Tire Recommendations

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 01 Dec 2017, 13:26

Any suggestions for tire recommendations for a P80? I'm shopping around for my T5R and I thought we used to have a thread on tires here but I can't seem to find it. I'm particularity interested in tires with strong sidewalls. I don't know why but every tire I've used so far bulges like crazy on the front wheels. It makes it look like the front tires are under-inflated when they're not.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Post by **shaker_chi** » 01 Dec 2017, 14:04

Polska,

I used to mount tires for Sam's Club back in the 90's At that time Pirelli by far had the strongest sidewall you could buy. I'm not sure how they are today. Back then we could easily bend the sidewalls of Michelin by hand, not so much with the Pirelli's though.

Post by **JRL** » 01 Dec 2017, 14:19

16 or 17"? What size tire

Post by **June** » 01 Dec 2017, 14:44

My T5R came with Pirelli from the factory. It rode harshly. June

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 01 Dec 2017, 15:21

JRL wrote: ↑01 Dec 2017, 14:19 16 or 17"? What size tire

Good question, my bad. 16"

Post by **erikv11** » 01 Dec 2017, 23:24

I've got 205-55-16 Pirelli Cinturato all season plus on my T5R. V rated. Going on 2-1/2 years now and I like them.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 02 Dec 2017, 00:11

They look good on the front wheels? No excessive bulging from the sidewalls?

Post by **erikv11** » 02 Dec 2017, 12:55

I texted you some pics. What do you think, too much curve for you or OK? I wonder if you would be happier with 205-50-16, a few tires you can still get in that size.

Post by **mrbrian200** » 02 Dec 2017, 14:43

Pirelli P7 LRRs are an excellent stiff wall tire. I have them on my P2. Be aware the suspension (specifically the shocks/struts) on our cars wasn't originally designed for stiff wall tires. They were designed for softer tires to soak up smaller bumps and cracks in the road. So if you put a stiff sidewall tire on these you'll really feel it. You may or may not like it. Lowering the tire pressure helps with this, but sort of negates the reasons for installing stiff wall tires to begin with and may damage the tire as they're really meant to be run at 32psi and up.
When the Pirellis wear out in another year or two I'm probably going to try something else. Though steering response and cornering is stellar, the harsh ride quality on rough pavement gets a little tiresome on a long drive with the Pirellis. I've researched (actually Tire Rack researched) a tire made by General that appears to be a 'not quite so stiff LRR' that tests as good for MPG as the Pirellis. But until I have a set on my own car I can't really vouch for their overall performance/handling.

Post by **scot850** » 02 Dec 2017, 17:27

I run my tires at 36psi front and back or I get the tires wearing in the middle (maybe being at 3500 ft?) (on P80's).

I have 17" Pirelli's on my car (225/45/17) and they are a little noisy I find. Only done a couple of thousand km so far, but wear is ok.

Personally I like Toyo tires for all seasons. Generally find them good all around. Hate Kuhmo, noisy, cheap and poor wear/grip.

Michelin are ok, but I find they have soft sidewalls.

I have Continentals on our 00 V70 base in 205/55/16 size. Also have Conti's on our 06 XC70. Find them noisy too.

Neil.