The Tyre Thread

[digifish]

FWIW my wife hated the Re 002's so much (due to increased harshness of ride). Needless to say I was in trouble! But I had my brownie points restored when I had them replaced with Ecopia PZ-X

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/pz-x.aspx

After driving the RE002's on some old roads I had to agree they were uncomfortably harsh, transmitting a lot of noise and vibration into the cabin and steering wheel.

We felt the side walls of the RE002s off the car and could hardly bend/deflect them. Very thick and stiff. The Ecopia's were fairly compliant in comparison.

The surprising thing is, the Ecopias actually seem to handle better around town at normal speeds. The bite on turn in is definitely more noticeable and satisfying with the Ecopias. As you round the corner they just seem more like the car wants to turn (less under-steer?) They seem to stick and track as well (if not better) than the RE002's. It seems the RE002s only exceed the Ecopias at the extremes of speed/cornering where my wife and lets face it, none of us should go in the day-to-day commute.

The Ecopias are also quiet and smooth. Best of both worlds!

Lesson learned. Husband is not allowed to choose wife's tires!

Bridgestone were also very helpful and happy to oblige the changeover and worked with us to find a better match for my wifes needs.

FWIW: The Passat is 205/55 R16 same as the Astra and so when my ER300s wear out I am thinking of trying the same.

digifish

[Feelinlucky75]

@digifish
What you say there is actually pretty predictable. The re002 are a more track orientated tyre, more for the enthusiast who will often get the tyres up to a more pliable, higher temp. Whereas the ecopia are more your everyday tyre. Softer sidewalls for added comfort and that extra "bite" at turn in.

If you and your wife drove the re002's a bit harder they would handle admirably but as you have said, that doesn't really match up with your driving style.

[Nurb608]

What tyre pressure were you running the re002's at hot (not a cold reading)

[digifish]

What tyre pressure were you running the re002's at hot (not a cold reading)

Me?

When my Wife started throwing things at me I checked and they were 40 psi front 37 rear (warm). I thought a-ha! and lowered it to 35 psi (front and rear) and it didn't make much difference, the RE002s are probably stiffer than your average run-flat.

FWIW: The fuel flap recommends low load/speed 38/35 psi ... I always ran the ContiSportContacts around 40/38 psi cold and the car never felt harsh.

digifish.

[Nurb608]

I run them on the Astra at 36 hot and find them great, then again hard to tell on my setup lol

[JohnBu]

I thought the RE001a were quite a compliant tyre.

I think most people who are on this site would be happy with the Re002a.

But generally I recommend turanza to non enthusiasts. I will look into the ecopia next time someone wants a recommendation on a tyre.



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[Brando47]

More importantly for @faneca: does the incorrect calculation affect my list of tyre sizes that could be legally run (based on the original of 195/60R15), besides the 195s (sorry I was not aware that faneca already has wheels that are 7.5" wide!)?

Sounds like faneca is going to change is wheels anyway haha but for future reference with anyone with 17's, using my spreadsheet here is the list of legal tyre sizes (that will fit 7.5" wide rim) and their diameters:

245/35/R17 @ 603.3mm
215/40/R17 @ 603.8mm
225/40/R17 @ 611.8mm
205/45/R17 @ 616.3mm
235/40/R17 @ 619.8mm
215/45/R17 @ 625.3mm
245/40/R17 @ 627.8mm

So the best size that will reduce the speedometer error would be 205/45/R17 as this is closest to the stock 615mm diameter. Personally I would sacrifice the speedo error for a bit more sidewall, which I think improves ride comfort on lower profile tyres.

This doesn't take into account other rim widths that could fit slimmer/wider tyres but gives a good general idea, 7.5" is probably about average for an everydayer 17" rim. Also doesn't take into account how much tyre you can fit under your guards without having to roll them etc. which is something I'm not too sure about, but choosing a similar tyre diameter to stock will obviously be fine.

[faneca]

Yeah mate looking at upgrading to a 5 stud hub, mainly because the big brakes will fit the 5 stud hub much better and make it easier for future change of discs too. Thanks all for your help as well. I'm sure I will check back when new tyres are due

[Brando47]

Yeah mate looking at upgrading to a 5 stud hub, mainly because the big brakes will fit the 5 stud hub much better and make it easier for future change of discs too. Thanks all for your help as well. I'm sure I will check back when new tyres are due

Too easy Hopefully if anyone else wants to work it out they can get the general gist of what to do anyway anyway. Probably should note not to get too picky about diameters, when you think about it, wearing down your tyre by 5mm will give a 10mm change in diameter, so your speedo is never gonna be that accurate all the time anyway haha, I check mine every couple of months or something with a GPS.

On a side note, say I had a 30mm front and back drop, does anyone know how much sidewall you can actually fit comfortably under the guard of an Astra G? Basically what the biggest size tyre someone has put under without any hassles of scrubbing etc. Doesn't matter what size rim you're running or whatever, just so I can compare diameters

[faneca]

Well I have 205/45R17 atm with a 50mm drop at the front and 30mm drop at the rear with no issues so if you get the prokit you will be fine with pretty much all of them I think.

Edit: @AfterBurner has 20" on his G SRiT as well so when he says this he could comment, think he said he gets minor scrubbing with passengers but not sure on wheel width, arch work he had done etc