Given
88%
while driving a
Subaru Forester sti
(235/45 R18 W) on
mostly country roads
for 6,000
spirited miles
When these landed the first thing I noticed was the really wide grooves, 2mm wider than the previous Z-Lines, the only grooves I'd seen anything like this wide were on Michelin PS4's - what was the dry grip going to be like I wondered? Then a bit of poking showed that the sidewalls were definitely more flexible than the previous tyres - :rolleyes: Anyway I needn't have worried about the grip, as the guys in Finland have obviously working hard to improve their rubber. It's superb, dry and wet - I've never managed to unstick them in the slightest, I think you'd need to take them onto a racetrack for that as it would involve speed/manouvres that really aren't meant for public roads, hence the N/A rating for how progressive they are at the limit. The softness of the sidewalls is noticeable though, you get the slightly odd feeling that the tread is welded to the road and the car is moving a bit on top of that. Upping the pressure a few psi helps with this, but doesn't altogether remove it. Steering feel/response is very good, the extra tread grip compared to the previous tyres gives a sharper turn in and more focused road feedback, though this is slightly spoiled by the soft sidewalls. And they're quieter and more comfortable than the Z-lines too, though if you're driving a car like the FSti that's likely a secondary consideration!
Will I buy them again - probably, unless Nokian do what they ought to and make a version with stiffer sidewalls - after all they have the Wetproof for general high powered cars, why not make the Powerproof for those of us who really want to DRIVE?