Tyre Recommendation thread

[aaronng]

Not sure if someone posted it up already, but what is the wear rating on the RE001?

[didz]

Well im looking at either g3's or re001 for my next set of tyres. will be a good upgrade from the unknown crap that the last owner had on them.

Rough price on the 205/50 R16? Im guessing about 200 a tyre. I am also thinking of going 215/45 R16 as well so, thoughts on that for a DC5R?

Tax time is a nice time :)

[petsfact]

Treadwear 220 Traction A Temperature AA 91W 205/55/16

http://www.petsfactory.com.au/shop/images/re001b.JPG

[aaronng]

Treadwear 220 Traction A Temperature AA 91W 205/55/16

http://www.petsfactory.com.au/shop/images/re001b.JPG

Thanks. 220 is a little soft for my liking as a street tyre. I'll go for C or S.drive and have a 2nd softer set for track.

[STTICH]

^ arronng, do u mean 220 is softer than C.drives?

[aaronng]

^ arronng, do u mean 220 is softer than C.drives?

Yes, the C.drive has a rating of 300. I'll pick up some good condition s02 for track since there are quite a few s2k wrecks around.

[riceball]

I got some re001's on my car during the week. I must admit they are the best tyres I've had on my car. Pricing was cheap, $129 per tyre, 195/50/15 however, this price is meant to be on for the June special only. Prices will go back up to $145 per tyre for the same size from today. (that's what the bridgestone tyre centre told me). The tyres are bit noisey like E530 has already stated, but grip in both wet and dry are outstanding. Great tyres!! :thumbsup:

[Hans Bond]

which one has the thicker sidewall? re001 or t1r?

[SLOWEGG]

Re001.

[Hans Bond]

seems the only weakness or re001 is a bit noisier.. but it caters all my needs.
I'm using the old F1 eagle rite now.. so I think i can expect less noise from the re001 :)

[EG30]

seems the only weakness or re001 is a bit noisier.. but it caters all my needs.
I'm using the old F1 eagle rite now.. so I think i can expect less noise from the re001 :)

If you can put up with the old Eagle F1's noise level when they are past half worn, you'll be happy with anything else.

[PAPZ]

Those who are curious about the re001's, I'm confident to say that i have some solid advice for you. =]

I just recently fitted a set of the new Bridgestone Adrenalin Potenza re001 street tyres a week or so ago and yes ,i've given them a hell of a beating over the weekend to see if they are as good as they say they are!!!

I'm surprisingly amazed with the grip and control i have with these tyres over my older yokohama's. I feel alot more confident in corners and keen to give them a test run out on the track to compare times with my old street tyres if i get the chance.

I also found my straight line driving is alot smoother and more responsive and a lot of grip in hard braking. (yes i tried locking them up at high speeds coming off the m7 motorway, shhhh)

My everyday driving now feels so much smoother and a hell of a lot quieter. I don't usually brag about street tyres though i find that these tyres are a MUST for a daily driver.

I found that prices for these tyres are very reasonable and affordable and i recommend them to anyone.

If anyone else fits these tyres, please let me know how you feel and hopefully i wont be the only one to admit the quality of these tyres.

[EG30]

Glad you are enjoying your RE001s as much as I am PAPZ.

It's been raining almost non stop in Perth for the past week and I now got a fair bit of wet mileage of these tyres under my belt. The grip in the wet is simply relentless.

Their superiority in the wet is even greater than in the dry. I now take corners almost as fast as I do in the dry and with they let go it's been mild understeer that is easy to recover. My EGSi is very prone to brake lockup in the wet b4, and now this still happens but will more warning, with a higher threshold and easier to recover than the BFG G force sport I had b4. It's however more scary esp in 3rd gear corners as I now enter the corner at least 3-4km/h more than b4 and if it ever let go at the rear it's going let go in a bigger way despite the superior grip.

They're unlike any other high performance street tyres I've driven on. Normally the new tyre is merely an evolution of the old and often hardly better apart from marketing hype with supposingly new tread optimisation, construction, silica compound yadayadayada.... No wonder Bridgestone Australia was confident enough to let motoring journlists test them against rival products on high performance cars at the re001 launch. Can't wait to read about upcoming reviews from mags such as Autosalon and Motor in Oz.

If they keep prices low/have specials regularly on selected sizes at a time many popular high perfomance tyres brands will be in big trouble. With Bridgestone getting serious for the 1st time for the tuners market with such a great product it can only be good for the performance minded consumers; with more choices and cheaper prices.

[Hullabaloo]

great reviews guys. EG30, do you have any more reviews or opinions of the s.drives (in comparison to the re001's in particular)

[jas_kidd32]

mate i recommend the re001 @ $129 for 195 50 R15 if u hav nrma roadside u can get $5 off each tyre:thumbsup:
the 205 50 R15 is less common tyre size therefor more expensive and some don't even make that size

If standard sizes are cheaper then what is the standard spec for an R17 wheel?

[JHMDA9]

Glad you are enjoying your RE001s as much as I am PAPZ.

I think I'll be getting these :)
Thanks for all the reviews people, you've helped at least one person make a choice!!!

[PAPZ]

I think I'll be getting these :)
Thanks for all the reviews people, you've helped at least one person make a choice!!!

no problems! :thumbsup:

[loco_corolla]

Hey guys just a quick question, i got some new tyres, ended up getting the re001's, and one of my wheels is buckled a bit. If i put that on the back would it affect my times on the track much?? In other words is it worth $85 fixing it??

[icandywoo]

Fitted my Yokohama S Drives 19 225/35
Haven't drive much yet, but first impression is that they are awesome.
Look great on the car too.
http://www.nextmod.com.au/project/GT/GTwithVolks2.jpg

[m3ntAL_l2]

haha i got the same set in 17"s



wot u guys think about Hankook V8 Rs H424

[EG30]

great reviews guys. EG30, do you have any more reviews or opinions of the s.drives (in comparison to the re001's in particular)

We've done about 800kms on the S drives on the DC2R now, at this stage the grip and predictability is still some way off the RE001. May be they take longer to bed in, or tread pattern and construction more conventional, the compund harder or all of the above....Bear in mind the EGsi which has the re001 and the S drives on the dc2r are 2 totally different cars despite the same basic underpinnings with interchangable parts; hence not fair to directly compare them without fitting both sets of tyres onto one car for evaluation. The dc2r is much stiffer in terms of body, has LSD, shorter gearing, and more rearward roll centre and more rear brake bias.

On the upside, the S drives are very quiet, touch more comfortable than the re001 ( not that it's anyware near harsh riding ) and well made. One the std dc2r enkeis the biggest balance weight i've seen is 15g, some only 10g and on one wheel there was no balance weight required.

I'll post a review of the re001 and s drives in the review section in a couple of mths.

[JAP96R]

I'll post a review of the re001 and s drives in the review section in a couple of mths.

very interested in what your opinions are on the two as im about to buy one or the other.

i had es100's on my dc2r and they were good and therefore was looking at going to s-drives but since the re-001's are getting good praises im now undecided.

btw i now drive a eg vti with 15x7 hence 205x50's, :(
btw are you running 195x55's or 205x50's? on both cars?

cheers

[aaronng]

Hey guys just a quick question, i got some new tyres, ended up getting the re001's, and one of my wheels is buckled a bit. If i put that on the back would it affect my times on the track much?? In other words is it worth $85 fixing it??

If you like your rims, and you can't get a replacement rim for say $200-300, then yes, get it fixed before it gets worse. Track puts more stress on a buckled rim than on the street.

[EG30]

very interested in what your opinions are on the two as im about to buy one or the other.

i had es100's on my dc2r and they were good and therefore was looking at going to s-drives but since the re-001's are getting good praises im now undecided.

btw i now drive a eg vti with 15x7 hence 205x50's, :(
btw are you running 195x55's or 205x50's? on both cars?

cheers

If you like the ES100s you will be happy with the S drives, the S drives acutally reminds me a lot of the ES100s except it has a meatier on centre steering feel. Trouble with the ES100s were its loss of grip over time, after 2.5-3 years they tend to get rock hard even with 70-80% tread left. I'm hoping the S drives won't go rock hard after a few years. Price wise both the re001 and s drive are around the $180 mark.

205/50R15 perfect size for 15x7s
195/50R15-15x6 fat fives on my EGsi, 195/55R15-15x6 dc2r enkeis on my dc2r.

[hip]

Don't know if you have something similar out there but the TireRack is a company who primarily sells tires and other accessories. The big difference is you buy tires from them online and they refer you to a local installer.

The nice part is they have a very good tire selection and customers rate their tires based on a number of criteria. Along with their comments it gives you a good feel for what to expect from a particular tire.

Here is a link to their Reviews Section (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/MenuServlet?search=surveyComments)

Check out TireRack.com and see if you find what you're looking for?

[loco_corolla]

If you like the ES100s you will be happy with the S drives, the S drives acutally reminds me a lot of the ES100s except it has a meatier on centre steering feel. Trouble with the ES100s were its loss of grip over time, after 2.5-3 years they tend to get rock hard even with 70-80% tread left. I'm hoping the S drives won't go rock hard after a few years. Price wise both the re001 and s drive are around the $180 mark.

205/50R15 perfect size for 15x7s
195/50R15-15x6 fat fives on my EGsi, 195/55R15-15x6 dc2r enkeis on my dc2r.

I just paid $124ea for my re001's in 195/50/15 from bridgestone select. They had a sale on which ended last saturday and watever stock is left they are still selling for that price so be quick if you want them cause they are now worth around $170ea.

[aaronng]

If you like the ES100s you will be happy with the S drives, the S drives acutally reminds me a lot of the ES100s except it has a meatier on centre steering feel. Trouble with the ES100s were its loss of grip over time, after 2.5-3 years they tend to get rock hard even with 70-80% tread left. I'm hoping the S drives won't go rock hard after a few years. Price wise both the re001 and s drive are around the $180 mark.

205/50R15 perfect size for 15x7s
195/50R15-15x6 fat fives on my EGsi, 195/55R15-15x6 dc2r enkeis on my dc2r.

The Yokohamas are a harder compound, so under the same amount of kms, they will have more tread left than the Bridgestones. Both tyres do harden as the years go by. Since the Yokohama is harder to begin with, the effects of losing grip when hardening is more apparent than the Bridgestones.

[reyesone]

how long should the re001's last for a daily driver?

[Hullabaloo]

I think that really depends on things such as your driving style, so how many km you get out of a set of tyres will vary for everyone.

Not sure if this will help, but, I do a lot of highway driving and i have Bridgestone RE050's (treadwear rating of 140) and i should be on track to get at least 40k km out of them. with a TWR of 220 maybe the RE001's would last me longer?

[ROCKET]

If standard sizes are cheaper then what is the standard spec for an R17 wheel?


if ur talkin bout most common tyre size for 17s for 4cyl cars
its 205/40 R17


and i also do love the RE001's best tyres i've had for the price i paid
they havn't let me down once
and even wen ur drivin in the rain ...u feel so confident that u can drive like its not raining....and they look sexy too :p

[aaronng]

Quick heads up. Bob Jane's latest catalog shows that they are selling the Yokohama A.Drive R1 in 225/50 R16 for $179! This model is the slightly more aggressive version of the C.Drive with more road noise, but supposedly stiffer sidewalls.

[Hullabaloo]

Quick heads up. Bob Jane's latest catalog shows that they are selling the Yokohama A.Drive R1 in 225/50 R16 for $179! This model is the slightly more aggressive version of the C.Drive with more road noise, but supposedly stiffer sidewalls.

Hey aaronng, do you know the UTQC for the A.drives?

[aaronng]

Hey aaronng, do you know the UTQC for the A.drives?

Nope, I couldn't find them on Yokohama's website. If you call up Yokohama Australia for the UTQG, remember that it is "A.Drive R1", and not just "A.Drive" (which is an economy tyre).

[Hans Bond]

hows the a drive r1 compared to the s drive?

[aaronng]

hows the a drive r1 compared to the s drive?

S.drives are more performance orientated than A.drive R1.

[bunky]

hey guys!

new to this forum and in need of some help with tyres! Need to change my first sset of tyres since i bought my CD5 last year.

The size on the tyre at the moment (Some falken tyre) is 195/60/R15.

Reading the forum over the past day or so - there seems to be a lot of suggestions such as the yoko C, S, A drives, BStone RE001 etc.

But having looked up the charts not many of em seem to have my size on there... is my tyre size non-standard??

And if so - would i be able to fit a 195/55 for instance onto my rim rather than a 195/60???

Sorry for the noob questions!! ><

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :D

[aaronng]

hey guys!

new to this forum and in need of some help with tyres! Need to change my first sset of tyres since i bought my CD5 last year.

The size on the tyre at the moment (Some falken tyre) is 195/60/R15.

Reading the forum over the past day or so - there seems to be a lot of suggestions such as the yoko C, S, A drives, BStone RE001 etc.

But having looked up the charts not many of em seem to have my size on there... is my tyre size non-standard??

And if so - would i be able to fit a 195/55 for instance onto my rim rather than a 195/60???

Sorry for the noob questions!! ><

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :D
C.Drive comes in 195/60 R15. I have that on our Astra. Not a cheap size though. Cost me $150 at Bob-Jane!

[bunky]

C.Drive comes in 195/60 R15. I have that on our Astra. Not a cheap size though. Cost me $150 at Bob-Jane!

Thanks aaronng! 150 a corner is a price i'm willing to pay if it means solid performance in the wet and the dry - which seems to be the case reading past posts on the forum.

I'm also looking at the bridgestones - either the Wide ovals, or the RE001's ... but then again i'm not sure if they come in my size.

Too bad the yoko S Drives don't come in my size - would love a set of those! :D

Thanks again!

[muhhan]

Yokohama AVS ES100
Price: Around $350 for tyres to suit 18x8 wheel size, around $500 for tyres to suit 18x9 wheel size
Experience: Excellent handling in both dry and wet road conditions. Extremely noticeable improvement from previous tyres (which were 'Clear' brand, possibly made from recycled tyres or whale blubber). Car handles like it is on rails and inspires much confidence on twisty roads or adverse road conditions.
These tyres are reasonably quiet given their performance orientated design, however, there is noticeable road roar (again significantly quieter than the previously mentioned 'Clear' brand).
Caution! - These tyres make you want to put your foot down when going around the bends.

[aaronng]

Thanks aaronng! 150 a corner is a price i'm willing to pay if it means solid performance in the wet and the dry - which seems to be the case reading past posts on the forum.

I'm also looking at the bridgestones - either the Wide ovals, or the RE001's ... but then again i'm not sure if they come in my size.

Too bad the yoko S Drives don't come in my size - would love a set of those! :D

Thanks again!

If you are after performance, the RE001 should exceed that of the C.Drive. The C.Drive was supposedly designed for stability, safe lane changing at highway speeds, good wet grip and low road noise. It's more of a higher level street tyre, but not a performance monster (that's what S.Drives are for). However, the C and S.Drives are a harder compound than the RE001, so the absolute grip of the compound will be lower than that used in the RE001. So go Yoko if you will see many kms within 3 years (above 50,000km or so), otherwise, RE001 would be better for performance.

