# Uniroyal Rainsport 2



## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Has anybody had experience with these tyres? I have been reading up on them and they seem to get very good reviews and I can get four for 400 quid :thumb:


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

Very impressed with mine, Just to note there also made in the same factory as Continental


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Is it not just a Continental tyres with a different name?


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## tomah (Sep 17, 2010)

Probably the best bang for buck tyre for our weather. I've got them on at the mo.

Don't expect much when the snow and ice land, though. :thumb:


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

I have winter tyres I need to get off and get some proper summer ones on,lots of grip with the winter ones but they feel "wobbly" in the corners:lol:


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Yep run 4 for about a year great in the wet obviously but seriously soft sidewall and installs zero confidence in the twistys and wears pretty quickly. 

Would I recommend them? Probably not better tyres out there now like the new Falken FK453 or the new Vredestein ultrac vorti.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Would they not feel better after getting run in?


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Didn't for me they grip fine but the back end felt floaty. Since got two new Kumho's as the fronts were low put them onto the back and instantly felt better.


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## cdti_sri (Jul 17, 2006)

Never got the hype with the rainsports. Average tyre day to day outclassed by verdestein IMO. If you are on a budget Syron race are very very good value for money,


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## BrummyPete (Jun 10, 2010)

Had rainsports on my last focus, found them good but wore quick, currently got vred sportrac 5 on and seem to be better but still wearing them in


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## tomah (Sep 17, 2010)

cdti_sri said:


> Never got the hype with the rainsports. Average tyre day to day outclassed by verdestein IMO. If you are on a budget Syron race are very very good value for money,


Speaking of Vredestein, perhaps check out the Sessanta? Might be a bit more expensive, but a lot of positive reviews for them.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

The Vred vorti's look really good,I think I am going for them now.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

We have the Uniroyals on the Civic, although they're the Expert ones and they're very good. The missus doesn't drive that fast but I've taken it out a few times in heavy rain and the grip they give is awesome. Considering they're not that much more expensive than budget tyres they get my vote :thumb:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

I've got the Vreds on the Abarth... quite liking them... good grip levels in the wet and dry so far...

:thumb:


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

I found the Rainsport a good all round tyre, although I did think they generated quite a bit of road noise. That said I've had a fair few sets of UniRoyals over the years and they've served me well.


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

A decent tyre that specialises in wet weather grip and aquaplaning resistance; performs very well for the price but often criticised for soft turn in, understeer and poor steering feel in the dry. 

There's better tyres out there and far worse ones (yes Falken, I'm referring to you with your overrated products that seem to be 10 years out of date; loved by internet forums but consistently fail to perform in objective tests). It really depends what the OP wants from a tyre and what they're prepared to pay for it.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Jagnet said:


> A decent tyre that specialises in wet weather grip and aquaplaning resistance; performs very well for the price but often criticised for soft turn in, understeer and poor steering feel in the dry.
> 
> There's better tyres out there and far worse ones (yes Falken, I'm referring to you with your overrated products that seem to be 10 years out of date; loved by internet forums but consistently fail to perform in objective tests). It really depends what the OP wants from a tyre and what they're prepared to pay for it.


You sound like a sales guy lol. "objective tests" yeh those test funded by tyre manfacturers... come on!!

Have you tried Falkens??


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## Adrian1759 (Jan 30, 2012)

Just put on Nexen N8000s on and impressed with the performance so far for <£100each - getting good write ups/reviews as well - definitely worth looking at.


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

A sales guy? I haven't even recommended a tyre brand - my OTE would be fairly low if I were 

Yes I have used Falkens. Have I run back to back tests with them against other brands? No, but then I doubt many have.

As for the tyre tests being in the pay of the manufacturers....really? Are you suggesting that all of them, from ADAC to Auto Bild, Auto Express to Auto Zeitung fudge the results based on who advertises the most or who's facilities they're using? Turns out Linglongs really are good, they just weren't paying enough.

Perhaps then we should rely on anecdotal experience from those that replaced their shot tyres with another brand, found that the grip on 8mm of fresh tread was much better than 1.6mm of old rubber and now rave about them, especially as they only paid half the price of a big name brand. Nothing like a little post-purchase rationalisation.

