the motorway there is noticeably less tyre noise and the car feels more stable. On fun roads they shine. The suspension is fixed! It is no longer jittery but settled and smooth. Turn in is sharp and grip high but they don't quite provide the feedback of the Michelins. Let's face, these cars are fairly blunt anyway and the trade off it totally worth it. With the Goodyears on the car feels right. It feels the way you would set up if you knew how to. I can't overstate how much these tyres transform the car. Previously, I found it a bit annoying. Neither fish nor foul, never quite right anywhere. Now it's the car I always want to take. It makes the face-lift feel dull and underdamped, even with the Michelins on.
On other versions of the Leon, I'm guessing. The Goodyears are perfect on the pre-facelift FR and I think they'd be great on a Cupra and nice on an SE or facelift FR too. If you want ultimate handling and don't care about the ride the Michelins are excellent but you're not going to enjoy the overly firm ride on the pre-facelift FR, I assume they'd be hard on the Cupra too?
Both are better than the Bridgestones which are as firm as the Michelin, without offering the grip or feel, and way short of the balance the Goodyears have. The Asymmetric 5s dramatically illustrate why spending a bit more on good tyres is totally worth it.
Bridgestone Potenza
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
We read tyre reviews, and they're useful, but a bit of a blunt tool. A tyre effectively becomes part of the car's suspension, so different tyres will suit different cars. Spring rate, dampers, even the weight of the car will effect how well a tyre works on your particular car. In a test, they typically fit ten different tyres to a BMW or a Golf and throw it round a track. This tells you something about how the tyres work on that car, not yours, and isn't as good as living with them in the real, pot-holed, world.
We have two Leon FRs that came with the Bridgstones. One is a facelift diesel ST the other a pre-facelift petrol hatch but both are 150hp and both have 18'' wheels. Having driven both on the stock Bridgstones and now having the Michelin on the ST and Goodyears on the hatch I think I have a pretty good idea of how the tyres compare on the Leon FR. All have done hundreds of miles on the motorway, city streets and some of the best Scottish highland roads this country has. So which one is the best? Well, it depends.
The suspension on the facelift and pre-facelift cars is not the same. The best way I can explain it is that the facelift car feels like the SE springs and dampers with thicker anti-roll bars. I actually think that may be exactly what they've done but the bottom line is that the later car is softer over rough road but is less settled, bobs around more but still corners flatter than the SE. The pre-facelift is firmer, tighter but prone to being jittery. More on that later.
Bridgstone
They are a firm tyre but still comfortable on the softer facelift car. Grip is ok if nothing special, not great in the rain and a bit noisy on the motorway. On the pre-facelift these tyres are terrible. They work against the suspension feeling too harsh around town but not settling at speed. They never feel right and I assumed that the suspension set up on the car was simply not very good. Silly Spaniards. I was wrong. It is these tyres. They are fine on the facelift but a mistake on the pre-facelift.
Michelin
In terms of ride comfort these tyres are pretty similar to the bridgestones. They are firm tyres, actually a bit firmer than the Bridgestones, but on the face-lift car it's ok. However, the grip is noticeably better, turn-in sharper and they generally inspire more confidence. If you want sporty handling these tyres are great but they're not going to help comfort around town or on the motorway at all. Personally, I wouldn't put these on the pre-facelift car.
Goodyear
My desire to post this was really about these tyres. I love them! I don't think I've ever felt that a car was transformed so dramatically as changing the pre-facelift FR from the Bridgestones to the Asymmetric 5s. It's like everything just clicks into place and the car works as you feel it should. It is better everywhere! Around town the car is more comfortable, no longer crashing over every rut or crack. On the motorway there is noticeably less tyre noise and the car feels more stable. On fun roads they shine. The suspension is fixed! It is no longer jittery but settled and smooth. Turn in is sharp and grip high but they don't quite provide the feedback of the Michelins. Let's face, these cars are fairly blunt anyway and the trade off it totally worth it. With the Goodyears on the car feels right. It feels the way you would set up if you knew how to. I can't overstate how much these tyres transform the car. Previously, I found it a bit annoying. Neither fish nor foul, never quite right anywhere. Now it's the car I always want to take. It makes the face-lift feel dull and underdamped, even with the Michelins on.
On other versions of the Leon, I'm guessing. The Goodyears are perfect on the pre-facelift FR and I think they'd be great on a Cupra and nice on an SE or facelift FR too. If you want ultimate handling and don't care about the ride the Michelins are excellent but you're not going to enjoy the overly firm ride on the pre-facelift FR, I assume they'd be hard on the Cupra too?
Both are better than the Bridgestones which are as firm as the Michelin, without offering the grip or feel, and way short of the balance the Goodyears have. The Asymmetric 5s dramatically illustrate why spending a bit more on good tyres is totally worth it.
