Tyre thoughts

So the Yokohama S.Drives are proving to be great on my TF. Certainly handled the snow without a problem and the only place where there's ever a hint of them losing grip is on the wet and slippery spiral concrete ramp into the multi-storey car park at work and even that needs a bit of a heavy right foot

All the threads that seem to crop up on forums around tyres got me thinking and I'm wondering if some of the issues that people see are down to the two styles of tread pattern that tyres for the F/TF seem to fall into.

Because I don't know the technical terms I've called them blocks and sliced.
Blocks are tyres like my S.Drives where the tread pattern is like "normal" road tyres
Sliced are tyres like the T-1Rs where they look more like a slick with a tread pattern cut out

One big difference between the two types is that block tyres generally have one or more rings that travel around the whole circumference of the tyre, usually with tread depth blocks in them. I think these rings must help a lot in very wet or snowy conditions by helping to keep the tread clear. The disadvantage comes in warm, fast road or track conditions where the blocks will shift laterally under load meaning there is less outright grip than a sliced tyre.

All of this makes me think that a lot of the issues that people see when mixing tyres may not be down to just different tyres but more different tread styles. When I got the TF it has Continental SportContacts on the front (blocks) and Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3s (sliced) on the back. Now I know GSD3s are not recommended and so I was looking to change anyway but when the first heavy rains hit the handling became a little un-predictable.

What do you think? I'm just thinking that this may help people decide if they are just changing one pair of tyres.

I certainly think that is part of the problem.

The blockier tread is more like a snow tyre pattern and will probably perform better in those conditions.

The other main point people miss is that the F/TF needs a tyre with a stiffer than average sidewall. Especially with the 16" wheels.
Some tyres have this as standard, but with other makes this can only be obtained by getting the heavy duty/XL/reinforced sidewall version, as in the Toyos. Which is why I believe there tends to be different opinions on the Toyos.

The other way to ensure a stiffer sidewall is to specify the higher speed ratings. v,w,z ratings.

The S Drives were designed for the mx5 so probably fulfil these criteria.

To be honest, tyres are blamed for a lot of problems that can be attributed to other things.
Mainly piss-poor driving and suspension faults/poor vehicle maintenance.

I think a properly setup F/TF could tolerate most tyres. (Incidentally I have never, in 39 years of driving, had to 'bed in' tyres. These tales of having to drive several hundred miles before the tyres felt right, are just weird!)

The S.Drives that I've got are reinforced but I think the tyres themselves might be a bit more pliant that the Continental/Goodyear mix. Certainly the ride seems smoother with less crashing around which in turn actually helps the handling as the car is let likely to be upset mid-corner.

Tyre Manufacturers reccomend that tyres are "Run In" for a few hunderd miles to remove release agents and moulding spikes (nearly put that T#t word that changes to ball joints!) in fact most people dont bother. New tyres always seem to feel much better anyway, more tread, less stiff and a fresh balance. :whistle:

I do think that the TF benefits from a directional V tread and stiffer side walls in normal driving conditions, but obviously snow etc are not normal driving conditions. For that I have bought a blockier tread tyre....and put them on a Freelander, it seems a better setup.

As said, tyre manufacturers recommend a couple of hundred miles bedding in to remove release agents and generally roughnen up the smoothe surface of a new tyre. It my not be noticeable, but in the wet it may make a difference. I think it is more to do with them covering themselves and are basically saying give it a chance before complaining about the handling.

I also agree with the idea that handling problems are down to other problems. I have a rear offside wheel bearing with excessive play and it felt just like under inflated tyres. So much so that I checked the tyre pressures about 10 times.

I think Toyos are a godd tyre that are very precise, but this will show up any other problems. You may have had Yakamitchi remoulds on and the handling felt a little vague and thought "Oh, that'll be the tyres". You then fit Toyos and the handling feels the same or worse, so you think "What is all the hype about, these tyres feel the same as the remoulds". You are however driving around on loose wheel bearings, shot suspension bushes, seized calipers and suspension that has seen better days, but all you can think are "these tyres are crap".

Kinda Agree.... In the warm, sunny weather. Directional tyres / V-tread (call them what you like) are the better choice. You are sacrificing rotational grip at high torque in exchange for better grip in the corners under higher load.

However, the s.drives are effectively acting as snow tyres for you.... which is what you need. I drove through Rochdale way (A scary enough event by itself ) and after I got to the end of the M66 I might as well have been on slicks in the snow. Not a pleasant experience at if it wasnt 10pm I probably stopped at the next cr@p-fit and thrown on a set of 4 proper snow tyres.

You may find that back in the summer, the s.drives may not perform as well.

For me, when handling problems arise:

1. Tyre pressures (plus a little each way for testing)
2. Any wear issues?
3. Get suspension checked out for issues
4. 4-wheel laser alighment.