[rommel]

Had my car in for a service yesterday and was advised that the fronts are down to 3mm and the backs down to 4mm. Those tyres have covered nearly 19000 miles so I reckon that's pretty good going.

However, I'm obviously going to have to get new rubber soon and was considering switching from the current Pilot Sports to Pilot Sport 2's. I've always found the pilot sports to be damn good, but figure that since there doesn't seem much difference in price the newer model will probably be better.

I was just wondering if anyone else out there had experience of these or could reccomend something better? Much appreciated.

BTW, the stealer quoted me ?218 a corner! and on etyres it was a comparative bargain at ?160![:O]

Oh, and I had wondered about run flats, I haven't got much faith in the can of foam in the boot.

I'm in no desperate rush just yet, I might wait and do all four at once, especially if I change types.

 

[marriedblonde]

I run the goodyear F1 GSD3's on mine so can;t comment on the sports.

Personally I would steer well clear of run flat tyres they will kill the handling and ride of your car. I had them fitted to my Mini Cooper S and they where awful! The side walls are so stiff they kill the ride and the extra weight of them kill the handling. Also you won't be any better off than you are now with the can of foam.

J.

 

[rommel]

Thanks blonde, I'll keep away from the run flats then.

I saw the F1's on the same site, I think they were a good 20 quid cheaper but I'm not sure they'd last near as long as the pilots. A friend of mine had them or the previous version on his Honda Prelude and they only lasted 6 months - mind you he wears lead boots.

 

[Gti Fly]

I just finished my Pilot Sports at 21500miles! About 0.5mm left till the treadwear on all 4 tyres.

Switched over on GoodYear F1's after they nothing but praise on this Forum, and they also won a recent AUTOCAR tyre test.

I paid 4x ?109 each ALL IN. Try looking on MYTYRES.NET for cheap prices. Print them out, and see if you local place will do a price match...

Anyway back to the tyres..

Done about 1000miles so far, and I have mixed feelings about them so far.

- Ride and Noise levels are MUCH better than before

- Wet weather grip is AMAZING. Dangerous amounts of lateral grip in the WET. Seriously better than the PSports.

- Wet Braking Amazing (as above)

- Initial Turn in much sharper

- Dry weather grip ok, not as amazing as in the WET.

- This makes them feel slighty disappointing, as the PSports 'might' be better in the dry?

- I certainly feel that the pilots where more FUN in the dry, as you could often COAX the tail into a power drift. You cannot do this with the F1's - they just grip and maybe finally understeer out.

- Wear factor, too soon to comment

- I have noticed they also lack any RIM protection, but hey you can't have everything!

 

[rommel]

21,000 miles, i guess I can wait a little longer then.

?109 each is excellent, as long as durability is similar. I've never felt any misgivings about Pilots before, on this car or previous ones, especially compared to how well they tend to last compared to other brands that I've tried including Conti Sports, Pirelli P6000's.

Thanks muchly for your insight into those fly, exactly the sort of review I was looking for, and I'll check mytyres too.

I thought this was an interesting insider view as well...

http://www.tyresmoke.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/1,2,12,15,22,25,26,27,4/Number/303031/page/fpart/1/vc/1

Some more opinions...

http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/archives/prodmar04.asp

http://www.michelinman.com/catalog/tires/MichelinPilotSportPS2.html

 

[rommel]

mytyres.co.uk

?145 each for the pilot sport 2's

?112 for the F1's

Not fitted.

blackcircles.com

?128.72 Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 XL

?150.85 Michelin Pilot Sport 2 XL

Fitted.

Funnily enough mytyres and blackcircles both reccomended the same local fitter for fitting, which would be a an extra charge through my tyres but not through blackcircles.

 

[Gti Fly]

Just read that thread from Tyresmoke, and it was intresting to read that another R32 owner has said the same thing as me. He said the F1's grip that much harder(compared to the Pilot Sports) at the front, which in turn makes the HALDEX work ALOT LESS at the rear..

And that's exactly what I've been feeling since swapping over to the F1's. The car is now less eager to waggle it's bum on exiting a corner (booohooooo) and more likely to gradually understeer out (boring!)

Maybe I should have stuck F1's on the front, and PSports on the rear []

I got my tyres fitted at a nice little place in Leicester. If Leicester is local to you, then defintly go there for your next set

 

[spanner]

My Pilot Sports covered just over 20000miles and I thought they were great - a very good compromise between grip and longevity. That's why I went for Pilot Sport 2s when I had to change. That and the fact that I got my 2s for ?100 each due to having a dad in the tyre trade []

The head tech at my VW dealership was asking what I thought about them last time I went up there cos he'd heard good things about them. They took a while to scrub in but from what I can tell they're just as good as the original Pilot Sports but are FAR FAR better in the wet.

