Conti SportContact 3 or SportContact 5 Contiseal?

[BeigeJet]

Just throwing another Yokohama option out there.

Have you checked out the AC02 tyre? Known as the C drive 2

http://www.yokohama.com.au/Tyres//~/media/C%20drive2%20Images/Cdrive2%20gallery/C%20drive2%20moody%20three%20quarter.ashx?bc=White&as=0&h=768&thn=0&w=1024

Assymetrical and comes in the size the OP needs for a GT

Around $220 odd per corner

I run these in a 205/55/16 and find them quite reasonable. But then I probably don't drive real hard either.

I have 40,000 on the current set and look like getting 50,000 ks plus out of them.

Just a thought and another option.

Cheers

[Mattlock]

Have you checked out the AC02 tyre? Known as the C drive 2

Yeah, my mate that has the AD08s on his RX-7 runs these on his Corolla shopping trolley and mentioned them to me.

[doink]

+1 for PS3. I've done about 35K on mine and enjoy the feel.

Check out this review

Tyre Reviews: SP Sport Maxx TT, ContiSportContact 3 & Pilot Sport 3 - AutoKinetics Tyre Shop

[doink]

+1 for PS3. I've done about 35K on mine and enjoy the feel.

Check out this review

Tyre Reviews: SP Sport Maxx TT, ContiSportContact 3 & Pilot Sport 3 - AutoKinetics Tyre Shop

[Martin]

Michelin PSS is their real sporty tyre & wears reasonably well but IIRC only comes with 6mm of tread so you're immediately 20% worse off than a PS2/PS3.

I have a pair of PSS in the garage ready to go into the front of the Octavia
Happy to report they have just over 8mm of tread

[kaanage]

Likewise, the Advan A048 & A050 are Yokohama's road-legal motorsport tyre, but probably too compromised for regular usage on public roads for most drivers.

Don't even think about these. They are unbelievably harsh and noisy (you will sound like a 4WD on sand tyres), will wear out stupidly fast and will noticeably drive up your fuel consumption due to the roll resistance. And if it's wet, they will aquaplane like a jet boat once enough water is on the road (up to that point they will grip very well).

They will also have dry grip far in excess of any comparably sized 'normal' road tyre and anyone who can approach their cornering limits on public roads deserves to be incarcerated.

I haven't used other semi-slicks but from discussions with other drivers at track days, they all behave like this.

[brad]

I have a pair of PSS in the garage ready to go into the front of the Octavia
Happy to report they have just over 8mm of tread

That's 2 people that have told me I'm wrong. I'm sure when i see my wife next she will tell me too & make the trifecta LOL

thx for the heads up

[Martin]

I haven't used other semi-slicks but from discussions with other drivers at track days, they all behave like this.

Yeah - semi's can make a nasty droning noise at 80kmph+
Toyo R888 are really bad - Dunlop 03G are pretty good
The tread on semi slicks are not normally harmonically balanced

[Mattlock]

The tread on semi slicks are not normally harmonically balanced

Hmmm. I hadn't considered that before but I guess it makes sense for the purpose of the tyre. You wouldn't want to add weight or extra rubber layers for the sake of less road noise.

[Diesel_vert]

Actually, for a road tyre, you don't want the tread pattern to be harmonic at all.

If the blocks on the tread pattern are evenly spread and shaped, the resonant (natural) frequency that's generated tends to have a single high peak, which is clearly defined, easily noticeable and perceived to be more irritating.

To get around that, tyre manufacturers use a technique called "pitch sequencing", where the spread and shape of the tread blocks has a more varied (but not random) pattern. The aim is to produce multiple resonances with no particular dominant frequency and many low peaks, which is perceived to be quieter.

Motorsport tyres usually don't go through this process, as the amount of noise expected to be generated by the engine, gearbox and wind would render it pointless.

[kaanage]

Exactly. You can't reduce the overall noise energy beyond a certain point but you want to spread the spectrum over which it is produced

[Mattlock]

Although slightly off-topic, this has become a really interesting discussion. As I've always taken the 'fit more of what was on there approach' I've not thought too much about changing the tyre type and myriad of things that go in to a road tyre design.

Admittedly, this is my first car where making a tyre change for improved performance & handling is worth considering.

[Martin]

As I've always taken the 'fit more of what was on there approach' I've not thought too much about changing the tyre type

The tyres that come with new cars certainly meet specific requirements laid down by the vehicle manufacturer
but beyond that other facts control the decision, volume pricing, relationship, etc
I like using the freedom to get what ever tyres I want to use for my own specific reasons

[Mattlock]

Hi everyone,

To close out this discussion, I ended up getting the PilotSport 3 tyres. They were excellent value at $209 each.

Thank you to everyone for your input and opinions.