Hey guys I'm due for a new set of tyres, I was wondering what you guys would recommend ? I'm in a country area and do around 300km to 400km a week on country roads. I'm on stock rims and would like something with a bit of grip for the wet. I've been quoted around my town for about $150 each tyre for good tyres.

What size? I got some Bridgestone Traunza GR-90's for $110 each. They are 205/65 R15. That is the standard Magna size. It must be common because good tyres are always very cheap in that size. Same tyre for a Corolla was $155 even though it is a smaller tyre. These tyres had unbreakable grip in the wet when new but after 6 months are nowhere near as good as they were. Still much better than the RE92's that came with the car, the rears lasted 130,000km, could have done more on them but was getting worried about the age. Next time I am going to try some Toyo Teo Plus tyres, I have heard good things about them.

I put Michelin Primacy LCs on mine. 16". about $160 each; excellent grip, ride, handling, and v quiet. Only been on about 10k and don't seem worn, but I doubt they will last like the RE92s that were on before: they last forever, but the downside is not much grip and they're noisy, IMO.

Dunlop SP sport fast response. They are an assymetrical tyre.
Mine are 18's though. Very good grip in the wet and dry. Quieter than the kuhmo ku31's that I had on before and after 15 months I still have 75% or so tread left. I do rotate them every service which helps with the longivety big time I have to admit.

Mine were a Beaurepairs special deal and they set me back 900 bucks for the set, fitted & balanced.
I'm not sure if these are offered for 15's though, but I would recommend them for sure plus they would be alot cheaper for your car than the 235/40 18's that I have on mine.

I've got Pirelli P7's on my stock 16's.
From memory 215/60R16 are about $160 per corner.

I've been quite happy with them. Fairly quiet and good grip in wet and dry, although I'm a fairly mild mannered driver lol. Very comfy at highway/freeway cruising speeds also.

Best wet weather tyre you can buy is the Goodyear Eagle F1 ASYM2

I'm running Yokie A-Drives on my Wifes Wagon.... Will use again.,.. :)

Forget it and get 20s

Cheers guys gives me a good range of tyres to think about. I've got re92s on there at the moment and there rubbish in the wet. Down the track I'm hoping to get a new set of rims 18s, but not at the moment our road is pretty insane for potholes since all this rain so I don't want to bust too many rims.

I went from RE92s on 15" to the michelins on 16" rims and the difference was amazing. The set of verada 16" alloy wheels cost me $100 on Ebay. You're right about the RE92s in the wet, but the michelins are so much better.

My recommendation is going to be either the Michelin XM2's, Toyo Teo Plus or the Yoko A-drives. All of these are really nice grippy tyres. I found the yoko's to be a bit too sticky and wore out sooner than the micheli's (XM1+) on my previous car and the toyo's currently on my dad's car. My pick out of the lot was the Toyo Teo+. The XM1+'s had great wear life and grip but were a bit noisy - apparently they fixed this with the XM2's. Yoko A-drives came with my car when I originally bought it and they were a nice set - not too noisy at all and had really good grip. Unfortunately I chewed through them a little quicker than I hoped and upgraded to 18" wheels with terrible tyres (never again). For a while I really missed the grip of the Yoko's until I bought the KU31 which had excellent grip for the first 20,000kms. (Lost a fair bit now as they start getting worn down :( ) plus they suffer from a bit of sidewall flex. The Toyo teo's on my dad's ute are great thought. They're quiet, grippy and 15,000km's later I've barely noticed any loss of tread. I'm confident these will reach past 60,000km with no problems if dad rotates them often enough.

Thankfully 15" tyres are cheap so getting a nice set of tyres is much cheaper and easier. When you get a nice grippy set of tyres you really do realise who much of a difference a good set can make and why you should spend the extra bit to get them. I for one, now, refuse to ever settle with dodgy cheap tyres. I'd rather not drive than have a bad set of tyres. Recent upgrades to better tyres across the board of cars in this household has changed out thoughts on dodgy tyres for a long time.

What are the Toyo Teo Plus tyres like on wet weather grip once they have a few km on them?

What are the Toyo Teo Plus tyres like on wet weather grip once they have a few km on them?

They seem to keep their grip quite well, had them on a VX SS for about 25,000km before I sold it and they were great. Currently got some on the front of my TJ Sports which have been there for 30,000km so far and still great (only about half worn as well without being rotated at all). I highly recommend these tyres to anybody.