I could have bought the F1s for ?30 less but the general opinion from my Dad's garage was that they may grip better but probably wouldn't last as long.

 

[Mikedav]

Quote: posted by Gti Fly on 06/01/2005 22:58:37

- I have noticed they also lack any RIM protection, but hey you can't have everything!

Are you sure? My F1s have rim protection....can't really see in the picture but its labelled 'rim protector'. Do they do two types?

 

[Martyn]

My MPS only lasted 10k - I was really disappointed with them. They felt very hard and plasticy...

I changed to pirelli P Rosso's. Brilliant tyre in the dry. Soft and very grippy...

But with this winter weather and greasy roads they are a different story - every corner is like 4 wheel drift city..

I am going to stick the f1's on in the summer.

 

[Martyn]

Mike. What make of wheels are those?? They are very nice.

 

[Mikedav]

Thanx mate. They are MTM Bimoto replicas - real thing only comes in 19". Vision Motorsport DTMs with 225/40/18 GSD3s (with rim protection). I have to agree the grip levels on F1s have transformed my car, and Im a cynic with these things. They never squeal and when they eventually do let go - which only happens if you push ridiculously hard - they are so progressive its easily controlled. Couldn't be happier and so glad I took advice here and didn't cut corners (Excuse the pun) on tyres

 

[Rivage]

I've had two full sets of GSD3s on my chipped TDI.

I really got used to the awesome initial bite in both wet and dry. I swap the tyres front to rear intermittantly and so managed about 24k miles from both sets. Not bad for tuned disel with no traction control. F1s have tghe biggest rim protector this side of a tractor tyre.

I fitted 4 PS2s last time I had tyres fitted. I have to say, they're ok but not worth the extra dosh. They're generate more road roar, don't bite as well on corners, and lack that all important rim protector. I also seem to have dropped about 3-4 MPG off my average since fitting these.

Overall go with the F1s everytime.

My tyres are 225/45 ZR17

 

[dubzter]

I've had f1 gsd3s on now for about 2000 miles and just recently I have been thinking that the car feels quite skitish at higher speeds eg the steering is very very responsive, almost too responsive. I might go and check the pressures coz it feels like they are too high but they haven't been changed since I put the tyres on.

They do grip very well in the wet I just hope they last a decent lenght of time.

 

[bigburd]

I paid ?140ea for my Michelin's at my local tyre trader. they also have a fantastic balancing machine which balances using the wheel mounting points.

reasons I use my local trader include

- they are ex tyre company staff and know what they are talking about

- they respect your wheels and vehicle

- reasonably priced (not cheap)

 

[rommel]

Quote: posted by bigburd on 08/01/2005 11:58:25

I paid ?140ea for my Michelin's at my local tyre trader. they also have a fantastic balancing machine which balances using the wheel mounting points.

reasons I use my local trader include

- they are ex tyre company staff and know what they are talking about

- they respect your wheels and vehicle

- reasonably priced (not cheap)

?140 each is pretty good, I'll shop around a bit and see if I can get that, my local dealer quoted ?218 each![:O]

 

[CarlT]

Just put Bridgestone SE050 (i think )(255/35/19) on to my car. They look good and seem to do the job well

 

[Ricardo]

Quote: posted by rommel on 09/01/2005 09:44:45

?140 each is pretty good, I'll shop around a bit and see if I can get that, my local dealer quoted ?218 each![:O]

As you are in the North East mate, have you tried either Costco at the metrocentre or one of the Tyre Spots? I have had tyres from both at really competitive prices and the latter will price match.

 

[rommel]

Quote: posted by Ricardo on 09/01/2005 19:42:44

Quote: posted by rommel on 09/01/2005 09:44:45

?140 each is pretty good, I'll shop around a bit and see if I can get that, my local dealer quoted ?218 each![:O]

As you are in the North East mate, have you tried either Costco at the metrocentre or one of the Tyre Spots? I have had tyres from both at really competitive prices and the latter will price match.

Right, Nice one, cheers Ricardo. I think there's a tyrespot place in Team Valley isn't there? Isn't that one with some sort of alloy wheel shop next to it? I pass Team Valley on my way to and from work so I'll try in there in the near future (ie nearer pay day!).

Not too sure where Costco is to be honest, though I know the metro centre well enough.

 

[Otto]

Costco will do the MPS2's for 135 and seem decent enough lads, although I reckon I can still get them cheaper elsewhere!!!

I am on 25k with my set of MPS on the R. They seem to have done really well and I have had no real complaints in wet or dry. And I have given them some sterling drives, so to speak. They are a bit ropey now tho. spesh in the wet, so i think i may be spending my xmas bonus on them!

Will let you know what my final price is on them.

O.