If someone says to me "I use x brand and they're good but I find them a bit lacking in such and such an area over y brand", then I can take them seriously. They've stood back and given a dispassionate opinion. What rankles me is when people just state "I use this tyre, it's brilliant, you should too, and it was really cheap". That's as helpful as a flat tyre at the side of the M40 on a wet Xmas eve. For some reason, Falken tyres seem to be more prone to this than any other brand. Why, I don't know, although it could be confirmation bias of course


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

I didn't like my Falken 452 but alot of people do like them. The next tyre I'm trying is the Nexen N5000, heard good things about them.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Jagnet said:


> A sales guy? I haven't even recommended a tyre brand - my OTE would be fairly low if I were
> 
> Yes I have used Falkens. Have I run back to back tests with them against other brands? No, but then I doubt many have.


So if you havent ran back to back tests how can you come to the conclusion that Falkens (incidently i have nothing to do with Falken only used the tyre FK452 they sell) are out of date by 10 years? a tad exuberant on the length of time.



Jagnet said:


> As for the tyre tests being in the pay of the manufacturers....really? Are you suggesting that all of them, from ADAC to Auto Bild, Auto Express to Auto Zeitung fudge the results based on who advertises the most or who's facilities they're using? Turns out Linglongs really are good, they just weren't paying enough.


i'm not suggesting all of them but two of the companies you have mentioned i could pretty much be certain they are "money" influnced results being issued, and Linglongs are not good (yes from personal experience)



Jagnet said:


> Perhaps then we should rely on anecdotal experience from those that replaced their shot tyres with another brand, found that the grip on 8mm of fresh tread was much better than 1.6mm of old rubber and now rave about them, especially as they only paid half the price of a big name brand. Nothing like a little post-purchase rationalisation.


Perhaps we should!... oh no wait we have www.tyrereviews.co.uk for that which dont edit posts etc, also you can report back on the tyres say halfway through the life of the tyre or at the end of the tyres life and give honest opinions.



Jagnet said:


> If someone says to me "I use x brand and they're good but I find them a bit lacking in such and such an area over y brand", then I can take them seriously. They've stood back and given a dispassionate opinion. What rankles me is when people just state "I use this tyre, it's brilliant, you should too, and it was really cheap". That's as helpful as a flat tyre at the side of the M40 on a wet Xmas eve. For some reason, Falken tyres seem to be more prone to this than any other brand. Why, I don't know, although it could be confirmation bias of course


I think you are picking a brand and being slightly biased on them personally, the same could be said for alot of tyres if you looked i could give you examples of currently the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 being the new "fanboys" tyre of choice, yet i know of over 10 people who have had terrible sidewall bubbles, Contintal Sport Contact 5 newly released having delamination issues on 17inches and above.


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

cdti_sri said:


> Never got the hype with the rainsports. Average tyre day to day outclassed by verdestein IMO. If you are on a budget Syron race are very very good value for money,


Have you tried a Syron, and if so what other have you used?


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

Ross said:


> Is it not just a Continental tyres with a different name?


Conti own Uniroyal. .


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

Grizzle said:


> So if you havent ran back to back tests how can you come to the conclusion that Falkens (incidently i have nothing to do with Falken only used the tyre FK452 they sell) are out of date by 10 years? a tad exuberant on the length of time.


 Well the FK452 dates back to 05/06 iirc, and whilst not really troubling better tyres for wet performance then, its price was low enough and its performance versus other mid range tyres good enough to gain popularity that it hasn't really lost since, despite losing ground to other tyres since. How long does it take for a mid range tyre to reach the performance levels of a top tyre - I wouldn't say 5 years was at all pessimistic.



Grizzle said:


> i'm not suggesting all of them but two of the companies you have mentioned i could pretty much be certain they are "money" influnced results being issued, and Linglongs are not good (yes from personal experience)


 Yeah, no amount of money could persuade anyone to suggest Linglongs are a top contender 

Always a good idea to assess a tyre's performance across multiple tests anyway. Different sizes being tested, different test vehicles, different conditions all coming into play before getting into thoughts of whether or not some tests may not be 100% on the level.



Grizzle said:


> Perhaps we should!... oh no wait we have www.tyrereviews.co.uk for that which dont edit posts etc, also you can report back on the tyres say halfway through the life of the tyre or at the end of the tyres life and give honest opinions.


 I'll take most of those reviews with a pinch of salt for the reasons I've already said. Handy to cross reference against tyre tests but that's about it.



