I've gone from using shitty tyres to awsome ones and have always wondered what actually makes some better then others. Is it the pattern or the type or rubber they use? Or a combo of both? (Obviously the amount of tred helps, so we'll assume new tyres and same width, size, etc)

And also do tyre companys copyright their specific pattern? What's stopping one company just making exact copy's of another companys already proven patterns?

regarding your question about copyright i have tyre on my calais that are copies of extreamly expensive tyres.
Tyre rubber grades do vary some though, performance or longevity??

_________________
Cooper S Mk 2

Yes to all of the above

and tyre walls too. Profile & stiffness are V.Important for handling.
Manufacturers spend millions each year on development & research.

_________________
Too many cars, and too little time.

Are they as good as the extremely expensive ones?

Not usually, they cut costs on the quality of rubber.

Here's a question: The tyres that claim less rolling resistance, are they better than regular tyres? I'd have thought you'd want some amount of it for stopping purposes.

Low rolling resistance tyres are a balance between hardness/low loss
and braking/cornering grip.

To me, they feel like driving on those super hard cheepo retreads (which I always used to buy)

_________________
Too many cars, and too little time.

Everything is a compromise you can have tires that stick like glue but wear out fast or tires that last for ages but are not much fun in the twisties.

It basically all comes down to the rubber compound. Yes the tread patteren and the tire profile and the tire pressures and the temperatures and, and and - they all play a part, but bottom line is what the tire is made of - the qualities of this particular rubber compound that will determine how well it "sticks" to the road.

So it all comes down to what is important to you, and like everything in life you can't have the best of both worlds [like super sticky tread that never wears out!] but you have to choose the qualities in a tire that are of more importance to you - performance or ecconomy.

Cheers Dat

Preformance! YAAAAAHHH!!! When ya go to Mallala, tip it into turn one, flat in fourth, 110km/h, and tell me thats not fun! I like my A539s.

I like sticky tires. Always have. I had a Honda with nice suspension, biggish wheels, etc. I thought my Goodyear Eagle F1s were good, and they had a really stiff sidewall. That was, until i bought some of the new Dunlop SP3000As. They were designed for the then new BA XR6/8 brigade.

The Dunlops had a much softer sidewall and were a smoother ride, scrubbed less on the edges, were quieter (Non-Directional Assymetrical pattern, not stupid Symetrical. They look good, but you can't rotate them properly.) And they were far better in the wet.

And the best thing? $70 cheaper. Still $210 each, though

_________________
Cheap, Fast, Reliable. Choose two.

the bridges went ok for the track day

i will proberley get some falkens though for the next one

_________________
Current Ride : Toyota Trueno AE86

mini parts for sale http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42247

And why would you want to buy rubbish tyres for? They are nearly as bad as Sime tyres.

_________________
Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

becaus i need them for road use as well as track
they are better than bridges

yoko's iam told are sh#t for the wet but good in the dry

_________________
Current Ride : Toyota Trueno AE86

mini parts for sale http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42247

The construction will make a lot of differance and you can expect in general purpose tyres they represent performance tyres of 10 years ago. The carcus of the tyre have evolved from ply basic to steel cord imbeded to rayon and kevlar. The "rubber" that really hasnt got any rubber in it, is a mix of carbon, plastics, silicon, oil, (rubber small amounts) soon to arrive in hydroscopic granules that swell with water and give increasing softness during wet periods. Tread is a playground for every new mechanical and hydrolic engineer. As tyres are new and have full block height, the loading of the block can give rather dramatic defelection effects reducing dry performance effectiveness but the good part is new treads disburse water very efficiently giving good wet weather performance. Now we see changing tred patterns vs wear and profiled sides on tred blocks.

Your choice on tyre selection should consider your driving style and if your current tyres do not perform well enough or to well. If you road drive and enjoy a few twisty roads then maybe a semi race soft compound tyre will not suit your additional expectation of 40K wear life.

I always look at what new tyres have been made by new tyre companies to the 10" market. Your know they will be using modern techniques and materials and generally have done extensive testing to protect themselves at the least from a death liability. Then look at the regulars and do price comparison.

Your final choice will be made by the best person and thats you, cos only you know all the variable in your driving style and now being well informed on tyres you can best choose.

Hahaha falkens are by far the shittiest tires in the wet

_________________

Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

I will defend the Yoko brigade here. Falkens are not what they cut themselves up to be. They are sticky but the quality is very inconsistent. I had them on a 1991 TI Pulsar and they lasted 15000km. Pitiful grip in the wet(or was that the SR20???) and even balances, alignments and rotating the tyres didnt help(tread wear code was 200(20000km)).

My opinion only - to their credit they were very sticky in the dry...just disappointing in the wet and very disappointed in value for money.

Hooroo

Rob Forsyth
Miniot!!

_________________
Rob Forsyth
Miniot!!

10" and 12" Falkens for mini's are even pitiful in the dry, i wouldn't put the word sticky in the same sentence as either of these..

Am i getting accross my distaste for falkens

Yoko = Good

_________________

Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484