Tyres 156

[len105]

I have to purchase a new set of rubber for my 2002 156 2.5L - in order for the authorities to renew my registration.......

Please could a knowledgable Alfsiti inform me what would have been the original tyres supplied on this model ?

The current tyres on the car are Firestone Firehawk 205 x 55 x 15 - I am not soo familiar with this brand ( although I've certainly heard of them ). I am interested in the feedback of other club members who may have recently purchased some tyres for a 156 or similiar ?

Thanking you in advance.....

[Doug Gould]

My 156 came with Goodyear Eagle F1. I had a god run out of them and they were quiet, although they have a reputation for becoming noisy. They had the best steering feel of all the tyres that I put on. The next set was Yokohama ES100. These were very nice feeling tyres, but became very noisy when the developed inner edge wear on the front. These came off early and are now on my GTV6. The third & final set before I sold the car were Toyo Proxes and these were a big disappointment. They made the car feel dead. I believe Continentals have the best combination of wear / noise & feel, but I haven't yet been prepared to pay the price for them. Currently Sally's Brera has Pirelli P zero's and they are noisy and will come off before they wear out. My 159 has Bridgestone's which aren't too bad.

Doug

[Scarlan]

I recently fitted Hankook V12's to my 156 and so far they have been very good.
The tyres I had previously (another Hankook tyre) were so noisy I thought my bearings had gone.
At 60kmh the whine was dreadful; so make sure you get the right advice before you decide on something.

[Fast Eddie]

replaced original Michellin Pilot sports on my 156 GTA with Continental Contact 2's which were great (til i sold the car).  Cheaper thna michellin at the time and supposedly a lot less noisy once wearing down

[Davidm1600]

My '03 JTS Sportwagon is still on its Michelin Pilots (the car has just clicked over 100,000), and will need new tyres soon.  I can't say they seem noisy to me.  I am used to Pirellis (P600 on my Fiat 124 sport and P6000 on my 1750 GTV), so it will be interesting to see what I can find for my 156.  I have had experience with Hankooks in the past and was glad to be rid of them.

Thanks also guys for the info good to be aware of.  Any idea on the cost of the Continentals ??  Dave

[saratoga]

Hi, my '05 156 JTS came with Goodyear F1 GS-D2 and I had never heard anything like it before, like the bearings were shot.  Replaced those on advice to the next generation of the same tyre the GS-D3.  The tread pattern is slightly different and the compound has probably been improved but they are really good.  As I said on another post, I am almost at 60,000k and still tread to go and they are still very quiet. Not too expensive, I paid $220 per tyre so I reckon they are great value.
ps, I run them at higher psi of 38 and dont scrub them out in car parks.

[len105]

An interesting topic I think - thanks heaps for the feedback to all of you 156ers.......

We have mentioned 8 different brands & at least 2 series of 2 brands - and some of the suggestions I wouldn't have thought of !!

However, the overriding sentiment seems to be to get some advice from a trustworthy tyre merchant - and take heed of club members who have been before you !!

There is nothing worse than noisy bloody tyres !! Cos you live with them for a long time !!

Len

[Doug Gould]

Noise is all about the tread pattern. Usually exacerbated by irregular wear (feathering). It doesn't take much, and once irregular wear starts you won't get rid of it. If they fixed the noise problem (probably by varying the tread block size), then I think they'd be a good and relatively cheap choice.

Doug

[156southpaw]

Hi, my '05 156 JTS came with Goodyear F1 GS-D2 and I had never heard anything like it before, like the bearings were shot.  Replaced those on advice to the next generation of the same tyre the GS-D3.  The tread pattern is slightly different and the compound has probably been improved but they are really good.  As I said on another post, I am almost at 60,000k and still tread to go and they are still very quiet. Not too expensive, I paid $220 per tyre so I reckon they are great value.
ps, I run them at higher psi of 38 and dont scrub them out in car parks.

Hmmm - interesting.  I had the same tyres on my 2004 156 JTS until this week.  I thought they were utterly crap - loud and poor grip in the wet that led to severe understeer on hard cornering.

I replaced them this week with Bridgestone Adrenalin RE001 (225/45/R17) and it's like driving a new car.  The understeer has been replaced with oversteer (with I prefer) and they are super quite.  The grip is amazing - I know they are new, but compared to the new F1's, these tyres crap all over them.  They cost $250 each - so hopefully they maintain their performance for some time.

Cheers,

Melbsouthpaw.

[len105]

Thanks for the up-date 156southpaw !

I have always been a Bridgestone fan so am very pleased to hear your comments !! Just wasn't sure whether the front wheel drive thing would change my opinion.

Len