For me, Yokahama A-Drive.

I have tried several tyres and have stuck to these for years. I have done countless laps along the Putty Road (20km of twisties in the NSW Hunter Valley) where I have pushed them to the limit continiously and they just kept going. The stiffer sidewalls do harden the ride a little, incremental, but the responsiveness on turn in is better for it and its holds its grip through out the corner. Road noise is minimal as well.

I run stock 15" steelies too btw, and set me back $120 each.

But its all personal choice of what suits your driving style. Its all about maximising the grip at the limit for me, so you might find there is something else in the market that suits you style. I tried 3 other tyres before I settled on these. Including Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirellis.

I got GY Eagle F1 Directional 5. AWESOME rubber :) But costs. I got em cheap as I work in Beaurepairs :P

Has anyone had any experience with Kumho tyres? I have heard that Kumho ecsta ku31's are quite good, bang for buck.

Has anyone had any experience with Kumho tyres? I have heard that Kumho ecsta ku31's are quite good, bang for buck.

Yep - I have, SH00T and a few other members have too. Quite popular around here for good grippy tyres that are affordable. Do a quick search and you should be able to find a good few posts about them,

I've had a set of 235/40/R18's KU31 tyres on my car for about 20,000. Before I had Hancook Ventus R8 and before that - some cheap terrible generic "Kenda" set.

My thoughts on them:
- Fantastic grip for the price. Until recently - I had no wheelspin in the dry. Great traction in gravel and similarly in wet weather. Does spin up a little bit in the wet but that's usually only at full throttle. Appeared to reduce some understeer as well. Cornering grip has improved quite a bit too.
- Good treadlife for low profile tyres. I drive pretty moderately and I've rotated them twice and have around 50-60% tread left. I expect around 45,000-50,000km of them.
- Higher Sidewall flex. I've noticed a more sidewall flex than my old Hancook's had.
- Noisy. Even for low profile sport tyres, especially at high speeds, these tyres are noisy. Does not appear to absorb much road buzz and therefore would not recommend to those who value quietness in their cars. Again - nosier than the Hancook's.
- Looses grip as it looses tread. Understandable really but the drop in traction I've had in the last few months has been quite noticeable. Now I experience wheel spin in the dry - although fairly rare.

So if you're purely after grip for cheap then the KU31's are a great choice. Originally, this is all I wanted from my tyres and that is exactly what I got when I paid for it. I was very impressed with the grip in the first 15,000kms of wear. I don't mind the noise too much but some passengers have. (not my problem!). I do wish however that they did still have the same similar grip as when they were new however.

If you want something a little quieter with similar grip then the Toyo Teo+ or the Toyo Proxies are a good choice. I found these to be a bit more expensive though. If price is not a problem then you cannot go past the Goodyear Eagle F1's. They have incredible grip, quiet and good tread life but are incredibly expensive.

I'm due to replace tyres, on my next trip to the tyre joint I'll be replacing my KU31's with KU39's.

Yep - I have, SH00T and a few other members have too. Quite popular around here for good grippy tyres that are affordable. Do a quick search and you should be able to find a good few posts about them,

I've had a set of 235/40/R18's KU31 tyres on my car for about 20,000. Before I had Hancook Ventus R8 and before that - some cheap terrible generic "Kenda" set.

My thoughts on them:
- Fantastic grip for the price. Until recently - I had no wheelspin in the dry. Great traction in gravel and similarly in wet weather. Does spin up a little bit in the wet but that's usually only at full throttle. Appeared to reduce some understeer as well. Cornering grip has improved quite a bit too.
- Good treadlife for low profile tyres. I drive pretty moderately and I've rotated them twice and have around 50-60% tread left. I expect around 45,000-50,000km of them.
- Higher Sidewall flex. I've noticed a more sidewall flex than my old Hancook's had.
- Noisy. Even for low profile sport tyres, especially at high speeds, these tyres are noisy. Does not appear to absorb much road buzz and therefore would not recommend to those who value quietness in their cars. Again - nosier than the Hancook's.
- Looses grip as it looses tread. Understandable really but the drop in traction I've had in the last few months has been quite noticeable. Now I experience wheel spin in the dry - although fairly rare.

