205/50 R15 Tyres
The following tyres have been reviewed in 205/50 R15.
| Tyre Reviewed | Dry Grip | Wet Grip | Feedback | Handling | Wear | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giti GitiCompete GTR2 (2) | 100% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 80% |
| Bridgestone Potenza RE11 (9) | 98% | 83% | 90% | 89% | 77% | 74% |
| Vredestein Sportrac 5 (98) | 88% | 85% | 84% | 83% | 86% | 84% |
| Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08R (44) | 95% | 73% | 91% | 93% | 72% | 70% |
| Hankook Ventus Z214 (1) | 100% | 0% | 90% | 90% | 70% | 50% |
| Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 (30) | 94% | 72% | 90% | 90% | 70% | 74% |
| Toyo R1R (31) | 95% | 81% | 91% | 90% | 60% | 71% |
| Vredestein Sportrac 3 (60) | 85% | 91% | 80% | 80% | 76% | 79% |
| Kumho V70a (19) | 99% | 78% | 90% | 86% | 57% | 69% |
| Yokohama C Drive (45) | 86% | 82% | 83% | 77% | 77% | 86% |
| Yokohama Advan A052 (12) | 99% | 78% | 88% | 95% | 52% | 71% |
| Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002 (108) | 90% | 82% | 82% | 80% | 77% | 77% |
| Michelin Pilot Sport (42) | 92% | 82% | 87% | 81% | 73% | 75% |
| Uniroyal RainSport 2 (226) | 85% | 91% | 78% | 76% | 76% | 80% |
| Michelin Pilot Exalto (56) | 86% | 81% | 76% | 80% | 83% | 77% |
| Maxxis MA iPro Victra iPro (24) | 89% | 78% | 84% | 85% | 68% | 77% |
| Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun (101) | 87% | 83% | 81% | 80% | 77% | 79% |
| Nitto NeoGen (2) | 90% | 80% | 85% | 80% | 80% | 65% |
| Uniroyal RainSport 3 (286) | 84% | 92% | 79% | 78% | 64% | 83% |
| Nexen N Blue HD Plus (70) | 83% | 79% | 77% | 75% | 76% | 84% |
| Dunlop Direzza DZ03 (7) | 94% | 66% | 89% | 89% | 71% | 47% |
| Federal 595RSPRO (10) | 89% | 68% | 76% | 88% | 73% | 62% |
| Hankook Ventus V12 evo k110 (114) | 84% | 75% | 76% | 78% | 74% | 79% |
| Avon ZV5 (112) | 84% | 78% | 77% | 77% | 71% | 77% |
| Kumho Ecsta V730 (4) | 93% | 53% | 80% | 85% | 70% | 65% |
| Austone SP 6 Athena (2) | 70% | 70% | 75% | 70% | 65% | 90% |
| Jinyu YH12 (28) | 81% | 74% | 79% | 69% | 79% | 80% |
| Kumho Ecsta KU31 (165) | 83% | 75% | 77% | 76% | 72% | 74% |
| Dunlop Direzza 03G (12) | 94% | 65% | 89% | 89% | 47% | 61% |
| Accelera 651 Sport (24) | 82% | 71% | 77% | 75% | 74% | 73% |
| Toyo Proxes TR1 (66) | 85% | 75% | 78% | 81% | 72% | 67% |
| Cooper Zeon CS6 (33) | 83% | 74% | 69% | 74% | 85% | 72% |
| Primewell Sport 910 (23) | 83% | 76% | 76% | 76% | 74% | 73% |
| Nankang AR 1 (36) | 91% | 46% | 85% | 88% | 70% | 66% |
| Bridgestone Turanza ER300 (193) | 83% | 77% | 77% | 72% | 78% | 71% |
| Nankang NS2R (60) | 89% | 66% | 82% | 84% | 72% | 55% |
| Avon ZZR (11) | 89% | 61% | 69% | 86% | 70% | 70% |
| Uniroyal RainSport (25) | 78% | 88% | 68% | 78% | 72% | 74% |
| Falken ZE912 (200) | 82% | 74% | 75% | 70% | 71% | 79% |
| Dunlop Direzza DZ102 (17) | 82% | 74% | 75% | 68% | 67% | 73% |
| Sailun Atrezzo Elite (22) | 85% | 74% | 75% | 68% | 66% | 74% |
