My first Mr2

[matt86]

Today I got a new pair of rear tyres fitted. After hearing lots of good reviews I got some Uniroyal Rainsport 2's as they seemed good value. With the new rear tyres on, the car now feel very different...overall the car feels a lot more 'oversteery' which makes steering feel less stable once above 50mph or so.

My questions are, do the tyres just need to bed in and this problem will go away? Or, do I just need to get used to the new tyres (I don't think this is the case!), or is this how these particular tyres affect handling...the tyre tread is very soft and made of small flexy sections so I could see them causing this handling.

I am wondering whether I would be better off moving the Rainsports to the front, and move my Eagle F1's to the rear, as the F1's are a lot more solid feeling, so the rear shouldn't be as squirmy?

I look forward to some useful advice! Cheers

[LimeyMk1]

What pressure did they set the tyres at Matt? The Rainsports are supposed to be a good grippy tyre so I'm suprised at your post. I was looking at fitting them to the rear of my V6 Mk1 but if they're as squirmy as you say I might look for something else.

[matt86]

Hello Limey
The tyre place had inflated them to 38psi so I let them down to around 32psi. There is 30/31psi in the fronts. I forget the recommended pressure for 195/50/15's, its around that isn't it?

I think squirmy is maybe the wrong word...the amount the car reacts to a given steering wheel input has increased, the car 'rolls' more than with the old rear tyres, so the car feels less stable. Does that make sense?

I have only done 20 miles or so to try and bed tyres in, I guess it takes a while to get to a good working surface and for me to work out what's going on.

[mk1 dal]

hi , i have these tyres fitted all round , i was getting the same strange handing as you have experienced but only from the rear tyres , it feels like the side walls had given way for a second and you are losing grip , then bang the grip came back . this caused the car to drive very unpredictable and was scary at times if you pushed the car . i nearly removed the tyres for another make but stuck with them after such a good reviews to see if they would bed in , and boy have they bedded in . they are now awesome in the dry and unbelievable in the wet and have transformed the cars handling no end . i have tried them on the cat & fiddle when its pi$$ing down and they where excellent , no drama or any sliding what so ever and i was pushing it to see if it would slide . i do rate these tyres 100% , i have had 15 mk1s with every different make of tyres fitted and the rain sport 2 are the only ones i will trust in the wet .

gary

[Jimbo_Jet]

That's interesting Gary, I've been a die hard Eagle F1 fan for years now but I need two replacing and Eagle F1's are harder to find than Iraqi WMD's!

Have you tried rain sport 2's on standard 14inch rims? If they're the best wet tyre you've ever tried, what's the best dry one?

Ta - James

[matt86]

Hello Gary,
Glad to hear that its not just me gettng the odd handling. How many miles of bedding in do you think you did? I am thinking that if its going to take a while I will put the F1's on the rear and the Rainsports on the front to see if that improves things.

[SuperRedMR2]

38psi????

I have mine set to 28 psi all round on my 15s.

Yes Eagle F1s are a pain to find!

Yoko AD08s are the ones to get IMHO at £76 each, but as I am skint i've just bought two Parada Spec 2's and am very happy with them!

Are the rainsports rotational tyres? They may have felt poo if they were fitted incorrectly?

[Lauren]

F1's are a very old tyre, remember having a set back in 2001, so are basically obsolete now.

Be mindful that if you do find a set they are likely to be old.

In 15" I would go for S-Drives as they are a similar price but have much stiffer sidewalls.

[matt86]

38psi????

I have mine set to 28 psi all round on my 15s.

Are the rainsports rotational tyres? They may have felt poo if they were fitted incorrectly?

The funny thing was that the check sheet the garage filled out said they had tested pressures at 33psi, but on my gauge showed 38psi! I have just set fronts to 28psi, rears to 30psi and it feels a little better...may try 28psi in rears next and see how that feels.

The tyres are directional (have a 'V' down the middle; mine are rotating the correct direction, I don't think they are side specific/asymmetric.

[Jimbo_Jet]

Yes Eagle F1s are a pain to find!

Yoko AD08s are the ones to get IMHO at £76 each, but as I am skint i've just bought two Parada Spec 2's and am very happy with them!

Were they on 15 inch wheels? If on 14's where did you get them from as I can't find them and need an alternative to my F1's. Having trouble finding 14 inch Uniroyal Rainsport 2's at the moment

[Lauren]

Have you looked at C-Drives?

[matt86]

After a year of happy motoring in my Mk1 I have moved onto my next cheap and interesting car...

I don't think this will be my last Mk1, they are great cars!

Thank you to all the helpful people on here who have helped out with my questions!

Cheers,

Matt