New tyres for the R36

[Cro]

Hi everyone,

Due to the alignment issues I've had with my R36 I've been up for new tyres sooner than expected at 17,000kms. For those that don't know, the front end of the car is permanently set to 1 degree negative camber and for some stupid reason mine also had 4mm of toe out from factory. When I rotated the tyres to try and salvage some more life out of the fronts the guy I had do my wheel alignment went against my wishes and attempted to fix my rear wheels (even though it was fine). His attempt at fixing them were to change from 0 degree camber to 4 degree's negative camber absolutely destroying what was left of my PS2's. I've since been to Heasemens Suspension and got the front end changed to 0 toe, and rear changed back to 0 degree's camber. My problems didn't end there....
Thank's to Michelin Australia's absolutely pathetic stock controllers I have had to move away from my beloved PS2's as there were none available in the country from any tyre dealer. So I went shopping and I read some fantastic reviews on several tyres like the Pirelli P Zero, Continental Sport Contact 3 but the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric stood out in every test including comparo's with the Michelin PS2's.

After fitting and scrubbing the tyres in I can say they are good tyres, but definitely nowhere near as good as the PS2. I've driven in all conditions including dry, damp, soaked and icy roads) and infact they are a big dissapointment compared to the PS2. The car has changed it's dynamic with turn in not as precise, understeer re-appearing on corner exits till power transfers to the rear, they screech on the limit and are louder than PS2's at hwy speeds.

After getting over my initial dissapointment with going backwards in handling I got used to the tyres and stayed within their limits which are far greater than the super crap standard Dunlop SP01's. Wet & dry performance is identical, am still able to double the recommended corner speeds in the wet (still staying within the legal speed limit of course). To be driven hard the stability control needs to be turned off as it cuts in too often, never had that problem when running the PS2's.

So if you want to improve the handling of your R36 but don't want to pay the ~$600 per corner for the PS2's (or can't wait for stock to come in) grab some Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetrics @ $400 a corner.
For me I will going back to PS2's, even if I have to import them myself.

[DiMmY]

I gotta ask, but WHAT the hell was the guy thinking doing 4 degree's of camber on the rears, that's a massive amount.

[Macka]

Hi everyone,

Due to the alignment issues I've had with my R36 I've been up for new tyres sooner than expected at 17,000kms. For those that don't know, the front end of the car is permanently set to 1 degree negative camber and for some stupid reason mine also had 4mm of toe out from factory. When I rotated the tyres to try and salvage some more life out of the fronts the guy I had do my wheel alignment went against my wishes and attempted to fix my rear wheels (even though it was fine). His attempt at fixing them were to change from 0 degree camber to 4 degree's negative camber absolutely destroying what was left of my PS2's. I've since been to Heasemens Suspension and got the front end changed to 0 toe, and rear changed back to 0 degree's camber. My problems didn't end there....
Thank's to Michelin Australia's absolutely pathetic stock controllers I have had to move away from my beloved PS2's as there were none available in the country from any tyre dealer. So I went shopping and I read some fantastic reviews on several tyres like the Pirelli P Zero, Continental Sport Contact 3 but the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric stood out in every test including comparo's with the Michelin PS2's.

After fitting and scrubbing the tyres in I can say they are good tyres, but definitely nowhere near as good as the PS2. I've driven in all conditions including dry, damp, soaked and icy roads) and infact they are a big dissapointment compared to the PS2. The car has changed it's dynamic with turn in not as precise, understeer re-appearing on corner exits till power transfers to the rear, they screech on the limit and are louder than PS2's at hwy speeds.

After getting over my initial dissapointment with going backwards in handling I got used to the tyres and stayed within their limits which are far greater than the super crap standard Dunlop SP01's. Wet & dry performance is identical, am still able to double the recommended corner speeds in the wet (still staying within the legal speed limit of course). To be driven hard the stability control needs to be turned off as it cuts in too often, never had that problem when running the PS2's.

So if you want to improve the handling of your R36 but don't want to pay the ~$600 per corner for the PS2's (or can't wait for stock to come in) grab some Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetrics @ $400 a corner.
For me I will going back to PS2's, even if I have to import them myself.

Where were you getting the PS2's for $600 per corner? Where these 18" or 19"'s? I assume you are talking 18's and have them on the R36 rim. If not would like to know where you were getting them. I am fitting PS2's to my new RS4 19" rims that l am putting on the R36 and the best l can get them for is $700 each. I blame you for spending so much on tyres beacuse when l read your previous thread l decided l had to see what all the fuss was about!!! Sounds like l won't be disappointed with them.

I had also read a few other threads regarding wheel alignment issues and will be getting a full alignment when they fit the new wheels and tyres. So do l tell them to get "the front end changed to 0 toe, and rear changed back to 0 degree's camber"??

Hopefully this will see me get at least 25,000 km's or do you think l am still going to struggle?

Cheers Macka

[Cro]

Yeah I have the 18's with stock rims, you might want to pre-order your PS2's as I know several sizes are out of stock completely. Otherwise you will face the same problem as me.

Those are the settings I chose for my car to get the most life out of the tyres (front 0 toe, back 0 toe 0 camber). Best to go to a steering and suspension specialist that uses the old school measuring devices, those lasers that Bob Jane and others use are never calibrated very often causing them to be very dodgy.
If you are in Sydney I can highly recommend Heasemens in Sydenham.

I reckon I could have got at least 25,000kms out of the tyres if I picked up the wheel alignment issues a lot sooner than I did (12,000kms). As the front is set to 1 degree negative camber rotate the tyres every 5,000 km to keep the inside edges of the fronts from wearing out.
My driving style is very agressive and I've done thousands of km's on twisty roads throughout country NSW, so you may get even more life out of them

[DiMmY]

If you drive aggressively, then why get rid of the camber at the rear?

[Cro]

So I can get more than 17,000kms out of a set of tyres worth $2400...

[DiMmY]

So I can get more than 17,000kms out of a set of tyres worth $2400...

Surely you could put even .5 degree neg camber on the rear and still keep a fair bit of life in them...?

I know several enthusiasts that run -1.5F and -1R and still get fantastic life out of the tyres.

[Gipper]

Surely you could put even .5 degree neg camber on the rear and still keep a fair bit of life in them...?

I know several enthusiasts that run -1.5F and -1R and still get fantastic life out of the tyres.

I used to run -3 deg on the front and -2 on the rear and always got very even wear. I couldnt dial in any more camber on them. My biggest problem was wear on the shoulders. My cornering was always "spirited". Any less camber any i would have rubbed the shoulders off before thr rest of thr tyre showed any wear.

[brad]

Dimmer & Gippy

Have you 2 got R36 passats?

[Gipper]

Dimmer & Gippy

Have you 2 got R36 passats?

Brad, no I dont yet. The car I used to have so much neg camber was an STi WRX.
I am not for a moment saying that CRO should be running this amount of camber as each car is different.
I am actullay glad that CRO has warned the rest of us to keep an eye out on tyre wear. I will certainly be monitoring this closesly and will be getting an alignment done as soon as i pick up the car. I will probably be dialing in some neg camber on the front and rears and then seeing how this effects tyre wear.