[bunky]

If you are after performance, the RE001 should exceed that of the C.Drive. The C.Drive was supposedly designed for stability, safe lane changing at highway speeds, good wet grip and low road noise. It's more of a higher level street tyre, but not a performance monster (that's what S.Drives are for). However, the C and S.Drives are a harder compound than the RE001, so the absolute grip of the compound will be lower than that used in the RE001. So go Yoko if you will see many kms within 3 years (above 50,000km or so), otherwise, RE001 would be better for performance.

Cheers mate - thanks for the advice!

I went with the C drives for the front. Read the forums and seems like a lot of people were happy with it. incl. yourself. lol! got them for 136 a pop from BJ Tmart.

One question i did have was with the RE001s, a lot of places said that it didn't come in my size (195/60/R15)... which was true according to the brochure i had. But the guy at BJ said that i could put a 205/55/R15 on the same Rim, as it would have the same rolling diameter?? Can someone confirm this - or is this total rubbish?? He was the only one to mention this to me when i was asking about the RE001's and the S.Drives.

If it's the case - next time i'll consider the RE001's or the S.Drives. Wasn't going to do it this time around coz the RE001's were 180 a corner - so went with the Cheaper C's.

Thanks for the advice - A+ for the thread! :) :thumbsup:

[andiiso]

i dunno about accord but on my civic vtir 15x6.5, it fits the 205/55/15 tyre on it, ive got it on there right now

[aaronng]

One question i did have was with the RE001s, a lot of places said that it didn't come in my size (195/60/R15)... which was true according to the brochure i had. But the guy at BJ said that i could put a 205/55/R15 on the same Rim, as it would have the same rolling diameter?? Can someone confirm this - or is this total rubbish?? He was the only one to mention this to me when i was asking about the RE001's and the S.Drives.

If 195/60 R15s are your stock size, then yes, you can fit 205/55 R15. The difference in rolling diameter is 9.5mm, which is within the legal limit of 15mm.

Just make sure your rim width can take 205/55. You need to have a rim size from 5.5x15 to 7x15. :)

[krogoth]

Quick heads up. Bob Jane's latest catalog shows that they are selling the Yokohama A.Drive R1 in 225/50 R16 for $179! This model is the slightly more aggressive version of the C.Drive with more road noise, but supposedly stiffer sidewalls.

pretty cheap

i paid $225 a corner for my 205 45 r17

[bunky]

If 195/60 R15s are your stock size, then yes, you can fit 205/55 R15. The difference in rolling diameter is 9.5mm, which is within the legal limit of 15mm.

Just make sure your rim width can take 205/55. You need to have a rim size from 5.5x15 to 7x15. :)

Cheers mate - great info, i will keep that in mind when i go for my next set of tires - probably will have to be the back tyres.

how would i check what size my rims are? i bought the car last november and have never changed the tyres until now. They're not the stockie rims, they are different. some sort of sporty rim or something or other. next time i'll change and ask if its possible to fit.

Also - would there be an issue if i had 195/60/15's on the front and 205/55/15's on the back?? would this cause many issues??

Thanks again!

[aaronng]

how would i check what size my rims are? i bought the car last november and have never changed the tyres until now. They're not the stockie rims, they are different. some sort of sporty rim or something or other. next time i'll change and ask if its possible to fit.

Also - would there be an issue if i had 195/60/15's on the front and 205/55/15's on the back?? would this cause many issues??

Thanks again!

Just take off a wheel and it's printed on the inside.

You are not allowed to use different sizes front and rear on a FWD car. You'll be defected by the police and won't pass a roadworthy check.

[rocky_b]

ok guys i just pickd up at set of Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE001 at $118 per corner in Inner West Sydney ( 195/50/15 ), balanced & fitted. awesome bargain if u ask me. PM me if you're interested and i can forward ya'll the details and who to ask for. cheers!

[didz]

EDIT:

G'day peeps just looking for some recommendations today i have been told by multiple tyre mobs to go for these in r16 205/55

bridgestone Re001 at 200 per corner
yokohama c-drive at 200 per corner
yokohama s drive at 225 per corner
dunlop SP3000a at 195 per corner
pirelli dragon at 199 per corner
Toyo t1r at 185 per corner

any help would be appreciated

[petsfact]

After driving on re001 for 3000kms range from city, freeway and great ocean road in different condition, i think it is a good model from bridgestone, ride quality is excellent and performance is no doubt 2nd best to all of the tyres i had before, s03 still remain my 1st choice for performance but i don't recommend them on euro, i had it on my s15 before.

Comfort is a bit disappointing as i find way too much tyre noise when driving on rough surface on country roads, despite saying so i was actually quite surprise the excellence wet grip from the tyres when taking twisty great ocear road in down pour condition.

The steering definitely feel more direct, feedback is not excessive but sensitive in a sense that you are able to drive and take the corner with confidence.

Last word, leave your VSA on no matter how superior you think your tyre is.

[aaronng]

Is it quieter than the OEM Dunlop SP2050m?

[petsfact]

Is it quieter than the OEM Dunlop SP2050m?

yes it is, but i doubt if it will stay at this noise level as the thread wear down.

I think re001 is not the best choice if you are after dead comfort quiet tyres. you should probably go with dunlop sport maxx or yokohama.

[aaronng]

yes it is, but i doubt if it will stay at this noise level as the thread wear down.

I think re001 is not the best choice if you are after dead comfort quiet tyres. you should probably go with dunlop sport maxx or yokohama.

The SP2050m also gets noisier as it wears down. If it is quieter, then to me it is acceptable since I am used to the stockies.

[Dy_]

Is there anyone that can rec. me a tyre? 17" onto my EJ so it cant be too big. Just for everyday driving. not for track or anything.
I need it to last so something that doesnt wear as quickly. budget isnt too high aswell.
Also is there anywhere where i can read up abit on tyres? such as what the numbers 205/40 etc mean?

thanks!

[aaronng]

Is there anyone that can rec. me a tyre? 17" onto my EJ so it cant be too big. Just for everyday driving. not for track or anything.
I need it to last so something that doesnt wear as quickly. budget isnt too high aswell.
Also is there anywhere where i can read up abit on tyres? such as what the numbers 205/40 etc mean?

thanks!

S.Drive or C.Drive have a 300 wear rating. Pirelli Dragon has 380. They last longer than tyres like Bridgestone RE001 Adrenalins, which have a rating of 220.

For all your tyre definitions and info, http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/tyre_bible.html

[TheGoodDeal]

Is there anyone that can rec. me a tyre? 17" onto my EJ so it cant be too big. Just for everyday driving. not for track or anything.
I need it to last so something that doesnt wear as quickly. budget isnt too high aswell.
Also is there anywhere where i can read up abit on tyres? such as what the numbers 205/40 etc mean?

thanks!

In the 2nd Sticky of this forum "Wheel and Tyre Bible"
http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/tyre_bible.html

[Dy_]

thanks dude

[Hullabaloo]

S.Drive or C.Drive have a 300 wear rating. Pirelli Dragon has 380. They last longer than tyres like Bridgestone RE001 Adrenalins, which have a rating of 180.

I thought re001's have a rating of 220...
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1237894&postcount=753

at 220 i'd choose them as my next tyre but if they're 180 i probably wouldn't... I tried calling some bridgestone stores in Adelaide, but no one will tell me the twr of the re001's

[petsfact]

I thought re001's have a rating of 220...
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1237894&postcount=753

at 220 i'd choose them as my next tyre but if they're 180 i probably wouldn't... I tried calling some bridgestone stores in Adelaide, but no one will tell me the twr of the re001's

thread wear rating is 220 for RE001

[aaronng]

I thought re001's have a rating of 220...
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1237894&postcount=753

at 220 i'd choose them as my next tyre but if they're 180 i probably wouldn't... I tried calling some bridgestone stores in Adelaide, but no one will tell me the twr of the re001's

Oops, I keep mixing them up with the other bridgestones. I'll correct my error in my post.

[petsfact]

dunlop sport 01 also worth a look if you are looking for 17", they look nice. :P

[tony1234]

If anyone's interested Bob Jane Tempe has a set of 4 Conti Sport contact 2s 225/4517s for $225.00 each.Good price!!!:thumbsup:for a good tyre.

[V205]

Tony1234,

How does the Conti Sport Contact 2 compare with RE-001?

Thanks.


If anyone's interested Bob Jane Tempe has a set of 4 Conti Sport contact 2s 225/4517s for $225.00 each.Good price!!!:thumbsup:for a good tyre.

[aaronng]

Tony1234,

How does the Conti Sport Contact 2 compare with RE-001?

Thanks.

Different, The CSC2's are a touring tyre. It is quieter, safer in the wet and longer lasting than RE001, but with less outright grip.

[V205]

Thanks. By looking at the pictures.. the CSC2 seem to have a squarer shoulder block than the RE001.




Different, The CSC2's are a touring tyre. It is quieter, safer in the wet and longer lasting than RE001, but with less outright grip.

[EG30]

the CSC2 is a popular OE tyre with European car manufacturers, where they often fit RE050/A to the same cars. While the re001 is avail in 15" for compact cars, the CSC series had always concentrated on sizes 17" and upwards and only offer the smaller sizes in their premium contact series.

Very predictable tyre and quiet enough when new, has huge circumferal grooves ( high speed aquaplanning resistance obviously a high priority in this case ) that are wide enough to fit your finger in them so the land to sea ratio is far less than that of the re001, and slightly less than the re050.

They get progressively more noisy as they wear, though no where near as bad as say the Goodyear Eagles. And less grip and predictability once past half worn due to not only deterioation of rubber compound but also less thread squirm/flex. All tyres lose grip and drivability through age and wear but its dropoff at half thread is more noticable than the re050 and dunlop sport maxx I've experienced.

The CSC3 is now out, looks like an evolution of the CSC2 and CSC before that, I hope they've made some worthwhile improvements on this tyre. Meanwhile there should be some decent discounting on the superceded CSC2 which will make it a seriously good buy.

[tony1234]

Tony1234,

How does the Conti Sport Contact 2 compare with RE-001?

Thanks.
They're a great all round road tyre,excellent in the wet.I've got approx.22k on them now.I haven't driven on the RE-001s,i hope they're better than the RE-010s cause they're crap.

[EG30]

They're a great all round road tyre,excellent in the wet.I've got approx.22k on them now.I haven't driven on the RE-001s,i hope they're better than the RE-010s cause they're crap.

The re010, re030 and re040 were truely crap tyres, they tried to have an quiet OE tyres with the handling and grip of the other potenzas with small tread blocks and suceeded at neither.

Don't worry the RE001 has very little in common with the re010, more like a much improved version of the old RE711 with asymetrical tread pattern which is a new direction for Bridgestone.

[V205]

EG30, what car did you use the RE711 on?

I remember the days when RE711 and A509 were all the rage and they were really close to each other in terms of performance and peoples preference for them.

What size is your RE001 and on what car?


The re010, re030 and re040 were truely crap tyres, they tried to have an quiet OE tyres with the handling and grip of the other potenzas with small tread blocks and suceeded at neither.

Don't worry the RE001 has very little in common with the re010, more like a much improved version of the old RE711 with asymetrical tread pattern which is a new direction for Bridgestone.

[EG30]

RE711 on an E30 BMW 325i 125KW/1200kg RWD car, which had a set of RE710 on it before that. The RE710 I did about 35,000Kms/2.5yrs and the tyres were only 25&#37; worn when I replaced them and I used to corner hard in that car! That's despite a low treadwear rating of 180 ( mind you it's often you put non grippy tyres under duress you get a lot of wear and tear when the tyre slides around; when the tyre is gripping and not sliding there is negligible wear) ! When I sold the car to a fren I decided to replace the set so the new owner has a fresh set of tyres. The RE711 was getting phased out and I bought a set of them since I was so happy with my prev RE710 purchase. The old tyres went on and became transport tyres for my bmw 2002 historic racecar, so I don't wear out my RE540s on the way to an event.

I specified the RE711 in 185/60R14 for a close lady fren about 5-6 years ago for her EK auto coupe (EJ?). The orig gripless OE Dunlop 175/65R14 lasted only 43,000kms and the RE711 only got replaced early this year and the odo was showing 115,000Kms. Would have been good for another 10,000kms if not for the edge wear due to kerb wheel/wheel align on 2 of the wheels.

The A539 was on the market around the same time as the RE711, and the A510 b4 that while the RE710 was current. I remember the early days in the late 80s you had the RE71 which I had and its Yoko rival was the AVS 161 intermediate tread pattern and A509 was the more affordable option.

While new the A539 doesn't feel much different to the RE711, they both grip well, reasonably quiet and has great sidewall integrity and crisp turn in. But when it ages the A539 gets pretty rock hard and you loose grip and breakaway warning ie a big dropoff in overall grip. I had a pair of the A539 which were 85% new in our dc2r but the rubber had gone too hard for my liking. A fren's old BMW has the same A539 on his car with the same situation; I'll take some pics one day along with my durometer so that would give an indication of relative hardness of rubber of one tyre vs other.

[Entity]

what do u guys think?

falken fk452 (falken flagship)

or

goodyear eagle ls2000 (their new tyre)

the first is directional, and the second is not.

[m0nk3y]

http://www.tirerack.com/

theres lots of reviews on tyre brands there

[7th Gen]

any recommendations and pricing for 205/40/17?

was looking at Bridgestone Adrenalin but have no idea on pricing, or even if they have it in that size...

[aaronng]

Call the tyre place. Bridgestone has tyre size listings on their website so you can find out if they make Adrenalins in that size.

[petsfact]

if you drive euro or new civic, go for something not that extreme. a general dunlop probably serve the purpose well.

[aaronng]

if you drive euro or new civic, go for something not that extreme. a general dunlop probably serve the purpose well.

RE001 is not extreme. :)

General purpose dunlops are crap. They have very poor treadwear when you drive aggressively and are poor in the wet.

[EG30]

any recommendations and pricing for 205/40/17?

was looking at Bridgestone Adrenalin but have no idea on pricing, or even if they have it in that size...

They list your size as avail in the second half of 2007, so you need to check with a bridgestone tyre centre to confirm availabilty.

[bennjamin]

just picked up a set of RE001's for the civic. 195x50x15 for $115 per corner is a decent price (pm me if u want to know where) for a decent tyre.
I almost crashed twice on my drive home but ill assume its just the cast layer wearing off lol. Feel grippy and quite good response and feel The Sidewalls are quite stiff and i cannot feel a limit as yet. My guess is these will snap under or oversteer when pushed hard

[SiR]

any recommendations and pricing for 205/40/17?

was looking at Bridgestone Adrenalin but have no idea on pricing, or even if they have it in that size...

Take a look at the Dunlop Sport Maxx :thumbsup:

[7th Gen]

They list your size as avail in the second half of 2007, so you need to check with a bridgestone tyre centre to confirm availabilty.

its the second half of 2007 right now :D

any other suggestions besides RE001 and the Dunlops and indicative pricing please?
PM if you want

[aaronng]

its the second half of 2007 right now :D

any other suggestions besides RE001 and the Dunlops and indicative pricing please?
PM if you want

Search this thread. There are many recommendations and price estimates.

[didz]

its the second half of 2007 right now :D

any other suggestions besides RE001 and the Dunlops and indicative pricing please?
PM if you want

pricing depends on size. It is too broad to give an idea on.

