My (sleep deprived) wife left the garage door open overnight last weekend and some pikey thoughtfully decided that it was time for some of my stuff to be upgraded by the insurance company - including my second set of wheels!
They were fitted with Toyo R1Rs, which I understand are now very hard to get hold of as they have been discontinued. I thought they were generally great tyres for road use and a couple of trackdays during the greasier winter months, although they seemed to be hard to get 100% balanced. What else are people using at the moment? Toyo don’t seem to have a replacement for the R1R, so I’m leaning towards Michelin PS3s - been very happy using them on a megane 250 and a golf GTI but those are much heavier cars. I’m having to run my summer wheels with AO48s on at the moment but it’s getting to the time of year where I’m not happy to continue to do this.
I used proper winter tyres on my GP2 last year, even though we got no snow they were brilliant in the cold and wet winter we did have. I had Yokohama W drive tyres and also have Nokian for the Q3.
I would however not use them in the summer I think they would melt, they were very soft indeed!
Thanks Ade. I’m not convinced proper winter tyres would stand up too well to a trackday, although I’d put them on a daily driver if I was doing a lot of mileage.
If it’s icy as hell or merely very cold and raining then winters will be great for about one or two laps but that’s it. On the road, they are fine. I have a minimally worn set in the shed that I’m unlikely to use again if anyone’s interested. Sottozero rears, Snowsport fronts. Good for mountain runs in the snow flashing the lights at jeeps and pickups to get them out of the way.
Maybe I should clarify my original post. I’m not looking to fit full winter tyres onto the Exige. What I’m looking for are some suggestions as to alternatives to the Toyo R1-Rs which I’ve previously been running as I understand that it’s no longer possible to find these. Clearly these would be considered summer tyres for most cars, but I’ve got a set of AO48s already which take that role - perhaps I should just give Dave a call as I need to get the second set of wheels shortly anyway…
