Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

[Rose Chap]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

I swear by the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on my CLK so when I picked up my Brabus Roadster and saw it had them I was pleased.

Reading this thread though has made me wonder though since there is obviously some difference in a heavy front engined thing like the CLK and a light mid engined thing like the Brabus Roadster.

Have any Smart publications done a test on tyres?

[cham128]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

I'd say dunlops as well had them on my last two cars and couldn't fault them at all apart from the price although the toyo's look a lot better...

if you were gonna spend that much on tyres i'd personally go with the new F1's they last longer than the dunlops look better than the toyos

[ZorroReturns]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

another interesting thread. Maybe it would be good of people who have had smarts for a lengthy amount of time and swaped tyre brands to comment?

[Massive]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

I have run both Dunlop and Toyo and found Toyo to have the edge. For a real performance tyre the Toyo R888 has proved to be very good in the wet and awsome in the dry. The only problem with R888 is limited sizes. Either of the Toyo performance road tyre are excellent. I would not pay the money for Dunlop.

[Koul]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

I have run both Dunlop and Toyo and found Toyo to have the edge. For a real performance tyre the Toyo R888 has proved to be very good in the wet and awsome in the dry. The only problem with R888 is limited sizes. Either of the Toyo performance road tyre are excellent. I would not pay the money for Dunlop.

Those Toyo R888s look the business - shame they don't have them in my size although they are extending availability.

[Taraxacum]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

Have Eagle F1's on my city coupe and they are excellant. Althought hey are a softer compound they are/were quite cheap on mytyres so not a big issue. Unfortunatley I dont think they do a size that will fit on the roadster 15" alloys I have. When they need replacing I'll most likely go with the Toyo's T1-R as reviews are quite good, I just hope they give as much grip.

[will-w]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

The Toyo T1's are brilliant!

I had them on my CRX, 205/40/17 @ £62 a shot..

Brilliant grip and got hardly worn after 9k miles (when I sold the car)

[epitrochoid]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

are those R888s really safe in the wet / cold?

[bus_ter]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

are those R888s really safe in the wet / cold?

They're slicks with grooves cut in to make them road legal! There's no way they can channel out as much water as a 'conventional tyre'.

I'm sure my standard Bridgestone B340's would be a lot safer and hydroplane much later on a soaking wet motorway for example. However given a length of dry tarmac it would be a different story...

If you're putting tyres on a daily running car in this country I wouldn't get too carried away. Remember sooner or later you're going to be driving in rain, snow, ice, puddles, wet leave, dirt etc. Do you really want to sacrifice the tyres grip on all of these just to be slightly faster on dry tarmac?

I'll go back to my original suggestion, Goodyear Eagle F1's. These are about as sporty as I would want to go on a road car. They channel out water very well, they're known to be one of the best 'performance' tyres in the wet.

They're a soft compound, this means they will work ok in the cold without needing to be heated up too much. They're also excellent in the dry.

What they're not so good at is long life (because they're soft), however Smart cars are light and low powered. You're not going to be doing any burnouts anytime soon! So they should still last a long time (years). The tread design makes them rubbish off-road (hint- you bought a ROADster, so not a problem!), they'll also be bad in the snow. Fine I'll slow down for the 2 days of snow we get a year!

[smarty mad!!!]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

just to add a twist to the tyre fight. i have Michelins on my Brabus at the minute and i am finding it very hard to get some good replacement tyres as everyone i have had a chat to say that the back tyres on the brabuses are hard to get! i have quotes of £150 a tyre which is very expensive!!

i have been told that Toyos are good but i like Bridgstones but like i said before noone sells the correct sizes. i have been to a few garages so where would you go to get some good tyres!? im considering getting the Pirelli P nero zeros ones (i think thats what they are called!) but it was going to cost about £560 for the 4 tyres!! oach! I use my car every day rain,snow and of course sunshine! i need a tyre which will be good in wet and dry and i can defintly say that Michelins are not good in wet!! (and are extremly expensive)

I have been told that the back tyres on my Brabus are a very wide tyre and that is why people dont have them in stock. mmm does anyone have any advise!? :drive2:

[bus_ter]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

Is there any reason why you can't put on 215/40 R17 tyres?

That's a much more common size, but should technically fit the Brabus 17i wheels both front and back.

[mcbunny]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

205/40 17 would be a better choice as its closer to the original size

[Squeezer]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

What kind of mileage would you get out of Toyo's T1-R? as If heard that they dont last very long!

[digi-roadster]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

What kind of mileage would you get out of Toyo's T1-R? as If heard that they dont last very long!

Hi,

I have had a set of T1-R's on my car for 15,000 miles - the front still have 7/8mm of tread on them and the rears have 5mm of tread left.

They wont last as long as the Bridgestone B340's originally fitted (which lasted me 30,000 miles) but are a much better overall tyre (in my opinion) for wet and dry grip, ride comfort and noise

[will-w]

Re: Tyre Fight! (Toyo v. Dunlop)

I had Toyo T1-R's on my CRX, I did 9k miles in the middle of summer and they had loads of grip left!

And my camber was totally :censor: !

Couldn't get a better tyre for your money IMO