[7th Gen]

pricing depends on size. It is too broad to give an idea on.

205/40/17 please

[mugen24]

I ve been quoted a pair of Toyo T1R 205/45/16 for $350. Is that good price for them?

[petsfact]

I ve been quoted a pair of Toyo T1R 205/45/16 for $350. Is that good price for them?

that's a definately a good price for them them --> those that sell you the tyres...

[didz]

I ve been quoted a pair of Toyo T1R 205/45/16 for $350. Is that good price for them?

thats a good price for sure. better than anythign i got for a higher profile! Contacts may get me better ones yet!

[rogue_mc]

I ve been quoted a pair of Toyo T1R 205/45/16 for $350. Is that good price for them?

Got mine in Melb for $169 each balanced and fitted... which is better than $350 for 2 :p

[mugen24]

i changed today for $400 plus everything, include 4 wheel alignment...

[blk05gli]

any views on continental 205/55 16's. I have been quoted $200 p/tyre

[tony1234]

any views on continental 205/55 16's. I have been quoted $200 p/tyre
If they're the conti sport contact 2s i.m sure you'll like them.(i've got 225/45/17s)They're a good all round road tyre,nice ride,good grip,good in the wet,(i reckon they suit the Euro well)wear reasonably well just make sure you set pressure fairly high(38-40psi)as they have soft sidewalls and seem to handle better at that sort of pressure.:thumbsup:

[blk05gli]

If they're the conti sport contact 2s i.m sure you'll like them.(i've got 225/45/17s)They're a good all round road tyre,nice ride,good grip,good in the wet,(i reckon they suit the Euro well)wear reasonably well just make sure you set pressure fairly high(38-40psi)as they have soft sidewalls and seem to handle better at that sort of pressure.:thumbsup:

cheers

[TECDUP]

what would the suggested tyre pressure be for the Bridgestone RE001's 205/45/16's?

for daily use mainly, occasional track in the future but for now just on the streets

Thanks

[EG30]

what would the suggested tyre pressure be for the Bridgestone RE001's 205/45/16's?

for daily use mainly, occasional track in the future but for now just on the streets

Thanks

start with 34psi front and 32 psi rear cold inflation pressure and see how you go, and fine tune it in 1-2 psi increments, one end of the car at a time to feel the affects, then decide what's best for you.

for track work you might want to pump the front up to 42-44psi, the rear anywhere from 34-40 psi depending on your pref.

[7th Gen]

got the RE001's today
will see how it goes but initial impressions are promising

[petsfact]

i find 36 front 35 rear gives best response, excellent for smooth freeway ride, a bit rough on tramline uneven road surface though.

if you are after comfort ride, go 34 front and 32 rear for sure, but you must rotate at least every 10000kms.

[X_X]

i assume u r talking about FWD car.

[hondavti25]

hey guys i know there not the most expensive and best tyres out there but what are falkrem(unsure on spellin) 329s like? i think thats what the guy recomended for my ej8 on 15s

[TECDUP]

Ok, i have had the Adrenalins (re001) for a week now. I got 205/45/16 for $209/tyre...
dry handling is unreal, you never realise how bad your body roll is until your cornering hard at 80-90kms without any understeer.
I had my first taste of wet handling today, stick good, once pushed they did slip a little but quickly caught traction again
I would recommend to anybody...

[7th Gen]

i have had the adrenalins for about 2-3 weeks now on the front only.
i have also had the car lowered and, yes it does make a hell of a difference.
haven't really 'maxxed it out' cause of crappy syd roads :P

[euro77]

I've had mixed comments between RE001 and RE050A (both bridgestone of course). Some claimed RE050A is higher performance than RE001, and others (including me) thought otherwise. Can anyone for sure confirm which one is correct?

[EG30]

The RE050/A is their flagship OE tyre for the prestige car market incl top European cars. You see them fitted as OE tyres to a few Japanese cars too incl Subaru Libertys and Mazda 6s.

I have a set of RE050 on my C36 AMG Merc, and the RE001 on my EG.

In a nut shell the RE001 has a more agressively tread pattern and design philosophy with far higher tread area ie land to sea ratio to the RE050 and grips a fair bit more. But the RE001 is a lot noisier and in large sizes if fitted to a highly refined prestige car where you can hardly hear the engine/drivetrain and wind noise the tyre noise will become far too noticeable to be acceptable for that market segment. The RE050 also has a more gradual breakaway which suits the OE market and comes in Run Flat Tyre version in many sizes which is important for the current gen of BMWs.

The RE050 would cost a fair bit more than a same size RE001 at your local Birdgestone tyre centre too. Manufacturers get super good deal on OE tyres at factory direct level but OE tyres hardly ever get discounted to consumers unless they are getting phased out.

[insanesam]

got a quote for the potenza 050A in 225/45/17 for 260 each. Apparently on special now

[Hullabaloo]

for Adrenalin RE001s, is there any performance (or other) difference between made in Japan or made in Australia ones?

for 215/45/R17 quotes i got so far range from:
Bridgestone - $295
Bob Jane - $275
Kmart - $245

[7th Gen]

are the RE001's made in AUS?
cheap price from Kmart huh?

[Hullabaloo]

not sure. i thought i heard something about some sizes being made in australia...

yep kmart has it in their catalogue right now... not sure about other sizes though. $245 sounds good. though i've read somewhere about someone somehow getting a size in 17inches for closer to $230 per corner... *shrugs*

[7th Gen]

i got my 205/40/17 for 220 per corner
depends on where you are though (i am from syd)

[Hullabaloo]

cheers for that. i'll keep it in mind when i come to buy (pretty soon). having a hard time choosing between RE001's and S.drives.

tyre life is an issue, but considering ive done 50k km on RE050's (TWR140) the RE001's (TWR220) should hopefully do at least 50k km too...

[krogoth]

^50k kmz???

wtf

u must drive very very slowly or take corners very very slowly

i dont think my a drive r1s will last more than 35k kmz

my stoke oem good years only made it to 29k kmz

[EG30]

cheers for that. i'll keep it in mind when i come to buy (pretty soon). having a hard time choosing between RE001's and S.drives.

tyre life is an issue, but considering ive done 50k km on RE050's (TWR140) the RE001's (TWR220) should hopefully do at least 50k km too...

I've got a set of S drive on my dc2r and Re001 on my EG Si, been regretting not getting the RE001 on both cars actually. I thought the new S drive would be much improved from the ES100 and would like to give the Yokies a go after a long hiatus but I was wrong. The RE001 is far stickier than the S drive and in the same price bracket and possibly slightly cheaper. My beef with the S drive is that it's far too hard even when new, coupled with the Yokohama's typical good sidewall rigidity with very little give under duress they would be pretty snappy in terms of breakaway when the rubber ages and esp in the wet.

So do yourself a favour and get the re001s and I'm sure you would be as happy as many members who had bought a set recently. Buy a set of S drives and you are likely to wish you bought a set of re001 when you get to drive a car/ get driven in a car with the re001s.

[Hans Bond]

mine is 205/50 16 and it's made in japan..

[JHMDA9]

I have 205/50 R15 RE001s and they're made in Japan too. First impression is very good. I haven't driven in the wet, you know it doesn't rain in Brisbane anymore..... but on dry roads the general feel is much better than my previous tyres. I noticed the difference immediately, which may seem like a bold statement, but it's true. Traction is great from first gear, and I'm more confident going heel-toe into corners. They almost seem to absorb some bumps etc, the ride is smoother with these.They're a bit noisier than my cheap Maxxis tyres but it's really quite negligible.

I've only had the new wheel/tyre combo on for a little while, but I'm pleased so far.

[7th Gen]

I've got a set of S drive on my dc2r and Re001 on my EG Si, been regretting not getting the RE001 on both cars actually. I thought the new S drive would be much improved from the ES100 and would like to give the Yokies a go after a long hiatus but I was wrong. The RE001 is far stickier than the S drive and in the same price bracket and possibly slightly cheaper. My beef with the S drive is that it's far too hard even when new, coupled with the Yokohama's typical good sidewall rigidity with very little give under duress they would be pretty snappy in terms of breakaway when the rubber ages and esp in the wet.

So do yourself a favour and get the re001s and I'm sure you would be as happy as many members who had bought a set recently. Buy a set of S drives and you are likely to wish you bought a set of re001 when you get to drive a car/ get driven in a car with the re001s.

EG30 what was the price diff between the S drive and RE001?

i found with the Yokos there are heaps of diff tread patterns - S drive, A drive etc. whats the diff between them all?

[EG30]

I've got a feeling that the Aust made Re001s cater for the commodore/falcon/bogan sizes ie 235/45R17 and its eqv in 18 and 19s that are rarely used in the European and Japanese markets thus it makes sense getting it made locally.

[7th Gen]

I've got a feeling that the Aust made Re001s cater for the commodore/falcon/bogan sizes ie 235/45R17 and its eqv in 18 and 19s that are rarely used in the European and Japanese markets thus it makes sense getting it made locally.

thats not a bad theory..

[V205]

I've been researching the Bridgestone Adrenalin RE001 as my next tyre. So far, I haven't heard anyone who's bought it with anything negative to say about it. Looks like a good design.

[string]

How are they for all out dry performance? They don't look like a dry performance tyre.

[DreadAngel]

Seems like the Yokos S-Drives aren't getting the nod from you fellas? I had C-Drives and found them beautiful especially in the wet :p

Anyone know the difference between say the RE001 Adrenalin, RE050A/RE050 and RE040?

[Professional]

Anyone got AD07? I got 2nd set for my car. Very good on both dry and wet. I used FM901, ST115 and GIII. AD07 is the best at this moment.

[EG30]

Seems like the Yokos S-Drives aren't getting the nod from you fellas? I had C-Drives and found them beautiful especially in the wet :p

Anyone know the difference between say the RE001 Adrenalin, RE050A/RE050 and RE040?

If you are happy with the C drives in the wet at the moment, you will be creaming in your pants if you had a set of RE001 on your car ( not that the C drives are bad in the wet at all, far from it ).

RE050(A) is a replacement of the RE040, they are OE tyres optimised for quietness which is very important in the OE market. The RE040 ( and RE010 and 030 before it ) was a crap tyre hardly worthy of the Potenza name ie more like Pretenza not Potenza. RE050 far better tyre despite similar apperance; but very different construction and compound.

The RE001 has a lot more rubber on the road compared with the same sized RE050, more aggresive tread pattern, asymetrical concept with much higher land to sea ratio. Noisier tyre though with whining noises under braking from 60Km/h - 10Km/h and distinct humming harmonic noises from 60-80Km/h on my car with 195/50R15 on a EG5. Re001 cheaper than RE050 too, esp now that Bridgestone Aust ( now wholly owned by Bridgestone Japan ) is pushing it very aggressively in terms of pricing and marketing.

The unique selling proprosition of the RE001 is not so much the absolute grip it provides on the most loaded tyre under hard cornering ( which is still long way off R compund tyres ) but how the lightly loaded wheels stay planted on the road despite having not a lot of mechanical downward pressure on those tyres. As a result it's a lot more forgiving, predictable and inspires a lot of coinfidence at the transitional phases of cornering; even in the wet.

[Hans Bond]

^^ can vouch for this.. i got re001 and just tried to do hard cornering in wet..
the result is it doesn't lose a grip at all :)

[JohnL]

This isn’t a recommendation, so much as an ‘anti-recommendation’ and a bit of a rant and whinge! Keep in mind here that I’m not talking about more expensive ‘performance’ rubber, only cheaper tyres to fit standard rims (but cheap doesn’t have to mean utter crap!). This is because my car budget is limited, not because I wouldn’t prefer higher spec tyres!

I do make some positive comments below on a couple of different tyres I've had / have on my car, but they are cheaper tyres and I'm sure others may think them utter rubbish, but hey, we can't all afford $200 a corner!

Some background to application, my chassis (CB7 Accord) isn’t completely bog standard, it’s fitted with Koni yellow dampers set quite stiff (love my Konis, but that’s where the budget went!!), caster increased to 5&#176;, -1.5&#176; front camber, and front/rear strut braces (home made, but better – i.e. stiffer mounting brackets - than any I’ve seen commercially available). Next step when $s allow is rear ARB upgrade, but I’ve made a substantial improvement in rear roll stiffness already just by fitting poly D bushes and reinforcing (stiffening) the ARB mounting brackets (the ones that attach with three bolts and are very flimsy, deducting substantially from roll stiffness as they flex). This made a significant improvement on the understeer front.

Where was I, oh yes, crap tyres:
Just fitted a pair of Falken ZE329 tyres (a known brand and a tyre of which I’d heard some good things as being a decent good value/performance cheaper tyre). So I only paid $120 each, and I do know you generally get what you pay for, but I’ve bought far better for similar or less money. These are about the worst tyre I can remember driving on, with the possible exception of some very early Hankooks from maybe twenty years ago! I’ve had better retreads!!

Falken tyre size is 185/65/15 on the standard rims (5.5J/15). Standard tyre size is 195/60/15, but this is a lot of case width for a 5.5” rim (the narrowest permissible rim with this case width, good for a softer ride but giving a soggy soft sort of sidewall behaviour not good for steering response etc), which is why I opted for the narrower 185/65 tyre (5.5” being the Falken *recommended* rim width for these tyres, i.e. not the narrowest permissible).

If I’d gone with 195/60 then I’d have been putting them on the narrowest possible rim for that tyre size, not good for handling etc, so problems would in probability have been even worse! In the best of all possible worlds I’d get wider rims for 195/60 (6.5J to 7J), but it all comes down to the dreaded budget, and what ‘She Who Must Be Placated’ (to paraphrase Rumpole) allows me to get away with spending on the car!

I’m happy to trade a bit of outright grip for a bit more steering response, the aspect ratio may not be as good on paper, but the sidewall depth is pretty much the same between 195/60 and 185/65, and it’s the sidewall depth AND angle that’s more important for steering response (at least in theory and all else being equal…). Also, on rough roads narrower treads can perform better than wider (for a number of reasons).

I first fitted the Falkens to the front at 38psi, instantly resulting in poor steering response, plenty of understeer at all but walking speed and tyre howling when pushed harder. So I upped pressure to 45psi which improved things but still pretty bad. Even after 100+km (wearing off the mould release) the problem got no better. Funny thing, even at 45psi on rough roads with stiff damper settings these tyres don’t feel harsh or stiff at all, if anything they feel like they are under inflated (they have a max inflation of 51psi, I may well end up there!). I already dislike these tyres!

Problem seems to be very soft casings, in particular the sidewalls seem / feel to flex a lot, and consequently the tyres develop very large slip angles, just like an under inflated tyre.

Plan B, swapped them to the rear (at 38psi to not be higher than the front) where I thought they might be somewhat more acceptable, but sadly not so! The car now became borderline dangerous (no exaggeration) with truly horrible handling, so I upped pressure to 45psi - problem better but still totally unacceptable.

The upside is that the car now (with Falkens on rear) had better steering response (at least better turn in), but, it was then followed by a nasty wobbly pudding oversteer that was truly dreadful and fairly unresponsive to steering correction because the Falkens just wanted to keep on sliding!! The car felt for all the world like it had a huge weight in the back end acting like a monster pendulum! In an emergency manoeuvre at speed I think it would be dead easy to lose the back end and spin, especially on the dirt roads which I have to drive on.