| Federal 595RSR (51) | 86% | 66% | 76% | 80% | 72% | 57% |
| Federal SS535 (5) | 90% | 65% | 83% | 58% | 80% | 60% |
| Fulda Carat Progresso (13) | 78% | 72% | 75% | 74% | 71% | 72% |
| Yokohama S Drive (65) | 83% | 69% | 75% | 77% | 71% | 68% |
| Continental Premium Contact 2 (198) | 84% | 77% | 75% | 73% | 62% | 73% |
| Firestone TZ200 (26) | 80% | 70% | 70% | 70% | 75% | 72% |
| Toyo T1R (288) | 83% | 69% | 75% | 75% | 63% | 70% |
| Toyo R888 (37) | 90% | 63% | 80% | 78% | 59% | 55% |
| Goodyear Excellence (126) | 79% | 70% | 72% | 71% | 72% | 74% |
| Falken Azenis RT 615 (4) | 80% | 53% | 75% | 78% | 78% | 55% |
| Star Performer TNG HP (1) | 90% | 70% | 50% | 70% | 50% | 80% |
| Dunlop SP Sport 01 (124) | 78% | 67% | 71% | 69% | 69% | 65% |
| Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08RS (32) | 73% | 64% | 73% | 71% | 79% | 68% |
| Bridgestone Potenza s03 (7) | 86% | 54% | 70% | 67% | 71% | 60% |
| Jinyu YW51 (17) | 70% | 67% | 63% | 58% | 71% | 70% |
| Goodyear Eagle NCT5 (91) | 75% | 61% | 68% | 61% | 78% | 69% |
| Goodyear EfficientGrip (141) | 77% | 68% | 63% | 61% | 71% | 71% |
| Nankang EX500 (1) | 70% | 60% | 60% | 60% | 90% | 70% |
| Nankang NS2 (211) | 76% | 58% | 65% | 62% | 73% | 62% |
| Maxxis MA Z4S Victra (18) | 89% | 77% | 79% | 78% | 80% | 78% |
| Avon ZV3 (28) | 72% | 63% | 65% | 66% | 58% | 66% |
| Hankook Ventus V2 Concept 2 H457 (10) | 69% | 49% | 55% | 68% | 73% | 69% |
| Starfire RSR 10 (4) | 75% | 55% | 58% | 53% | 57% | 75% |
| Marangoni Zetalinea (15) | 72% | 45% | 64% | 64% | 68% | 57% |
| Maxxis MA V1 (19) | 69% | 61% | 61% | 53% | 65% | 61% |
| Firestone firehawk S790 (2) | 65% | 65% | 45% | 75% | 65% | 45% |
| Accelera Alpha (131) | 65% | 44% | 53% | 48% | 69% | 56% |
| Pirelli P6000 (175) | 66% | 46% | 55% | 48% | 67% | 60% |
| Tigar Prima (8) | 60% | 45% | 54% | 51% | 46% | 56% |
| Marshal POWER RACER II 719 (9) | 51% | 20% | 39% | 42% | 79% | 41% |
| Admiral 712 (7) | 50% | 39% | 47% | 43% | 51% | 41% |
| Triangle TR968 (69) | 53% | 31% | 40% | 38% | 61% | 38% |
| Sava rapidex r2 (1) | 30% | 40% | 10% | 10% | 0% | 60% |
205/50 15 Tyre Review Highlights
Running these tires in autocross events in Swift Sport, they need an effort to be driven to the limit, glues to the track, runs happy with modified suspension and negative camber, tire presssure plays vital role on how they perform, day and night difference in performance at different psi’s
test on sunny afternoon at Sepang Circuit, track surface temperature over 40 °C. Dry grip is very good; the tire was progressive during the limit and can endure 3–4 hot laps before starting to lose grip due to overheating. Wear is just okay. Tires pricing are quite good, at least 30–40% cheaper than the competitors like the AD09 or RS4 or Z3. Loud tire rolling noise on rough road surfaces. I have no idea about its wet grip, never drive it in the rain. But from what I saw on the tire tread, it focused on dry only, not wet, damp maybe ok.
