2026 Tyres - up to date recommendations? For 15” wheels

[househead]

In the market for a full set of rubbers for my FL on standard wheels. I don't have the time or inclination to find out which is the best option by trying them out myself over a long period. So I come to the hive-mind of mr2roc. Staying at stock sizes and not wanting to mix front and back options, and not wanting to spend too much time on it, I find myself drawn to the Falken ZE310 because seemingly that's all that's available anymore that fits the bill and gets positive mentions here!

[Joesson]

@househead
While there is a long term thread and a more current one on this subject my somewhat limited view is that Falken tyres fit the bill rather well.

[Gaz mr-s]

@househead
The ze310 is decent. But in most tests that featured both, the Hankook Ventus prime 3 beat it.

[househead]

@househead
The ze310 is decent. But in most tests that featured both, the Hankook Ventus prime 3 beat it.

Thx Gaz ... on what metric(s) does the Hankook beat the ze310 in testing?

My use will be occasional going forwards. Almost always dry driving, and perhaps not used for 2-4 weeks at a time. At some point in the future it may see some (casual) track use. That said, I'm not necessarily looking for the best of the best unless it comes in at a similar price point to the rest.

Edit: can't see the Hankook's in 215/45 R16 available anywhere obvious.

[Superluminal]

@Ardent how do the Yoko Flevas compare to the Falkens? I tried asking AI to compare them for me but ChatGPT and Gemini literally gave me completely opposing answers, so I've discounted everything they said.

[Joesson]

@househead

Your reference to "not used":
I bought the Falken tyres soon after my purchase of the car, maybe 2012. They were still in visibly very good condition when I sold the car last year.
I used the car only 6 months of the year and the other 6 months on SORN when I fettled/ maintained/ etc. Typically it was on axle stands during SORN, so no load on the tyres, Otherwise I increased the tyre pressure to resist flat spotting.
In the 6 months of normal usage the tyres held standard  pressure well.
I can say that the Falken tyres stayed in good condition for over a decade!

[Craigjm]

In the market for a full set of rubbers for my FL on standard wheels. I don't have the time or inclination to find out which is the best option by trying them out myself over a long period. So I come to the hive-mind of mr2roc. Staying at stock sizes and not wanting to mix front and back options, and not wanting to spend too much time on it, I find myself drawn to the Falken ZE310 because seemingly that's all that's available anymore that fits the bill and gets positive mentions here!

For a facelift widen the fronts by 10mm and fit Michelin pilot sport 3 all round

[Gaz mr-s]

Thx Gaz ... on what metric(s) does the Hankook beat the ze310 in testing?

My use will be occasional going forwards. Almost always dry driving, and perhaps not used for 2-4 weeks at a time. At some point in the future it may see some (casual) track use. That said, I'm not necessarily looking for the best of the best unless it comes in at a similar price point to the rest.

Edit: can't see the Hankook's in 215/45 R16 available anywhere obvious.

The Prime3 is only made up to 15", after the introduction of the Prime4 which is 16" upwards.
I'll let you google tests yourself.

For a facelift widen the fronts by 10mm and fit Michelin pilot sport 3 all round

The PS3 is available in 215/45/16  (Camskill, Audi fitment)

The Hankook Prime3 in in the earlist tests beat the PS3, which is a really old tyre, but there are a few on here swear by them.  I have a set, but not used them yet.

[househead]

@househead

Your reference to "not used":
I bought the Falken tyres soon after my purchase of the car, maybe 2012. They were still in visibly very good condition when I sold the car last year.
I used the car only 6 months of the year and the other 6 months on SORN when I fettled/ maintained/ etc. Typically it was on axle stands during SORN, so no load on the tyres, Otherwise I increased the tyre pressure to resist flat spotting.
In the 6 months of normal usage the tyres held standard  pressure well.
I can say that the Falken tyres stayed in good condition for over a decade!

Very insightful, thx! If only I'd employed the same level of dedication to preservation, I wouldn't now be looking at spending hundreds of quids 

@Craigjm ... Those Pilot Sport 3's are super expensive. From what I can see, the rears would need to be their DT1 variant, which apparently is specifically designed with Audi in mind. Not sure if to read anything into that or not. I dug up an old thread on here where it was stated Michelin say not to mix DT1 and non-DT1 on the same car, but that's probably mostly meaningless? (one thinks, they're making an assumption of same sizes on all four and mixing them on axles probably isn't a good idea).

[Craigjm]

I've fitted the MPS3 on two MR2 now and had no issues.

[Ardent]

@Ardent how do the Yoko Flevas compare to the Falkens? I tried asking AI to compare them for me but ChatGPT and Gemini literally gave me completely opposing answers, so I've discounted everything they said.

The gap in years makes it tricky to give a fair comparison. I just remember being very happy with them. I also recall them shifting huge amounts of water.
I think i only went fleva as could not find the falkens at the time.
And I only stick to oem sizes.
Maybe foolishly, but thats me.

[Gaz mr-s]

@Ardent how do the Yoko Flevas compare to the Falkens? I tried asking AI to compare them for me but ChatGPT and Gemini literally gave me completely opposing answers, so I've discounted everything they said.

Flevas not rated highly in tests.   The Falken compared pretty well with Hankook Prime 3, - better in the wet as Ardent says.

[Iain]

The Michelins are well worth the money.

They were fantastic whe i had them, so good in the rain and took one hell of a beating on track days. DT1 varient is meaningless aswell.