Tyre choice in 225/50 R16

[ferretAFV]

Hi all,

Looking to replace the tyres on my E85 2.0l SE, with non-runflat original sizes 225/50 R16 (no toy car wheel jokes please )

Had a look around on the forum, but the size effects the available choice, so was hoping I could get some comments on my findings below, and/or recommendations from personal experience on tyres in this size.

Premium choice would seem to be Michelin Primacy/Pilot sport or maybe Continental Premium Contact 6, but (and don’t shoot me down for this) they do carry a high premium (30-40%) over other choices for what is at the end of the day a rear wheel drive sportscar but not at the high end of the performance scale.

Forum favourites Goodyears only seem to offer EfficientGrip Performance tyres in this size and I am not sure how these stack up against the Eagles that everyone likes.

Uniroyal Rainsport’s get a few mentions so might be a good choice, but fuel efficiency rating is very low – not sure what practical impact this has?

I started out on this search thinking I would probably end up with Falken or Vredstein’s, but the Falkens in this size seem to be the ZE310 Ecorun, and I don’t like the eco bit, or the profile of the tyre (although a lot of the suppliers in my area are telling me this is wat I should go for…)

The Vredestein choice is the Ultrac Satin, and I think this is my favourite at the moment, but not sure how it stacks up against the forum popular Vortis?

So, over to all you knowledgeable people out there - let me know what you think, and thanks for your time in reading this far – I will update this thread with my final choice in case it’s of any interest to others with buttons for wheels out there in the future!.....

[Chris_D]

It would be interesting to learn your rationale and reasoning behind wanting to retain that particular rim and tyre size as most usually opt to upgrade to a more sportier-feeling 18” staggered arrangement.

I have a 225 x R16 x 50mm profile square set-up but these are my winter wheels with grippy Falken winter tyres and admittedly there’s always a pang of reluctance when I refit the summer tyres due to the increased comfort those winters bring. Theyre pretty noisy however and I do find they lean a bit when cornering at high speed in dry conditions but over bumps and ridges is where they score high for comfort so I can understanding if comfort is a priority for you?

It only takes a few miles of driving on the 18” summers to realise how much more sporty they are over 16’s.

[ferretAFV]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your comments.

I have played with the idea of changing the wheels, but as you suspected the car is my daily driver, and the roads around here are truly terrible so I do like the extra bit of comfort - also nice not to have to worry about kerbs so much squeezing the car into parking spaces in the dark and wet

Anyway, went for Uniroyal RS3's in the end, happy with them in the current weather so far, will update thread later with a dry handling report - if we ever get any dry weather!

Cheers

[Warming]

I'm also rolling on 225/50/R16 tyres, Goodyear Efficient Grips as I couldn't find Eagle F1s. They are great no complaints. I think I paid around £50-60 a corner. No real cost benefit over 17s but I like the 16s.