Tyre options & prices

[DaveTrees]

Now that i have bitten the bullet & bought a "proper" rally car after 20+ years in the left hand seat, I need to source some tyres for it.

Car is a '74 Galant in HRC2 spec (ie. pretty stock & not much hp - but very lightweight). Running 14" wheels.

Advice from Dinta Officer is that 175/65x14 is the right size (it's what he runs on his Galant, so who am I to argue!)

Have been doing some shopping around, and options seem to be :

• Silverstone S55* ~$195 each
• Dunlop SP73/SP85 front/rear combo ~$195 each
• Kumho R700 or R800 ~$200 each
• Bridgestone RE460 or RE470 ... waiting on a price (although there are new RE470s on eBay at the moment for $250 a pair)

Any other options I have missed ?

While the Dunlop combo seems to probably be the ideal setup I am a bit wary of running different front/rear tyres due to the hassle of spares etc. Same with L/R handed tyres like the RE470.

Only looking at doing club-level stuff + the Alpine at end of year. In the "grip vs. life" equation I would probably err on the side of getting more kms out of them .... I'm not going to be setting the world on fire speed-wise!

Any thoughts / opinions from those with more experience than me very welcome ....

Dave

*car came with a virtually brand new pair of these ... in soft compound so probably only an option for the front

[afifield]

RE460 are no longer available as far as I know. They would have been by far the hardest compound of what you have suggested.

RE470 would probably be too soft for you. Also, they're a left/right pattern, and seem to be nowhere near as good if you do swap sides.

I'm finding that the SP85 works very well on the rear, and I'm getting reasonable life out of them. I haven't used them as a steer tyre (I use 73s on the front), but other people (Hills senior on the BDA is one) seem to use them with success.

I haven't used the Kumho or Silverstone, but Kumho seem to be a copy of the Bridgestones (RE46 and RE470 in recent versions). The later Kumho is also a left/right pattern.

I think the later versions of Yokohama are also left/right pattern, but the A035 wasn't. I think the A035 had some issues with traction in the wet, but that's a distant memory of other people using them.

It's also worth considering the construction. I haven't had a flat at all with Dunlops (and I've had bent/broken rims, but that's a tube/no tube argument). I have had a couple of flats with the earlier Bridgestones, but the 470s weren't on the car long enough to get an indication (approx 35km per pair).

My recommendation would be SP85 front and rear if you're worried about spares and being able to swap them left-to-right.

[Spac]

SP85 for all-round traction and durability.

The Yokie AO35s and (I believe) the closed-pattern Kumhos are arguably superior on dry/hard pack, but significantly less-good in the wet.

The Silverstone S55s aren't a bad tyre, but they're (at least) a full generation older than the Dunlops, so would need to be significantly cheaper than the SP85s to be worth considering.

Might be worth pricing the Dunlops interstate and/or asking for a cash price too.

The "To run 73s or 85s on the front?" question can only be answered by trying the 73s on the front. The only car I've owned that I preferred to not run steer tyres on, is the Volvo.
My RX-7 was HEAPS better on steers, but Jenny tried both and prefers to run non-steers on her RX-7... Its personal preference.

Basically speaking: the main difference is that steer tyres give you better initial turn-in, but at the expense of mid corner grip. In a RWD car, if you've got grunt and/or commitment that you're more likely to want steers, I reckon.

[DaveTrees]

Originally Posted by Spac

if you've got grunt and/or commitment that you're more likely to want steers

I have neither ....

Dave Burn runs S55s on his Galant & is pretty happy (& competitive) with them ... although currently in short supply at the moment, according to Ian Crook. (He does have some "hards" in stock - they would probably last forever on my car !)

The RE460 is still listed on Bridgestone website ... will have to see what the dealer comes back to me with.

Thanks for the input people .... will keep shopping.

[truessman]

From what I hear, it's going to be worthwhile to stock up on tyres early this year because prices on imported tyres are sky-rocketing... I can't see why race tyres will be an exception, in fact rumour has it that a certain well known brand that supplies a certain well known roundy roundy series is asking for a cost price increase of almost 45% !!

FWIW I run the Dunlop SP73 / 85 combo - previously used the Silverstone. I found the Dunlops a lot grippier, but also a lot softer. In AutoX events, the Dunlops are quickly destroyed - but in rallies have given fairly good life (and grip).

(2L Datsun Stanza)

[Kaptainballistik]

Yoko's are not the best in the mud, Due to the tread size (Tight block pattern) and we are talking Batemans bay this year stuff..

