Tyres for an xr4x4

[heathrobinson]

Hi all. I wondered if any of you have any experience with any of the following tyres on a sierra or similar car. The ones I'm considering are these -
Falken ZE914
Hankook Ventus Prime 2
Uniroyal rainsport 3

I like to drive quite hard, and want them to work well in the wet. I don't mind if they do let go occasionally, so long as when they do I get a bit of notice, and it happens fairly predictably.

I've got Ventus Primes (not 2s though) on the capri, and they seem all right, and not too bad in the wet, but that's RWD and maybe 2/3rds the weight of the sierra. Similarly I've used rainsport 2s, but from what I've read the 3s are a much better tyre.
They'll be 205/45r16s on 16x7 RS 7-spokes.

Obviously any other suggestions around the £250 mark for a set would be welcome.

Thanks
Jake

[mjphotography2016]

i had a set of uniroyal rainsports on my xr4x4, couldnt fault them but everyone has there own preferences, for all year round use id definatly buy another set if i have something with abit of poke.


can't say anything about the other brands as ive not owned any of them,

[fordperv]

I have the falken on my saph which are 195 60 14 they absolutely knock spots off the maxxis of the same size which I had on there, they have worn well. I wasn't expecting anything special for the price but they have really impressed me, I have no experience of the others on a Sierra

As with weights depending on model of Capri you have it can be up to 1140kg kerb weight and the XR4x4 is 1290kg kerb weight so it's not that far off really

[heathrobinson]

My Capri's all fiberglass at the front, has no trim really, and there's lots of stuff that's fallen off too... If the rust carries on at this rate it'll end up weighing sweet FA. Can't get the back to grip until I hit 3rd when it's wet, but I can't blame the tyres for that

[hfstuart]

Mytyres has Toyo Proxes T1-R at £61 each at the moment.

[heathrobinson]

Having had a go in a Beemer on t1-rs in the wet, I can safely say I wouldn't put them on anything that might see light drizzle, let alone British summertime... They're awesome in the dry, but absolutely hopeless in anything beyond mildly damp. Shame, they look the part too.
Maybe on the Capri at some stage, but the sierra has to be my daily too, and I really don't like having to drive like a granny just because it's raining.

[ettorebugatti]

Toyo Proxes T1R is probably a lot of sporty tyre for the money.

I was gonna suggest Bridgestone Potenza RE002, but these are over budget. They are very good, but I'm not sure they will offer the rain performace as you require. Probably very similair to a T1R.

Maybe, the Vredestein SPORTRAC 5 could be worth a try? It does rain a lot in The Netherlands...

[ChasR]

How many miles do you intend to cover in your car, and how long do you see yourself having the car for?

For now I shall assume that you are sticking with relatively low mileage use.

I am surprised you found the T1-Rs horrific ; I found them great in the wet but so so in the dry with their soft sidewalls.

Out of your choices not much floats my boat. The Falkens would be my choice, but the Hankooks are not too bad either. Uniroyals are great in the wet, but IMO mediocre in the dry and the wear rate is not too great either when compared to some tyres which only cost £20 more a corner but will do double the mileage (that was on one car).

[heathrobinson]

A few thousand a year, it's my daily but I don't do commuting/work miles.
I intended to take the cossie v6 and NOS out of it and sell the rest, but then I started driving it... Now I'd say it's fairly unlikely I'll sell it any time soon. It might not be the best looking thing ever, but it's fantastic to drive, and that engine is sublime.
I spend a lot of time driving B roads and little west country lanes, and found the toyos threw a fit if you showed them mud or leaf mulch etc.

[heathrobinson]

I don't mind spending £300ish, but can't really stretch much more than that, and the falkens at £250 odd seem a fairly good deal.

[Soopahfly]

I'm using Goodyear Eagle F1 AS2's up front, and Rainsport 3's on the back of my Civc Type-R.
Going to swap them round, as I don't rate the AS2's.

The Uniroyal's are popular with the BMW lot.

[hfstuart]

Jan 22, 2015 23:39:26 GMT heathrobinson said:

Having had a go in a Beemer on t1-rs in the wet, I can safely say I wouldn't put them on anything that might see light drizzle, let alone British summertime... They're awesome in the dry, but absolutely hopeless in anything beyond mildly damp. Shame, they look the part too.

I guess all you can do is speak as you find especially if you've tried them but I had them on an Integrale and they were very good in the wet. I know some tyres are very sensitive to application (ie great for RWD but hopeless for FWD) so perhaps that was it?

[heathrobinson]

It's strange this, as I've asked about toyos on a Capri forum, and one chap said it was like ice-skating in the wet, while another said they were some of the best tyres he'd ever used in the wet. But as you say, that's on a rwd, and mine would be going on an awd car.
It's kind of irritating that there's this variance of opinion, as they're the tyres I'd really like, but I don't want to shell that much out, and then have to drive like a granny if it's raining!

[MiataMark]

Jan 22, 2015 22:35:44 GMT hfstuart said:

Mytyres has Toyo Proxes T1-R at £61 each at the moment.

That's a good price I paid over £100 for some a few months ago (fitted etc though). I like Toyo got the Proxies on the Alfa and some A/T's on the Disco,last well and seem to perform well.

[elmotheewokking]

I've had Falkens on my Dolly for about 14k now, they're starting to get a bit tired. But have been very good up until now. Just starting to make pulling away tricky in damp, greasy conditions. Will probably get more when I change wheels.

[ChasR]

Jan 25, 2015 9:30:10 GMT heathrobinson said:

It's strange this, as I've asked about toyos on a Capri forum, and one chap said it was like ice-skating in the wet, while another said they were some of the best tyres he'd ever used in the wet. But as you say, that's on a rwd, and mine would be going on an awd car.
It's kind of irritating that there's this variance of opinion, as they're the tyres I'd really like, but I don't want to shell that much out, and then have to drive like a granny if it's raining!

It depends on the condition of the car too. A friend of mine had a 'mint' Capri. Even with him gingerly driving it down the road it felt like it was going to switch ends doing only 30MPH down a road where I can taken cars a far bit quicker with more confidence (including a 106 GTi with a questionable rear beam (yup, you read that right), 2 MGBs, a Spitfire 1500, Dolomite 1500, you get the idea.

The point about some cars being tyre specific is also true.

I would have recommended the Nankang NS-IIRs (not to be confused with the NS-IIs) but they come in a very limited range of sizes and also come with a few DOT R compound traits (less than great tyre wear (around 8k, maybe more), noise (your wheel bearings will sound like they are shot) and ride quality issues (the sidewalls are super stiff). But they do seem to get a very strong nod of approval from those who have used them, and many who have had big name tyres. I'm considering getting a set for my Escort (or a set of Goodyear EfficientGrips instead).

On the basis that you are not covering many miles longevity would not matter to me ; the tyre will go old before it wears out in most instances.

[heathrobinson]

They sound worth a look. As you say, it's car-specific, and the sierra's a fairly heavy old lump, but the cossie v6 is pokey, and I like the twisty bits. On the curse word mis-matched 15" rubber it currently has it'll spin everything in 3rd when the NOS comes in, so I don't expect it to never break grip whatever the tyre, I just want something that inspires enough confidence to push on (without the NOS, obviously) in the wet, and it'd be a bonus if it didn't go completely to pot if it snows.
I'll see if the nankangs come in my size. The wear sounds like I could live with it, and a 4x4 should give a few more miles than something that only spins one end - or will wear both sets as fast as one end of anything else, depends how I drive!