[WiltsPat]

Hi All

So its been a couple of months now since I took delivery of my new F55 and to be honest Im so happy with it I permanently look like I sleep with a coat hanger in my mouth

I have though what is a bit of a "first world" issue when it comes to the tires that shipped with the car. They are Michelin Primacy 3's and I am finding that if the roads are even slightly damp, with the insane amount of torque the car has, its really tough not to wheel spin through first second and third even when treating things pretty gently.

Does anyone have any opinions on these tires or suggestions for a better set?

Cheers

Pat

 

[Angib]

I've found for a long time that Michelins tend to have great wet grip if gently taken up to maximum loading, but if driven harshly they let go easily.

What size tyres have you got and what model F55? Nowadays the Cooper on 15" wheels must be be short of traction now that it's got a turbo with lots of low end grunt.

 

[WiltsPat]

Its a Cooper SD on 205/45/R17s

 

[jeremybingham]

Grippiest tyres I ever had were Bridgestone so2 ages ago now but they lasted minutes,michelins have a fantastic reputation for longevity so maybe that's the trade off? Not sure nowadays what's good but evo mag and auto express regularly test tyres with continental and goodyear always seeming to do well. ?might be worth a bit of googling?

 

[Hat]

Lik you say its down to the amount of torque the car has. Im having to feather my cooper s off roundabouts at the moment rather that nailing it or its just torque steering straight on

 

[WiltsPat]

Thanks, like I said "first world problem" oh woe is me my car is too torquey....

I just imagine how laary it would be if I could get all that power down, probably tear my face off lol

Cheers

P

 

[Angib]

On my second generation SD, it has a pretty sharp clutch, presumably as it must be a fairly sturdy item to cope with the torque. But no great trouble putting power down on the same size (Conti) tyres.

 

[lawrothegreat]

It's the same experience in the petrol MCS too. If you switch DSC off the car almost certainly will wheel spin in first, second and third gears, even in a straight line in the dry.


I've fitted Dunlop Wintersport 4Ds (same size) and this has made a difference in the cold and wet weather, but they become more impressive at lower temperatures.


Unfortunately you can't overcome the laws of physics; these are lightweight (not much weight over the front axle) front wheel drive cars. Unless you fit summer super slick tyres and drive in warm temperatures, I don't think that you'll overcome the issue.


This is what I'm going to do - winter tyres in the cold and summer tyres when it's warmer, keeping the other set spare.


When others speak of the latest crop of FWD hot hatches (Golf GTI, Seat Leon Capra 260/280s etc.) putting their power down well, I suspect that it's a case of modern traction control systems being very good and drivers not being aware of how much power is constantly being cut.


Good luck though - if anyone finds that magic tyre then I'm game.

 

[WiltsPat]

Cheers good to know it not just me being heavy footed

 

[jeremybingham]

That's what I do too, law, set of winter(hankook icepts) and set of summer, car came with Dunlop. As you say the only way you might get improvement is by fitting rd legal but really super soft track tyres like Tokyo or Yokohama do and t hEyre not great in the wet and probably won't last long. All good fun!

 

[Blat7Chris]

Thanks to the EU track day tyres are going through a bit of a revolution this year, you won't be able buy soft tyres anymore because they fail the EU labelling requirements. This is a real problem if you have a light weight car, like my Caterham, tyres are getting to hard :-(