Re 55s

[grepin]

1. Anyone recommend a better tyre than the Re55s for the same type. Like the Yoko A032s. Dont care about wear. Have used RE540s on the back which are due for replacement.

2. What are peoples opinions on having the REs on the front ie do they tram line a lot, or dangerous in the wet for steering. I know these tyres are no good for the wet and I dont use my car in the wet.

3. Is it advantages to have the same tyres all round? I currently have a missmatch of REs rear and normal front. Thinking of REs all round. By normal I mean a good quality non semi slick. Currently T1s.

Thanks.

[Duncan]

1. No, they are the best semi slicks I have used. Possibly Dunlop DZ02G may be as good. Yoko A032R are a second or two worse, except perhaps in the wet.

2. Yep like buggery, all the time, in my experience all semi slicks do, maybe its to do with the stiff sidewall. I don't beleive they are dangerous as such in the wet but you have to be aware that their tread can very quickly wear to a point where they have no wet grip. When they have tread they are not so bad.

3. Possibly, I personally would look for the best grip I can get all round. If by normal you mean street tyres, yes absolutely. At the limit a skyline understeers its front end grip you need

[wilzlee]

I've am currently using the RE 55s for my rear 18" 265/35 and Pirelli P7000 for the front 18" 235/40.... not a problem at all... it lasted me for 3months.... i drive my car everyday and everywhere, didnt have any problem, good for cornering with the stiff sidewalls....... i will definitely buy the RE 55s again.....

[Ronin 09]

my 2c...

The car was designed with a 'matching' tyres front to rear in mind. In matching i mean either 4 road tyres (or similar tread / limits) or 4 semi slicks. I don't understand why you would upset the balance of the front to rear grip by putting a set of semis on the front or rear, and roadies at the opposite end.

wilzlee you even mentioned it yourself - semis have much stiffer sidewalls than road tyres, so that alone can affect the way the car handles, and feels at the limit.

OK so if you say you need more rear traction and put semis on the back, I think the problem is not the tyres but the way you drive. Learn throttle control. You don't see race teams running a wet in the front and a dry in the rear (for example, forgetting about compounds) to promote better front grip - it is a geometry or suspension problem.

A car with sorted suspension and matching tread / compound tyres front to rear will be much more enjoyable to drive than a mis-matched combo.

grepin i'm running 225/50/16 RE55s all round, and they're pretty good. As long as you respect them in the wet, they'll be ok and not try and kill you. I found the worst part of them in the wet is hard braking... they will lock up and slide alot faster than a roadie.

They don't tramline too badly, but i'm running 225s... if you go wider they are alot worse. In terms of front to rear, different tread patterns - like i said above, the best to worst scenario is:

1. front and rear same semis

2. front and rear different tread semis of same compound

3. front and rear same roadies

4. front and rear different tread roadies of similar tread / compound

5. mis-matched front to rear semis / roadies

[Snowman]

My opinions as I use the RE55's.

1. I've never used them myself but I believe the Dunlop DZ02G's are supposed to be as good - but cost nearly twice the price. The Advans definitely aren't as grippy.

2. The tramline EVERYTHING. Drives me crackers at times! LOL. I've never had any issues with them in the wet.

3. I recently ran with the RE55's on the fronts and some Advan A048's on the rear - thinking oversteer at Sandown would be better than understeer. Was a pain in the ass with the different compounds as the car just wasnt balanced. Would have been better with both front and back on the Advans than trying to put the better compund just on one end.

[wilzlee]

The impression i had before was getting a pair of RE55s for the rear mainly because when a rwd takes on a faster corner, the tail tends to slide out, and i thought that the semis can help a lil more by keeping the tail 'IN'. note taken ronin... =) i shall purchase all 4 semis next.... keep it balanced......

[Ronin 09]

The impression i had before was getting a pair of RE55s for the rear mainly because when a rwd takes on a faster corner, the tail tends to slide out, and i thought that the semis can help a lil more by keeping the tail 'IN'. note taken ronin... =) i shall purchase all 4 semis next.... keep it balanced......

sorry mate, I got a bit excited there... but yeah, set up the suspension, bars etc. and you'll love it even more

[Duncan]

well, personally I think skylines run out of front grip first when driven hard, like most cars these days...if you are get oversteer or wheelsping thru the corners maybe some throttle control practice would be cheaper than good tyres.

[Abo Bob]

I was sitting here nodding my head to that Duncan but then I thought; Ok the easy answer is a poofteenth less throttle and your oversteer will go away, but, that's basically saying drive around the track slower and you wont have grip problems.

It seems to me that you want your car to be neutral in regards to under/oversteer.

Wilzlee - Isn't the whole 'rwd's oversteer in fast corners' a bit of an outdated stereotype? Steering and suspension in modern cars has come a long way since that was necessarily the case.

My car has stock suspension still and I have always had the same tyres front and back. It is completely neutral as Duncan can attest to as he has seen me 4 wheel drift the last turn at wakefield before the straight.

Just my 2c.

[Duncan]

Ahhh well if we want to be technical about it, a car *never* oversteers from going to fast unless there is actually less grip at the rear.

So excluding what you do with your foot in a RWD car, or weight shifting by braking or lifting off, or some weird setup where you have worse or narrower tyres at the rear....the front end will slide first.

Makes sense when you think about it, if grip levels are equal the front gets there first and slides first.

If you are getting oversteer before understeer you:

1) Have a poor suspension setup or

2) Crap back tyres

3) Poor technique...braking *too hard* into the apex of the corner, backing off throttle suddenly or getting on the throttle suddenly.

Driving more "smoothly" will almost always eliminate oversteer....brake in a straight line (about 80%)....trail brake into the corner smoothly (no sudden change in brake)....accelerate smoothly out of the corner (no sudden change in throttle)

Quite apart from all that, manufacturers all build understeer into suspension these days so ham fisted drivers dont get snap oversteer and kill themselves....natural reaction when loosing control is lift off or brake suddenly, with an oversteer prone setup you then spin...if you keep understeering by design at least you will see what you hit and have the crumple zones and airbags to save you