So if you're purely after grip for cheap then the KU31's are a great choice. Originally, this is all I wanted from my tyres and that is exactly what I got when I paid for it. I was very impressed with the grip in the first 15,000kms of wear. I don't mind the noise too much but some passengers have. (not my problem!). I do wish however that they did still have the same similar grip as when they were new however.

If you want something a little quieter with similar grip then the Toyo Teo+ or the Toyo Proxies are a good choice. I found these to be a bit more expensive though. If price is not a problem then you cannot go past the Goodyear Eagle F1's. They have incredible grip, quiet and good tread life but are incredibly expensive.

Eagle f1s are not expensive from tyrerack

Best tyres i have had on a TH Sports are yokohama C drives. They are absolutely fantastic in the wet

i had yoko A Drives on my 15's, got good mileage (70,000km over 3.5 years), but they did let go of the bitumen a bit when pushed hard
im currently rolling on Kumho Ecsta SPT KU31's with my 17's, and even after 7000k's they seem to be wearing well and dont seem to let go of the bitumen (mostly lol)

if my budget permits then i will definitely go for the kumho's next ime i need tyres.
but the tyre of choice for my wifes car (99 laser 1.8) will be the yoko's.

I agree with the_ash.
Kumho Ecsta SPT KU31's on my wife's and daughters car.

For a cheap" premium tyre I am well impressed. Lots of grip, work well in the wet.
Give me a go.
Gerry

For users of KU31's, give KU39's a try next time round. AWESOME reviews and only a little more expensive. They are mostly praised for wet grip.

I was quoted at around $290 ea for the KU39s, vs $220 ea for the KU31s (235/40/18), so it's a reasonable jump in price. For me it was only another $10 ea for Michelin Pilot Sport 3s. Having said that, if I didn't get a good deal on the PS3s, I probably would have gone the KU39s...

Sydney prices are a little different... $160 for KU31 vs $190 for KU39 :) That's in 235-40-18.

I'll back the KU31's I'm on my third set on 20's and get over 40 Thousand k's out of them.

Awesome gripping tire in both dry/wet weather.

Awesome grip until you try a proper decent tyre. Evo Magazines latest tyre test rates the Kumho lowly against other UHP summer tyres in a FWD tyre test

Edit: bang for buck, the KU31 and KU39 are a great bang for buck tyre still

I had ku31's. they were not bad for the money. Especially considering it's a y rated tyre. I like their wet/dry grip but I struggled to get good milage from them as they tended to wear out quickly at the front so 5000k rotationds are a must. my m8 who's a tyre fitter loves the kuhmos but recommended yhe ku27's as they are an assymetric tyre. in the end i got the dunlops previously mentioned as beaus gave me a really good deal on them. even though the dunlops are a W rating and not the higher y rating of the ku 31's. i find them just as grippy but quieter and they wear better. Overall i prefer the dunlops to the ku31.

W vs Y speed rating is a pretty moot point because the magnas/veradas are speed limited to about 220km/hr (aren't they?)

W vs Y speed rating is a pretty moot point because the magnas/veradas are speed limited to about 220km/hr (aren't they?)

Some are :P

+1 for Dunlop SP Sport tyres. Best tyres I have ever driven on. No doubt there are better tyres but for a good all round tyre thats easy to find they are fantastic, and they last a long time aswell.

Eagle f1s are not expensive from tyrerack

But postage is :(



+1 for Dunlop SP Sport tyres. Best tyres I have ever driven on. No doubt there are better tyres but for a good all round tyre thats easy to find they are fantastic, and they last a long time aswell.

Going to ad a vote to these tyres as well. Dad had them on his ute in 225/55/R17 format and they lasted around 60,000km. This is actually very good considering that he basically rotated them once and carried around 500kg's of weight in the ute every day - back and forth from the city. I can't really comment on its performance but they were quiet and last well. I'm confident that he could've got 70,000-80,000km's out of them had my dad had them rotated more often. He never complained about loosing traction but he didn't push his ute hard and took it real easy in the rain.

But postage is :(



$900 including delivery to your door is awesome IMO. These tyres will set you back nearly $400 more if bought here in australia. Add on another $100 to get them fitted and youre still ahead.

I have Toyo Tranpaths at the moment, and they are great. I believe they have a replacement and its Toyo C1S. They were expensive for my 17" but may be cheaper for your smaller diameter. If you do 400km/week, you will appreciate silent tyres with respectable grip.