MX-5 OC Forum

I know that this topic has probably been done to death but, just to freshen things up a bit or maybe even introduce something new or probably no doubt lost in the Forum labyrinth, here are my findings. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I have acquired a set of 15" Enkie alloy wheels to replace the 14" Fox Racing that came with our car. It is our second one in two years! Does the search for the ideal 5 ever end? Fortunately, Wisdom seems to be showing itself and the aim now is to try to make this one an ideal one!.....but I digress.......I then started looking for advice about suitable sets of tyres, as the current ones fitted, whilst being in very good condition, are two pairs - Pirelli P6000 and Ceat Tornado, all 195/50R15 82V. Naturally, I turned to the Forum for advice but what a labyrinth of ideas, options and opinions! The next move was to consult my local tyre service who suggested 4 options - Toyo Proxes PX4 , Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 , Continental Premium Contact 2 and Falkens 2E912. I have yet to have a face to face discussion about why he chose these. From these suggestions I turned to a search for reviews on the Internet. I have yet to return to my tyre guy with my findings. However, I have posted below the link I used to a very comprehensive site that covers many possibilities, focusing on brands, vehicles, types and sizes. Unfortunately, the related reviews show opposing opinions about some tyres, to add to the confusion! However, the ratings given are very interesting under the following headings - dry grip - wet grip, road feedback - progressiveness - wear - comfort - buy again - total - all expressed as a percentage. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In conclusion, my thanks to everyone and I hope that this may make a positive contribution to this mind stretching topic, especially for newcomers like us. I now know that it all comes down to the Hows, Whys, and Whens of our personal use of our treasured 5s. At the end of the day, you pay your money and ride off into the sunset, hopefully with a set of reliable "rubbers" that will not let you down....as the art mistress said to the gardener....! ___________________________ http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/

Toyo T1R £36  + delivery ea.195/50/15.  www.camskill

Dr. Eunos

Tyres are hugely subjective, different people / cars feel better on very different tyres.

Toyo T1R's are a popular choice, however when changing our mk2's original Michelin Pilots this month we opted for Uniroyal Rainsport 2's, here's the link to the tyre dealer we used (on eBay) but they are a proper tyre merchants and have a website also:- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195-50-15-UNIROYAL-RAINSPORT-2-1955015-SET-FOUR-/150660680831?pt=UK_Cars_Tyres_RL&hash=item2314138c7f

Cost was £162 for 4 delivered, came within 2 days and had them fitted for less than a £tenner a corner including balancing and disposal of our old set, so less than £50 per tyre all in - bargain.

On the website you mention here's Evo Magazines 2010 tyre test, which used a mk3 MX5: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre-Test.htm

Hi

I have used T1R and PX4's, quite good tyres, have used P6000 did not like made car very twitchy. Now using Uniroyal Rainsport 2's, good in dry, very responsive, very good in wet.

Neil.

remowill:

I have used T1R and PX4's, quite good tyres, have used P6000 did not like made car very twitchy

Had my car for just over a year now and it has been fitted with P6000 all round. Agree very much with the 'twitchy' description. General concensus seems to be that the P6000 is a very good tyre but not suited to the MX-5. Have just changed the front tyres for TOYO T1R and it's an absolute joy to drive now. Couldn't beat Camskill on price at £39.39 each delivered. As an aside I have had slightly vague handling with different tyres on the front and the back, matched pairs obviously, but don't have any issues with the Toyos on the front and P6000s at the back.

Ralf:

Pirelli P6000 and Ceat Tornado

Following on from my previous post, are the P6000s on the front? If so then might be worth changing front to back.