Grizzle said:


> I think you are picking a brand and being slightly biased on them personally, the same could be said for alot of tyres if you looked i could give you examples of currently the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 being the new "fanboys" tyre of choice, yet i know of over 10 people who have had terrible sidewall bubbles, Contintal Sport Contact 5 newly released having delamination issues on 17inches and above.


 The new Conti isn't a stand out winner in tests either; somewhat disappointing.

My (somewhat tongue in cheek) comment on the Falken originally was with reference to tyres that performed less well than the Uniroyal, hence picking on them. I agree that there's a lot of Michelin and Conti fanboyism (as with any market leader) but price aside it'd be difficult to argue that they weren't still a better tyre on the whole than the Uniroyal.

Compared with current offerings from the likes of Nokian, Fulda, Hankook, Vredestein in the mid range price segment, then the FK452 doesn't look such a good buy. Even manufacturers traditionally seen as economy purchases such as Nexen, Barum, Matador, Semperit have moved forward substantially thanks to investment and r&d from their better known parent companies or through their own development. I'm just not seeing that kind of development from Falken and their new FK453 doesn't seem to be setting the world alight with excitement either.


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

> A sales guy? I haven't even recommended a tyre brand - my OTE would be fairly low if I were
> 
> Yes I have used Falkens. Have I run back to back tests with them against other brands? No, but then I doubt many have.
> 
> ...


Best post I've read in ages with regard to putting a point across, including self honesty and the appreciation of your own opinions pit falls :thumb:


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

Jagnet said:


> I'm just not seeing that kind of development from Falken and their new FK453 doesn't seem to be setting the world alight with excitement either.


To be fair to Falken's FK453, still been very new, I doubt many have even tried it yet, for me it would be a no brainer anyway as a Hankook is only around £3/tyre more, and a further £7/tyre would get Hankook's top tyre, all price's for 225/40R18"Y. .


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

True. Only the one comparison test that I can find for the FK453 so far and that was Auto Bild's 50 tyre test, where it failed to make it through to the final 15 based on its 25th place for braking performance.

Not an encouraging start for a tyre, marketed as UHP and developed over 3 years from a clean sheet rather than an evolution of the 452.

I won't condemn it outright yet based on one test, but I wouldn't want to be the person stumping up my own money for a full set of them over other brands in the hope that it's better than that.

Meanwhile the Uniroyal, the subject of this thread, seems to be getting forgotten  Yay, go Uniroyal!

Sorry Ross, you can have your thread back now :thumb:


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Thanks guys but the soft sidewalls on the Rainsports has put me off probably going for the Vred Vortis now:thumb:


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## fordeboy (Dec 3, 2009)

Hi I have put a set of these on my fiesta still and I have to say they would knock spots off the original pirelli people zero neros. Probably the best set of tyres I have ever fitted. Big thumbs up from me:thumb:


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Have you considered Kumho?

I had KU31's on the Cougar and they were excellent. The newer KU39's are meant to be good too.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Its Kumho's i have now, certainly stiffer sidewalls.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

millns84 said:


> Have you considered Kumho?
> 
> The newer KU39's are meant to be good too.


I have two being delivered tomorow so once they're fitted I'll post my thoughts on them !


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

cdti_sri said:


> Never got the hype with the rainsports. Average tyre day to day outclassed by verdestein IMO. If you are on a budget Syron race are very very good value for money,


I rate my verdestein snowtrac3 tyres when i have scrubbed the Goodyear energy eco crappy summer tyres away i will be looking at their summer range



The Cueball said:


> I've got the Vreds on the Abarth... quite liking them... good grip levels in the wet and dry so far...
> 
> :thumb:


They OEM fit cue?


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

Grizzle said:


> Its Kumho's i have now, certainly stiffer sidewalls.


Kumho & Yokohama have the stronger sidewall's, I told Hankook do but I've never tried any.

Toyo, Conti & Mich all have weaker walls.


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## Strothow (Oct 29, 2009)

G.P said:


> To be fair to Falken's FK453, still been very new, I doubt many have even tried it yet, for me it would be a no brainer anyway as a Hankook is only around £3/tyre more, and a further £7/tyre would get Hankook's top tyre, all price's for 225/40R18"Y. .


What is hankooks "top Tyre"?

Cheers.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Ventus V12 Evo is there highest tyre had it on my van didn't like them terrible in wet and wore quickly.


