New tyres

[woofy]

I don't think anyone complained about the Michelins, I assumed they were probably just more expensive to OEM fit. I think the PS3s would be anybodies best choice, it just comes down to being willing to fork out the money for them. Seeing as they so far have done double the milage it looks like pricewise you would still be ahead.

[pwcar]

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, better than the previous version I had on and way better than the Dunlops it came on.
The Asymmetric 2 have much better grip for accelerating and braking wet and dry and the same with cornering.
And I believe they are quite a bit quieter.
Forgot to add I've had both the Goodyear sets in 233/40 x 18 on the factory wheels of my pre facelift Octavia VRS.

[woofy]

235 perhaps?

[BottomScratcher]

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, better than the previous version I had on and way better than the Dunlops it came on.
The Asymmetric 2 have much better grip for accelerating and braking wet and dry and the same with cornering.
And I believe they are quite a bit quieter.
Forgot to add I've had both the Goodyear sets in 233/40 x 18 on the factory wheels of my pre facelift Octavia VRS.

I looked long and hard at the GY Eagle Asymetric2, and the Michelin PS3 before buying my last set. The Good Years are, on paper at least, every bit as good as the PS3 - even outrating them in a couple of comparrison tests - and at least $50 a corner cheaper. I opted for the PS3 only because it was a known quantity. I couldn't find anyone that actually had the Good Years to be able to get first hand accounts of their grip, wear, and noise level.

For what it's worth, while Continental is making tyres in the USA, Romania, and South Africa the Good Year Eagle A2's are made in Germany.

[kamold]

And how have you found the PS3s?
They are number one on my list at this point for next set in the next few months.

[rjg]

I looked long and hard at the GY Eagle Asymetric2, and the Michelin PS3 before buying my last set. The Good Years are, on paper at least, every bit as good as the PS3 - even outrating them in a couple of comparrison tests - and at least $50 a corner cheaper. I opted for the PS3 only because it was a known quantity. I couldn't find anyone that actually had the Good Years to be able to get first hand accounts of their grip, wear, and noise level.

For what it's worth, while Continental is making tyres in the USA, Romania, and South Africa the Good Year Eagle A2's are made in Germany.

I have the AS2's on my vRS. Damn good tyre, they're a little noisy on poor surfaces (so most of Victoria's roads) but they grip like no tomorrow both in the dry and in the wet.

Can't fault them. Wear I can't comment on as I've only done 3k since I bought it.

[BottomScratcher]

And how have you found the PS3s?
They are number one on my list at this point for next set in the next few months.

I honestly can't fault them. My hard driving days are behind me, but that said, I like to have a bit of fun on a bendy road. I had ContiSport Contact 2's fitted when I bought the car new. They were noisy, getting much louder when they wore down, and I got about 32K out of them, which I thought was pretty poor for the kind of driving I mostly do.

I haven't done any measurements, but after 11K on the Michelin's they appear as new. I had an alignment done at Spinning Wheels (great tech) last Nov, and the shoulders on the PS3's are showing no signs of feathering at all. Given the cost of rubber these days I keep an eye on the pressures. The factory specs are rubbish. Far too low for all of our small tight roundabouts. I run 38 all round in town, and adjust for load and speed on trips - generally 40 all round for a medium load up/down the highway.

Road noise is less than the Conti's, but that's not saying a great deal. and as you know, I've got a wagon, so it's a bit drummy anyhow. When I first test drove an RS I was trying to get a sense of the noise levels, and until then had not consciously realised just many times the road surface changes every few hundred metres. As far as handling goes, what can I say, I point the wheel where I want it to go and the car goes there - dry or wet. I haven't had to brake hard in the wet, but as I said, I really can't fault the PS3, ..... but I'm still very curious about the GY Eagle A2A.

[woofy]

I'm still curious what the PS3s cost at Costco, they are forever doing sales on them. I put them on our 2006 Mazda 6 a few years back and they were half the price of the size the Skoda needs and not a great deal smaller. My wife found them better than the stock Bridgestones, but anything was better than those. We are now almost up to 60k on our OE Michelin PE2s with perfect even wear and still plenty left on them.

[BottomScratcher]

I have the AS2's on my vRS. Damn good tyre, they're a little noisy on poor surfaces (so most of Victoria's roads) but they grip like no tomorrow both in the dry and in the wet.

Can't fault them. Wear I can't comment on as I've only done 3k since I bought it.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be interested to see how they wear. As I said to kamold, I was surprised at how often road surfaces change, so a tyre can only be as quiet as the surface will allow, and some surfaces are so coarse as to not make any difference what tyres you've got. Oh, there will be a difference, but if it's only a difference between 79 and 82db (hearing protection is advised over 85db) then it doesn't matter. Loud is still loud.

I forgot to mention to kamold that the PS3's are more comfortable than the Conti's. They seem to absorb more of the bumps without any of the jarring through the steering wheel that I felt with the Contis. And that is running them at considerably higher than recommended pressures.

[kamold]

Thanks for the feedback.
I've mentioned it before somewhere, but I had PS2s on my previous car, the A3. They were perfectly serviceable at 60k when I sold the car. Have 45k on the CS2s on the RS now, rears are pretty worn but fronts have a few mm before the tread wear indicators, so I'll keep them going as long as I can. The rears (were the fronts) show wear on the shoulders which is pretty standard, when I get new rubber I'm also going to get the ALK installed and a good alignment done so there will be more than one change than just going from old to new tyres.

FWIW, I run 38-39 on the front and 40-42 on the rear depending on load. Sure its slightly firmer but I think worth it for wear. Agree that the placard recommended pressures seem a bit low.