Tyre recommendations

[Pullstarter]

Hi All,
Soon to be in the market for some 225/40/18s for a GTI and was wondering what I should get?

I'd like something that's not too loud (had enough of dronie tyres ), fairly grippy (doesn't have to be insanely grippy) and wears decently.

Been looking at Falken 452s, Bridgestone re50s, Toyo Proxes Ultra and Yokohama S drives.

Any opinions/suggestions welcome.

Cheers
Simon

[dylan8]

I have Continental DWS 225/40/18s and 215/40/18s and love them, best grip from any tyre iv run (had Sdrives, whatever the 4mo bora comes with stock, and kumho ESTCA 31s i think...).
S drives are silly loud, bora tyres squeal on the slightest of cornering (might be old tho...).
Iv prob done 8000km on one set of the DWS and its barely warn, they also have a softer side wall so seem to ride smoother in my mind

[MattyT]

I just got Kuhmo KU31s for my VR6. I'm very, very happy with them. Much less road noise then the crappy nexen's I had on previously. Grip is pretty darn good and apparently they wear quite well.

Besides trawling the forums on here for ideas (there are a billion threads on tyres, try searching), there are two fantastic websites with a load of user reviews to help narrow things down: Carbonblack and Tyrereviews.co.uk.

Good luck

edit: links

[Ben J]

I'm rocking the toyo proxes t1r at the moment and I quite like them.

Also had yoko s drives on the old vr6, and they were very nice. Cant comment on noise though, couldnt here much over the engine/exhaust noise

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk

[Pullstarter]

Was also looking at the DWSs Dylan, good to hear they're a decent tyre. Thanks all for your replies

[walbjj]

dws is below the contisport 3, which has been superceded by the 5?
i havent used continental tyres before, are they generally a long lasting tyre? ive always used yokohama, dunlop and bridgestone in the past.
the dunlop sport maxx is a decent tyre, a little loud tho with the road noise

[OZChris]

I am on the second set of Contis on my S3, the first set were CSC2 and lasted 30,000kms, the current set of CSC3s have about 10,000kms. One of the Sydney Tyre places on ebay 225/40-18 CSC3s for about $900 from memory.

Also, I have Yoko C Drives on the wife's Beetle and they seem to grip okay and relatively quiet (I was warned away from S Drives)

[nat225]

Falken FK452 (made in Japan) and Kumho KU31 (made in Korea) are decent budget tyres. The KU31 is known to get loud when they are half worn with sharp feathering on the threads.

Conti Sport Contact 3 is OEM on most Merc C Class and these are good value in eBay for 225 40 18. They receive good reviews and awards too!

Continental Sport Contact 3 | the Continental Sport Contact 3 reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide

Goodyear Asymmetric 2 and Michelin Pilot Super Sport are the cream of the crop in premium street performance tyres, but a set costs at least $1000 landed plus local fitting / balancing. Or if you buy them locally, the Goodyear is around $400 each and Michelin probably $550 each.

FK452 / KU31 sells for only $150 each at Tempe / eBay / St George Tyres.

so, it's up to you if you want to go budget or premium. you get what you pay for.

Heaps of info:
Tyre reviews, tests and ratings | the online tyre guide

---------- Post added at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:21 PM ----------

the Continental ExtremeContact DW also gets good reviews and are good value:

Continental*ExtremeContact DW

not sure if the DWS version is suitable for Australia conditions.. you will definitely get less grip than any of the OEM GTI tyres (Potenza RE050A, Dunlop Sport Maxx GT, Conti SC2/3). DWS = Dry + Wet + Snow. but in Canberra it may be ok if you get ice on the road frequently (winter mornings?).

[Pullstarter]

Thanks heaps guys much appreciated. Looks like the Contis may be the go.

[dylan8]

are falken 452 really budget tyres? I love mine! stretch good too

[ConR]

Michelin Pilot Super Sports have my vote. One of the best set of tyres I've ever had.

[1stVeeDub]

Hi. How do these tyres compare with Hankook Ventus Prime2 205/55 R16 which came on my MY2011 VW Golf 118TSI? I have just obtained a Cleveland rim which needs a tyre. This is to be used as a proper spare during touring. I was going to go with the Hankook which I am told are about $160 fitted.

[Diesel_vert]

Hi. How do these tyres compare with Hankook Ventus Prime2 205/55 R16 which came on my MY2011 VW Golf 118TSI? I have just obtained a Cleveland rim which needs a tyre. This is to be used as a proper spare during touring. I was going to go with the Hankook which I am told are about $160 fitted.

If it's just for the spare, you can either stick with the same make/model as the other four tyres, or just fit any brand of tyre, really.

I don't see much point in buying just one top-of-the-range tyre for the spare wheel.