I now really really hate these tyres, to say I’m disappointed in them is an understatement, and my expectations weren’t huge!! I’ve had to put the Falkens back on the front because on the rear there would eventually be a crash, yes it was that bad! At least with the Falkens on the front the car is directionally stable… too directionally stable!

The two tyres I replaced with the Falkens were Sava Intensa (195/60/15), cheap ($120ish from memory) but surprisingly good - for the money, no complaints, except wear rate – when inflated to 38/40psi. The biggest surprise were with the other tyres I’m currently running, the two I had to buy at the only tyre emporium open in the late afternoon last Xmas eve (Kmart, in desperation after having two flats that day, Merry bloody Xmas!).

These are Sonar SX608 (195/60/15), that cost me I think $115, (basically from the Nankang even more cheapo range!). If I’d had any choice at the time I wouldn’t have considered buying this then unknown generic brand, but surprisingly they are subjectively 5 times as good as the Falken ZE329, and about as good as the Sava Intensa (a bit less grip, but better steering response, I think the sidewalls are reasonably stiff but somewhat harder rubber).

I originally had these Sonars fitted to the rear (with the Intensas up front) at 35psi where they seemed to work well, and forgot about them (well, I didn’t really think – incorrectly – that the rear end asked all that much of the rear tyres, and they’re a very ordinary looking tyre!). This set up gave a fairly neutral handling characteristic once I’d stiffened up the rear ARB mounting.

I recently had to move them to the front (and Intensas to rear) when the Intensas started losing grip (they were getting pretty thin on tread!), fully expecting them to be awful when on the front, but was pleasantly surprised with their competence, especially at 38psi (not so good at 40 though). Not quite as grippy as the Intensas (with tread!), but better steering response, so better turn in / correction behaviour but a bit more mid corner understeer. This may come down to the sidewall angles related to the Intensa being quite wide in the tread for a 195 section casing, and the Sonar being quite narrow treaded for a 195…?

All in all, with the Konis and strut braces, caster, front camber, and rear roll stiffness improvements (does still need a thicker ARB though, still rolls a bit much and could use more rear / less front weight transfer to reduce inherent understeer) and the Sonars or Savas up front, and probably any half decent tyre (i.e. not ZE329s!) on the rear, and all tyres at highish pressures, even with standard rims the old Accord is quite entertaining to drive for what it is, even if the outright grip levels may not be massive…

I nearly bought another two Sonars or Savas (in a 185/65), but I didn’t, and I regret it. So (unless anyone wants to buy them…please!?), I’m now stuck with these bloody Falkens for quite a while, which doesn’t fill me with delight. They really make the car far less enjoyable to drive (maybe better at 51psi???!!!), but I won’t feel too bad about giving them a bit of a caning, the sooner they wear out the better!

[DreadAngel]

If you are happy with the C drives in the wet at the moment, you will be creaming in your pants if you had a set of RE001 on your car ( not that the C drives are bad in the wet at all, far from it ).

RE050(A) is a replacement of the RE040, they are OE tyres optimised for quietness which is very important in the OE market. The RE040 ( and RE010 and 030 before it ) was a crap tyre hardly worthy of the Potenza name ie more like Pretenza not Potenza. RE050 far better tyre despite similar apperance; but very different construction and compound.

The RE001 has a lot more rubber on the road compared with the same sized RE050, more aggresive tread pattern, asymetrical concept with much higher land to sea ratio. Noisier tyre though with whining noises under braking from 60Km/h - 10Km/h and distinct humming harmonic noises from 60-80Km/h on my car with 195/50R15 on a EG5. Re001 cheaper than RE050 too, esp now that Bridgestone Aust ( now wholly owned by Bridgestone Japan ) is pushing it very aggressively in terms of pricing and marketing.

The unique selling proprosition of the RE001 is not so much the absolute grip it provides on the most loaded tyre under hard cornering ( which is still long way off R compund tyres ) but how the lightly loaded wheels stay planted on the road despite having not a lot of mechanical downward pressure on those tyres. As a result it's a lot more forgiving, predictable and inspires a lot of coinfidence at the transitional phases of cornering; even in the wet.

Ah Icic! Thanks EG30 and Hans Bond :) I think I'll give these RE001s a try see how things go ;) I'll report when the new car has them then can give you a comparo to the C-Drives even if its not much of a competition

[aaronng]

Instead of 38psi, did you try 33psi instead? 38psi is on the high side for such a high profiled tyre. You get bulging in the middle, reducing your contact patch.

[blk05gli]

when the time came to replace my dunlop 2050 205/55R16s last month, a friend recommended Sumitomo (made by dunlop?) I have 205/55R16 HTR 55Z and in wet and dry, my opinion is that they are much better tyre than the OE the car came with - grip/turn in is great, and when cornering hard (VSA off) - rear end stays inline (unlike the 2050's !)

only thing - 2050's lasted me 57K - damm!

[JohnL]

Instead of 38psi, did you try 33psi instead? 38psi is on the high side for such a high profiled tyre. You get bulging in the middle, reducing your contact patch.

I haven't yet tried the Falkens at a more conservative pressure, I probably will but my expectation is that this is likely to be even worse. What I do expect is that lowering the pressure will result in even larger slip angles and less response. I may be wrong, but my understanding is that 'tread bulge' in modern radials (with their fairly stiff steel belts) isn't much affected by higher pressures, certainly not nearly as much as cross ply tyres are. The tread isn't visibly bulging at 38 or 45psi, and they did behave somewhat better at 45 vs 38...

Put another 2psi in them this morning (47psi), but haven't driven on them at that pressure yet. If it's no better or worse then I'll try dropping them down to a more sane psi as you suggest. If this works then they'll be the only tyre I've ever used that gets better steering response at lower pressure, even my go-kart steers more sharply at 20psi than at say 15. If I'm lucky the Falkens may get a bit better when the tread blocks wear down, but I really think the case stiffness is most likely to be the problem.

Re the Sava Intensa tyre, we also have some on a Mazda 323 in a 195/55/15 size. On this car they perform not nearly as well as the 195/60/15 Intensa on the Accord. The difference isn't just when cornering hard, it's there even when driven quite conservtively, manifesting most obviously in steering response and directional stability (i.e. the Intensas on the Accord or more responsive and have better stability in a straight line and in corners than those on the Mazda).

I know the cars are quite different with very different suspension designs (with the Accord suspension obviously being far superior!) and the Mazda has a 6J rim (which in theory should work better with a 195 tye than the 5.5J on the Accord), but I suspect the difference is at least mostly in the tyres themselves and may not just be the different aspect ratio. All else being equal the 195/55 on a 6J rim should be significantly superior to a 195/60 on a 5.5J rim, but it isn't. Why, I don't know for sure but assuming the tyres themselves are the problem, the Savas on the Accord are made in New Zealand, but the ones on the Mazda are made in Slovenia. Might this mean there may be significant differences other than aspect between these tyres...??

[evolution]

Since the curret topic seems to be on the Bridgestone Potenza RE001, I thought I might just include my 2 cents.
I've currently got the RE001s on my 06 ODC in the size of 225/45/ R18 @38psi. The tyres are made in Japan and cost me about $265 a corner.
I got the tyres when I installed my ARBs, lowered the car and new rims. I was initially afraid of the road noise that the tires would produce, but to my surprise, it was only very slightly nosier than stock tires (Yokohama Aspec 215/60/16). Grip is amazing, been going around round-abouts at higher speeds and still feel very safe. Wet grip is also amazing, imagine throwing a 1.6 ton mini-van around a wet corner and feeling in control.
Best tires I've gotten so far.

[EG30]

geez very good price for such BIG size, thought they would be closer to $300 or more in 18". Is that a run of the mill price at a non anti-bridgestone tyre shop or the best price you found in a bridgestone sympathetic shop?

[evolution]

My Mechanic got me the tires, I have no idea where he got them from, but I did make a few enquires and the cheapest I got was $270 from TyrePower in Perth City.

[EG30]

ok ic thanks for the info.

[V205]

That's awesome price for 225/45/18 RE001. ($265)

Even kmart typres was quoting me 225/45/17 ($305).

Anyone in Melb got RE001 at realistic prices yet? :)



Since the curret topic seems to be on the Bridgestone Potenza RE001, I thought I might just include my 2 cents.
I've currently got the RE001s on my 06 ODC in the size of 225/45/ R18 @38psi. The tyres are made in Japan and cost me about $265 a corner.
I got the tyres when I installed my ARBs, lowered the car and new rims. I was initially afraid of the road noise that the tires would produce, but to my surprise, it was only very slightly nosier than stock tires (Yokohama Aspec 215/60/16). Grip is amazing, been going around round-abouts at higher speeds and still feel very safe. Wet grip is also amazing, imagine throwing a 1.6 ton mini-van around a wet corner and feeling in control.
Best tires I've gotten so far.

[Luke Accord]

Anyone have any opinions on the pirelli pzero dragon?
Cheers.

[TheGoodDeal]

Anyone have any opinions on the pirelli pzero dragon?
Cheers.

I did fit 2 front tyre with pirelli pzero dragon (175/65/R15) about 3 weeks ago for $95 per tyre. Very good grip in the dry weather, low noise. I don't know how it go in the wet yet (There are no rain sicne i fit it). But I feel treadwear are bad compare to the old tire.

[Luke Accord]

Thanks for the reply mate,
Let me know how they go once you get a chance to test them in the wet.

[euro77]

EuroAccord13 has pirelli dragon on his euro, pm him if you want.

[aaronng]

Dragons are even harder than the S.Drive at 380! But they do seem to grip good.

[Luke Accord]

EuroAccord13 has pirelli dragon on his euro, pm him if you want.

Thanks mate.

[Hullabaloo]

Hi everyone, my dad is looking for some new tyres for his Mazda 6. I'm not exactly sure of the size 205/55/R16? at a guess.
He doesn't drive much (less than 10k per year).
He's not after performance. Comfort and quiet is what he's after. Old tyres are the stock Potenza RE030's i think.

I know c.drives are highly recommended here, but how "performancy" are they? for that money (or cheaper) could he get something more comfortable and quiet?

[V205]

Brigdestone Adrenalin RE001 is getting very good feedback for the latest release product.


Hi everyone, my dad is looking for some new tyres for his Mazda 6. I'm not exactly sure of the size 205/55/R16? at a guess.
He doesn't drive much (less than 10k per year).
He's not after performance. Comfort and quiet is what he's after. Old tyres are the stock Potenza RE030's i think.

I know c.drives are highly recommended here, but how "performancy" are they? for that money (or cheaper) could he get something more comfortable and quiet?

[Hullabaloo]

Brigdestone Adrenalin RE001 is getting very good feedback for the latest release product.

I think they'd be too sporty for him. comfort and quiet are way more important than outright grip.

[JohnL]

Just in case anyone is remotely interested…

Tried the Falken ZE329 on the front at 47psi (up from 45). This resulted in a very slight improvement in steering response (still not good), not much (if any, might be my imagination?) reduction in front grip, and slight increase in harshness.

Then I tried them at 33psi. This resulted in a slight reduction in steering response but some improvement in front grip and reduction in harshness. I retrieved some response by adjusting front Konis to nearly full stiff, but response still sub standard. Not that it really matters, but at higher psi they howl a bit near their limit, but at lower psi this changes to a sort of ‘scrubbing’ sound.

All in all these tyres don’t seem particularly sensitive to psi changes, even big ones! Having said this, it does worry me somewhat running really big psi. At 47psi, after a fastish run on a warm day they gained 4psi so hot tyres are up to 51psi! (right on the max inflation marked on tyre).

These tyres also suffer from another unforgivable sin, they have very little road feel and give little direct information as to whether they are near their limit. You can’t really feel it at the wheel, the only way you know the tyres are at / near the limit is by the increasing under/over steer and the sound they’re making! Having said that, in their defence they are very forgiving as when they approach their limit they ‘let go’ very progressively, but this is more or less what I’d expect from a soft cased, unresponsive tyre.

Now trying them again back on the rear at 33psi. This seems somewhat better than when on the rear at 38psi, but they’re still far from good. When on the rear these tyres make the car ‘wobbly’ (technical term) in the back end and want to oversteer, but not in a nice way (you can feel the tread moving laterally as they load up and slip angle rises). Compared to (some) other tyres, when fitted on the rear they also adversely affect turn-in, so whether fitted front or rear they aren’t good for steering response, though less badly when fitted to the rear than front. The car also feels like it’s rolling more with these tyres (fitted front or rear, but more so when on the rear).

The problem is probably the number of sidewall plies/cords. Upon close inspection of the sidewall blurb I find they only have one polyester sidewall ply (yes, that’s 1, singular). I can’t ever remember seeing sidewalls marked as having less than two sidewall plies. Unless this is a particularly stiff ply (I doubt!) then the sidewall must be very soft compared to nearly any other radial tyre I’ve seen (i.e. bothered to read sidewall). No wonder they generate large slip angles and thus poor steering response.

This also has implications for the tread stiffness because sidewall plies (ply) aren’t only sidewall plies. They’re wrapped from bead to bead and thus form part of the tread construction as well, i.e. the tread is denoted as having one poly ply, two steel and one nylon ply, which is also one less poly tread ply than I can remember seeing on any other tyres. If a tyre had two poly sidewall plies then it would also have two poly tread plies, since they are the same plies. This also suggests that the ZE329 tread isn’t likely to be particularly stiff either…

I don’t like these tyres, at all. No amount of pressure adjustment etc seems likely to turn these pig’s ears into anything remotely resembling a silk purse (perhaps putting them on a 7.5J rim???). It amazes me that they are so much worse than other similarly priced tyres like the Sonar SX608 or Sava Intensa (that I have tried on this car), and probably a number of others (that I haven’t). I suppose things could be worse, I might have bought 4 of these bloody things…

[JohnL]

Hi everyone, my dad is looking for some new tyres for his Mazda 6. I'm not exactly sure of the size 205/55/R16? at a guess.
He doesn't drive much (less than 10k per year).
He's not after performance. Comfort and quiet is what he's after. Old tyres are the stock Potenza RE030's i think.

I know c.drives are highly recommended here, but how "performancy" are they? for that money (or cheaper) could he get something more comfortable and quiet?

Falken ZE329 perhaps? They are comfortable and quiet, definitely not "performancy" at all!

[V205]

In that case, probably the Yokohama decibel series.

But RE001 is a tyre designed for enjoyment of daily driving too in terms of steering ease and response, not just at the limit.


I think they'd be too sporty for him. comfort and quiet are way more important than outright grip.

[EG30]

The Michelin Precedas might just fit the bill perfectly for your dad's Mazda 6 Hullabaloo...

Very quiet tyre and comfortable, highly rated by the Autosalon mag. Still corners hard despite what the tread pattern looks tame. I specified this tyre on many frens' Euro cars such as Audi A4s and Saab 95s and they are all very happy with this tyre and most importantly it retains much of its grip all the way down to the treadwear indicator.

They are on sale at Bob Jane from memory for $199 each for 205/55R16.

