Tyres again

lamcote · December 7, 2016, 12:20

I have had some correspondence about tyres with Michelin. They confirmed that it is not sensible to mix tyre types front and rear. I said, based on my previous experience of Michelin tyres I would like to use them and in order to use Michelin tyres front and rear I would have to use 195/50 15 on the front and 215/45 16 on the rear. Their response was:

"I have had a look at possible combinations and I believe the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3 in the front and the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3 AO DT1 Extra Load in the rear, is the best solution for your vehicle. Michelin always recommend that you fit 4 identical tyres, but in this case I cannot find a better Michelin option."

I reckon that would be a great choice. I can't find any other options from the"premium" tyre manufacturers.

I have to say they were very helpful too.

Tomo70 · December 7, 2016, 13:17

I know it's against the mr2 law but I had potenza front and the michelins you mention on the back. The car never faulted. Used on some nice twisty bends in the Alps never felt the car loose traction.!

Carolyn · December 7, 2016, 13:21

So a manufacturer wants you to buy four tyres, instead of (perhaps) two. That's a shock.

Tomo70 · December 7, 2016, 13:24

Quote from: "Carolyn"So a manufacturer wants you to buy four tyres, instead of (perhaps) two. That's a shock.

s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

jvanzyl · December 7, 2016, 13:37

Well I guess... as long as the tyres grip the same across all the weather conditions and disperse the water in a compatible fashion then it should work!... wouldn't want to be the one experimenting with different sets to see which were compatible, but how culpable would Michelin be if their recommendation resulted in a loss of grip that resulted in a crash?

lamcote · December 7, 2016, 13:45

Carolyn, no it's not like that, they specifically recommended that I didn't mix other Michelin tyres. At one point they were even actually saying they couldn't recommend using Michelin tyres for my specific use! I was clear that I wanted to use their tyres and they found the only ones they would recommend to use together. I thought it was very useful.

Carolyn · December 7, 2016, 14:00

fair enough.
If you think about it, front and rear do different jobs, so a tyre that does both jobs equally well would be rare.
Let's all agree, you don't mix tyres on the same axle. The proof of what you're using is how they behave under punishment.

lamcote · December 7, 2016, 14:09

I would say the impression I got was that there are some tyres that work together for front and rear and some that don't. You could be lucky and mix say Michelin and Pirelli together and be OK or you could be unlucky and mix two different pairs of Michelin tyres and have a problem. The one thing they couldn't (wouldn't?) do is explain exactly why they didn't work together.

Frankly it all seems a bit of a lottery with our car (having two different tyre sizes) for anyone but the tyre manufacturers!

That's really why I thought it was helpful to let people know of a specific recommendation from the "horse's mouth". (Maybe I should have known better than to reignite the great tyre debate?)

Carolyn · December 8, 2016, 09:07

Patrick,
Yes you're right, it is a very good piece of info to share.

Jon_G · December 8, 2016, 11:25

I was very happy with Yokos all round, then Yokos on the front/Toyos on the rear, then Toyos all round.

Only about another 2000 possible combinations to try and I'll have this question nailed...

lamcote · December 8, 2016, 11:46

Toyos! You're opening up an even bigger can of worms than I did!!

I have to add that when a tyre manufacturer risks losing the sale of four tyres because they don't think they work together safely, that's when I sit up and take notice on the issue.

MannyUK · December 12, 2016, 14:03

I ran Toyo R888's on mr MR2 Turbo mk2 all year round. It was only down to lack of funds that I didn't remove them in winter but to be honest unless you were an idiot they were fine in the cold/wet. I am looking forward to more 888's in the summer.

Currently running some non-brands (came with these when bought) and they are all 185s which is weird - maybe standard for a y reg mr2 - actually feel i now need to look into this.

Wabbitkilla · December 12, 2016, 14:05

Quote from: "MannyUK"I ran Toyo R888's on mr MR2 Turbo mk2 all year round. It was only down to lack of funds that I didn't remove them in winter but to be honest unless you were an idiot they were fine in the cold/wet. I am looking forward to more 888's in the summer.

