Skoda RS replacement tyres - interesting

[MarksVRS]

I replaced my tyres a few weeks ago with Toyo T1 Sports. All round much better, being quieter, more responsive in conrnering and more grip in acceleration. But then again my Dunlops were starting to "peel" by the time I replaced them....


Definitely down to the wear markers!

[Tigger]

I love the Continentals that came on mine!!!

So quiet and grippy all at the same time.

I dont expect high kms from them, but they certainly contribute to the driving experience.

I will buy these again when they wear out.

[Transporter]

Yeah, the Continentals should be good for around 35,000km if you drive normally most of the time. My SIL 2010 RS will need new tyres very soon; he is on the last mm of the rubber at 32,000km. We don't know yet what to put on, but most likely something that will last a bit longer and not costing more than $350 each and definitely will not go for the tyres from the Tire Rack.

Will check, Bridgestone and the GoodYear.

[woofy]

What's wrong with tyres from tyre rack?

32k is pretty piss poor to be perfectly honest, it seems every tyre except the people that had Michelins for a short time in 2008 wear out a lot quicker. A long time friend of mine who lives in the Dandenongs here and loves to go for runs all over the mountains more often than not has got well over 50k in his, and ours is holding up just as well.

It's a bit late now, and I'm surprised they still exist but the old Toyo T1s are really good to start off with, but wear like no tomorrow. They are more a short term track tyre in the way they last than an everyday tyre.

[BottomScratcher]

Yeah, the Continentals should be good for around 35,000km if you drive normally most of the time. My SIL 2010 RS will need new tyres very soon; he is on the last mm of the rubber at 32,000km. We don't know yet what to put on, but most likely something that will last a bit longer and not costing more than $350 each and definitely will not go for the tyres from the Tire Rack.

Will check, Bridgestone and the GoodYear.

I don't drive hard, and check the pressures regularly with my own gauge. The occasional spirited run on quiet, winding roads somewhere along the ranges, but nothing hair raising. I had Conti Comfort Contacts on my previous car. OK, anything with "Comfort" stamped on it is surely a soft compound, and not expected to give long lasting mileage. They didn't. I replaced them with German made Good Years, and up until I sold the car they were grippy in both wet and dry conditions, were wearing well, and were in my opinion quieter than the Contis.

The Contis that came fitted to my RS are wearing OK and grip well enough, but I find them noisy. Tigger finds them quiet, so that just shows how subjective our opinions are. I've seen a lot of comment on how good the Michelin PS2s and PS3 are, but have noted that the Good Year F1 Eagle Asymmetric2 consistently comes in ahead of them in respected summer tyre tests. Given that preliminary pricing so far sees the GY F1 at $60 a corner cheaper than the PS3s I'm giving them serious consideration, and am slightly surprised that they haven't been made much mention of on this long running thread. If anyone is running them I'd be interested to see what sort of mileage they get compared to previously fitted tyres on the same vehicle.

[BottomScratcher]

What's wrong with tyres from tyre rack?

I'm not saying anything about the ins and outs of buying from Tire Rack, but have you seen this post in the Wheels & Suspension section of the forum?

[brad]

I'm not saying anything about the ins and outs of buying from Tire Rack, but have you seen this post in the Wheels & Suspension section of the forum?

Not sure what point you are making but I know plenty on my other forum that buy from Tirerack without issue & have saved substantial amounts of money even after allowing for bank transfer fees, import taxes, gst, fitting/balnce fees & no local warranty.

It's a shame that Tirerack has succumbed to pressure from the Australian tyre distributors (via their international parents) - it has nothing to do with "new export requirement(s)".

What is really infuriating is that the Australian distributors often don't have the tyres in their warehouse & quote delivery times "4-12 weeks away" when the same tyre can be delivered in <1 week from Tirerack at (generally) a significant saving.

Re: GYF1A2 over PS3 - would pick the Michelin every day & pay the extra $$$.

BTW: note your comments on checking pressures regularly but if you were only putting 30psi in them, then tyre life is not going to be terrific. I have no idea why Skoda recomend such a low pressure - esp on a 40 series 18" tyre.

[BottomScratcher]

Not sure what point you are making but I know plenty on my other forum that buy from Tirerack without issue & have saved substantial amounts of money even after allowing for bank transfer fees, import taxes, gst, fitting/balnce fees & no local warranty.