[Hullabaloo]

Great, thanks for all the advice guys.

[aaronng]

Hi everyone, my dad is looking for some new tyres for his Mazda 6. I'm not exactly sure of the size 205/55/R16? at a guess.
He doesn't drive much (less than 10k per year).
He's not after performance. Comfort and quiet is what he's after. Old tyres are the stock Potenza RE030's i think.

I know c.drives are highly recommended here, but how "performancy" are they? for that money (or cheaper) could he get something more comfortable and quiet?

If his car is not lowered and you have 1cm space to the guard to spare, consider 225/50 R16. It's actually similar or cheaper than 205/55 R16 because it's not an OEM size. S.Drive and C.Drive were about $215-220 in 225/50 R16 and $210 for 205/55 R16. Consider the RE001 Adrenalins (I didn't check the price for those though)

[20EG]

Hey all,

Although not impressed with the fact that Bridgestone do not make left and right tyre in the RE001. I made a decision to try them anyway.

Ordered tyres from the local BS dealer yesterday and went in to have them fitted this morning as I was advised they would be there about 9am. So I turned up and was told they had their delivery but some tyres were stuck at the bottom when they packed and would be dropped of at another store so they could go and get them. I was told they would call me when they come in...

At this point (Pissed off with BS as I'd taken a day of work to get this done and booked into have a wheel alignment with the suspension place) a decision was made to see what else is available in the same sort of bracket as the RE001 did a bit of running around to some other tyre places and found Federal tyres firstly found the 595RS which has been mentioned previously in this thread and is marketed as a " Street legal semi slick" the tread wear rating (TWR) of 180 stamped on the side made me smile... They weren't going to last long but they were definitely going to grip! In the end decided this might be a bit overboard for a car which is mainly driven on the street. The next tyre in Federal’s line up is the 595EVO I’ve searched the posts and found nothing on this forum about this tyre.

First thing for this tyre though I’d compare it to what I had intended to buy. So the 595EVO has a TWR of 240 Traction AA and Temperature A. Remembering the BS RE001 has a TRW of 220 and from what I had previously read here Traction A and Temperature AA.

In the end I thought someone has to try them or we’ll never know. I’ve made an executive decision to be the guinea pig so I’ve bought four of them in a 205/45/16.

Obviously I haven’t had much of a chance to get a feel for them as they were only fitted about lunchtime today. However, my initial feeling is that these will be a reasonable compromise as a high performance street tyre. They seem to have good turn in, stability in a straight line and under brakes. Federal calls them “Street Competition”.

I don’t have much to compare them to... I had a set of G3’s on a pulsar a while ago and so far would have to rate these higher than the G3 even though I haven’t even had them on the car for 24hrs. The only other good tyre I’ve driven on was an FM901 which they don’t make any more and I don’t think that this would be on par with the FM901 which had a TWR of 200.

I’ll try and keep you updated and if it ever rains I’ll let you know what they’re like in the wet...

As for price I was quoted $230 by most for the RE001 in a 205/45/16 but they were going to do them for $213 each – Oh yeah, they never called me...

I picked the Federals up for $205 a tyre and looking at their catalog there are plenty of sizes to cater for pretty much everyone.

Got a couple of pics up on my myspace page here for anyone that’s interested
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=193978374&albumId=949036

Oh and here’s the Federal site as well - http://www.federaltyres.com.au/motorsport

[Hullabaloo]

If his car is not lowered and you have 1cm space to the guard to spare, consider 225/50 R16. It's actually similar or cheaper than 205/55 R16 because it's not an OEM size. S.Drive and C.Drive were about $215-220 in 225/50 R16 and $210 for 205/55 R16. Consider the RE001 Adrenalins (I didn't check the price for those though)


20mm extra seems quite a lot. are there any factors to consider when trying to increase by this much?

[aaronng]

20mm extra seems quite a lot. are there any factors to consider when trying to increase by this much?

On the Mazda6, there is enough space. The only thing to consider is that the minimum rim width must be at least 6.5" to run 225. If you want quiet and grippy (for a normal driver, not an enthusiast), then try Yoko C.Drive. About $200 in 205/55 R16. It's quieter than most OEM tyres!

[Hullabaloo]

Cheers. Been offered an alternative for slightly cheaper. Bridgestone Turanza ER300. Does anyone have any thoughts/experience/comparison with C.drives with those?

[DreadAngel]

If you're talking about ER30, C-Drive > ER30... lol... I don't really like ER30s...

[jay-bee'z]

Brigdestone Adrenalin RE001 is getting very good feedback for the latest release product.

Good.. I just got them today :cool:

Hopefully they go alright, got them through K-Mart T&A for 159.00ea. (195/55/R15). I didn't have time to research them so don't know much about them at all.

[aaronng]

Cheers. Been offered an alternative for slightly cheaper. Bridgestone Turanza ER300. Does anyone have any thoughts/experience/comparison with C.drives with those?

Damn, my reply is too late. ER30 is the OEM tyre on the Corolla Sportivo, and from driving my neighbour's Sportivo, ER30 rates very low on my opinion. How much cheaper is ER30 over the C.Drive? If you want cheaper than C.Drive, go Bridgestone RE001 Adrenalin. It's a higher performance tyre, but it will still be a bit quieter than the ER30.

[subjective]

Spend about 30 minutes searching and calling around..

Those tyre shop do various in price..

From

Bridgestone dealer(mascot) : $252

to

Kmart auto(broadway): $234

last call

Bridgestone dealer (kingsford): $213

[recommended if u live city, eastern,inner east/west suburbs]


That is crazy, both bridgestone dealer is like within 2 KM next to each other, various in price of $12x dollars.. I just put down the order and will get it installed tomorrow

[DreadAngel]

Subjective, is this for RE001? Kingsford dealer...

[subjective]

Thats right BS RE001 205/40/17

[aaronng]

Is that the Bridgestone dealer located behind Maccas?

[subjective]

yes .. behind MacDonald's

I went to fit BS RE001 today..
only fitted front because lock nug is left at home.. going tomorrow again..

[kendc5r]

just wan2 put in my 2cents...

Currently using:

Tyres: Goodyear GSD3 (205/50/R16)
Price: Just under $200 each
Review: Great in dry, but suffers in the wet. I have experienced wheelspin when taking off in the wet. Apparently there's two versions of this, made in Japan and made in Thailand. I got the Thailand ones because I didnt realize until I checked em later... :thumbdwn:

Also currently using:

Tyres: Yokohama Advan Sport V103 (225/45/R17)
Price: Just a tad over $300 each
Review: Top of the line Yoko tires that can be purchased in Australia. It is rated as "Y" to perform in excess of 300km/h. Performs great in wet and dry performance. Corners hard, will accelerate through corners with no problems whatsoever.

Also, im in the market for some new tyres in the size 205/60/R16. I got a quote today for some Yoko C.Drives for $189 each fitted and balance.

Can anyone tell me if this price is appropriate? Or if they would like to recommend something different altogether...

Thanks guys :)

[subjective]

Got Adrenalin RE001 fitted, finally all of them this morning, owner(bill) at the bridgstone dealer very nice guy and the boys at the place friendly, helpful. definitely give them a ring if you live close by.

Drive pretty hard on the way to work,

Initial impression,
- comfortable and fairly quiet.
- good response at corners.
- grip is good (dry)

it will probably takes couple days for the tyre to wear in properly.

thumbs up. :)

[SeverAMV]

i've got adrenalin re001 at the front and maxxis ma-v1 at the rear. the bridgestones are pretty good, but i find that the grip of my maxxis rear tires is far superior to the bridgestones, as they're making me understeer when they're in the rear, and oversteer when theyre in the front. may try maxxis all around when it comes time for a tyre change.

[DEMON83]

i have to recommend the Toyo T1R as the first set i used (195/55 R15) were sweet as they lasted me about 40000 km inc 1 track day at willowbak in QLDjust got 2 new ones for the front (205/50 R15) as the old ones became semi slics lol the spring brook cruise helped with that, however with all new tyres u need towork them in to get the best grip and life out of them, so far so good.....

[Catcha]

Guy I have a Jazz VTI-S with standard rim of 185/55/r15 and its time to change upgrade my tyres

Yokohama C drives $167 per tyre

Yokahama AS01 $188

RE001 in Size 195/50/R15 quote $230

Hows does these prices sound....just wanna compare in my rim size

[civic_mods]

dunno bout others bout re001 in 195/50/r15 is it in price of per pc o pair? coz tat's y v.exspensive if it is for per pc

[dc2typ35r]

Guy I have a Jazz VTI-S with standard rim of 185/55/r15 and its time to change upgrade my tyres

Yokohama C drives $167 per tyre

Yokahama AS01 $188

RE001 in Size 195/50/R15 quote $230

Hows does these prices sound....just wanna compare in my rim size

those c drives sound expensive...wheres that quote from?..i got mine for $160 and they are 195/55/15 but that was over a year ago

[JHMDA9]

Guy I have a Jazz VTI-S with standard rim of 185/55/r15 and its time to change upgrade my tyres

Yokohama C drives $167 per tyre

Yokahama AS01 $188

RE001 in Size 195/50/R15 quote $230

Hows does these prices sound....just wanna compare in my rim size

I bought the RE001s in 205/50 15 (less popular than your size hence cost a bit more) for $172 each, fitted and balanced. Don't know why they're quoting you so much :confused:

[evolution]

Guy I have a Jazz VTI-S with standard rim of 185/55/r15 and its time to change upgrade my tyres

Yokohama C drives $167 per tyre

Yokahama AS01 $188

RE001 in Size 195/50/R15 quote $230

Hows does these prices sound....just wanna compare in my rim size

$230 for RE001 at that size sounds a bit expensive, mine are 225/45/R18 and they cost me $265 a corner, but that was before a price hike in September, even then would not be such a price diff

[Catcha]

I emailed Bob jane last time C drives $191 per tyre

compared to Tyre power for $167 .....each

I'm looking at going at RE001 but his waiting for a Rep to come up and see what sort of better price he could get......... I ask roughly ball park and he said $230 off the top of his head...so I gotta wait next week for the better price.....

Oh Bridgestone are also putting up there prices for tyres.

my 185/55/15 limit me to my choices hence it more expensive not as popular

So going 195/50/15 .

It should be cheaper and won't effect too much rolling diamater.

Does anyone know if insurance is affected ?? I know when you change tyres load and speed rating have to be the same or higher grade so you don't void insurance..

from me going 195/50/15 that shouldn't present a problem right ?

[mikul_ha]

225/45/17 RE001
i was quoted 310 bucks per corner but got it down to 275 bucks

all it takes is a bit of bargaining :p

[Catcha]

that sucks about the price RE001's going up. other members previously paid less than 200 per corner for you size. I was hoping to get 215/45/R17 for around about 230-250, but from the sounds of it looks like i'll be looking closer to $300 :(

do the 195/50/R15 have a different load and speed rating to the 185/55/R15?

I was also thinking about doing the same thing (ie go slightly wider and smaller aspect ratio). Does anyone know the pros and cons of doing so?

185/55/15 - rolling radius = 292.25
195/55/15 - rolling radius = 288

you would need 195/50/15 to keep the rolling radius the same only a smallest amount of difference your spedo could be saying 80kph your actual speed is eg 78kph

[Sydsyd]

I bought RE001 for my car, 195/50/15s for $144 each corner fitted...my guess is the price difference is by ur locations (cities/towns), cos i know syd ppl can get $129 each for the same specs i have...

[SeverAMV]

I bought RE001 for my car, 195/50/15s for $144 each corner fitted...my guess is the price difference is by ur locations (cities/towns), cos i know syd ppl can get $129 each for the same specs i have...

nope, bridgestone have bumped up the price majorly in the last two months. my brother was quoted 240 for 195/50R15, whilst i only paid 144.

[DreadAngel]

CRAP!!! What a price hike :(

[SeverAMV]

just get adrenalins for the front. their turn in response seems to be unparallel'd in the street radial class, and get something cheap and good in the rear, like wide oval firehawks (you can get 215/60r15 of these for like 130, which is ridiculously cheap and makes you wonder if the adrenalins are worth it).

[aaronng]

just get adrenalins for the front. their turn in response seems to be unparallel'd in the street radial class, and get something cheap and good in the rear, like wide oval firehawks (you can get 215/60r15 of these for like 130, which is ridiculously cheap and makes you wonder if the adrenalins are worth it).

Not too safe at the limit though (in case you need to swerve to avoid a 'roo). I tried S02 at the front and Dunlop cheapos at the rear and my car actually is very very tail happy eventhough it has a long wheelbase.

[SeverAMV]

Not too safe at the limit though (in case you need to swerve to avoid a 'roo). I tried S02 at the front and Dunlop cheapos at the rear and my car actually is very very tail happy eventhough it has a long wheelbase.

firehawks are grade a traction, and are generally a sports tyre, its only cheap in price, not quality. theyre also technically the same as the old g3 potenza.

[aaronng]

firehawks are grade a traction, and are generally a sports tyre, its only cheap in price, not quality. theyre also technically the same as the old g3 potenza.
Most tyres are grade A in traction though.... Even Maxxis tyres :).

[SeverAMV]

Most tyres are grade A in traction though.... Even Maxxis tyres :).

nothing wrong with maxxis tyres... my maxxis tyres outperform my adrenalins, grip-wise and endurance-wise.

[Catcha]

nope, bridgestone have bumped up the price majorly in the last two months. my brother was quoted 240 for 195/50R15, whilst i only paid 144.

And there is going to be another one at the end of this month again

[aaronng]

I just got quoted $210 for RE001 in 205/55 R16 and 225/50 R16, both the same price.

[EG30]

guys don't forget tyre shops often bump up the price of the tyres you originally enquired in order to make the tyres they want to flock off to you look cheap ie $60 a tyre cheaper if you went for the brand X model Y tyre instead of the re001 you wanted.

not only they have more margins on their fav brand X, but also much better credit terms ie 60 days instead of having to order in the re001 from bridgestone and pay for it soon after. And brand X would also offer incentives such as free holidays, department store vouchers to the shop if they hit a certain target so little wonder some tyre chains sing praises about brand X, Y, Z and bags everything else on the market.

[EG30]

firehawks are grade a traction, and are generally a sports tyre, its only cheap in price, not quality. theyre also technically the same as the old g3 potenza.

the firehawk wide oval v good tyre, I specified a set for a lady fren's EJ GLi coupe in 185/60R14 ( to replace the RE711 which I prev specified some 4.5 years and 85000kms ago and that's despite the TWR of 140! )

apparently the carcass is very similar to the S02, as a hand me down from bridgestone's old flagship wonder tyre some years ago and almost identical to the Maxxis ma-z1 tread pattern so they must be good carcass and pattern design respectively if their design elements still live on today.

the only downside is more pronunced tyre roar you hear, but it rides well, grip v well and has much less tread squirm when new compared to the GIII. When i need to replace my 185/60R14 in my CRX it will be between these firehawk or the G force sport or the MA-Z1 if they make it in my size.

[V205]

Aaron, would you mind asking the same place for RE001 in 225/45/17?

Thanks!


I just got quoted $210 for RE001 in 205/55 R16 and 225/50 R16, both the same price.

[aaronng]

Aaron, would you mind asking the same place for RE001 in 225/45/17?