Currently running some non-brands (came with these when bought) and they are all 185s which is weird - maybe standard for a y reg mr2 - actually feel i now need to look into this.

Look at Tyres Tyres Tyres for reviews of different tyres.
No MR2 should be on same size all round, probably either a badly advised previous owner or just plain lazy

MannyUK · December 12, 2016, 16:03

Quote from: "Wabbitkilla"
Quote from: "MannyUK"I ran Toyo R888's on mr MR2 Turbo mk2 all year round. It was only down to lack of funds that I didn't remove them in winter but to be honest unless you were an idiot they were fine in the cold/wet. I am looking forward to more 888's in the summer.

Currently running some non-brands (came with these when bought) and they are all 185s which is weird - maybe standard for a y reg mr2 - actually feel i now need to look into this.

Look at Tyres Tyres Tyres for reviews of different tyres.
No MR2 should be on same size all round, probably either a badly advised previous owner or just plain lazy

I have not changed since I purchased - previous owner. Honest!

Ardent · December 12, 2016, 16:36

Have a look in the bottom of the glove box. You may find a little sticker that states what should be on.

A sthe wabbit. Same all round = non stock.
On balance probably correct for the front but not the rear.

Wabbitkilla · December 12, 2016, 16:56

Quote from: "MannyUK"I have not changed since I purchased - previous owner. Honest!

That's what I meant really ... didn't come across properly s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

cptspaulding · February 20, 2017, 10:08

So. Manufacturers who can provide us with same model tyre front & rear (at least for FL cars & allowing either 195/50/15 or 185/55/15 on the fronts)

Yokohama - AD08R
Toyo - T1R (215/40/16 on rear)
Falken - ZE914 (XL on rear)
Michelin - Pilot Sport 3 (XL on rear)

I also just noticed that Goodyear are now doing their Efficient Grip Performance tyres in FL sizes.
http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/goodyear-efficientgrip-performance-215-45-r16-86-h-fp#132964772

So we can add those to the list. Good to have choice.

Has anyone tried these Goodyear or Michelin tyres yet? Anyone care to review? (We've got plenty of reviews for the other three elsewhere on the forum so just looking for any thoughts on these two, thank you)

insx · February 20, 2017, 10:31

I believe you can add Avon ZV7 to that list.

PaddyDT · February 21, 2017, 17:24

Sorry to hijack, well, ask for clarification actually.

Have owned my 04 facelift with TTE factory spec for the last 5 years or so, and always put Bridges tones on it, but the cycle of replacing the rears twice for every 1 set of fronts has finally synced up and I need all four. Potenzas will land me with a hefty bill so I'm going with Toyo T1R's all round.

I see various sizes quoted for the rears and thought I knew what I was ordering last night, namely

Rear 215 40 R16
Front 185 55 R15

However I have now also read references to using 225 40 R16 rear and 195/50/15 front.

So, what combination of T1R should I go for on a facelift with OEM alloys please?

PS - have not been on here for ages. Testament to the reliability and build quality of the MR2. 20000+ miles and I changed the rear brakes last year and a new battery. That's it.

Thanks for replies.

Bossworld · February 21, 2017, 17:35

Quote from: "cptspaulding"So. Manufacturers who can provide us with same model tyre front & rear (at least for FL cars & allowing either 195/50/15 or 185/55/15 on the fronts)

Yokohama - AD08R
Toyo - T1R (215/40/16 on rear)
Falken - ZE914 (XL on rear)
Michelin - Pilot Sport 3 (XL on rear)

I also just noticed that Goodyear are now doing their Efficient Grip Performance tyres in FL sizes.
http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/goodyear-efficientgrip-performance-215-45-r16-86-h-fp#132964772

So we can add those to the list. Good to have choice.

Has anyone tried these Goodyear or Michelin tyres yet? Anyone care to review? (We've got plenty of reviews for the other three elsewhere on the forum so just looking for any thoughts on these two, thank you)

I've had the ZE914s on an R56 Mini, seemed absolutely fine to me. Post below - had Avon Z5(?) on a 1.2 Clio, again seemed fine but obviously the car had very little power.