It's a shame that Tirerack has succumbed to pressure from the Australian tyre distributors (via their international parents) - it has nothing to do with "new export requirement(s)".

What is really infuriating is that the Australian distributors often don't have the tyres in their warehouse & quote delivery times "4-12 weeks away" when the same tyre can be delivered in <1 week from Tirerack at (generally) a significant saving.

Re: GYF1A2 over PS3 - would pick the Michelin every day & pay the extra $$$.

BTW: note your comments on checking pressures regularly but if you were only putting 30psi in them, then tyre life is not going to be terrific. I have no idea why Skoda recomend such a low pressure - esp on a 40 series 18" tyre.

My only point about Tire Rack was that it would seem that they are under instructions from some manufacturers not to export to Australia in order to protect Australian distributors of their tyres, so all of the brands previously available are seemingly no longer available. I'm just passing the message is all.

Re: PS3 over GY F1A2, can I ask why? I suppose just did. As I said, a lot of people agree with you, but the data I've seen consistently says that they are both top notch tyres, but the GY is better in the wet, as well as being a top performer in the dry, and is also quieter, so why pick the PS3? I haven't been able to find much on how they stack up against each other for wear except for the treadwear ratings, which are ratio based, so don't relate to actual mileages being achieved by users of either tyre. Heaps of variables, I know, but any first hand info is better than none.

When I had the 4 wheel alignment done at Spinning Wheels going on 4 weeks ago the tech said to run the recommended 220 kpa/32 psi in the backs, but to run 250 kpa/36 psi in the fronts. That's what I'm doing to see how it goes. I agree that the recommended front pressure 210 kpa/30 psi is not conducive with long tyre life.

[MarksVRS]

It's a bit late now, and I'm surprised they still exist but the old Toyo T1s are really good to start off with, but wear like no tomorrow. They are more a short term track tyre in the way they last than an everyday tyre.

Maybe these are a new series as I had to wait for them to be manufactured and dispatched from Japan. Being unidirectional I can do a proper rotation which will help extend their life but to be honest, averaging less than 10k per year, tyre life is not my highest priority.. I will be interested in tyre noise as they start to wear though.
My cousin got them at staff price for me which made them even more attractive than some of its main competitors.

[woofy]

I was actually thinking they might be a new series, the last version came out in 2004, quite some time ago. They were great for the track but not so good wearwise.

Unfortunately tyre tests don't usually check for long term wear, and that has an awful amount of variables. I do know the PS3s on our Mazda 6 held up well and left the OEM Bridgestones for dead. So far the PE2s have held up well on multiple RSs, I wish I could still buy them.

[woofy]

What's the current price for PS3s at the stock size? I saw Costco were fitting them fairly cheaply here in Melbourne.

[brad]

Re: PS3 over GY F1A2, can I ask why? I suppose just did. As I said, a lot of people agree with you, but the data I've seen consistently says that they are both top notch tyres, but the GY is better in the wet, as well as being a top performer in the dry, and is also quieter, so why pick the PS3? I haven't been able to find much on how they stack up against each other for wear except for the treadwear ratings, which are ratio based, so don't relate to actual mileages being achieved by users of either tyre. Heaps of variables, I know, but any first hand info is better than none.

When I had the 4 wheel alignment done at Spinning Wheels going on 4 weeks ago the tech said to run the recommended 220 kpa/32 psi in the backs, but to run 250 kpa/36 psi in the fronts. That's what I'm doing to see how it goes. I agree that the recommended front pressure 210 kpa/30 psi is not conducive with long tyre life.

I've consistantly had a better run with Michelin for the 34yrs I've been stuffing about with tyres. I did work at Goodyear back in the early days & aprt from being badly made (Aus manufactured stuff) or superceded technology (USA stuff - they have never been on the cutting edge of tyre tech because the consumers over there don't want it) the method GY used to achieve grip was to use a soft compound tyre - which is why I used to wear a set of tyres out in 10,000km. Michelin OTOH, used to get great grip & long life.

Over the years I've run a few GY products (when I still had contacts in the company & could still get staff prices) and taken a deep breath & paid a premium for Michelin & the Michelin has never left me with buyer remorse. GY OTOH often made me remark that I was glad I hadn't paid full price.

