As Im still banned from Arbathincesti due to wanting to be honest can anyone post up the current thoughts on the best tyres to fit to the Abarth.

I have a brand new set of 17" Pirrellis in the garage on shiny zero mileage wheels but I can remember someone recomending other makes to improve high speed braking & general stability

Thanks

Hi, I've haven't tried them myself but I was recommended Marangoni Mythos by a friend. They seem to be cheaper than Pirelli Nero Zeros but have good reviews on Tyrereviews. Otherwise, you can always go for Dunlop or Michelins as a premium tyre... Hope this helps

Hi Stuart, personally I don't think you can go far wrong with the Michelin Pilot Exalto tyres as fitted to the esseesse as standard. However, as I'm sure you know, this type of question could start a debate that would have many conflicting opinions as everyone has differing thoughts on what constitutes a good tyre.

Good luck with your eventual choice and we will appreciate hearing your comments on whatever make you decide to fit.

Stuart J said:

... I have a brand new set of 17" Pirrellis in the garage on shiny zero mileage wheels but I can remember someone recomending other makes ...

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What are these Pirelli’s?

If I had a brand new set of Pirelli – I don’t think I’d lose any sleep over what “someone” said.

Tyrereviews provides much data on tyres - but one has to be selective in what you accept. Unfortunately the significant reports from the `authorities’ (ADAC.de etc) can get overlooked due to the many reviews(?) from clowns.

120321

The PZNs are good as long as you don't want to do proper track days on them - they can't take the punishment. They are also reasonably hard wearing as long as you don't take them on track days (spot the trend).

The Michelin's are a better tyre but at a price, they are supposed to handle the punishment somewhat better than the PZNs but having never tried them I can't say from personal experience.

I ran Yokohama Parada spec-2's on the front of mine for the last two years and they were excellent but not as consistent in their performance. If you wanted to drive hard you had to give them some warning and get them warm (and at the right pressure). Once they had settled in they were better than the Pirellis but that transition period was tricky and not something you really want on a regular road car. I'm back on a fresh set of 4 Pirelli PZNs again now and the car does feel more consistent and settled.

The original PZNs on the front of mine died after just 9000 miles, the rears lasted 21000 miles and then it was hard to spot as only the inside of the tread wore out due to the rear camber.

Stuart J said:

As Im still banned from Arbathincesti due to wanting to be honest can anyone post up the current thoughts on the best tyres to fit to the Abarth.

I have a brand new set of 17" Pirrellis in the garage on shiny zero mileage wheels but I can remember someone recomending other makes to improve high speed braking & general stability

Thanks

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grimwau said:

Hi Stuart, personally I don't think you can go far wrong with the Michelin Pilot Exalto tyres as fitted to the esseesse as standard. However, as I'm sure you know, this type of question could start a debate that would have many conflicting opinions as everyone has differing thoughts on what constitutes a good tyre.

Good luck with your eventual choice and we will appreciate hearing your comments on whatever make you decide to fit.

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Stuart - I tried out the Michelins that Tony is referring to on an esseesse and they were in a different league to the Pirellis with little or no wheelspin. My OH suffered with the stiff walls on the P0 on her MiTo in 17x215/45 and were very recently replaced but with a set of 'cancelled' Uniroyals that were got at the right price.
I would normally have said that I would go with a new set of Michelins - 'my tyres' list 2 - Michelin Pilot Sport 3 & Michelin Exalto PE2 (I'm assuming that the former are the lastest) but I would be tempted to go with the very new release from Continental - the PremiumContact 5 which I have NOT tried. They were priced the same as the Michelins. The Contis has lower rolling resistance than before - might help on a high speed tour around Europe and the Contis have always done well on the braking test getting a first in the Wet & Dry in the Evo 2010 test. In addition the Contis are lighter tyres and should help on the heavier 17s of the A500 particularly in multispoke form.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Continental-ContiSportContact-5-Launched.htm
Still as pointed out by Caravadossi if you have a new set of P0s in the garage I cannot see any reason why I wouldn't use those perfectly good premium tyres.

I've been researching tyres somewhat, but I can't profess I'm in the same league as the previous posters. I'm looking at Goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric 2 as it got very good reviews in several review sites and some car magazines. Any good? Can't warm to Michelins somehow...

loveshandbags said:

...the Contis have always done well on the braking test getting a first in the Wet & Dry in the Evo 2010 test.