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone. It is much appreciated. -------------- The P6000 are currently on the rear but the present mixed pairs are coming off to fit a set of matching tyres even though some still have all the new pimples on the side walls!...........Perhaps, I shall be able to sell them to raise some more cash for the new tyres.........They need to come off anyway as the previous owner of the wheels did not get the tyres fitted securely and three of them have very slow leaks.........The Toyo Proxes CF1s were good on the 14" Fox Racing but they also get mixed reviews, just like all the others, and just to add to the confusion! --------------- I suspect that the actual cost of the tyres plays an important part in helping many individuals make a decision, and with a limited mileage covered on many 5s each year, the very best tyres might seem a waste. However, since safety should be the number one criteria, it seems sensible to afford the best possible. There is no price you can put on your health and that of any passengers....and not forgetting the health of your 5! ---------------After another few years of driving our 5 we might be in a better position to comment constructively on tyre suitability, but only for us, with our car and for the way we drive and use it. Meanwhile, it is still good to get other active 5 user viewpoints and experiences. It helps me to think more about the problem.--------Cheers.

Ralf:

I suspect that the actual cost of the tyres plays an important part in helping many individuals make a decision

Fully agree that cost is an important part in the decision making process for many including myself. However speaking for myself this comes second to my own personal experience and the advice and experience of others from reviews and this forum. The tyres I have personal experience of from my two MX-5s are as follows -

Toyo Proxes T1R

Barum Bravuris 2

Avon ZV3

Pirelli P6000

An online search tells me that I have placed these in price order. Cheapest at the top, dearest at the bottom. This order also corresponds to my personal preference of the feel and handling of the cars on these tyres, favourite at the top, least favourite at the bottom. I chose the Toyos as after much searching and questioning I couldn't find anybody who had a bad word for them. The fact that they are available so cheaply is a big bonus. When I bought the car on Pirellis I thought, great it's got decent tyres on it. Turned out to be very disappointing which is a shame when they are by far the dearest in my list.

Yes, everybody has there own opinion but look at the big picture and check for general concensus. You don't always get a better product for more money. Remember Mazda priced the MX-5 at just below the price of the similar spec MGF. I think we all know which buyers got the better car and value.

There is an interesting new item in the Forum in the "Garage" section under "wheels and tyres" starting with a question about tyre mileage. The Toyos, whilst being thought of as generally good, do not seem to last very long with under 10K shown. That's about two years wear for us part timers, but we do not drive like bats out of hell all the time, as I did in my mis-spent youth with my frog-eyed Sprite! I suppose that if you pay twice as much and change them half as often for some tyres, then it all balances out in the end, with only one visit for a fitting instead of two over the period. However, at the end of the day all the other criteria must met....wet and dry....responsiveness....comfort ....and noise. I can see that this tyre quest is not going to be an easy one! Thanks for the comment about P6000 being twitchy. I wonder at what speed and with what driving style this becomes apparent...?....!!!!!!Brrmmm....Brrrmmmm!

Ralf:

There is an interesting new item in the Forum in the "Garage" section under "wheels and tyres" starting with a question about tyre mileage. The Toyos, whilst being thought of as generally good, do not seem to last very long with under 10K shown. That's about two years wear for us part timers, but we do not drive like bats out of hell all the time, as I did in my mis-spent youth with my frog-eyed Sprite! I suppose that if you pay twice as much and change them half as often for some tyres, then it all balances out in the end, with only one visit for a fitting instead of two over the period. However, at the end of the day all the other criteria must met....wet and dry....responsiveness....comfort ....and noise. I can see that this tyre quest is not going to be an easy one! Thanks for the comment about P6000 being twitchy. I wonder at what speed and with what driving style this becomes apparent...?....!!!!!!Brrmmm....Brrrmmmm!

As we all get older our reaction times invariably get longer, it is better to have more grip rather than long tread life for me its a total no-brainer especially on a car like an MX5 which can change ends due to rear wheel drive.

I would much rather replace my Toyo T1Rs twice as often @ only £36ea in order to have a car that might stop due to grip on the road rather than eventually stopping because of bouncing off the scenery around me, such as trees, other cars, HGVs, pedestrians, horses, cyclists, sheep etc. etc.

I think you need to factor this into your DMP rather than how many miles can they stay on for, after all its no good saying `my tyres are only half worn and have done 12,000miles` when the car they are attached to is in a pile in a scrapyard.

