FTO AUSTRALIA

Let's get a bit of feedback here:

What tyres are people running on? Do you like them or not?

M@

I'm running on Goodyear Eagle F1's (GSD2)on the front - rear's haven't worn yet.
Cost me about $165 per tyre. They are pretty good all round.

http://www.mytyre.com.au/webapp/commerc ... A000000032

There is a newer version (GSD3) of these out now, I might see what the GSD3 ones go for next time I need some tyres.

M@

I'm running on Bridgestone Potenza GIIIs... although the sucker costs me $250 a pop (was recently told i've been ripped off!), i reckon it's worth every cent - plenty of grip in wet & dry conditions and good balance between road noise and wearing rate...

May I ask what size/width etc tyres you guys are running?
Although, now that I think about it GPXXX, yours are 17" aren't they? DAmmit where do you buy your tyres from?? I had to get my front ones replaced and went for the 225/45 Falken ZE-326 ($195) which are like bottom line but it was the only one they had in stock besides the 225/40 Bridgestone GII's which they were telling me were like $265 each. I sure woulda gone for the Potenza GIII's Or the Eagle F1'sat that price! May I ask where you got your tyres?
Only recently found out that Falken's aren't so great in the wet... And its soo true, I get mega wheelspin in the wet, but I try to drive carefully as possible now.
Oh my rears which came with the car and still got HEAPS of tread left are those cheap ULTRA HPR tyres. When I had them up front the FTO was more comfy over bumps though(235/whateva).
Wouldn't mind knowing what's a good tyre, especially wet performance which (I'm very weary driving in the wet with the FTO, have lost lots of confidence). I wanted to go with AVON tyres, but needed them changed there and then and of course AVON have to be ordered in. I want it cos of its unrivalled road noise as a performance tyre capabilities, but apparently they're REALLY soft so I can only imagine how quickly I'd go through it. Oh they're about $300+ a tyre for 17" 225/45 . Not the most expensive, yet I can see why they're standard on Rolls Royce's.

May I ask what size/width etc tyres you guys are running?
Although, now that I think about it GPXXX, yours are 17" aren't they? DAmmit where do you buy your tyres from?? I had to get my front ones replaced and went for the 225/45 Falken ZE-326 ($195) which are like bottom line but it was the only one they had in stock besides the 225/40 Bridgestone GII's which they were telling me were like $265 each. I sure woulda gone for the Potenza GIII's Or the Eagle F1'sat that price! May I ask where you got your tyres?

yep, my rims are 17x8 fitted with 225/45 tyres and i bought them from Mark @ Donnellans in Box Hill. Apparently GIIIs are in short supply due to popular demand but if you shop around I'm sure you can find some good prices...

at the end of the day, i guess a good tyre is only about as good as what your budget allows... as MADFTO said ealier (in another thread), you get what you paid for... personally i have gone over my budget for my tyres but the results/benefits far outweighed the extra costs. ultimately, my life depends on it too, and you can't put a price on that!

Just becareful of rear tires too... on FWD cars, the rears need to follow the fronts or else oversteer happens.... scary when it does oversteer ...
its worth getting good tires on all fours.


Jono

Im riding on GT Radials GT40 215x40xR17's
cost $167 per tyre, included fitting and balance.

good tyre, soft enough to play, tred pattern is good for water

used to have Goodyear eagle F1s 215x45xR17, these were a very good tyre but a little too soft, would ware out rather quick if hte balance was out.

falken firenza st-03
kumho supra ecsta 712
gt radial champiro
michelin mxf sport

they are what ive tried and i like them all

favourite was the michelin, but they dont make em anymore and were the dearest

the other three are all affordable, but i would put the kumho and falken in front of the gt radials - kumhos are underrated they are actually underpriced for what they can do.

Like GPXXX, I got my Bridgestone Potenza GIIIs for $250 each (inc GST) from Donellans (in Oakleigh). Now I feel much safer on the road. Donellans will also rotate your tires for free at the recommended interval times.

what are some good brands? falken, nankang?

I have heard only certain kinds of tyres can go on the FTO, and judging by the posts, everyone has different tyres.

Yeah I agree with Jono about using worn tyres on the rear,

I'm running the standard stock 16" wheels.

I only replaced my front ones because my alignment was out and the outside of the front tyres wore really quickly. Amazing how much a little alignment change changes the handling of the car.

I got my tyres from Tyreland at Wetherill Park (NSW), the guy there didn't have the FTO alignment specs in his book, but set it up according to what he thought was good for a front wheel drive car. I got home and checked the settings (he wrote them down for me) and found out they were spot on.

M@

For the fronts ive got a pair of Continentals, they claim to be Europes most popular tyre and Im pretty impressed with them.

Rears ive got a pair of Falkenz Ziex, not to impressed with falkens..

ANYONE ever had any SUMITOMOS, Ive heard theyre a good japanese tyre and dont cost that much either

I've got Sumitomo HTRZ II's on my stock wheels. I'd never heard of the brand as they came with the car.
They seem like a good tyre, I've driven up to the snow a few times now and they've been good.
Any others had experience with this brand??

Mine came with "SIMEX" tyres - DON'T touch em - no grip...... unless you like aquaplaning...hmnnn.... there's a possibility

mine came with simex aswell and they were generally bad...and shocking in the wet. There is a particular model simex tyre that isnt too bad though... my friend has them on his car and they are alright....

the simex tyre i had was a hard compound and there was no such thing as fast/hard cornering in them...unless you wanted to crash

i have falken fk451 on the front now and im quite happy with them ... theyre a bit soft though ... so if youre planning to be a 'spirited' driver, dont be surprised to see some wear on them pretty quickly ... they stick quite well though in both dry and wet...and are only $150/tyre

Hi Guys
hey, JagerMarty & FT-TR02
I had Sumitomo's on my 92 subaru Liberty and they were great tyres, only set me back about $140 each (about 3 years ago). They were great for a fw drive and smoked up whell too.
and then i go sucked into buying some "decent" hancooks which cost me $170 each and were not as good in the wet and did not even light up. they were made out of a silicon compound.
At the moment i have Kuhmo's ECSTA Supra's or something or rather and they are awesome. They were around $220 each. Apparantley they won tyre of the year 02 in their category. Well that was his sales pitch anyway.
Cheers

I'm suprised no one has mentioned Pirelli PZeros. Anyone has any experience with these?

A couple of years ago, these were like the real deal. Are these still expensive or just overated??

is nankang a good brand?

Nice one XXX,
they seem to hug real nice on corners and have good traction when needed

i have 215 40 R17 yohokama AVID 5036 tyre on tien suspension but it is a bit bumby. They are great in the wet. I do push my car a bit.