New tyres for my T4, Dunlop or Goodyear?

[Marc V40]

Hi all

I'm looking to get a set of 4 tyres for my new 17" Arcadias, the size is 215 45 W 17's and they will go on my stock 2001 V40 T4 SE, My budget is around £400 so there are plenty of tyres to choose from.

So far i have come down to two tyres and have the choice between Dunlop sport maxx rt's or Goodyear eagle f1's.

The the F1's are very highly rated (a friend has an Evo and says they grip like hell) and would have been my first choice but the Dunlops are £15 a tyre cheaper and also rate higher for fuel economy as they are a C instead of E with the F1's, both the tyres have an A rating for wet braking I think.

Any experiance with these tyres on a torquey front wheel drive Volvo turbo would be greatly apriciated.

Also it would appear they are both going to be XL or 91 load ratings, The V40 only came with 87 Load rated tyres as standard I think. From what I have read they will have stiffer side walls than the 87's. Any Ideas if this will have an adverse affect on the drive other than firming it up?

Any thoughts or experiance on either subject would be greatly apriciated.

Kind regards

Marc

2001 V40 T4 SE

[850Chris]

The Goodyear's came 1st in a recent (comprehensive) performance tyre test from 'Evo' Magazine which included the Dunlops and several other brands such as Pirelli etc... Goodyear scored high on 'subjective' handling (i.e. how it makes the car feel to drive) which, ultimately, is what matters to petrol heads like us.

See

http://www.evo.co.uk/features/featur...tyre_test.html

[tt82]

I plan on getting the Dunlop's for my D5 next time I need tyres. Would like to say its "buying British" but the tyres are made in Germany AFAIK.

[GP1]

Both tyres are so equally matched I doubt you would notice any difference between them.

Goodyears will last longer and provide more of a comfort ride whereas the Dunlop will provide a better balanced tyre with more grip and feel of the road due to its very slight softer compound and firmer walls.

Dunlop are the more sporty tyre of the Goodyear Dunlop group..

[850Chris]

Originally Posted by GP1

Both tyres are so equally matched I doubt you would notice any difference between them.

Goodyears will last longer and provide more of a comfort ride whereas the Dunlop will provide a better balanced tyre with more grip and feel of the road due to its very slight softer compound and firmer walls.

Dunlop are the more sporty tyre of the Goodyear Dunlop group..

Has anyone actually read the link to Evo Mag tyre test I posted up which concludes the complete opposite of this? Loads of feel from the Goodyear (which wins test) and bugger all from the Dunlop which comes in near bottom.

[GP1]

Originally Posted by 850Chris

Has anyone actually read the link to Evo Mag tyre test I posted up which concludes the complete opposite of this? Loads of feel from the Goodyear (which wins test) and bugger all from the Dunlop which comes in near bottom.

Yes i read it, but having read other tyre test results I've seen the results not quite in that order, but that happens with every report.

As the ASY2 has a broken center block and softer walls compared the RT I bet Goodyear Dunlop are wondering how Evo they came by that result.

Both excellent tyres and I doubt anyone would really notice any difference between the two..

[v6en]

Got Eagle F1s on my T4. Probably the best ones I have tried and plan to use them again when the time comes.

Jacqueline

[DionBullock]

I had some Michelin Pilot Sport 3's on my V70 T5 before selling her and can honestly say they were really grippy in the wet and dry! But the MPG's did suffer slightly! Road noise as no better or worse than they cheapy tyres i had on before! Wear was excellent for a nose heavy FWD 250+bhp car though! I've had some cheaper make of tyres and you'd swear they were made out of chocolate!!

Not had any experience with dunlops or goodyear tbh

[Antz]

Neither. Toyo T1R's for me.

I ran Eagle F1's on my T4 for 2 years and whilst they were a great tyre, they didnt last very long (9k miles for me on all 4). Switched to Toyo T1R's which were cheaper, just as grippy and they have lasted twice as long as the Eagles.

[malteser]

Originally Posted by Antz

Neither. Toyo T1R's for me.

I ran Eagle F1's on my T4 for 2 years and whilst they were a great tyre, they didnt last very long (9k miles for me on all 4). Switched to Toyo T1R's which were cheaper, just as grippy and they have lasted twice as long as the Eagles.

Same as me Toyo T1R's all the way