Thanks!

I'll call to order the tyres in tomorrow and probably install them on saturday. I'll ask them for the price of 225/45 R17 for you.

They were my local Tyrepower stores here in Melb.

[aaronng]

Aaron, would you mind asking the same place for RE001 in 225/45/17?

Thanks!

Got the quote, it's $297 each! Ouch! I'm getting my 205/55 R16 RE001 fitted and balanced for $209 each at the same place.

[blackfriday]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has recently fitted a set of these and what they cost?

I'm in Canberra but do go to Sydney pretty frequently so that is always an option.

[krogoth]

230-240 a corner i reckon, give them a ring

mite be a little less, the profile is pretty popular i reckon

[aaronng]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has recently fitted a set of these and what they cost?

I'm in Canberra but do go to Sydney pretty frequently so that is always an option.

I'm fitting them tomorrow in 205/55 R16 for $209 each (I'm located in Melb).

[blackfriday]

Well you can understand why I nearly fell off my chair when I got the quote of $290 a corner...

[ap]

fitted the re001 in 17's for ~$250 per corner at bridgestone smithfield about 2 weeks ago

[aaronng]

Got RE001s on my car now. First impressions, much quieter than my 3 year old Dunlop SP2050m's. Steering response is slightly poorer, but it could be from the tyre not being scrubbed in yet.

[SuperDave]

I too have jumped on the Re001 bandwagon. They are much better than C.Drive, but haven't tracked them yet to see the proof (I'm sure they will be better though). Steering feel is better, just as quiet, good with deep puddles and nice strong sidewalls. Rung around and the best price I got for 205/50/16 was something like $210 a tyre at Kmart, after seeing what price they could do on 10 tyres (2 cars with the same tyre size) they sold them to me for $180 a tyre. For what its worth I'm up in Brisbane.

[V205]

Hi, what size exactly?


fitted the re001 in 17's for ~$250 per corner at bridgestone smithfield about 2 weeks ago

[Killa From Manila]

hey ppl 1st time buying tyres ever 4 me. was keen on some re001's but they sound like they r gonna be abit too expensive now. ne1 have an idea of the prices for 195/50/15 or 195/55/15 (not sure which 1 suits me best, its for an EK)
budget is about $700, located in brissy if that helps.
if its gonna cost way over my budget, wat other tyres are recommended?

[mku01]

add another $100 and you have yourself a set of ad07's from max hondapower

[SeverAMV]

hey ppl 1st time buying tyres ever 4 me. was keen on some re001's but they sound like they r gonna be abit too expensive now. ne1 have an idea of the prices for 195/50/15 or 195/55/15 (not sure which 1 suits me best, its for an EK)
budget is about $700, located in brissy if that helps.
if its gonna cost way over my budget, wat other tyres are recommended?

ask around at a few places before buying. the 195/55R15 should be a little cheaper than the 50 sidewall profile. should be able to get all four for under 700 if you hurry.
note that the adrenalins have a low treadwear rating so you'll be replacing them pretty quickly (not as fast as slicks, but yeah, you get the picture). if you want something that will last longer, just get the firehawk wide ovals, theyre half the price for the wider stuff, grip is on par with the old potenza g3.

[V205]

Aaronng, steering response of the RE001 is poorer than the SP2050??




Got RE001s on my car now. First impressions, much quieter than my 3 year old Dunlop SP2050m's. Steering response is slightly poorer, but it could be from the tyre not being scrubbed in yet.

[aaronng]

Aaronng, steering response of the RE001 is poorer than the SP2050??

That was with 0km on the RE001. :)
They have worn in a bit more now and no way am I going back to SP2050m. :thumbsup:

[aaronng]

Does anyone know if the RE001's are softer than RE050's?

I think RE050 has a treadwear rating of 140? RE001 has a rating of 220, so they are harder (or at least use a longer wearing compound).

[wuism]

I think RE050 has a treadwear rating of 140? RE001 has a rating of 220, so they are harder (or at least use a longer wearing compound).

that is correct.. re050 have treadwear of 140.. re070 has 140 as well.

[Catcha]

Updated quote from bridgestone Bob jane

for the RE001 for my honda jazz

195/50/15 $144

195/55/15 $183

C drives

185/55/15 $191
195/50/15 $148
195/55/15 $183

I might be going the 195/50/15 in the RE001. Big price difference from what I was quoted

[krogoth]

Updated quote from bridgestone Bob jane

for the RE001 for my honda jazz

195/50/15 $144

195/55/15 $183

C drives

185/55/15 $191
195/50/15 $148
195/55/15 $183

I might be going the 195/50/15 in the RE001. Big price difference from what I was quoted

yeh look, as a rough guide...as soon as u start getting into sort of wide tyres with a low profile, the prices skyrocket because they are not a common size...

205 45 17, is a pretty shit size in terms of price

normally decent cheap tyres are not available in that size, so ud have to get a performance tyre, and the price can be anywere between 230 to 300+ a corner

215 45 17 is another shit size...

[Killa From Manila]

Updated quote from bridgestone Bob jane

for the RE001 for my honda jazz

195/50/15 $144

195/55/15 $183

C drives

185/55/15 $191
195/50/15 $148
195/55/15 $183

I might be going the 195/50/15 in the RE001. Big price difference from what I was quoted


:O i wud have thought the 195/55 profile wud be cheaper since its bigger

[aaronng]

:O i wud have thought the 195/55 profile wud be cheaper since its bigger

More expensive because the sporty cars from the 90's use 195/55 R15.

[Killa From Manila]

More expensive because the sporty cars from the 90's use 195/55 R15.

so u sayin they pump up the price coz its common, or its not so common nemore hence the price?

[V205]

Is it a slight improvement or a transformation? :)


That was with 0km on the RE001. :)
They have worn in a bit more now and no way am I going back to SP2050m. :thumbsup:

[aaronng]

Is it a slight improvement or a transformation? :)

Transformation. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[aaronng]

so u sayin they pump up the price coz its common, or its not so common nemore hence the price?

It depends on the brand. Some bump up the prices on common sizes, while others charge more for sizes that are only made in small quantities.

[Catcha]

:O i wud have thought the 195/55 profile wud be cheaper since its bigger


I questioned the guy about that.....

He just said that make more in the size therefore it was cheaper.........

i'm not complaining.......I had to ask the guy 3 times to makre sure the RE001 were at that price and ring up and check that Adrenalin are only called RE001

computer comes up Adrenalin but no RE001....

This was the case when I was asking at Kmart $137 per tyre for the RE001

Because 185/55/15 is a limited size they charge and arm and a leg for Original tyres cause not much are made in that size. guy reckons 17 inch is they make the most in

[6ary]

Does anyone know if the RE001's are softer than RE050's?

RE050s cost more than RE001s at the moment, found out the hard way when my RE050 oem tires punctured.

[aaronng]

RE050s cost more than RE001s at the moment, found out the hard way when my RE050 oem tires punctured.

RE050 is more expensive because it is an OEM tyre. :)
The price for my OEM Dunlop SP2050 was much much higher than the RE001.

[Killa From Manila]

I questioned the guy about that.....

He just said that make more in the size therefore it was cheaper.........

i'm not complaining.......I had to ask the guy 3 times to makre sure the RE001 were at that price and ring up and check that Adrenalin are only called RE001

computer comes up Adrenalin but no RE001....

This was the case when I was asking at Kmart $137 per tyre for the RE001

Because 185/55/15 is a limited size they charge and arm and a leg for Original tyres cause not much are made in that size. guy reckons 17 inch is they make the most in

cool hopefully i can get a set for around that price

[krogoth]

lol, i got a quote for adrenalines, bridgestone center corner princess hwy and warrigal rd

205 45 17, $330 a corner, lol, told him to get farked

205 45 17 in G3z were more reasonable at $270 a corner

looks like ill be sticking to me a drive r01z for bang for buck and $230 a corner

[petsfact]

anyone try sport maxx? i think they are pretty good.....

[STTICH]

has anyone tried Dunlop Formula FM901? they any good?

[civic_mods]

do dunlop still makes them? but i remember they r on par with bridgestone re711 n there r pretty good tyres

[JohnL]

do dunlop still makes them? but i remember they r on par with bridgestone re711 n there r pretty good tyres

What constitutes a 'good' tyre? Most people are seeming to equate 'good' with how much outright grip they can generate, and then with how much tread life you can get with gobs of grip (i.e. the grip / tread life trade off).

What about steering response? What about good tracking characteristics? What about road 'feel'?

Personally, on a road car I think excellent steering response is more important than near racing levels of grip. I would rarely drive so hard that I'd be testing the limits of a G force monitor, even if I did have semi-slicks (which doesn't mean I drive slowly around corners, just not silly fast). It's agile and responsive handling that makes a road car entertaining to drive, not max G force (IMO). So long as grip is decently OK that is!

[STTICH]

tats true. there's a fine line to wats 'good'. everyone's preferences are different even to the slightest.

to me, wats 'good' is mainly comfort (softer compound) & quietness. reasonable amount of grip will be sufficient for me.

the FM901, im not sure if they're discontinued or not. i hav a pair atm and running them. i dont like it lol, its noisy as hell.

of the fair few tyres i've tried / have. yoko c-drives are best for me. :thumbsup:

[DreadAngel]

Comfort-Drives would suit you best Stitch :p

[aaronng]

RE001 has one peculiar behaviour on my car in the current setup. I have my front toe set at a total of 0.6mm out, to get more steering response but without the tyre wear associated with front toe out. With the Dunlops, I got very sharp response just off centre. With the RE001, it's dead off centre, but once I pass 5 degrees or so, it regains a very sharp response. Almost like it was "lagging". As a result, taking a long smooth slight bend take more concentration as I have to keep the steering wheel on that fine knife edge between "dead tyre" and "biting tyre". Anyone felt that?

[petsfact]

...take more concentration as I have to keep the steering wheel on that fine knife edge between "dead tyre" and "biting tyre". Anyone felt that?

i am not sure is this is what you feel, but i did complain to the tyre place that after fitting re001 i can't seem to keep to a smooth long slightly bend turn. Its always either too less of a turn or too much.

my dunlop was doing better than this although it doesn't grip as better as re001.

One thing i found is after 2000 - 3000kms build on the re001, it seems to be more adaptive to my driving, but when i rotate them that uncertainty feeling when taking the long bend turn is back again.

I also found other funny things with re001, i've got 36psi in all 4 corners, when i drive straight into freeway for work in the morning the steering wheel shudder around 120km/h. But if i drive to coles and maybe other certain places before getting into freeway the steering won't shudder when i get to the same speed. it feels like even the tires need some trips to warm up but i seriously think that's not the case.

[JohnL]

i am not sure is this is what you feel, but i did complain to the tyre place that after fitting re001 i can't seem to keep to a smooth long slightly bend turn. Its always either too less of a turn or too much.

my dunlop was doing better than this although it doesn't grip as better as re001.

One thing i found is after 2000 - 3000kms build on the re001, it seems to be more adaptive to my driving, but when i rotate them that uncertainty feeling when taking the long bend turn is back again.

I also found other funny things with re001, i've got 36psi in all 4 corners, when i drive straight into freeway for work in the morning the steering wheel shudder around 120km/h. But if i drive to coles and maybe other certain places before getting into freeway the steering won't shudder when i get to the same speed. it feels like even the tires need some trips to warm up but i seriously think that's not the case.

Sounds possibly like the sidewalls might be allowing the slip angle to change too much, i.e it might be that the sidewalls are a bit soft? My car behaved in a similar sounding manner in corners, but I managed to cure it (almost!) with tyre pressure changes. Ended up with 38psi front and 45psi rear, sounds weird I know but it works with the tyres I have on my car which are a different brand front / rear. The rears have a very soft single ply sidewall and need higher pressure to keep the sidewalls in shape, the fronts have a stiffer two ply sidewall, and need less pressure (a few psi off these pressures makes a big difference, for the worse).

Have you tried different tyre pressures? What is the max inflation on the sidewall? Try 10&#37; lower than the tyres marked max as a starting point, don't be afraid to experiment up to the max pressure on the sidewall. You need to experiment with tyre pressure. Tyres can be surprisingly sensitive to 'correct' pressure (correct varying from car to car), a few psi can make or break tyre performance.

I don't know why they would settle in and get better other than the full depth tread blocks might be squirming around too much, but less as they wear down. Don't rotate the tyres if it causes a problem!

You drive 120kph on the way to the Supermarket?!

Here's my guess at your shudder (only a guess!):

Sounds like there might be something slightly loose somewhere (worn tie rod end perhaps, or something similar) that is allowing a 'shimmy' to begin (a shimmy being an oscillation of some part associated with steering or suspension). The shimmy may take some time to build up as it may start off as a small thing you can't feel, but is subject to a negative feedback loop.

What I mean is something like; the shimmy is begun by some exitation (e.g. small bump, or possibly a slight wheel imbalance?) but is too small to feel, then the shimmy starts to feedback into itself, i.e. the shimmy itself starts to cause the shimmy and the bigger the shimmy gets the bigger it gets until its staring to become annoying.

On a rougher road it may be that bumps are tending to cancel the shimmy out, i.e. bumps are interupting the negative feedback loop preventing it from becoming noticable. Its noticable on a very smooth road because there are no bumps consequential enough to interupt the feedback loop. Harmonics are probably involved, and be why it might occur at speed X but not speed Y.

This problem may exist with one set of tyres and not another, because the characteristics of one tyre may damp it out whereas the characteristics of different tyre might excacerbate it? Replacing the tyres with different ones may cure it, as may altering tyre pressure, or perhaps a change in toe setting(?). Finding and fixing any loose component may cure it, assuming there actually is a loose component and that it's not just caused by some harmonic characteristic of the tyre itself, which I suppose is not impossible.

Does this make sense?

[aaronng]

i am not sure is this is what you feel, but i did complain to the tyre place that after fitting re001 i can't seem to keep to a smooth long slightly bend turn. Its always either too less of a turn or too much.
That's exactly what I found. I just drove my car up to Sydney and had 10 hours worth of testing that.



I also found other funny things with re001, i've got 36psi in all 4 corners, when i drive straight into freeway for work in the morning the steering wheel shudder around 120km/h. But if i drive to coles and maybe other certain places before getting into freeway the steering won't shudder when i get to the same speed. it feels like even the tires need some trips to warm up but i seriously think that's not the case.
Mine doesn't shudder, but my tyre place placed the tyre orientation so that the ones that required the least weights were on the front.

[JohnL]

RE001 has one peculiar behaviour on my car in the current setup. I have my front toe set at a total of 0.6mm out, to get more steering response but without the tyre wear associated with front toe out. With the Dunlops, I got very sharp response just off centre. With the RE001, it's dead off centre, but once I pass 5 degrees or so, it regains a very sharp response. Almost like it was "lagging". As a result, taking a long smooth slight bend take more concentration as I have to keep the steering wheel on that fine knife edge between "dead tyre" and "biting tyre". Anyone felt that?

I just hate that vagueness near centre. I like to turn the wheel 2&#176; and get a precise response from the car.

What pressures are you running? See my last post. Sounds like soft sidewalls to me, though new tyres do squirm around more on the tread blocks than worn tyres, and this can affect steering response. The softer the sidewall the higher the psi must be for decent steering response. Have you increased tread width without also increasing rim width?

