What tyres to buy for the MKV?

[tom89]

Thanks for the responses guys.. Brad do you know for a fact it does? I've played with the climate control and there is still a difference (speedo running higher).
Also I did read someone saying somewhere on the net that they thought the PS3 sidewall was soft by comparison.

[brad]

There are enough threads on here about the various levels of government mandated speedo innacuracy. It depends on what size tyre you started out with. You haven't bothered to check your speedo against a GPS? Or your odometer against those 5km "odometer check" signs? My Octavia speedo was 10% under & the odo about 6% eg: the 15,000km service was arriving at about 14100km which is significant when you do 25,000km per year. That's with 205/55x16. Yours will be about 7% out with 225/45x17; ~4% with 235/45x17.

Only the other day I was doing 110kmh in the company Colorado & some nob in a TDI MKV Comfortline pulled in front of me (I had to brake or hit him) & proceeded to side-by-side the car in front doing 100kmh. Then he had the gall to give me the finger when I flashed my lights at him. Geebuzz, all I want to do is stick on the speed limit.

[Tom87]

The KU36 rewards a smooth driving style.

Might the tramlining be slightly wheel alignment related?

I only ever drove on them in a Subaru Liberty

So in english "It is a budget pseudo-performance tyre, what do you expect"

Sound like they're perfect for someone looking for a tyre on a tight budget. Good to know for when I go to sell mine if I need some rubber, ta

[An7on]

Had the Falken FK453's fitted to the front...and have done 200km thus far.
Only have taken the "factory" sheen off thus far but first impressions are good. Lack of noise was the first thing i noticed. They seem very smooth. I'm not going to judge the wet grip just wet. Dry grip is good, gives my confidence to throw a bit more into the corners.

[Diesel_vert]

Looking for some advice.. Currently have PS3's needing replacement, 235/45/17, these were on the car when I got it, I thought 235 was better than 225 because it had more width therefore more grip.. Speaking to a tyre guy he made me realise that my sidewall was bigger too and said a 225 would be better having less sidewall flex. fiy, I understand the sidewall:width ratio I just hadn't thought of it in regards to my tyres.. Would any of you say 225/45 would be better than the 235 in regards to handling/turn in and would it have much of a negative effect on straight line grip?

Naturally, the narrower 225/45 R17 tyre would have less sidewall flex, quicker response and a smaller contact patch than the wider 235/45 R17 tyre - so long as you're comparing the same make and model.

For instance, a 225/45 R17 track tyre will have a much stiffer sidewall than a 235/45 R17 road tyre.

Also considering Potenza S001's over the PS3's. I'm not sure I can be bothered importing PSS's from tirerack and running around trying to get them fitted etc. Any opinions?

The Potenza S001 is the better tyre in dry conditions, and the Pilot Sport 3 is better in wet conditions.

To date, the Pilot Super Sport is not even distributed by Michelin Australia in 17-inch fitments.

Also I did read someone saying somewhere on the net that they thought the PS3 sidewall was soft by comparison.

Yes, the S001 has a stiffer sidewall construction than the PS3.

[theburningone]

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[brad]

Planning on sticking with Conti Sportcontact 2s, if I can find anyone who isn't out of stock right now.

Good Luck finding any. AFAIK, they are superceded & no longer made.

[Diesel_vert]

Planning on sticking with Conti Sportcontact 2s, if I can find anyone who isn't out of stock right now.

Try eBay. Otherwise, you may like to try the newly released PremiumContact 5.
International Tyre Trader - Continental ContiPremiumContact 5

Good Luck finding any. AFAIK, they are superceded & no longer made.

They have certainly been superseded by the SportContact 3, which in turn was superseded by the SportContact 5, but I suspect production of the SportContact 2 hasn't stopped entirely - for certain sizes only.

[theburningone]

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[Tom87]

check the age of the tyres before you put money down. if they're getting old you should be able to get a very good deal on them, significant price saving.