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

You didn't mention the tyre size so I will go what I currently have on namely Contis sport contact 2 (205/50 R17) and to be honest they are terrible tyre, noisy and not a hell of a lot of grip specially in damp and wet. I am looking at Michelin Pilot Sport 3's, Pilot Super Sport, another tyre to look at is Hankook tyres, found this place: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/ to be quite good on reviews as seem to be from customers.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

I had the Uniroyal RainSport 2s on my Fiesta, as Grizzle says, very soft sidewall feels like your running on jelly. They do have a good amount of grip, clear standing water at speed great but they really lack in confidence.


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

Grizzle said:


> Ventus V12 Evo is there highest tyre had it on my van didn't like them terrible in wet and wore quickly.


I take it your prefer the Kunmo's to the Hankooks then?

More feel with the Kumho's?


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

G.P said:


> I take it your prefer the Kunmo's to the Hankooks then?
> 
> More feel with the Kumho's?


Yeh much prefer the Kumho's I had the KU31's when they were released years back loved them.

I heard Audi are rolling out some poverty spec A3's with the Hankook S1 Evo tyres.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Its 225/40/r18 I am looking for,I don't think the Rainsports's are for me because of the soft sidewalls I want something with plenty of feel in the corners and the Vred Vortis seem to be very good from what I have been reading plus they look really good.


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

Grizzle said:


> Yeh much prefer the Kumho's I had the KU31's when they were released years back loved them.
> 
> I heard Audi are rolling out some poverty spec A3's with the Hankook S1 Evo tyres.


If I can't get hold of Yokohama I always go Kumho, my friend works for Bridgestone and his car both have Kumho fitted.



Ross said:


> Its 225/40/r18 I am looking for,I don't think the Rainsports's are for me because of the soft sidewalls I want something with plenty of feel in the corners and the Vred Vortis seem to be very good from what I have been reading plus they look really good.


I've just been reading on a Seat site a few folks that can't wait to get rid of these, they look strange to me, whoever designed them must of had a few. .


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## Strothow (Oct 29, 2009)

Grizzle said:


> Ventus V12 Evo is there highest tyre had it on my van didn't like them terrible in wet and wore quickly.


Those are what I have on mine and I think they are superb in the wet, can't comment on wear though!


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## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Gotta admit they took a bit of time to bed in, but I'm pretty impressed with the Falken 912's that Volvo fitted to mine (and I guess the 1 P-Zero), and the Falken's aren't too expensive in 215/45/18s which is a bonus


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

Grizzle said:


> Ventus V12 Evo is there highest tyre had it on my van didn't like them terrible in wet and wore quickly.


I had the V12's on the rear of my 200sx and they were great! Better than F452's which were on previously. Also they wore well and were very refined. I rated them a lot, which says something on the back of that car which was very tail happy when provoked.


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

I have 4 rainsport 2's on my car just now. They are great in the wet, but a little squirmy when cornering in the dry. I also had to up my tyre pressures with them, as they sit rounder on the rim and the wall seems to roll more on the dry. Under hard braking in the dry they squirmed abit too.

They are near the end of their life and are still good, but I've just bought 4 Michelin Pilot sport 3's for £105 a corner. They are supposed to be better than the rainsport, and also wear better.

Was going to try Goodyear Asy 2's, but can't get as good a price or a place that has stock at good price.

I also read that the rainsports come with 9.5mm tread instead of the normal 8mm.


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

donnyboy said:


> I have 4 rainsport 2's on my car just now. They are great in the wet, but a little squirmy when cornering in the dry. I also had to up my tyre pressures with them, as they sit rounder on the rim and the wall seems to roll more on the dry. Under hard braking in the dry they squirmed abit too.
> 
> They are near the end of their life and are still good, but I've just bought 4 Michelin Pilot sport 3's for £105 a corner. They are supposed to be better than the rainsport, and also wear better.
> 
> ...


What size are your tyres?


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

225/40/18 92Y XL.

For an XL tyre the side wall has alot of flex. If I hit a slight pot hole the tyre dressing marks the edge of the rim.

I had pirelli rosso and Falken FK452 before them, which I ran at 32/29. I have to run the Rainsports at 36/32. The outside edge seem to be wearing out on them due to the tyre shape/profile.