It's a personal (and probably illogical) thing & very subjective & not based on any dealings with the F1A2.

looking at tirerack in 225/40x18 92XL with a maximum price of $250 each (to stay under import duties/gst) & disregarding the "restrictions" I'd pick the following (in order of preference).

• Michelin PSS
• Michelin PS3
  Continental CSC5 (because they are available in AUS)
• Continental ExtremeContact DW
• Goodyear F1A2
• Bridgestone Potenza S-04

Again, others will choose different - personal preference only.

re: tyre pressures: 36 all round at a minimum for me. 40 if the family is on board for extended periods.

[BottomScratcher]

I've consistantly had a better run with Michelin for the 34yrs I've been stuffing about with tyres. I did work at Goodyear back in the early days & aprt from being badly made (Aus manufactured stuff) or superceded technology (USA stuff - they have never been on the cutting edge of tyre tech because the consumers over there don't want it) the method GY used to achieve grip was to use a soft compound tyre - which is why I used to wear a set of tyres out in 10,000km. Michelin OTOH, used to get great grip & long life.

Over the years I've run a few GY products (when I still had contacts in the company & could still get staff prices) and taken a deep breath & paid a premium for Michelin & the Michelin has never left me with buyer remorse. GY OTOH often made me remark that I was glad I hadn't paid full price.

It's a personal (and probably illogical) thing & very subjective & not based on any dealings with the F1A2.

looking at tirerack in 225/40x18 92XL with a maximum price of $250 each (to stay under import duties/gst) & disregarding the "restrictions" I'd pick the following (in order of preference).

• Michelin PSS
• Michelin PS3
  Continental CSC5 (because they are available in AUS)
• Continental ExtremeContact DW
• Goodyear F1A2
• Bridgestone Potenza S-04

Again, others will choose different - personal preference only.

re: tyre pressures: 36 all round at a minimum for me. 40 if the family is on board for extended periods.

Thanks for the detailed response brad. I've been locally quoted $260 for the GYF1A2, and $320 for the PS3. I'm thinking that at these prices that the tyres are probably parallel imports. That said, the prices aren't bad, and whether parallel imports or not, they are covered by local consumer law.

I understand perfectly how you feel about the Michelins. I feel the same way about German made Good Years

[Diesel_vert]

BTW: note your comments on checking pressures regularly but if you were only putting 30psi in them, then tyre life is not going to be terrific. I have no idea why Skoda recommend such a low pressure - esp on a 40 series 18" tyre.

Quite odd, given the car's weight and weight distribution.

Even more bizarre is that the recommended pressure for 225/40 R18 is lower at the front than is recommended for 225/45 R17.

Perhaps a Y-rated tyre being more resistant to heat degradation enables the lower pressures to be used, but still... odd.

I was actually thinking they might be a new series, the last version came out in 2004, quite some time ago. They were great for the track but not so good wearwise.

Yep, Toyo Proxes T1-S is a very old tyre (released in 1999) and had big V-shaped grooves, resembling the 1st-gen Michelin Pilot Sport or Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3.

That was superseded by the Toyo Proxes T1-R, released in 2004.

Toyo Proxes T1 Sport is a very new tyre released in 2012 and resembles the Continental Sport Contact 3.

[gldgti]

I have a simlar feeling as brad but about Continentals.

I've been a cheap tyre whore for a long time, as budget suited... But the only sets of tyres I've always been 100% happy with have been continentals, despite them always having been the most expensive.

I've run firestones, hankooks, falkens, bob-jane burnouts, Pirelli, Nexen, Neuton, Maxxis, Dunlop, Bridgestone, and Yokohama. Of all of those, the 3 sets of continentals I've used (CSC3's just on the octavia, premium contact 2 on mk1 and also ecocontact on mk1) have been standouts for wet grip, tyre life and handling performace, with the Yokohama Y352's coming in pretty close behind (a great tyre but long gone now).

My workmate and friend does around 85,000km a year, so has used a few tyres - and he too swears by michelins (in his case he was running the XM series) but similarly to the ecocontacts I had, they were just an all round standout tyre.

Personally, now that money is less of a concern when buying tyres, I'll be giving up everything but the continentals and/or michelins.