Comin to the End of the Runflats

[Franco]

I am coming to the end of my runflats and will be changing to a normal road tyre. Everyone keeps raving about the ps2.

I called up my local tyre dealer and they quoted me $815 per tyre!! Is this the correct price?

If it is, can someone recommend another road tyre at a better price

[sparoz]

Will check today. PZero Rosso I had in my E46 was better than the Contis2 I had on. Otherwise MattyV is looking at importing some from Gil @ tirerack.

[MikeVictor]

If you like the way the RE050A's perform (they are a great all-rounder IMO) you can buy a non-runcrap version, they should be about $400 a hoop give or take a few peso's.

I used to run them on my WRX, they were standard fitment and I found them to be decent as you're not pushing at 10/10ths all the time, and the wet weather performance I thought was good - I'm not a tyre tester by profession, so I'm only relating my experiences and I don't have much to compare it to.

I'm in the process of gettting Continental ContiSportContact3's at the moment given I only do about 1000km a month and the times I do drive tend to be... spirited

[Alext]

Toyo T1Rs are reasonably priced and a good performance tyre for the street in dry and wet conditions.

[Breville]

Originally Posted by Alext

Toyo T1Rs are reasonably priced and a good performance tyre for the street in dry and wet conditions.

Do they do OEM sizes? I've got slightly oversized on mine and was told no. I thought they'd be a good compromize for road and track, but need to downsize.

[MikeVictor]

Originally Posted by Breville

Do they do OEM sizes? I've got slightly oversized on mine and was told no. I thought they'd be a good compromize for road and track, but need to downsize.

Why were you told not to put oversize on if I can ask?

[Breville]

Originally Posted by mattyv

Why were you told not to put oversize on if I can ask?

Sorry, I had a moment when I wrote my reply.. what I meant to say was I couldn't get the Toyo's in the oversized tyres I currently have which I am keen to keep due to rear end grip and assistance with understeer (F 225/40/18 & R 255/35/18). Having said that I know others have run smaller than OEM at the track with no issue; it may all be in my mind!!!

[sparoz]

The question I have is how it will affect the suspension. It is bouncy enough as it is with the runflats and I am worried it's going to be worse with non-rft. The car seems to roll more than the e46, and more understeer, even though my previous car had 215s and 245s. It is bouncing over bumps at the moment.

[Zuzu]

To be honest, when Kris changed over to the Conti's it took a bit of playing around with the tyre pressures to perfect the ride..

But overall the ride was no where near as harsh as the run flats..

[Breville]

Mucho better with non-rft's. I changed to KW's too; made a HUGE difference!!

[dontask]

Originally Posted by sparoz

The question I have is how it will affect the suspension. It is bouncy enough as it is with the runflats and I am worried it's going to be worse with non-rft. The car seems to roll more than the e46, and more understeer, even though my previous car had 215s and 245s. It is bouncing over bumps at the moment.

Runflats give a firmer ride, due to the reinforced sidewall. Non runflats will definitely be more comfortable.

[Bim135AUS]

I'm pretty happy with my Pirell P Zero Rossos:
18 225 40 F and 18 255 35 R

I found that to counteract the extra stiffness of the runflats, I had to add 3 PSI to the fronts- now running 40 psi front and 37 psi rear.

Ride is now much better than the runflats and grip is substantially better

Also just fitted an H&R front sway bar which has all but eliminated body roll without effecting my ride. Highly recommended

[janus77]

Sounds good, how much did you pay for the FSB?

Those PS2's are available on tirerack.com for substantially cheaper than that, am not sure if they would post to Australia and if so at what price.. looked like (with $150 allocated for postage) a set of 4 would cost about AUD$1600 delivered.

[Bim135AUS]

Paid $455 for the FSB plus fitting from Quadrant Suspensions in Berwick

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by janus77

Sounds good, how much did you pay for the FSB?

Those PS2's are available on tirerack.com for substantially cheaper than that, am not sure if they would post to Australia and if so at what price.. looked like (with $150 allocated for postage) a set of 4 would cost about AUD$1600 delivered.