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

Had 3 sets of these and I REALLY like them.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Well after a fair bit of research I think I am going for some Kumho KU39's,My car had two KU31's on the front before I changed them and it did handle very well:thumb:


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## Detailing1 (Apr 16, 2012)

Grizzle said:


> Ventus V12 Evo is there highest tyre had it on my van didn't like them terrible in wet and wore quickly.


No, S1 and RS-2/3 are higher. :thumb:


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

S1 isn't and the RS-2 & 3 are more for track although yeh it is road legal.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Four KU 39's on the way,looking forward to getting them fitted and giving them a good testing:thumb:


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

Ross said:


> Four KU 39's on the way,looking forward to getting them fitted and giving them a good testing:thumb:


Seems like they get pretty good reviews, let us know how you get on with them. :thumb:


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

Focusaddict said:


> Seems like they get pretty good reviews


Most objective tests describe them as average at best:

2010 Sport Auto Ultra High Performance Tyre Test
_While the KU39 offers strong braking characteristics it gives very little feedback to the driver resulting in a doughy steering feel. It also lacks traction in the wet._

2012 Auto Bild Max Performance Tyre Test
_Poor steering feel, long wet and dry braking, high fuel consumption, poor wear._

2012 EVO Max Performance Tyre Test
_A very average performance from the Kumho KU39 left Kumhos flagship tyre in 9th. Like the Accelera in 10th, the Kumho was ok in the dry, but struggled in the wet._


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

I'm going by user reviews: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Kumho/Ecsta-KU39.htm


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## VW STEVE. (Mar 18, 2012)

tomah said:


> Speaking of Vredestein, perhaps check out the Sessanta? Might be a bit more expensive, but a lot of positive reviews for them.


...............had them on my last GTI,good value but there very noisey & i found they tramlined all over the place(18'' alloys). Got Conti sport 3 on my ED30 & don't think i could go back to the cheaper brands now,the differance is like chalk & cheese.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

Ross said:


> Four KU 39's on the way,looking forward to getting them fitted and giving them a good testing:thumb:


I've got two on mine and although I doubt I will test them as "vigorously" as you I am interested to see what they're like considering I got them at what I think is a good price !


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

I will be giving them a good testing believe me:thumb: The normal size of tyre for the Spec B is 215/45/r18 but for a decent tyre in that size your looking at least £150 up to around £200 a corner,going for 225/40/r18 you get a larger range of tyres at a better price only downside is the 225's are quite as sharp as the 215's for handling but its only very slight.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Well I am just back from a blast with the KU 39's and I am very pleased with them:thumb:

Nice sharp/precise steering feel,lots of grip,low road noise,they seem to ride better too which is a bonus.

For £96 a corner you can't go much wrong,I will let you know what there like in the wet.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Did you get them delivered, or did a local tyre shop have them?


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

I bought them from blackcircles and got them fitted up here.

Including delivery and fitting it will be around £115 a corner.


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

Ross said:


> Including delivery and fitting it will be around £115 a corner.


 :doublesho You could have had Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 or Continental SportContact 5 or Nokian Z G2 in a 225/40/18 fitted for that price.

Still, the main thing is you're happy with them and you've got rid of the wobbliness of running winter tyres in summer :thumb:


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Really?? were??


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Jagnet said:


> :doublesho You could have had Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 or Continental SportContact 5 or Nokian Z G2 in a 225/40/18 fitted for that price.
> 
> Still, the main thing is you're happy with them and you've got rid of the wobbliness of running winter tyres in summer :thumb:


you have to remember where ross lives :thumb::tumbleweed:


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

Mytyres - with the 5% off code this month and the usual cash rate for tyre fitting I pay it'd be bang on the money. A local indie tyre shop would probably match it as well. At worst it'd be a couple of beers extra.


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## Jagnet (Dec 25, 2011)

Ninja59 said:


> you have to remember where ross lives :thumb::tumbleweed:


Ah fair point


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Jagnet said:


> Mytyres - with the 5% off code this month and the usual cash rate for tyre fitting I pay it'd be bang on the money. A local indie tyre shop would probably match it as well. At worst it'd be a couple of beers extra.


Not everyone has that convinence though and the KU39 is just as good as any other tyre IMO, certainly safer than a delaminating Conti anyday.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Yeah I am closer to Norway than I am to London.

I will be doing more miles to get them run in so I get a better idea of what they are really like.


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