[aaronng]

I have 34 psi at the moment. I might run more toe out in the future. That should give me knife edge response off centre. :)

[petsfact]

I think 36 all 4 corner is great for tram road and not too much tires drag on freeway. 38psi is excellent for re001 on freeway but a bit harsh on toorak road. :(

[aaronng]

Toorak Rd is harsh on everything. :)

[JohnL]

I have 34 psi at the moment. I might run more toe out in the future. That should give me knife edge response off centre. :)

Without having any experience of these tyres, this pressure sounds on the low side to me. For 'performance' driving that is, fine for going to the shops!

If the sidewalls are soft then the the tyre will tend to develop large slip angles, which doesn't mean it won't grip well. Imagine gluing your front contact patches to the road, what happens when you turn the steering wheel? The wheel rim will be able to turn a little bit fairly easily before the sidewalls load up in torsion and resistance becomes much greater. The softer the sidewalls the more the rim will be able to be turned to a greater angle relative to the contact patch (even though the contact patch remains in the same place), and the stiffer the sidewalls the less rim angle will be possible. The softer the sidewalls the less precise the steering input will be because steering motion to the contact patch is 'lost' in the sidewall (and to a lesser degree in the tread blocks). Rear tyres can also affect steering response.

A soft sidewall can be 'stiffened' simply by increasing the tyre pressure, resulting in better steering response. This will also increase the tyres vertical 'spring rate', and may 'bulge' the tread (less so with radials than cross ply). Its a compromise and you need to experiment to find what pressure works best overall with a particular tyre on a particular car. We can't consider the car manufacturers reccomended pressures as gospel, they are typically a compromise biased toward soft ride and low NVH, not optimum tyre performance.

I would be cautious of running more than just a tad of toe on a road car. Toe out may increase steering response, but at the cost of tyre wear and possibly causing straight line instability. I doubt toe will be able make up for unstable sidewalls. One thing that will definitely help steering response and on centre feel is increased caster, as much increase as you can make, almost impossible to have too much!

[aaronng]

Well, the car is used for street. No hooning around corners. When on track, it's a different matter as I do increase tyre pressure levels as well as customise them front and rear to improve turn in. I'm wary of running 36 psi on crappy Sydney roads though.

[bennjamin]

you want vauge ? Try RE001's with no PS and increased frontal castor.
Nothing then whooska :) Still cant complain.

[JohnL]

Well, the car is used for street. No hooning around corners. When on track, it's a different matter as I do increase tyre pressure levels as well as customise them front and rear to improve turn in. I'm wary of running 36 psi on crappy Sydney roads though.

Why is that?

Potential increased danger of puncture? I would think this is very slight.

Handling over bumps? The tyre (itself) may become more 'bouncy', but shouldn't be a problem with appropriate damper setting. I'm running 38 and 45 psi on bumpy roads with no significant adverse handling issues, albeit with a stiff rebound setting. The caveat here is of course that this is with the tyres on my car, other peoples mileage may vary depending on tyres and set up etc. The pressure that works best with a given tyre can vary a lot, as can be seen with the pressures I've ended up with on the two different brands on my car.

This does seem to be related to the tyre, and not what end of the car the tyre is fitted to, i.e. the tyre that works best at 38 works best at that pressure (or very near either side of it) whether that tyre is fitted to the front or rear, and the same for the tyre that works best at 45psi.

With high pressures you may find the suspension becomes 'juddery' (especially on sharp bumps) no matter what damper setting you use, if so then its likely that the upper damper mount rubbers are too soft, as I described in an earlier post.

This is because the tyre is also a spring, and so are the rubber mounts (though they don't 'spring' in the same manner as the tyre or the actual springs because they don't support chassis weight). The tyre has some internal damping, but not much and less so at higher pressure. The damper needs to be on the stiffer side to adequately damp the tyre 'spring'. The damper cannot damp the spring action of the rubber mounts because the rubber is between the chassis and the damper, not between the chassis and the road. All we can do here is to stiffen the rubber mounts to lessen their 'springing' action, which also raises their harmonic frequency possibly taking this out of the range that will cause a problem.

Harshness? Up to you what you can live with. I don't find higher pressures unpleasant on reasonably smooth surfaces, only on broken surfaces like dirt roads or very muchly and poorly patched bitumen. This will be affected by the 'vertical' stiffness of the sidewalls on any given tyre, so stiffer sidewalls and lower profile (assuming this actually does represent a stiffer sidewall, which is probable) may be an issue for harshness at higher psi.

Centre tread wear? Do you notice any increased centre tread wear / tear when you track the car at higher psi? If not then you probably won't get any increase in this on the road. Keep an eye on it.

Do you find the higher pressures address your handling issues on the track? If not then it probably won't on the road either, but if yes then there's your problem right there!

Good steering response isn't only nice for hooning around (not that you should on the road), its nice all the time! Air is dead cheap, if you add more and don't like it then you can easily get rid of it. One thing to keep in mind, only use a good quality pressure guage and use only that one, if you use a cheap one, more than one, or servo station guages then you don't really know what the pressures are!

[JohnL]

With high pressures you may find the suspension becomes 'juddery' (especially on sharp bumps) no matter what damper setting you use, if so then its likely that the upper damper mount rubbers are too soft, as I described in an earlier post.

This is because the tyre is also a spring, and so are the rubber mounts (though they don't 'spring' in the same manner as the tyre or the actual springs because they don't support chassis weight). The tyre has some internal damping, but not much and less so at higher pressure. The damper needs to be on the stiffer side to adequately damp the tyre 'spring'. The damper cannot damp the spring action of the rubber mounts because the rubber is between the chassis and the damper, not between the chassis and the road. All we can do here is to stiffen the rubber mounts to lessen their 'springing' action, which also raises their harmonic frequency possibly taking this out of the range that will cause a problem.



To more fully explain about the upper damper mount:

Keeping in mind that rubber can successfully be used as a springing medium in place of a conventional steel spring (e.g. BMC Mini, Moke etc):

The upper damper rubbers act like an undamped short stroke spring that partially isolate the damper from the chassis, from the spring itself and from the road. This is only an NVH function and is damaging for suspension and chassis control because it means the (coil) spring is effectively partially undamped in part of its stroke, as is the chassis in initial body roll.

For good steering response the dampers are very important. The chassis should 'see' the dampers immediately any weight transfer starts to occur or INITIAL body roll will be increased and the onset of significant weight transfer will be delayed. However, with soft upper rubbers the the chassis doesn't 'see' the dampers properly until some roll has occurred and the rubber mounts have been loaded up to some degree. Soft damper rubbers also mitigate against adequate control of unsprung mass.

This is why 'pillowball' Mac strut mounts can increase steering response, i.e. the 'pillowball' eliminates the OE rubber upper strut mount, allowing the the chassis to 'see' the damper immediately as soon as weight transfer begins, etc.

[aaronng]

Just checked my pressures, they are 36psi. The 34 was when the tyre place filled them when they were not on the car.

Going too high tyre pressure on sydney roads = more lower back pain for me. Plus, my interior will shake itself apart.

I already have stiff suspension with pillowball mounts, so it is now all down to the tyre. I guess that is what you get with an asymmetric design with nice blocks on the shoulders but crap all and drainage channels in the middle.

[aaronng]

What have people heard about Marangoni Mythos? Someone in my work place said that they won motor mag tyre test this year? i don't get motor mag so i can't confirm.

http://www.marangonityre.co.uk/Mythos.asp?ID=7&Level1ID=2&Level2ID=1

I read that mag, but I don't think I'll pay over $400 a tyre when the competitors in the test ranged from $280-350. BTW, RE050 performed surprisingly well!

[DreadAngel]

GEEBUS!!! 1.6K everytime they run out =|

[SuperDave]

What have people heard about Marangoni Mythos? Someone in my work place said that they won motor mag tyre test this year? i don't get motor mag so i can't confirm.

http://www.marangonityre.co.uk/Mythos.asp?ID=7&Level1ID=2&Level2ID=1

That review was rigged. This is where the Mythos ranked out of the 6 tyres tested.
Dry Handling: 4th
Lateral G: 5th
Dry braking: 3rd
Wet braking: 6th
And it somehow won!? And they didn't factor in price, as it was one of the most expensive, or noise or life. From the tests the GS-D3, Sport Maxx or RE050A should have taken out the top 3 spots. For reference the other 2 tyres were Maxxis MA-Z1 and Falken FK452.

[JohnL]

Just checked my pressures, they are 36psi. The 34 was when the tyre place filled them when they were not on the car.

My understanding is that tyre pressure difference with and without car weight on the tyre is fairly insignificant, typically in the order of 0.5psi higher with car weight.


Going too high tyre pressure on sydney roads = more lower back pain for me. Plus, my interior will shake itself apart.

Wuss, you need to toughen up! I grew up in Sydney so know the road conditions. Used to drive around Sydney in a 'Nota Sportsman' (poor man's Lotus Super Seven). This car had almost rigid suspension due to light weight (500kg) and dampers that were always far too stiff. Just couldn't find dampers soft enough unless I spent a fortune on proper adjustable racing units!

This car was truly bone shaking, but boy did it handle!! (accelerated pretty damn hard too!). The problem with really excessive damper rates as on this car is that the car will grip and grip and grip, then let go big time with no warning whatsoever because you ran over a gum nut or something (embarrasing at the very least!).


I already have stiff suspension with pillowball mounts, so it is now all down to the tyre. I guess that is what you get with an asymmetric design with nice blocks on the shoulders but crap all and drainage channels in the middle.

Hmmm, could possibly be zeroing in on the problem(?). Are you running much neg camber?

I assume these tyres have larger tread blocks with narrow and / or few channels toward the outer edge and smaller blocks with wider and / or more channels (and sipes?) toward the inner edge? They are also on the softer side re rubber compound?

The smaller the tread blocks the more they'll tend to squirm around. The more channels (and sipes) the more the blocks will tend to squirm around. The wider the channels the more the blocks will tend to squirm around (because with wide channels the blocks can't as easily 'lean' against each other for support).

The softer the rubber compound the the more the blocks will tend to squirm around, adding to any problem that may be caused by a more open tread pattern (but also meaning that as a general principle a softer rubber will be a bit less responsive than a harder rubber, all else being equal).

These factors will subtract from tread stability and steering response because there will be a tendency to run at a higher slip angle, and probably more so with increasing neg camber as this will tend to place slightly more static load toward the inner parts of the tread (where block stiffness is less robust) and less load toward the outer parts of the tread where block stiffness is greater. This is less than ideal (with such a tread pattern) for initial response before any significant body roll has developed.

Things get better for the outer tyre as it gains pos camber with body roll in corners (i.e. slip angle is likely to decrease), but worse for the inner tyre. This is less bad for a double wishbone suspension with decent camber gain curve, worse for a Mac strut with a crap camber gain curve (and the camber curve for a Mac strut typically gets worse if the car is lowered).

At high lateral Gs most weight transfers to the outer tyres, so in this state its not all that bad (with the outside tyre at increased pos camber and more weight thus being carried on the stiffer outer part of the tread pattern), but from zero weight transfer up until a high weight transfer has been achieved its less than perfect. Keep in mind that a front drive car set up to handle well will tend to unload the inside rear a lot and the inside front not a lot (relatively speaking), so until we see quite substantial lateral Gs the inside front will still be carrying a substantial proportion of front weight.

Some types of assymetric tread patterns may be a reasonable compromise for a tyre used in the wet and dry, but not necessarily all that great in the dry. The front tyres on my car have fairly small tread blocks, but the channels are quite narrow so when a block distorts at least its able to lean up against another block(s) for some increased support. The rubber is also a bit on the hard side which means a bit less block squirm, which is good for steering response though of course isn't all that great for outright grip.

I don't mean to imply that all assymetric tyres are crap, just that an assynmetric tread is a compromise of which I'm not much of a fan in general principle.

[aaronng]

My understanding is that tyre pressure difference with and without car weight on the tyre is fairly insignificant, typically in the order of 0.5psi higher with car weight.
It was a 2psi increase in this case (1395kg car). I'm just reporting what I found when I had RE001s put in 2 weeks ago. I'm not making numbers up.



Wuss, you need to toughen up! I grew up in Sydney so know the road conditions. Used to drive around Sydney in a 'Nota Sportsman' (poor man's Lotus Super Seven). This car had almost rigid suspension due to light weight (500kg) and dampers that were always far too stiff. Just couldn't find dampers soft enough unless I spent a fortune on proper adjustable racing units!
You're not the one with a mild slipped disc in the back. :p
Edit: I just increased the tyre pressure from 36psi to 40psi. Response has improved a bit. I was surprised that the RE001s were rated to 51psi in 205/55 R16, higher than the S02's 41-42psi in the same size.



Hmmm, could possibly be zeroing in on the problem(?). Are you running much neg camber?
Nope, everything is within stock specs except for the front toe, which is 0.6mm total toe out.



I assume these tyres have larger tread blocks with narrow and / or few channels toward the outer edge and smaller blocks with wider and / or more channels (and sipes?) toward the inner edge? They are also on the softer side re rubber compound?
They have large blocks on the outer shoulder and slightly smaller blocks on the inside shoulder. The middle has 2 ribs and a wide band of blocks. It shouldn't do what I am experiencing, but maybe the sidewall is just soft. Here's a pic of the tread;
http://www.goodwheels.ru/img_item/Bridgestone_RE001_432.jpg



The softer the rubber compound the the more the blocks will tend to squirm around, adding to any problem that may be caused by a more open tread pattern (but also meaning that as a general principle a softer rubber will be a bit less responsive than a harder rubber, all else being equal).
That could be the case.

[aaronng]

Hey everyone, a couple of questions
1) Bridgestone RE050's come in two types RE050 and RE050A, besides from one being symmetric and one being assymetric, what's the difference? is the assymetric one much better? it always seems to be the one used in tyre tests.

2) How much of a concern is it that the RE001's don't come in left and right versions?
1) One is assymetric and the other isn't. That's the difference. They are soft tyres though. Only a 140 wear rating, like the S02.

2) Not a concern to me. No pulling to the side so far.

[JohnL]

It was a 2psi increase in this case (1395kg car). I'm just reporting what I found when I had RE001s put in 2 weeks ago. I'm not making numbers up.

I don't mean to suggest you are making the numbers up. I haven't actually tested this personally, my number (0.5psi) comes from a post on the Eng-Tips engineering forum (a great forum for the technically minded, largely populated with proffessional engineers, check it out).

The poster did the experiment with a heavy car, and thats what he found in that case (though I'd be surprised if it differed much case to case). The comparison needs to be made back to back with the same guage and the tyres at the same temp, if not then then the test isn't valid.

It doesn't take much temp difference to make a measurable difference in tyre pressure (i.e. 'cold' pressure on a cold day compared to a warm day), and different pressure guages can vary a lot one to another, and a cheap guage may even give a different reading depending on temp (i.e. ambient temp difference may cause a rubbish guage to read differently even when the psi is actually the same). I used to have one of those 'pen' type pressure guages that would give a different reading every time I used it (within about a four psi range), even if there was only a few seconds between each use!



