Going to need some fresh boots soon on my bug. Currently on standard rims 215/45/17 tyres. I've got p zeros on at the minute which have been good but checking the prices of them now its £450ish for a set of 4!

Had a look around and for £300-£350ish there are a few options.

Toyo T1R
Yokohama Parada
Falken FK453

Anybody have any thoughts to offer? Bit of a minefield choosing. Car is 315bhp, coilovers ect ect. Its not a daily hack, just some weekend fun. Not used on track. Was planning on doing all four corners at once.

 

Orite mate, I had falkens before and I just didn't feel confident with them. I would have a look at vredestein sessantas not sure on the price on 17s but on 18s they cost me around 400ish got them on my car now and will be putting the same on when im due. They are good in wet and dry I find.

Greg

 

Hi there

Personally I would go with Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta,they're been best tyres to the date what we are tried and still good price,awesome in wet or dry

Jura

 

Another vote for these, got them on my road wheels and love them.

 

Had Toyo T1Rs on my classic, fantastic dry grip. As you know I didn't take the car out in the rain so can't comment on their wet road ability but in the dry they really were very good.
I then swapped the wheels and ended up with some eagle f1's which were nowhere near as good as the toyo.

I'll deffo be having toyo t1r on my next impreza.

 

Matty I would choose too T1R if its for classic and mainly if car is used in dry,but if you have New age then T1R is poor choice and in wet,not sure if I would trust them

Jura

 

Thanks guys, hadn't considered vredsteins I will have a look at them.

 

I am running T1R's on a new age at 430/380 with no problems, Never really push hard in the wet but its a road car at the end of the day.

 

Very quick check, vredesteins don't appear to come in right size. Can find 215 40 17 at about £100 a corner. 225 45 17 seem much cheaper, will a 225 fit on wrx rims?

 

Shouldn't this be in the Wheels, Tyres and Brakes section?

I've been running Goodyear F1 Asymmetric XLs for a number of years now and found them to be excellent all rounders and particularly good in the wet and average about 20k miles.

There's a version 2 out now which came 4th equal in a recent Auto Express Tyre test at 98.5% - so very close to the winner.

The results were:
100% Continental ContiSportContact 5
99.3% Michelin Pilot Sport 3
98.8% Dunlop sport Maxx RT
98.5% Hankkok Ventus S2 evo 2
98.5% Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics 2
96.9% Yokohama Advan Sport V105
96.6% Bridgestone Potenza S001
95.8% Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
95,4% Pirelli P Zero
94.8% GT Radial Champiro HPY

 

The Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 2 is a great tyre (coming top in this months Evo magazine tyre test). I would recommend this tyre to any new age Impreza owner. Good in the dry, great in the wet and good ride quality. Lasts pretty well too.

 

Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 2

 

Just put a full set of Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 2 on my bug, can't comment so far but heard good write up's.
Initial feedback on the way home was good.

 

Another thumbs up for the goodyears from me

 

I've went through a lot of tyres in 15 years of ownership of Impreza, these are the best tyres I've tried during that time, and very reasonably priced.

 

Urban, since you have tried lots of tyres, im wondering what you found in these tyres that is better than the rest?

Can you actually feel more grip when pushing hard?

I aslo wonder if some of the magazines favour certain brands due to advertising revenue?

 

It also depends on wether it was a classic or newage. Tyres that work well on classics don't always favour newages and vice versa.

 

The vredesteins come in budget but only in 225/45/17. Can I fit these on a wrx rim? Can't seem to find 215/45/17. The nearest is 215/40/17 but this works out more expensive and I didn't really want a lower profile.

Its looking they may be the ones if someone can confirm a 225 will be ok?

 

Can you feel more grip - without a doubt.
They're quiet too which is a nice bonus.
Only tyre that beats these in the dry IMO is the RE070, but only in the dry, and they're noisy as hell.

You can also feel them grip better in the wet too.
For the price and the overall experience, I find them hard to beat

 

This is pretty much my opinion on them too, although I've not tried the re070's.

Tried a fair few others Pirellis, Goodyear, Yokohama's, toyo's. This is the second Impreza I've had these on, the only thing I can't honestly comment on is the wear as I simply don't do enough miles to wear a set out as I run another set of wheels with R888's a lot of the time.

 

I've always had RE040 and RE050 on the Civics. Not a huge fan of the cheaper Toyo/Yoko stuff now. Seems daft spending loads of money stiffening a chassis then glueing the car to ground with Pritt Stick. I was looking into the Bridgestones again for my WRX as needs new front boots, so may as well slap 4 on and be done with.

 

RE070's - These are a great tyre, absolutely fantastic in the dry generating bag of grip.
In the wet they're surprisingly OK despite the tread pattern, however treat them with great respect when its damp/greasy

Noisy tyre though.

 

conti sport contact 5s are awesome on my bug

 

+1

 

225 45 17 Eagle F1 Asym II's will run rings round 215 45 17 P-Zero's, even the better ones. The Nero's I've got on at the moment are awful on damp and greasy roads, and squeal like a pig in the dry, I'm looking forward to getting the F1's back on as the last set I had was on the old car.

It's worth noting that 225's also a cheaper size, you'll get some very decent rubber for all four corners for sub £400.

 

Also in the same dilema.

On my 05 WRX I have Bridgestone RE050's on the rear (half worn) and nearly new ditch finders on the front, fitted by previous owner.

Are Toyo T1R's really that bad on a newage? I liked them on my old classic plus I can buy a set of 225/45/17's for £302.00!

Hmm.

 

Yes they are that bad in the wet, ridiculously bad in the wet.

 

In general or just when 'hooning' it?

I don't drive fast in the wet. Not worth the risk.

 

I've had oversteer on particularly greasy days when following traffic at normal speeds, and when it's very wet I don't think they shift enough water.

 

Once i put 1.5 Deg of negative camber on the front the under steer was no more with the T1R's, just did not like the bounce from the soft side walls.
Got a pair of nearly new (only 2k miles) for sale if anyone interested?