Yokohama Advan A052 rated 86% while driving a Renault Unknown
Driving on track for 100 spirited miles
Driving on track for 100 spirited miles
Used on a clio 182
These tyres gripped from cold, way better than any tyre I’d tried before in the 1b tyre list, but I could see the tyre wearing after the first session!
Worth every penny if your looking for outright grip on the track.
These tyres gripped from cold, way better than any tyre I’d tried before in the 1b tyre list, but I could see the tyre wearing after the first session!
Worth every penny if your looking for outright grip on the track.
Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun rated 68% while driving a Citroën C2 VTS
Driving on a combination of roads for 300 spirited miles
Driving on a combination of roads for 300 spirited miles
Brought these in 205/50/R15 to fit my new "15x7 alloys (5.9kg per alloy), and in this review I'm comparing them to my old Yokohama Advan Fleva V701, Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance, and Avon ZV7's in 195/45/R16 on "16x7 alloys (9.7kg per alloy), so bare in mind this slightly skews my comparison.
For context, I brought lightweight flow-formed alloys as the TU5JP4S engine in my C2, though a brilliant, 8k-revving NA bundle of fun that it is, struggles with low-end grunt, and cutting approximately 8kg of unsprung weight on the driven-wheels, and 16kg total is a significant upgrade on a small ~1000kg car. 205/50/R15 after careful consideration was the perfect dimension for my car, though I'm disappointed that this is a rare size especially for premium performance-orientated tyres, with only dated Continental PremiumContact 2's, Hankook Ventus Prime 3's, and Yokohama Advan Fleva V701's being the only respectable options in this size, though for some reason this size is 30% more expensive than those identical models in similarly sized 195/50/R15, 195/55/R15, or 195/45/R16 accordingly...
...which leads me to the Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun tyres; relatively recent design, V-rated, and a reasonable price tag of ~£90 per corner fitted; virtually identical in price to the same offering in 195/55/R15 and 195/45/R16, as it should be given the dimensions are really similar. This honest pricing combined with it being a modern design/compound is what sold me, despite it being a Premium Summer Touring tyre as opposed to UHP.
300 miles in, I think these are an excellent 'control tyre' in the sense that they are very neutral tyres in all fronts; they don't give off a 'wow-factor' in any given category of measure, but at the same time there's nothing that makes me think these are terrible tyres at all, which in itself is a complement. I can't see anyone being disappointed in these, especially at the price-point, whether you're an old grandma in an MPV seeking comfort, fuel efficiency, and safety, or a spirited driver (myself) in a warm/hot-hatch seeking performance. They're very predictable tyres which is good for any kind of driver.
They are very quiet and smooth on bumpy surfaces and motorway driving as a strength, however I would've preferred a stiffer sidewall as they offer very little sensation through the steering wheel, though once your senses adjust to it, you can feel the sidewalls twisting between the road surface and the rims when quick-flicking the steering wheel, giving a delay between steering input and direction change. For a spirited-driver, these tyres reward smooth, Prost-like steering inputs, and as long as you drive like that, you can carry pretty impressive speed in the bends, though it must be said there is more confidence-inspiring tyres out there. You can push them in the wet without feeling unsafe in the slightest. Naturally, going to a bigger aspect ratio tyre means a loss of steering response is expected, but I do think there is realistic room for improvement in this area. With that said, these are classed as a 'Premium Summer Tyre' rather than UHP, but I had little choice in this size. I would've brought the Yoko's again but I don't think paying 30% more for the same tyre in an extremely similar size is fair pricing.
