Gav's World : My Cars : Tyre Choices

Gav's views on tyres

Over the years, I have gone through a few different tyre types on my cars. Ignoring all the cheap crap on previous cars, here is a list of them:

Make	Model	Size	Car	Comments
Yokohama	A510	185 x 55 H 13	MG Metro	Best thing (well, only thing) I did to the MG Metro was ditching the metric wheels which limits the choice of tyres to crap or pish, putting on the 13 inch Turbo wheels and some decent rubber.
Yokohama	A510	185 x 60 H 13	GT Turbo	When the crap that was on the car wore out, I went for a known choice. Quite grippy, but difficult to put the power down.
Yokohama	AVS	185 x 60 H 13	GT Turbo	Fantastic. Best tyres I ever had on the 5. These things could handle the power, they cornered and could cope with severe braking as well. Outstanding on the track.
Pirelli	P5000	195 x 50 V 15	GT Turbo	These were bundled with the wheels, not what I wanted, but I thought I'd give them a go. Poor on the roads, except in the wet. However, on the track, once heated up, outstanding under braking but tended to slide around the corners.
Yokohama	A520	195 x 45 V 15	GT Turbo	Much better than the Pirellis on the road in all conditions. However, on the track, the opposite. Brilliant around the corners, but under braking they just felt like they wanted to give way.
Bridgstone	Potenza RE010	195 x 55 W 15	Integra	Jesus Christ!! This is what a car should go like. The grip from these tyres is phenomenal - tread wear factor of 140 (everything else on the list is 180, still softer than "normal" tyres). Corners that the 5 took at 60 with tyres screeching, the Integra takes a lot faster without loosing traction.
Bridgestone	Potenza S-02	195 x 55 ZR 15	Integra	These are back up at 180 for tread wear, but traction is AA instead of A. I have found they take longer to warm up, as they're harder. Under braking they seem fine, but cornering, they slide a bit. Don't know about the track as the Integra hasn't been there ... yet!
Federal	SS-595	195 x 55 ZR 15	Integra	Well these certainly are far better in the wet than the Bridgestones, but feel a bit slidy in the dry, i.e. doing similar speeds on the coast road, these screech a bit.
Goodyear	Eagle F1 GSD3	195 x 55 ZR 15	Integra	These tyres definitely are an aqua tread - they disperse water amazingly well, so excellent in the rain. However if the road is just damp, they feel a bit skittery. In the dry they feel like they do about the same speed around the coast road as the Federals since these too squeal a bit - especially when it's a hot day.