[Martin]

I have Michelin PS3's and a spare set of Conti Sport Contact 2

I'm going to the Marulan track day tomorrow and thought I would put the Conti's back on to protect my lovely PS3's from a big tyre wear day (The PS3's were $300 per corner so I would like to get good km's out of them)
As soon as I put the Conti's on the front I noticed less initial turn in response (mid corner grip is still good)
I was so disappointed I went to the tyre shop and bought a pair of Toyo R888 semi slicks for the front so I could enjoy the track day

The point I'm trying to make is that I think the Michelin PS3's are a better tyre than the Conti Sport Contact 2 (any day of the week, any conditions)

I have seen the Conti Sport Contact 5 - it looks impressive and I'm curious to try them

Here is a picture of the Toyo R888 Semi Slicks - very thick/stiff sidewall and heaps of rubber hitting the road!

Had the Falken FK453's fitted to the front...and have done 200km thus far.
Only have taken the "factory" sheen off thus far but first impressions are good. Lack of noise was the first thing i noticed.

Don't be fooled, any new tyre will give that impression simply from having full tread depth
Wait until you are over 50% through the tyre, then you will find out about the true noise characteristic of the tyre
The Falken FK453 is a pretty good all round tyre - problem is it's priced the same as much better options

my car has PS3 225/45r17. I wouldn't replace them with the same thing...grass is always greener, may as well give something else a go and step up the budget at the same time. I've been told good things about the Dunlop SP sport Maxx TT or Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 and they both rate highly for Motor.

I love the PS3's - great tyre in both the wet and dry

I'm very keen to try the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 but it's pricing is prohibitive (in my view)

Looking for some advice.. Currently have PS3's needing replacement, 235/45/17, these were on the car when I got it, I thought 235 was better than 225 because it had more width therefore more grip.. Speaking to a tyre guy he made me realise that my sidewall was bigger too and said a 225 would be better having less sidewall flex

Going from 225 to 235 you are very unlikely to notice a grip improvement unless you drive dam hard
To get the best out of 235 tyres you will need wide rims (8.5")

[Martin]

Here are some useful reviews of various tyres,
from these it appears that the Conti Sport Contact 5 tyre is a big improvement over the old Sport Contact 2

Continental Sport Contact 2 - 168 tyre reviews averaging 70%

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT - 23 tyre reviews averaging 74%

Falken FK452 - 184 tyre reviews averaging 76%

Continental Sport Contact 3 - 146 tyre reviews averaging 79%

Continental Sport Contact 5 - 25 tyre reviews averaging 86%

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 - 112 tyre reviews averaging 87%

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 - 134 tyre reviews averaging 92%

[tom89]

Ended up getting 4x B/S RE002, 225/45 couple of weeks back. Car feels good, holds on better in cornering and I have noticed any loss in straight line grip from 235 to 225.. Again, the PS3's were on their last legs and I'm comparing to a new tyre. Haven't really driven it in the wet yet though. Pretty happy overall. Apart from the fact that I got a screw last Friday, 1 WEEK!

[Greg Roles]

Can I just say I decided to put on a set of cheaper Kumho KU31's based on good reviews for an interim tyre till I save up for a decent set of mags this year, and I have found them to tramline terribly at speed, and around corners the sidewall has a real "flex" feel that is quite un-nerving. I have them all up at 40psi to make them a bit better, but not a tyre I trust at all.

Comfort, noise and straight grip is great, as well as wet weather grip, but around corners and on the highway - no so happy Jan. Perhaps this is some dodgey low load version or something given the cheap online price, but they are certainly not performance in my opinion.

Will be going to a set of the above RE002 or 3 next time, I found them to be great (for a diesel) as the last set.

[brad]

Can I just say I decided to put on a set of cheaper Kumho KU31's based on good reviews for an interim tyre till I save up for a decent set of mags this year, and I have found them to tramline terribly at speed, and around corners the sidewall has a real "flex" feel that is quite un-nerving. I have them all up at 40psi to make them a bit better, but not a tyre I trust at all.

Comfort, noise and straight grip is great, as well as wet weather grip, but around corners and on the highway - no so happy Jan. Perhaps this is some dodgey low load version or something given the cheap online price, but they are certainly not performance in my opinion.

Will be going to a set of the above RE002 or 3 next time, I found them to be great (for a diesel) as the last set.

For some reason I thought you'd got the KU36 semi-slick.

I had the KU31 on the Skoda for a while. They were at 5mm when I fitted them & I ran them down to 2mm. I didn't notice any tramlining & the cornering was OK. The minuses were noise & IIRC they seem to have gone extremly hard as if they had heat cycled or something.

Not my cup of tea & the KU36 would be my bet if I had to choose a cheap Kumho