first mr2, what tyres shall i get?

[Baker]

SO2s (if you can get them). SO3s and F1s are your best bet.

Lauren knows her tyres

fair dos, but is the knowledge on tyres only for blatting around a track 500mph, other than general driving on roads?

[acf8181]

I have decided to try a set of Toyo T1-R, they are getting some good reviews. I had T1-S on my last MR2 and they were very good.

mytyres.co.uk are cheap for these. I will see how they go, currently got F1's.

James

yeah, T1-S's are pretty good according to a mate....he did say f1's were better in wet though, but similar in dry.

[Dale_V]

SO2s (if you can get them). SO3s and F1s are your best bet.

Lauren knows her tyres

fair dos, but is the knowledge on tyres only for blatting around a track 500mph, other than general driving on roads?

Lauren does drive on roads too

[Lauren]

fair dos, but is the knowledge on tyres only for blatting around a track 500mph, other than general driving on roads?

Most tyre knowledge i have is through seriously putting them through their paces on track as you simply can't do the same on the road. That said i do drive on the road and obviously do on occasion push tyres beyond their limits on the road too.

I guess also as i work for a trackday company tyres get talked about a fair bit so you tend also to pick up what are crap etc. Add to this I tend to notice what the regular punters tend to go for tyrewise. For example there are a lot of people who use A048/38, Neovas, A539s, ACB10s, CR500s etc.

One make i never see used by the regulars are toyo poxies, even in T1R guise. General concensus is that they are not a lot of good. But like you say for a budget road tyre they may well be acceptable.

[GeoffC320]

I have to say this seems to be one of the most personal choices you can make on a car. I'm on my 2nd set of Toyos (T1-R this time) and find them great on the road - not interested in what they do on a track.

I did look at SO-2's/SO-3's & F1's when last changing but the clincher was I couldn't get a full set in the right size (or price) when I needed them, so guess that experiment will have to wait for another time!

The experiences seem to be so varied I'm beginning to wonder if this is even a question worth asking!

[BenF]

SO2s (if you can get them). SO3s and F1s are your best bet.

Lauren knows her tyres

fair dos, but is the knowledge on tyres only for blatting around a track 500mph, other than general driving on roads?

Here's my recommendation from tyres I've personally used and got experience of on a MK2:

S-02s best - excellent wet and dry grip. Wear rapidly though
S-03s : Good wet and dry grip, but little feedback as to how much grip there is so its a little unpredictable on the limit.
Goodyear F1 GSD2's : Excellent Feedback, dry drip as good as S02/S03s, wet grip only about 85% of that of S02's-03. I'd recommend these strongly if you're happy catching slides etc
Falken FK451s - Good dry, moderate to good wet (say 75-80% of S03s). reasonable tyre to use on track.

On the Mk1 I've used A539s. Good dry, very nicely progressive, and don't overheat and melt if worked really hard. In the wet though they're at best moderate - I'm really concious of braking smoothly and being ready to cadence brake if needed ..

[splashnatz]

i'm also onto my second set of proxes now. i've found them to be excellent tyres, BUT ... i've never put my car through its paces on a track, so don't know what they're like for that. I've found that for normal/spirited road driving they give excellent grip in both the wet and the dry. When i got the car, it had F1s on it, and i never really felt that happy with them, i personally am a lot happier with proxes.

But it's personal choice really, just pay as much as your happy to, stick with "real" brands and see how it goes. www.camskill.co.uk seem to be reasonably priced for mail order.

[jamief]

Kumho 712's have been good for me, and cost under £200.