Dr. Eunos

 

Ralf:

The Toyos, whilst being thought of as generally good, do not seem to last very long with under 10K shown.

10,000 is about two years for me too. For the good handling and the price I'm happy with that.

Ralf:

I suppose that if you pay twice as much and change them half as often for some tyres, then it all balances out in the end

I would rather change twice and have good grip than change once and be near the limit of the tyres.

Ralf:

Thanks for the comment about P6000 being twitchy. I wonder at what speed and with what driving style this becomes apparent...?

Basically the car never really felt 'planted' to the ground. Worse in the wet than the dry, a nightmare on ice and just generally bad all round.

Like you the mis-spent youth has well and truly gone. Never got into MX-5s for the traffic light grand prix, dual carriageway drag racing or even track days. It's so much more of a car than that. Sun out, roof down and a winding road with good visibility and that's when the right foot tends to get a little more heavy. Must admit though, get a boy racer in his boom box laden Corsa behind you on the straight and it's fascinating to see him getting smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror when the twidly bits come along! If you've got that niggling doubt about the tyres being the week point then the fun is all gone.

P6000 is Over a decade old tread pattern and has a real low silica compound. Money no object I'd choose Michelin exalto2 all day long. However I agree T1R grip well if not quiet as good in wet as te Michelin. Be dubious of magazine tyre tests as most published this year were held at Contidrom which is continentals provng ground conveniently conti won all the tests published. I am a Michelin and continental franchise manager, none of my customers buy conti's twice.

Thanks for the info. which helps clarify things a little more..............The site I used for reviews is given below and seems to cover all important criteria - dry wet grip, etc, as I mentioned before. At the end of the day I suspect that cost is an important factor for the part-time 5 drivers, probably more important than they might admit.............One of the interesting things about the reviews in the link below is that they give a final overall "miles driven" against each tyre listed.............. Surprisingly. I have just found an offer at National Tyres for a Barum Bravuris 2 at under £50 fully fitted. It comes out with an overall 83% score and 545,012 miles driven, comparable with the Michelin PE2 at 82% and 682,150 miles driven..............Interestingly, the best tyre at 100% all round is a Silverstone AT 117 Special but 0 miles shown as driven! ............ The best tyre for an MX-5 was given as the BR Goodrich gForce Profiler 2 at 89% with 182,655 miles driven but this was low on the progressive response criteria at only 79%., with the Nokian WRG2 at 86% and 476,232 miles in second place with mainly 80%s and a couple of 90%s. I suppose that you could go on ad infinitum but the best test will only be in the long term we have have owned and driven a 5 for a few years on different sets of tyres.......Thanks again everyone for the input. ------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Mazda/MX5.htm

I know, it is time that I stopped chasing information and make a decision but............With regards to the National Tyres offer on at the moment - under £50 all inclusive - for some "Barum Bravuris 2" tyres which come out with the overall rating on that review site of 83% with 545,012 miles driven.........That is way better than the other tyres already mentioned...............Also, I notice that second in the list for " MX-5 All Season Touring tyres is the "Goodyear GT3" with a rating of 87% and 50,000 miles driven. ...................Has anyone had any experience of these two tyres and if so what were the findings, please?.............This week is definitely my last on this tyre quest....HONEST!!!! I shall then try to find new homes for the very good pairs of tyres presently fitted.

Morning Ralf, why dont you just stop messing about and get some Toyo T1Rs fitted?   These polls and `ratings` that you keep quoting- have you ever thought of what type of people actually have the time or inclination to fill out such polls? Vauxhall Zafira drivers, the lot of them! Lol!

What is important is grip i.e. stopping in the shortest distance when really needed - ` not the number of miles driven` ......... 

Dont mean to cause offence and we all have different ideas and reasons why we buy what we buy, but buying tyres that have no grip and are likely to out-last you just does not compute.

Dr. Eunos