You're not the one with a mild slipped disc in the back. :p
Edit: I just increased the tyre pressure from 36psi to 40psi. Response has improved a bit. I was surprised that the RE001s were rated to 51psi in 205/55 R16, higher than the S02's 41-42psi in the same size.

I used to get a pinched nerve in my lower back on a regular basis, so you have my sympathy. I'm lucky, the aging process seems to have largely fixed this problem, or maybe its because I sold the semi-rigidly suspended Nota!!

So with the higher pressure, is the ride significantly any more unbearable?

I still think 10% below max reccommended psi (tyre manufacturer, not car) is the place to start experimenting with psi. This is a rule of thumb I've read on a few places on the net (so it must be right, right?), and even though I was a bit sceptical, funnily enough this is about where I've ended up with my psi after a lot of experimentation!

A max pressure rating of 51 is becoming more and more common. Not sure if this is because of any physical changes in tyre construction, or whether the tyre companies are just becoming increasingly more confident that this is a safe working pressure (keeping in mind the potential for litigation etc). It may just be some change in the regulations covering how a manufacturer comes up with things such as reccomended psi etc?

Note that a car tyre will be nowhere near its burst point at 51 psi, that will be well over 100psi. Also, the max reccomended pressure is a cold pressure, if the tyre goes over this when it warms up then thats OK and the tyre manufacturers take this into account when setting their max reccomended psi.



Nope, everything is within stock specs except for the front toe, which is 0.6mm total toe out.

I'm not sure that a difference bewteen say zero and 0.6mm toe will make a 'feelable' difference to steering response, stability etc, but stranger things happen!

Yesterday afternoon I replaced two very slightly flogged out rear ARB link rubber bushes on the CB7 (with new poly items), fully expecting to be able to feel zero difference in rear roll stiffness, especially with such a soft ARB (only expecting to lose the slight clunking). Just drove it briefly this morning, and I'd swear I can feel more roll stiffness and less understeer (though the clunk is still there, of course...!). Might just be my imagination, but if not a huge one it does seem a marked difference...?




They have large blocks on the outer shoulder and slightly smaller blocks on the inside shoulder. The middle has 2 ribs and a wide band of blocks. It shouldn't do what I am experiencing, but maybe the sidewall is just soft. Here's a pic of the tread;.

Most tyres probably do have softish sidewalls, even many with performance pretensions. Most drivers don't really want to actually feel the road surface (even if they might think they want 'high-performance'). My experience is that above a certain point, increased pressure doesn't make all that much difference to how harshly you may feel a significant actual bump, but it does make a difference to how much you can feel rough surfaces, i.e. at the vibration and 'harshness' level rather than at the road bump 'impact' level. What makes a real difference to how hard you feel an actual bump is the damper stiffness, more so even than stiffer springs (though very much stiffer springs are probably a different story).



That could be the case.

I would expect the trye to become more responsive as the blocks wear down. Motoring journalists tend to like responsive handling etc more than the average driver cares (or think they care), so, I've neard that car companies have a habit of providing test cars to journos fitted with tyres that have been buffed to about half tread depth, but this may be a myth?

[JohnL]

Hey everyone, a couple of questions
1) Bridgestone RE050's come in two types RE050 and RE050A, besides from one being symmetric and one being assymetric, what's the difference? is the assymetric one much better? it always seems to be the one used in tyre tests.

Assymetric treads can provide good channeling on the inner part of the contact patch to more effectively clear water, but when grip is higher you can lean the tyre into pos camber (with body roll) and effectively have a tyre with less channels (for improved grip level) in that part of the contact patch that is working hardest (i.e. the outer part of the contact patch).

If you are running a lot of neg camber then when zero body roll is present more of the car's weight will be on the inner part of the contact patch where there are more channels and smaller blocks, so you may get slightly inferior steering response since the smaller blocks are less stable.

With some assymetric tyres the intent may be slightly different. With some assymetric treads the difference in the amount of rubber vs the number / size of channels is substantial, but with others there may not be nearly as much difference in the amount of rubber vs the amount of channels in different parts of the tread, just a difference the shape of the channeling. In theory such a tyre will have a tread pattern on the inside that is designed to give better longitudinal stability (i.e. steering response, tracking) and a pattern on the outer part designed to give better lateral stability (i.e. better lateral grip).



2) How much of a concern is it that the RE001's don't come in left and right versions?

Don't know. I like my tyres to be symmetric and uni-directional. This means I can place any tyre anywhere on the car I want, and if I have a steering pull that isn't caused by the alignment but by the tyres (conicity), then I can flip a tyre on the rim in an attempt to correct it. Note that this isn't likely to be a problem on more expensive tyres, though it could be.

When fitting tyres, if the new tyres have a line around the circumference then these lines should match between both tyres on an axle line. These lines represent the 'conicity' of a tyre, which has to do with any slight mis-alignment of the belts under the tread that can cause a 'pull' in the tyre. A quality tyre will be tested after manufacture in a machine that measures any 'pull' inherent in the tyre and the tyre is marked accordingly with the circumferential line. Some tyre fitters don't seem to be aware of this and will fit any tyre any old place in any old way paying no attention to the lines marked on the tyre.

If one tyre has a line around the centre of the tyre then conicity is zero, and the other tyre on the same axle line should also have a line around the centre. If one tyre has a line toward say the outer part of the tread then so should the other tyre, if the line on one tyre is toward the inner part of the tread then the other tyre's line should match. If not then don't be surprised if the car pulls to one side, even if alignment is perfect. My experience suggests that unmatched conicity of the rear tyres can cause a pull just as easily as if the problem were with the front tyres.

If the lines don't match front and rear, then if the tyres are ever rotated diagonally the car may pull. I never rotate my tyres, at least partially with this in mind.

[aaronng]

I used to have one of those 'pen' type pressure guages that would give a different reading every time I used it (within about a four psi range), even if there was only a few seconds between each use!
I used 2 gauges. A cheap metal case dial one, and a calibrated Jamec Pem. The cheap one was reading lower by 0.7psi when compared to the Jamec.



I used to get a pinched nerve in my lower back on a regular basis, so you have my sympathy. I'm lucky, the aging process seems to have largely fixed this problem, or maybe its because I sold the semi-rigidly suspended Nota!!
Hopefully my back sorts itself out or the chiro does. I rented a Yaris for a day and the seating position was so bad even after adjustment that I was back to almost square one when I returned the car!



So with the higher pressure, is the ride significantly any more unbearable?
Actually, I haven't had more pain. But I can feel everything in the car vibrating now, including the interior trim. I'll leave it at 40psi for the next few days to see if it is livable. But for now, the dead feeling in the centre is minimised by say 50%. There is still a dead zone that wasn't there with my old hard tyres, but I guess it is just because the new tyres are still soft.



I still think 10% below max reccommended psi (tyre manufacturer, not car) is the place to start experimenting with psi. This is a rule of thumb I've read on a few places on the net (so it must be right, right?), and even though I was a bit sceptical, funnily enough this is about where I've ended up with my psi after a lot of experimentation!
Yup, I read that too. But I was still wary of going for 46 psi on the street.



I'm not sure that a difference bewteen say zero and 0.6mm toe will make a 'feelable' difference to steering response, stability etc, but stranger things happen!
The stock specs for my car is actually 1mm toe in, which is for straight line stability. Even at that setting, the car tramlines and follows any road imperfection. I couldn't stand the lack of steering response in the middle, so went for a 0.6mm toe out and on the old Dunlops, it was sharp in the middle. I did have a short stint where the tyre place used their own alignment specs and had that 1mm toe in for a week and I really missed the 0.6mm toe out. Of course, they changed it back to 0.6mm for no charge the following week. Good bloke, that tyre place owner.



I would expect the trye to become more responsive as the blocks wear down. Motoring journalists tend to like responsive handling etc more than the average driver cares (or think they care), so, I've neard that car companies have a habit of providing test cars to journos fitted with tyres that have been buffed to about half tread depth, but this may be a myth?
I wouldn't be surprised. If companies are willing to send out "specially prepped" cars for journo reviews, I'm sure they'd take the time to just scrub the tyres out a bit on a 50km spirited drive.

[JohnL]

I used 2 gauges. A cheap metal case dial one, and a calibrated Jamec Pem. The cheap one was reading lower by 0.7psi when compared to the Jamec.

Aaron (I got that right?),
There's part of the difference. Was the tyre temp the same? I've seen a 1psi difference with pressures taken in the cool of morning and at midday, with the car not having been driven and in the shade.


Hopefully my back sorts itself out or the chiro does. I rented a Yaris for a day and the seating position was so bad even after adjustment that I was back to almost square one when I returned the car!.

Serves you right for renting a Yaris (where's your self respect man!).

FWIW, A very recent study suggests that most chronic spinal pain is more responsive to mild anti-inflammatory / pain relievers (e.g. Panadeine et al) and mild exercise than it is to more drastic medication, physio or other more intrusive treatmenmts. Not to say that this will be so in your case...?



Actually, I haven't had more pain. But I can feel everything in the car vibrating now, including the interior trim. I'll leave it at 40psi for the next few days to see if it is livable. But for now, the dead feeling in the centre is minimised by say 50%. There is still a dead zone that wasn't there with my old hard tyres, but I guess it is just because the new tyres are still soft.

Ah, well, yes, there is the co-lateral problem of increased interior buzzes etc with higher psi. This might be another reason why car manufacturers often opt to recommend such low pressures?!

On my car, on bumpy roads the higher psi excacerbates rattly buzzes that come from the air-con / vent control buttons on the centre console, I have to turn the CD / radio up to disguise it!

Seems to be happening in the buttons, but behind the visible face of the buttons, not in the bits you can touch (i.e. the real buttons behind the cosmetic ones, or maybe some little springs behind there or whatever?). I want to try and fix it, but I can't get the bloody console out, its defeated every attempt at removal! Must be more hidden fasteners somewhere, found some but can't find them all!



Yup, I read that too. But I was still wary of going for 46 psi on the street.

You don't know if you don't try. If its unbearable or car behaves badly then let air back out.



The stock specs for my car is actually 1mm toe in, which is for straight line stability. Even at that setting, the car tramlines and follows any road imperfection.

At zero or such a small toe out, my bet is that this is likely to be more a characteristic of the tyre itself than the alignment...(?).



I couldn't stand the lack of steering response in the middle, so went for a 0.6mm toe out and on the old Dunlops, it was sharp in the middle. I did have a short stint where the tyre place used their own alignment specs and had that 1mm toe in for a week and I really missed the 0.6mm toe out. Of course, they changed it back to 0.6mm for no charge the following week. Good bloke, that tyre place owner

Again, my guess is that it's most likely to be a tyre characteristic than an alignment issue, could be wrong.

Might consider trying a small toe out myself then if its affect is noticable, hopefully with no significant adverse impact on wear. I do my own toe alignment with string lines, takes about 40 minutes go to whoa, with practice, and once you've made the jigs that stretch the string lines (which are fine fishing line).

Stock spec on mine (from owners manual) is zero front toe. Stock camber is also zero, but I am running about 1° neg (I had to equalise it due to accident damage from previous owner, by increasing neg on undamaged side, rather than decreasing it to standard on the damaged side, my choice).

I also have increased caster, not sure exactly to what angle as I haven't measured it precisely (probably about 5° or 6°), all I know for sure is that its equal side to side (or very near to it). Standard CB7 caster is 3°, before changing mine it was 2.8° on one side but only 1.7° on the other (the accident damage, since rectified).

Substantially increased caster is a very worthwhile thing, but due to lack of proper adjusters just a bit of a pain to achieve! (and you need to know what you're doing because increasing caster can create a few hidden problems if you go too far). You can change caster by shims at the front suspension mount, but you can only increase it minutely by removing any stock shims, or decrease it by adding more. Beyond this you are modifying or changing parts.

Increased caster makes a big difference to on-centre feel and also benefits steered camber angle at both the inside and outside steered wheels, especially with bigger steering inputs in tighter corners. There is some increase in steering 'weight', but no big deal with PS, its actually nicer that way!



I wouldn't be surprised. If companies are willing to send out "specially prepped" cars for journo reviews, I'm sure they'd take the time to just scrub the tyres out a bit on a 50km spirited drive.

I meant actually scrubbed on a machine (abraded or cut), like some racers do with street spec tyres. I doubt you could 'scrub' off enough rubber in a 50k drive to make much difference... unless you were an absolute maniac!

[16CTEG]

LOL can someone kill this thread!! lol going forever!

[STTICH]

happens when some ppl have too much time.

interesting read tho.

[JohnL]

happens when some ppl have too much time..

Yeah, lifes a bit quiet just at the moment!


interesting read tho.

We try to entertain!

[aaronng]

Quick update. I couldn't live with 40psi. My pillowball mounts (especially the rears) were knocking over every little imperfection in the road. Basically, it was "knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock" all the way and after 15 minutes, I pulled into the nearest petrol station and let some air out. Now I'm on 38psi front and 36 psi rear... My sanity is coming back.

[Killa From Manila]

got some quotes today.

195/55/15
firehawk wide ovals $144
re001 $164

195/50/15
wide ovals $109.

gonna put an order in 2moro, wats some quality tyres i shud ask for??
budget is around $150, mite go a little over maybe.

[EG30]

Goodyear GSD3 gives good grip all the way down to the treadwear indicator, grooves stay sharp thus good in greasy condition as it breaks the water tension on the surface. The thinish vertical tread has plenty of tread flex to make it a forgiving tyre, but on the downside the vertical tread pattern generate a lot of noise which may or may not bother you. Goodyear tyre centres over here in perth often do pretty good deals on them, not sure if it's the same case over East in Q for you but worth an enquiry.

BF Goodrich G force sport pretty much middle of the road in all areas, and worth a shot if on special, otherwise they may only be $10-20 a tyre cheaper than say the ultimate re001 which has just won the product of the year award with the Autosalon mag.

Let us know what prices you manage for different tyres KFM, I'll be interested to see the price diff between the above and the wide ovals ( good tyre btw, actually great tyre for the price. roars a bit but grips well ) and the MA-Z1's.

[one4spl]

I've just bought Goodyear F1 GS-D3s for my Euro Lux in 225/45R17. They were $309ea from KMart Auto in Mt Ommaney. They did want $7 for "premium ballancing" tho... which is obviously a sham, who wants shit ballancing?

Anyways, I've only had them for two days, and I got them fitted to the car the day I picked it up, but they do seem a bit noisy.

[JohnL]

Quick update. I couldn't live with 40psi. My pillowball mounts (especially the rears) were knocking over every little imperfection in the road. Basically, it was "knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock" all the way and after 15 minutes, I pulled into the nearest petrol station and let some air out. Now I'm on 38psi front and 36 psi rear... My sanity is coming back.

Begs the question; what is actually causing the knock-knock-knock? Is it actually the pillowballs? It shouldn't make knocking sounds just because the tyres are pumped up a few psi, though this might make a given problem more obvious.

I don't recall your car offhand, does it have Mac struts or LSA (i.e. 'long/short/arm', AKA 'double wishbone')? If Mac struts it might be the upper bearing among other things? If LSA could be 'other things'?

[DreadAngel]

Aaron's car is an Accord Euro if that helps lol