Been cooking things all day so didn't end up finding out the price for the tyres. Will let you know how much I can get them for once I found out.

[WAY]

Try Pirelli P Zero (not Rosso). These are standard fitments on my C63, and also on some pretty amazing cars like 599GTB etc. Best road tyre I've had in terms of grip level. I have tried them all from ContiSport 2 & 3, P Zero Rossos, RE050, Michelin PS2 etc etc. These tyres all came as standard fitment on cars I have owned.

[TimMc]

Just received this email.

**************************************
Track day tyres to be outlawed
New safety regulations spell the end for extreme road-legal rubber
By Roger Green
23rd June 2009

New legislation on tyre labelling and accompanying minimum standards to be introduced simultaneously in November 2012 will effectively end the production of road-legal track day tyres. Tyres likely to be axed include the Dunlop Direzza, Toyo 888 (currently available on the Renaultsport Mégane R26.R), Michelin Pilot Sport Cup (Porsche GT3 and GT2) and Avon ACB10 (Caterham), along with a host of others.

The aim of the new regulations is to both raise all-round performance standards and to give buyers a greater understanding of the performance and environmental impact of each particular tyre before purchase. All road-legal tyres will have to display rating figures for rolling resistance (fuel efficiency), external noise and wet grip, and while the rating system and minimum levels have yet to be set, it is unlikely that track-biased tyres will be able to pass on all counts.

Tyre manufacturers are currently lobbying the European Parliament, but it will be very difficult for them to make a successful argument for tyres that allow drivers to corner faster in the dry but which offer a significantly lower level of performance the moment the surface becomes damp.

It is expected that track day tyres will fall foul of the other parameters too, so their demise is something their manufacturers are already preparing for. James Bailey, Dunlop’s PR chief, believes it highly unlikely that track day tyres will continue in their current form, although the company’s official position is that these regulations are positive as they will also remove poor performing cheap road tyres from the market. In its own braking tests the difference between the best and worst tyres fitted to a Mondeo stopping from 50mph on a wet surface was as much as five car lengths…

Porsche feels it’s too early to comment and that at this stage it is still a matter for the tyre companies. Once the regulations have been set, the German car maker will still request an appropriate level of performance from Michelin for its top models.

So what does the future hold? There will still be high-performance tyres made from a race-style compound though they are likely to have regular road-car tread patterns. However, they won’t be as fast or responsive as the current crop of track day tyres, and for those of us who enjoy the extra performance and challenge presented by this specialist rubber that’s a real shame.

[CT135]

so .... we should stock up now?

[Alext]

How do you find the Toyo T1Rs? Slight oversize should be no problem.

[Breville]

Originally Posted by TimMc

Just received this email.

**************************************
Track day tyres to be outlawed
New safety regulations spell the end for extreme road-legal rubber
By Roger Green
23rd June 2009

This is all referencing EU stuff (like the R26 which was never brought overhere by Renault), so is it relevant in OZ?

[TimMc]

Originally Posted by Breville

This is all referencing EU stuff (like the R26 which was never brought overhere by Renault), so is it relevant in OZ?

Maybe not & I thought the same thing. I think it will flow on to Oz though...

R26 was sold in limited numbers here wasn't it? I was keen on getting one after reading the reviews. Went to the Brisbane car show last year to check them out when I saw a LeMans/Black 135i. The rest is history...

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by WAY

Try Pirelli P Zero (not Rosso). These are standard fitments on my C63, and also on some pretty amazing cars like 599GTB etc. Best road tyre I've had in terms of grip level. I have tried them all from ContiSport 2 & 3, P Zero Rossos, RE050, Michelin PS2 etc etc. These tyres all came as standard fitment on cars I have owned.

Looks like that's what I am getting, the guy from the tyre place is a bit worried that 225 might rub the struts as there is only about a finger width on stock, but he's going to test fit the pzeros on Monday for me. Cost would be between $150-$200 each corner after I trade my tyres in. I figure that it would be cheaper and better for the long run. I'll keep the 125i as RFT as it's probably safer for me wife.

Anyone know where I can get the tyre patch up kit?