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 :roll:

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.