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I'd like to correct the above link with this...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-EVO-Tyre-Test.htm

Also the 'mule' used for doing the comparison tests was a RWD MX5 2.0 in 205/45 x 17.
This size tyre is used on a MiTo. An alternative size used is 215/45 x 17 with is used on Melanabb's AGP. Note that a A500 uses 205/40 x 17 which is a different profile and it can impact the results of a test.

Melanabb said:

I've been researching tyres somewhat, but I can't profess I'm in the same league as the previous posters. I'm looking at Goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric 2 as it got very good reviews in several review sites and some car magazines. Any good? Can't warm to Michelins somehow...

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A criticism of the Eagle F1s is rolling resistance. It generally comes last or near last in most comparison tests but does well everywhere else. This for me would rule it out.

Below I have attached the 2 Evo 2010 tests for
RWD 205/45x17 &
FWD 235/35x19 (this was included since it includes the new Conti 5 & has the F1 & the P0 all on the same test). Unsure of the outcome in the A500 size or the AGP.

Tyre comparisons are subjective and what suits one does not suit someone else. For Stuart he's done the smart thing narrowing his selection criteria down to Braking & Stability.

My OH was interested in Wet performance and a bit of comfort plus price and prefers them to the P0 hence the Uniroyals. They came 2nd which surprised me in the Evo test. A criticism of the Contis is noise but that wouldn't bother me too much.

Thanks all for the posts & the time taken to give more than one line opinions.

Michelins look a safe bet but I do like the look of the new Conti. Time for a bit more research

I want the best tyre for the car & want to try & reduce the high speed braking instability.

Re Caravadossi's post, the new Pirellis are on a brand new spare set of wheels I bought from a SS'd car in case we curbed ours, so far we only have a small nick on one wheel so will keep them

Cheers

Stuart

Stuart J said:

Thanks all for the posts & the time taken to give more than one line opinions.

Michelins look a safe bet but I do like the look of the new Conti. Time for a bit more research

I want the best tyre for the car & want to try & reduce the high speed braking instability.

Re Caravadossi's post, the new Pirellis are on a brand new spare set of wheels I bought from a SS'd car in case we curbed ours, so far we only have a small nick on one wheel so will keep them

Cheers

Stuart

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i think you need to look at suspension changes to better control weight transfer under braking

RobW said:

i think you need to look at suspension changes to better control weight transfer under braking

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A Fair point, I totally agree there are other ways to improve things, just looking at the option on tyres as they need changing shortly.

Its my wifes car & apart from the remap I want it left standard, Its plenty quick enough & handling overall is stunning for a stock car. I just wanted to try & tidy up a bit of the rear end steer under braking. I will keep the modding moneypit to my cars.

Its in for a service at Westover today & Im having the alignment checked just in case thats a little out. Again tweaking this in the future might be an option

Stuart J said:

A Fair point, I totally agree there are other ways to improve things, just looking at the option on tyres as they need changing shortly.

Its my wifes car & apart from the remap I want it left standard, Its plenty quick enough & handling overall is stunning for a stock car. I just wanted to try & tidy up a bit of the rear end steer under braking. I will keep the modding moneypit to my cars.

Its in for a service at Westover today & Im having the alignment checked just in case thats a little out. Again tweaking this in the future might be an option

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Stuart, I hope you get a better service (pun ) than I got when I had mine done last month.

If only they could service the cars at West Quay Road. :worship:

grimwau said:

Stuart, I hope you get a better service (pun ) than I got when I had mine done last month.

If only they could service the cars at West Quay Road. :worship:

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We took ours to Sportscars to be done, they can service but cant do warranty work. All seemed fine, retracked & Im sure it feels a whisker better. We waited for it, took a couple of hours, several coffees & a test drive in the rag top Abarth. Impressed how quiet it was with the roof up but not convinced its worth paying an extra 2.5 bags for a bit of fabric & a struggle to get colour combinations right. Dark roof on the white is too much, ideal I think would be a black roof on the Red but Abarth being Abarth you can only have a grey roof on the red car :bang: Really liked the darker Grey demonstrator with grey roof, looked best combination for body / roof but a bit to bland for a car with so much attitude.

Nice trip to Swanage after for a bottle of wine & some seafood on the front, unfortunately roads clogged with every flippin ragtop in the south posing, not driving, another reason to keep a tin top

How did you find the pricing? My 24 month service cost £429.00 at Wallisdown Road and then they wanted to charge extra for the brake fluid change.

It was an interim + tracking so hard to compare. Seemed OK to me but I only compare it to the Nissan which is "scary"

Stuart, I did a bit more reading and Nokian Z G2 look good for potholed and mostly wet UK roads. A bit pricey though, and hard to find... I'm thinking to use them on my GPA