Megane Road tyres for R26

[probecomp]

Which road tyres would you recommend for a standard R26? Road use, no track days.

I'm very happy with the standard Michelin PS2's, excellent grip and firm sidewalls for a good turn-in. The only problem is they are quite expensive and hard to get where I live. I was considering PSS's but upon reading reviews, I've realized they have quite soft sidewalls and that's definitely one of the important things I'm looking for in a tyre - sharp handling.

What would you recommend? CS5P, AD08R, Ultrac Vorti?

 

[andybond]

I used quite a range of tyres on my meg including

cs5p , rsr595 , ps2 , goodyear ass 2 .

I found the best were the rsr595 , and the worst the goodyear ass 2 .

People are really rating the pss are a road tyre. I wonder if they higher load variant will have a stiffer sidewall ?

 

[probecomp]

Thanks for the input Andy! I'll look into RSR 595. How were they in wet?

 

[papps]

I've tried Goodyears AS2, PilotSuperSport and AD08R on the road...

AD08R is the best performing in the dry, has the stiffest sidewalls and wears very very well surprisingly. However, it sacrifices cornerning grip in the wet. Its very good at putting the power down and on the brakes in the wet, but just not in the corners for some reason.

PSS would be the best all rounder of the bunch. Depends how much you drive in the wet etc.

I do like the AD08R on the road, only need a little bit of temperature to reach peak grip, nothing like R888 for example. But you have to treat them with respect the first few times they are used in the wet

 

[andybond]

I had no issues with the 595 in the wet. As long as you understand its a summer tyre you will be fine. I found the grip to be progressive in the wet and no snapping or violent loss of grip.

 

[probecomp]

The 595 look very interesting... Andy, can you compare the PS2 and 595? Any major differences?

 

[andybond]

The 595 look very interesting... Andy, can you compare the PS2 and 595? Any major differences?

Yes.

The 595 is far more grippy. Wear rate was acceptable on the 595. Not as grippy in the wet by a fair way though

 

[DaveL485]

Yes.

The 595 is far more grippy. Wear rate was acceptable on the 595. Not as grippy in the wet by a fair way though

And a bit of road noise but nothing major.

 

[NJH]

PS4 no question at the moment for me, although I have only had them on a day and will post a more thorough review on them once I have done more miles and taken em on track.

I had PS2 all round and was happy with them including short track sessions (no more than 15 min, maybe 10 to 12 min at a time 6 laps stuff including pace build up and cool down laps). Long story but I shredded one of the rears yesterday and ended up having to buy new rears at the tyre place I limped too so it was PS4 or no name brand cheapies. Honestly I can't tell much difference with them yet, tread pattern looks almost identical to PS2, sidewalls more heavily built and the tyre sits a little squarer. Ride and handling differences seem tiny (maybe a touch more solid but smoother riding on good surfaces) so it seems at long last that we have a replacement for the original PS2 tyres on these cars. Certainly flinging the car around a bit last night it doesn't feel much different in its responses to when it had just PS2s all round whereas sometimes a front/rear mismatch can make cars feel really horrible and down right scary.

 

[poppap7]

PS4 no question at the moment for me, although I have only had them on a day and will post a more thorough review on them once I have done more miles and taken em on track.

I had PS2 all round and was happy with them including short track sessions (no more than 15 min, maybe 10 to 12 min at a time 6 laps stuff including pace build up and cool down laps). Long story but I shredded one of the rears yesterday and ended up having to buy new rears at the tyre place I limped too so it was PS4 or no name brand cheapies. Honestly I can't tell much difference with them yet, tread pattern looks almost identical to PS2, sidewalls more heavily built and the tyre sits a little squarer. Ride and handling differences seem tiny (maybe a touch more solid but smoother riding on good surfaces) so it seems at long last that we have a replacement for the original PS2 tyres on these cars. Certainly flinging the car around a bit last night it doesn't feel much different in its responses to when it had just PS2s all round whereas sometimes a front/rear mismatch can make cars feel really horrible and down right scary.

Andy just pointed me to this post. I too have ps2's all round but the fronts are borderline legal. Considering the ps4's or Pss. Similar price to each other..only driven hardish on the road.

 

[NJH]

Well I took the car on a proper cross country run today, really liking these tyres a lot. I can confirm they grip stronger on a warm dry than worn to 3mm PS2s, my car now has quite a bit of understeer in long corners which wasn't there before. I had enough confidence to turn in hard and get on it though some sweepers towards the end of my drive which just put the fronts scrabbling a bit (less fun though). Having said that I am not sure if this is also a bit of trait of the Cooksport springs, the car definitely was a bit looser in its handling on the standard R26 springs.

Will have to see how they fair on a track day next but as a road tyre I am convinced now, we always knew they would be better in cold and wet than PS2s as this is the development of things Michelin as time goes by. However I was always a little concerned that they may not handle to great on the car because of weak sidewalls or lack of dry grip but I really can't see anyway at the moment in which they are worse than PS2s.

 

[NJH]

BTW I went for exact same spec as stock PS2s 235x40-18 95 XL.

 

[poppap7]

I fancied trying the Pss but had to wait 5 days delivery and then mess about getting them fitted so opted for the ps4's from local garage. 2 fronts fitted. First 5 mins in the car steering felt 'heavier/softer' than with previous ps2's. I took the long way home and pushed the car on a few sections of road I know well and they behaved impeccably... No understeer or abs light on even though Road a bit damp. Before I get told off, I know they need at least 50 miles to scrub in but I couldn't help it. So far very promising and look the part too..one thing I will say, they have a very built up shoulder, almost to the point where a 225 tyre may sit better.

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[NJH]

Sounds much like my experience also. They feel slightly different to the PS2, similar to the effect I noticed going from Cups to DZ03g on my race car in that the handling was more lively on the Cups and conversely the car more stable on DZ03g, which is interesting as the construction of the DZ03g is much stronger than cups. Agree 100% about the shoulder, the rim protector part of it is much thicker than on PS2s.

I found the car tracked like it was on rails the other day with the new PS4s on, very confidence inspiring. Do you feel the same?

 

[probecomp]

Useful comments guys, very interested in your impressions of the PS4s! Could anyone snap a pic on how 235 sits on a wheel?

Still considering 595 as well...

 

[poppap7]

Still early days for mine but yes, it felt very locked in. And as I said, this was shop fresh tyres on damp bends. Yesterday my legal but worn ps2's were giving way on the same bend in perfect conditions. Afterall, the grooves only get rid of water, right?

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[poppap7]

PS4.

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[poppap7]

PS2.

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[poppap7]

Bugga, pics wrong way round. Too cold to go back out.

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[probecomp]

Thanks for the pics poppap!