telluride_tj Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 About 40% of my driving is on gravel, 55% tarmac, and 5% snow. What would be the best wearing/ best performing tire for this application? My RE92's have been totally trashed by the gravel. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Silver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 you might want to get some gravel tires or something.. Falken, Yokohama, Michelin, and Bridgestone the companies you should look into for some gravel tires.. it's just going to be LOUD when you drive on the street. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telluride_tj Posted November 4, 2005 Author Share Posted November 4, 2005 Do you know of any gravel tires that actually perform well on the street? I still want decent handling on tarmac. BTW- what type of tires do the rally cars use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 you can try the Hankook Ventus R20 series (201 to 204) to fit your needs..although I dont know which one fits your needs the best (or even make them in 17" sizes for that matter). Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nKoan Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Do you know of any gravel tires that actually perform well on the street? I still want decent handling on tarmac. BTW- what type of tires do the rally cars use? The use different tires for different surfaces. They don't use the same tire on both surfaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Do you know of any gravel tires that actually perform well on the street? I still want decent handling on tarmac. BTW- what type of tires do the rally cars use? The problem is that most true gravel tires are designed with 15" rims (in case the tires digs itself into the gravel and not damage the rim).. the larger sidewall is there to add more suspension compliance to the whole car. what kind of gravel are you running on??? You'll get a lot of noise on the street when using gravel, and the tire isn't going to be all that great for road use.. Many of the rally car use the tire companies I listed above. Most of them are race gravel tires. I think because you are limited to using only 17" rims, you might want to consider swapping out the brakes for a 2.5i and use 16" rims which can help broaden your tire choices and such. You'll have to look for an all-season tire that has a lot of small tread blocks.. a winter tire maybe another solution for you as well and go with a taller tire (such as 215/50/17 for your stock 17" rims or a 205/60/16 if you opt to do the brake swap and run 16" rims).. 205/55/16 tires (WRX size) is a decent size to use as well for the 16" rim. It's something you'll have to think about. The GT with the 17" rims is not meant for constant gravel roads, the car is designed for tarmac use or dirt paths. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 The use different tires for different surfaces. They don't use the same tire on both surfaces. Dont forget that some rally stages have mixed conditions.. so in a way, the rally team has to pick the right tires to use. Typically, the softer the condition, the softer the the tire (except for ice where that's a whole different type of racing that I am not familar with). Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nKoan Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Dont forget that some rally stages have mixed conditions.. so in a way, the rally team has to pick the right tires to use. Typically, the softer the condition, the softer the the tire (except for ice where that's a whole different type of racing that I am not familar with). True, but I believe the modern rules (at least for the WRC) state that the overall mileage of an event must be 90-95% one surface or the other. The stages that transition from one surface to the next rarely last for long on the second surface type. So typically, the mixed surface doesn't affect tire choice too much. Maybe a little, but not much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 wait when the conditions of the day of rain turn dirt into mud, and gravel into soft gravel, and sometimes, tarmac into ice due to the cold weather.. that's when things get annoying.. and unlike us, the WRC teams have a pit crew to change tires between stages or at least have plenty of tires to choose from to fit the conditions. We only get one shot at the weather so whatever we run gotta work for us for a lot of various conditions. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 you might want to try the Hankook Ventus IceBear W300s http://www.hankooktireusa.com/pdf/uploads/W300.pdf they should be good for you for tarmac and gravel... Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nKoan Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 wait when the conditions of the day of rain turn dirt into mud, and gravel into soft gravel, and sometimes, tarmac into ice due to the cold weather.. that's when things get annoying.. and unlike us, the WRC teams have a pit crew to change tires between stages or at least have plenty of tires to choose from to fit the conditions. We only get one shot at the weather so whatever we run gotta work for us for a lot of various conditions. True. I was solely answering his question on what rally cars use, not offering any advice on what he should use. If I were to hazard a guess (which I don't know much about, sorry) I'd go for a hard compound snow tire. One that won't wear bad in the summer heat on tarmac, but will still have the blocks and compounds for gravel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Nokian WR's have a M&S rating. I would think they would be a good choice, but don't know how well that transmits to gravel performance. The Vredestein WinTrac Xtreme might be a good choice too. The tread design has some squarishness to it, which should be good for gravel http://www.vredestein.com/images/product_wintracXtreme.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telluride_tj Posted November 4, 2005 Author Share Posted November 4, 2005 Thanks for all the great advice so far. The gravel I drive on is a combo of dirt/gravel. It's a county road and private subdivision road that leads up to my house in the mountains, so there is a wide variety of surface conditions. Occasionally I have to deal with snow too, so I'm looking for the best all-around compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 You should check out Nokian WRs. I remember reading some user feedback about them being really good on gravel. And they are very good on other surfaces as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_j Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Nokian WR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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