185/60/14 suggestions?

Badcat · Post by **Badcat** » Mon May 26, 2008 3:16 pm

hello!
i'm resurrecting my beloved 89 mx5 with konis, hard springs, all the braces top and bottom and volk 14" rims.
it has old some toyo FM39 tyres that need replacing.
what's the current sticky 186/60/14 in favour?
it's not a track car - just a weekend plaything.

ken

Badcat · Post by **Badcat** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:44 am

tyres are toyo FM9R
i'm thinking of the bridgestone adrenalin - but want something soft and made for a light car. wet performance is an issue too though..
any suggestions?

ken

emexfive · Post by **emexfive** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:16 pm

Me too!!!

I need a nice set of rubber in 185/60/14 as well.

My local Tony's tire has suggested Bridgestone Grid 3 or Yokohama A-Drive. But I don't know a thing about either one of those. Both are reasonably priced, $180, $140 respectively.

Opinions on those and suggestions for others welcome.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:42 pm

I paid $150.00 fitted and balanced at Firestone a few months ago for
Bridgestone G3s. I've been happy with them for some years now for on the
road driving on my NA then NB.

Grant.

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:53 pm

A drives are a granny tyre. they are not a performance tyre by any stretch of the imagination. Grid 3's are waaay to hard riding IMO so its a pitty they dont make t1r in 185/60/14

emexfive · Post by **emexfive** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 12:14 am

T1R's are available in 195/55-14's in the USA, but Tony's tires in Kilbirnie says they are not available (at least to them). There is performance shop in Wellington that said they could get T1-Rs in the stock size, but perhaps they meant the 195/55-14. Not cheap at "about a grand" for a set. I was hoping to pay a lot less. I got a set for my old $90 Civic (195/50-15) for less than $400 US not long ago.

I don't mind a firm ride, perhaps the Grid 3's would be fine. If I had a complaint about the T1Rs it would be the soft sidewalls. I don't see any info on the Grid 3's online anywhere, Bridgestone.co.nz is not that great a site.

I sent an email to Yokohama about asking if they had a AVS ES100 equivalent since those are popular back home. They said the A-drive is comparable in performance, but just don't have the sporty looking tread. I have my doubts. There is also the A-Drive R1 with a sportier looking tread, not sure if there's any other difference. I think They also mentioned the C-drive as on par with the ES100s/A-Drive but with asymetric tread.

Here's a list I just made from searching online on various tire makers .co.nz sites (funny that the dealer said there were not many performance tires in 14", seems there's more than a couple):

Toyo:
T1R 195/55VR14
http://www.toyo.co.nz/tyres.php?Category=UHP

Yokohama:
A048 185/60R14
C.drive 185/60R14
A.drive 185/60R14
http://www.yokohama.co.nz/availability_chart1.html

Dunlop:
SP Sport 01 in 185/55R14
Formula FM 901 in 195/60R14
Direzza DZ101 185/60R14
http://www.dunlop.co.nz/tyres.aspx?tyre ... #TyreSpecs

Goodyear:
Excellence: 185/60R14
Eagle NCT 5: 185/60R14
http://www.goodyear.co.nz/tyres.asp?id=1#Specs

Bridgestone (very poor info online perhaps one of these):
Potenza S01
Potenza S02
Potenza S03
Potenza RE-01R (not likely in 14" and probably too expensive)

I don't need a race tire, but I do like a good grippy tire. I'd love to find a dealer that could look into a variety of options, not just steer me to their favorite brand, but I may just be over thinking this.

emexfive · Post by **emexfive** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:29 am

Antoher brand,

Pirelli:
P Zero Dragon 185/60R14
P 6 185/60R14

Paul Murray · Post by **Paul Murray** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:03 am

I changed from Bridgestone GIII's to the Dunlop Direzza DZ101's initially due to a better price deal at the time. Personally I have found the Direzza to give a better feel in the wet. There probably isn't much between them but in my experience both brands handle well. Usually get 35-38k before replacement required. Use my car daily, motorway, around town and good country road trips on a regular basis just for the share pleasure of the cornering ability, grip and top down motoring.

Post by **zorruno** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:13 am

emexfive wrote:I don't mind a firm ride, perhaps the Grid 3's would be fine.

Can't really compare to much else as I have mainly had bridgestone tyres on my cars (710, 711, GII, GIII... and oem 030, ER300 on OTMs ) I do think they GIIIs are maybe a hit harder riding than the earlier models, but I do run a lower pressure in the GIIIs than I did in the 710/11s in the MX5 which seems to be much better.

emexfive wrote:I don't see any info on the Grid 3's online anywhere, Bridgestone.co.nz is not that great a site.

Probably because the GIIIs are pretty much on their way out & Adrenalins will be the only choice:
http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/gIII.aspx

Gravelben · Post by **Gravelben** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:25 pm

Seeing as we're talking about tyres, does anyone have a favourite tyre for lower-speed hooliganism? Something progressive and predictable but without too much outright grip, hardwearing enough that you can slide it around all day without wearing the things out too much.