On another note, can premium tyre manufacturers stop ignoring the demand for UHP tyres in sizes for old school hot-hatches and neo-classic cars? We all know that modern performance cars don't offer the engagement that old analogue cars do, yet modern performance tyres have come a long way over the past 15-20 years. A set of PS5's or Eagle Assymetric 6's in my size would be a dream, though of course in a proportionate price compared to the other sizes offered (take note Yokohama)
TLDR: Not a bad tyre but not a special tyre either, adequate enough on all fronts. Respectfully priced for what it is. Won't disappoint nor wow anyone. A safe choice of tyre to avoid disappointment.
For context, I brought lightweight flow-formed alloys as the TU5JP4S engine in my C2, though a brilliant, 8k-revving NA bundle of fun that it is, struggles with low-end grunt, and cutting approximately 8kg of unsprung weight on the driven-wheels, and 16kg total is a significant upgrade on a small ~1000kg car. 205/50/R15 after careful consideration was the perfect dimension for my car, though I'm disappointed that this is a rare size especially for premium performance-orientated tyres, with only dated Continental PremiumContact 2's, Hankook Ventus Prime 3's, and Yokohama Advan Fleva V701's being the only respectable options in this size, though for some reason this size is 30% more expensive than those identical models in similarly sized 195/50/R15, 195/55/R15, or 195/45/R16 accordingly...
...which leads me to the Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun tyres; relatively recent design, V-rated, and a reasonable price tag of ~£90 per corner fitted; virtually identical in price to the same offering in 195/55/R15 and 195/45/R16, as it should be given the dimensions are really similar. This honest pricing combined with it being a modern design/compound is what sold me, despite it being a Premium Summer Touring tyre as opposed to UHP.
300 miles in, I think these are an excellent 'control tyre' in the sense that they are very neutral tyres in all fronts; they don't give off a 'wow-factor' in any given category of measure, but at the same time there's nothing that makes me think these are terrible tyres at all, which in itself is a complement. I can't see anyone being disappointed in these, especially at the price-point, whether you're an old grandma in an MPV seeking comfort, fuel efficiency, and safety, or a spirited driver (myself) in a warm/hot-hatch seeking performance. They're very predictable tyres which is good for any kind of driver.
They are very quiet and smooth on bumpy surfaces and motorway driving as a strength, however I would've preferred a stiffer sidewall as they offer very little sensation through the steering wheel, though once your senses adjust to it, you can feel the sidewalls twisting between the road surface and the rims when quick-flicking the steering wheel, giving a delay between steering input and direction change. For a spirited-driver, these tyres reward smooth, Prost-like steering inputs, and as long as you drive like that, you can carry pretty impressive speed in the bends, though it must be said there is more confidence-inspiring tyres out there. You can push them in the wet without feeling unsafe in the slightest. Naturally, going to a bigger aspect ratio tyre means a loss of steering response is expected, but I do think there is realistic room for improvement in this area. With that said, these are classed as a 'Premium Summer Tyre' rather than UHP, but I had little choice in this size. I would've brought the Yoko's again but I don't think paying 30% more for the same tyre in an extremely similar size is fair pricing.
On another note, can premium tyre manufacturers stop ignoring the demand for UHP tyres in sizes for old school hot-hatches and neo-classic cars? We all know that modern performance cars don't offer the engagement that old analogue cars do, yet modern performance tyres have come a long way over the past 15-20 years. A set of PS5's or Eagle Assymetric 6's in my size would be a dream, though of course in a proportionate price compared to the other sizes offered (take note Yokohama)
TLDR: Not a bad tyre but not a special tyre either, adequate enough on all fronts. Respectfully priced for what it is. Won't disappoint nor wow anyone. A safe choice of tyre to avoid disappointment.
