just as they were bringing out rainsport 2 a while back i got 4 17" rainsport 1s for £49.99 each delivered and cost me £32 for fitting at a local small tyre place so £232 all in for 4 ,

those were the days wish i had bought 8 now....
 
i bought 2 rainsport 2's last year for the fronts, 205/40/17 was pretty much sold out everywhere and prices varied to the extreme. ended up buying them online and paying to get them fitted myself and was about 220 all in.

totally different car in the wet now
 
they arent brilliant when cold, or when its greasy out, but wet driving is really good. and road noise is better than what i had previously. dry grip is good too
 
Just had 4 Rainexperts fitted to the Ibiza this afternoon.

Fitted today. wheel weights were
  1. 5 gram
  2. 10 gram
  3. 10 gram
  4. 15 gram

Tyres removed were Goodyear Hydragrip and Eurotour Performance on the rear, and Kwik fit Centaur and Nexen on the front.

So, fitted and balanced, and off for a road test. First impressions were that the wheel bearing which was making a noise is now quiet, so it was obviously tyre noise. Much quieter at motorway speeds and felt very stable in cornering. As ever with brand new tyres I wasn't going to find the limit until they get washed off and start behaving, but still a marked improvement over the old ones.

Daughter's been out for a drive this afternoon and came back with a big smile, saying it feels like a different car now. She's only been driving 18 months so I'm not gonna ask anything too technical, but if she notices a difference then there will be one.

Nice directional tread pattern as well.

uniroyal.jpg


See the red line round the circumference of the tyre? This displays how well aligned the tread is to the radial construction, dead centre is perfect, so these tyres are near perfect. Add the fact that the balance weights are low and I reckon they make a damn good tyre.
 
If you look also at the liitle half moon marks around the edges there for telling you how your tracking is:)
 
I know they are speed ratings, but what is the physical difference in them? Why can one go faster than the other?

The structure of the tyre is different to put up with the extra load of higher speeds and higher cornering forces.

If you are running a TDi Ibiza I would stick with "W" rated tyres because the heavy engine puts more load on them.
 
Just had 4 Rainexperts fitted to the Ibiza this afternoon.

Fitted today. wheel weights were
  1. 5 gram
  2. 10 gram
  3. 10 gram
  4. 15 gram

Tyres removed were Goodyear Hydragrip and Eurotour Performance on the rear, and Kwik fit Centaur and Nexen on the front.

So, fitted and balanced, and off for a road test. First impressions were that the wheel bearing which was making a noise is now quiet, so it was obviously tyre noise. Much quieter at motorway speeds and felt very stable in cornering. As ever with brand new tyres I wasn't going to find the limit until they get washed off and start behaving, but still a marked improvement over the old ones.

Daughter's been out for a drive this afternoon and came back with a big smile, saying it feels like a different car now. She's only been driving 18 months so I'm not gonna ask anything too technical, but if she notices a difference then there will be one.

Nice directional tread pattern as well.


See the red line round the circumference of the tyre? This displays how well aligned the tread is to the radial construction, dead centre is perfect, so these tyres are near perfect. Add the fact that the balance weights are low and I reckon they make a damn good tyre.

Could i ask what size you had fitted ?
 
I can't remember now, it was the last of the mk1's without the supercharger but it was great fun that's for sure.:)
 
I can't remember now, it was the last of the mk1's without the supercharger but it was great fun that's for sure.:)


Aw11 which is what i have, feb 1990 last of the batch sold. Going strong at 21 years old and just 39k, great car :D

Mind you cost twice as much as the FR to road tax :cry:
 
So many were, and still are :( Such a shame as the engine is so ahead of its time.
At 4500-7000rpm when the variable induction kicks in is a real blast.

Took me a year of searching to find a rust free minter and that was 8 years ago.

Still got to get a couple of tyres for the FR looks like its going to be ATS.
 
Mine bounced off the rev limiter at 8500rpm when I was misbehaving:D What a machine though, everything was adjustable too, I loved it but it was a complete animal and hard to believe it was just a 1.6l. The engine was originally a race job but they shortened the block and stuck it in the MR2 and some of the corollas, it was a combined effort from toyota, mazda and yamaha.:)