Mine has Dunlop Le Mans LM600's on it at the moment which handle ok, but I've taken the rears from 7mm to <3mm tread in ~10k km since getting the car in March and figure something a bit harder might endure the gravelbashing a bit better...

poison · Post by **poison** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:48 pm

Let me think, something with long life… predictable, progressive.. of course it has to be anything from Firestone…..

Certainly long life, I think they may even be made of teflon J, they are predictable… with marginal grip in the dry and no grip in the wet; and progressive.. from standstill to moving they progress from grip to no grip… the clear choice is of course

Gravelben · Post by **Gravelben** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:03 pm

I was actually quite happy with Firestones on one of my old Legacies, TZ100's iirc. They gripped well enough dry or wet for a cheapish ($130/corner for 195/60R15) normal tyre. The GTB has 215/45ZR17 Goodyear Eagle F1s on it which are pretty sticky but haven't had it long enough to comment on wear. They probably don't make them in a 14" anyway.

emexfive · Post by **emexfive** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 5:42 pm

I just got this from email Bridgestone (look like interesting stuff coming up, nothing in time for my Xmas deadline.):

Hi there,
Thanks for your inquiry. Yes the Bridgestone website is a little scant on information presently but it is about to undergo a major upgrade. More product info is available on our Firestone retail site. Please follow the link below for info on the Potenza G3.

http://www.firestone.co.nz/index.php/ty ... l/id/73726

We will be replacing this with RE001 Adrenalin in early 2009 in this size.

http://www.potenza-adrenalin.com/

We also have the 185/55R14 RE01 (not RE01R) arriving in Feb.

We are introducing the RE11 (RE01R successor) in a small size range in March 09. Nothing in 14” at this stage, but it could be considered if there was some demand. It would be good to get some feedback from MX-5 owners in terms of interest in the 185/60R14 size.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any other information I might be able to assist with.

Kind regards

emexfive · Post by **emexfive** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 5:53 pm

If you could get 185/60-14 GIIIs for $720 installed or 195/55-14 T1Rs for $1000 what would you folks get? I'll have to get some pricing on the Direzzas too.

I wonder how long a set of A048s would last on the street and how deadly they'd be in the wet? (Joking, no way I'd get those for a stock MX-5 on the street!)

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:30 am

I would never buy from Yokohama again, as they pretty much lie about thier tyres capabilities and specs. we bought some C-Drives for our mondeo as they were supposed to be a long lasting "touring" tyre. well they are just about SHOT with only 25,000km on them and i am PI$$ED OFF about that as they were over $220 a tyre. if i wanted crap mileage i would have just got some T1R's and saved $$$$ and had better grip to boot.

so the next set on the mondy will be cheap ass nexens or similar for wifey to run around town on.

graynz · Post by **graynz** » Sun May 17, 2009 6:54 pm

I've just put 4 185/60/14 'Toyo teo plus' tyres on my stock NA. First thing I noticed was the quiet,... They are sooo much quieter than my previous tyres ( can't remember name/made in Holland). They seem to perform well in wet and dry conditions. A good all rounder. Suits me anyway. They were $145 each fitted @ Firestone, so I got them elsewhere at $125. each ....

WideOpenThrottle · Post by **WideOpenThrottle** » Wed May 20, 2009 5:12 pm

Those noisy Dutch tyres are probably the "CLOG" brand!

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Sun May 31, 2009 10:09 pm

my mum just put Toyo teo plus on her '06 Fiesta in 195/50/15 size after i did some research for her, and she is very happy with them. much better ride and noise than the bridgestones(surprise surprise) and i took them for a spin up our road and they seem very good .

Sugoi · Post by **Sugoi** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:25 pm

Thought I would add to this thread as I am on the lookout for new rear tyres for a 1992 MX-5, with the 1.6 litre engine.

Current options under consideration are...
Hankook K 415
Yokohama A-Drive
Pirelli P6

Any comments as to which one would be the better option, or other better choices? - not a track car, just one we use on long trips and around town.

I enquired about the Pirelli Dragon, just because I liked the look of it, apparently not legal on NZL roads so they do not bring it in!

I was also wondering about size, should I stick with the stock 185/60R14 or look at going up to a 195/60R14? Any pros/cons with doing that? (Just noticed tyres actually on it are 185/65R14, but the door says they should be 185/60R14.)

Any comments appreciated.

RIM · Post by **RIM** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:30 pm

I'm on my second Altezza and have had GOODYEAR F1, FULDA EXCELEROS,AND C DRIVES.I've recently fitted TOYO TEO PLUS (about 5000 k's ago) FANTASTIC! Quiet and excellent ride quality.
I've just bought a 1990 MX5 fitted with G3's (195/50 x 15).Hard as boards!
I'll be changing to TOYO TEO'S (possibly going back to 185/60 x 14)