Sailun Atrezzo Elite rated 70% while driving a Hyundai 2011 Sonata 2.4 gls
Driving on mostly country roads for 0 spirited miles
Driving on mostly country roads for 0 spirited miles
I had these tyres on a 2001 accent. They handled well, the ride was comfortable. They did not last as long, it could be because of aggressive driving however.
Austone SP 6 Athena rated 80% while driving a Rover 400
Driving on a combination of roads for 20000 average miles
Driving on a combination of roads for 20000 average miles
Еxcellent tire for the price, worth it.
Toyo Proxes TR1 rated 89% while driving a MG MGTF
Driving on a combination of roads for 4000 spirited miles
Driving on a combination of roads for 4000 spirited miles
Bought these to replace my worn out T1R's, which were very good on the TF. Went with the TR1's (T1R's no longer available), hoping they would be as good as the tyres they were replacing (despite different tread pattern). Had these on about a year now and they are a very good match for the MGTF, great on the day to day stuff and even ok when used on a competitive HillClimb. Grip in the dry is impressive for a normal road tyre, progressive at the limit, complementing the cars handling.
Accelera 651 Sport rated 64% while driving a Renault Clio 182 cup
Driving on track for 250 spirited miles
Driving on track for 250 spirited miles
Bought the extra 100tw tyres for hillclimbs and sprints, they had good grip but was a little unpredictable on the limit, a little grippier than the Michelin ps3 tyres I was using before but not any real difference in the times from being a 1b list tyre.
It’s a good tyre for the price of them, there are better but then again at twice the price.
These replaced outgoing R888R’s. Initially feel is they warm up very quickly which is great, very responsive on the turn in but felt a bit more understeer than I got with the Toyo’s.
Feedback through steering wheel is great and can feel where the car is at all time.
Outright grip I’d say initially Toyo seems better BUT I’ve only put about 500 miles on them and a travkday at abingdon which is very poor tarmac/concrete surface so not a fair test.
Would I buy again? I’ll have to do another 2 or 3 trackdays on them as the Toyo’s gave me around 5000 road miles and 3 trackdays (averaging around 200 miles driving each trackday). But initially I’d say yes.
Nankang NS2R rated 77% while driving a Lotus Elan M100
Driving on mostly country roads for 1000 spirited miles
Driving on mostly country roads for 1000 spirited miles
Replaced a set of Toyo TR1's with these, the 205's are actually 215 wide. They look good too.
Much stiffer sidewall giving better turn in and much more direct steering. They don't roll over onto the sidewall either, so the tread stays in contact with the road with no squealing. Dry handling on road or track is excellent with solid feel, good turn in and they hold on well when loaded. Straight line and corner braking performance is very good, solid and confidence inspiring. They will progressively understeer at the limit under power, but that's 200hp in a fwd car. If they do lose traction, they recover easily.
Surprisingly good on wet road and track, but they won't cope with much standing water.
They're probably quite high rolling resistance, being a sport oriented tyre.
Low noise levels as long as you don't drive along the cats eyes.
Relatively hard ride due to the firm sidewalls.
They appear to be wearing ok. I don't expect too much due to the occasional track day.
They are a relatively inexpensive road/track tyre. Excellent for the price and I'd buy again for the Lotus, but not for my daily.
Ran these in medium spec on my tarmac rally NB MX-5. Did 3 days across two sets and since that have done 4-5 race meetings.
No complaints, have had to swap inside to outside on a couple of them to keep the RR camber wear (anti-clockwise circuit) under control. Will probably get one-more meeting out of them before they're scrap. Not a huge amount of miles, but 99% of those miles have been on the limit.
Maxxis MA iPro Victra iPro rated 90% while driving a Suzuki Swift
Driving on a combination of roads for 20 spirited miles
Driving on a combination of roads for 20 spirited miles
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