Will work in the damp when new. Also they run at a lower slip angle than the Dunlops (So less sideways action).

Depends on what you want really

[DaveTrees]

Originally Posted by DaveTrees

The RE460 is still listed on Bridgestone website ...

On another look at their website, they do seem to have been discontinued ...

The RE470R is only listed in 15" too ... so the 14" ones on eBay must be superseded stock or something.

RRPs are ~$260 each

[gslrallysport]

We ran back to back the Dunlop SP85-R and Kumho R800 this year in a couple of events, and for me personally it was the Kumho...

I did however buy a tyre groover, and put a light steer and traction groove in (you can get the cut guide from Kumho), and it made a heap of difference as the Kumho, like the Yoko is quite a closed pattern.

One thing I will give the Dunlop is that it remains grippy long after the blocks are shagged, so generates more of it's grip from the actual compound and less from the shape, but it made bugger all difference as we were getting about double the life out of the Kumho's anyway.

I've now run the Yoko A035, Dunlop SP85R, and Kumho R800, and if I had to buy an entire season's worth of tyres in one hit, right now, I'd take the R800, but only because I've got the option of opening them up with the cutter, for loose and/or wet. Otherwise, it'd be the Dunlop if you can afford to go through the tyres a heap quicker...

To me the cutter was less than a set of tyres, so although alot of people see a cutter as wanky, to me it gave me a second tyre option, without the cost of a second set of tyres, and is something I have for ever now, unlike a second set of tyres...

[fro]

It'll be interesting to see if your opinion changes, Greg, with more cooler weather events? Did you use the Kumho's down in Victoria? What was the temperature like when you were competing down south?

[gslrallysport]

Ah, dunno, but it wasn't really that cold at Akademos. But we had a couple of pretty cold events this year in QLD (sort off...) one of our rounds was in northern NSW (Urbenville, very close to WRC land) and it was pretty close to zero in August in the morning... and was our best result for the year, with 5th outright QRC...

We actually ran the hard compound all year, although there is a medium available even in 13". Again, as alot of people are, dollar wise I just had to lean towards what would last the longest, but even at Urbenville I didn't seem to have any problems getting heat into the hards...

In Victoria we only ran the Dunlops, simply because of, 'when in rome...', but I really wished we'd done one loop of stages on the Kumho's, because I reckon we also lost ALOT in the gearing... The Kumho's we ran on the Excel are 175/70, whereas the Dunlop's everyone runs are 185/70, and are about 3cm taller side by side... which is huge!

[jyj003]

Dave
Gerry and I ran sp85 dunlops in the RCGCT as well as all the rallys in the Escort back to the Alpine in 2003. and they have been great, never (touch wood) got a flat. On the Cortina I run the Bridgestone RE46's. Bought the last 10 from Craig, prior to the alpine last year and they have been pretty good for that and the BP, mind you the cortina is no powerhouse!
cheers
Ted

[DaveTrees]

Originally Posted by jyj003

On the Cortina I run the Bridgestone RE46's

In 13" I assume ?

[truessman]

Originally Posted by DaveTrees

On another look at their website, they do seem to have been discontinued ...

The RE470R is only listed in 15" too ... so the 14" ones on eBay must be superseded stock or something.

RRPs are ~$260 each

I couldn't resist the Ebay 'bargains' for the RE470s, so bought some. FWIW - the RE470 is a much tighter pattern than the Dunlop 85s - so perfect for Victoria where it no longer rains.

The reason they are cheap is they are old stock (and as you say probably also superseded).... Date of manufacture is anywhere between 2004 and 2006.

I haven't had a chance to measure tread hardness yet - but I'm guessing if they started life as softs, they are now medium-well done.

They still have heaps of tyres left in stock (and some tarmac rally tyres too.)

[DaveTrees]

Originally Posted by truessman

I couldn't resist the Ebay 'bargains' for the RE470s, so bought some. FWIW - the RE470 is a much tighter pattern than the Dunlop 85s - so perfect for Victoria where it no longer rains.

The reason they are cheap is they are old stock (and as you say probably also superseded).... Date of manufacture is anywhere between 2004 and 2006.

I haven't had a chance to measure tread hardness yet - but I'm guessing if they started life as softs, they are now medium-well done.

They still have heaps of tyres left in stock (and some tarmac rally tyres too.)

I have done the same ... at that price I bought 4.

Spoke to them, and the RE470 only comes in one compound ... a med/soft.

They will do me for what I need.