It's been over 10 years since the Uniroyal Rainsport 2 was launched with the firm goal of being the "best in wet". 10 years later and the Rainsport 2 is still putting on a good show in group tests, and getting excellent reviews about the wet weather performance it provides, but its age is starting to show and it's getting slightly bested by modern rivals.
In order to restore the title of best in wet, Uniroyal have launched the Rainsport 3. With an aggressive tread pattern which combines both the water dispersion abilities of a directional tread with the stiffer shoulder blocks and construction of an asymmetric tire, the Rainsport 3 promises to regain its lead in the wet tests, while hopefully addressing some of the criticism of the old tire, such as dry handling, noise and rolling resistance.
New Technology
The main new technology in the Rainsport 3 is "Shark Skin" technology. This features as very small grooves in the water channels to reduce the flow turbulence and evacuate more water at similar speeds. At 80 kph, at tire hitting 8mm of standing water needs to displace 30 litres of water a second, and with on average 11 wet days per MONTH in London between April and October (summer tire season) the importance of good aquaplaning properties become apparent.The new tread pattern offers several advances over both the old directional "V" pattern, and the new asymmetric designs. By keeping strong diagonal water channels this can be combined with the 2 large water channels to displace a large amount of water per second. The new asymmetric construction allows the tire to be constructed in a way where by the carcass has a very uniform stiffness, which allows good handling properties and an even wear over the life of the tire. This in turn provides none of the noise issues which the directional Rainsport 2 tire had as it wore.
Available from 14 to 21 inches, every Uniroyal Rainsport 3 has an A in wet braking, showing the progress which has been made. When combined with a 13% improved rolling resistance over the outgoing tire, the new Rainsport 3 looks to be a very promising mid range tire.
just had 2 new Uniroyal tires shark skin tires fitted to my vw gti as I was looking at the tires on the front of my car ,it looks ok on n/s but doesn't look right on o/s took car back to garage but they say its ok ,pattern on o/s looks to be going the wrong way any advise thanks
Don't worry, that's perfectly normal and how the tires are designed :)
Got two of these fitted today at local fitting centre (Tire-Spot) they're reckoned to be exceptional tires and with £10 off two and £25 off four at the moment they're at a bargain price......roll on the rain:)
4 on my Mk1 Leon, just an amazing difference!
I have bought some of these tires from Camskill for my car. They are 225/45/17 91Y rating. I noticed both tires underneath this say FR. Does this mean they have sent me 2 front right tires or are these both okay to use on the front of my car.
FR is Continental talk for "Flange Rim", which means they have a little rubber to help with curb protection.
There's only one Rainsport 3 tire produced, and that's Asymmetric so can go anywhere on the car.
Thank you very much. Appreciate your help.
I will get them on car today and review them in a couple of weeks/months.
Taz
I have Rainsport 2s on all corners but need 2 front tires and wonder whether I can reasonable put R3s on the front rather than spending on all 4 corners ?
Hi Andy,
While it's not best practice, that won't be a problem. It's only essential to match tires across the axle, so as long as you're doing both fronts or both rears it'll be ok.
Thanks, that mirrors what the Uniroyal guys said some months ago but I feel a bit daft having chased down 2 R2s tires when one punctured and I swapped the 5mm one into a spare a few months ago.
I was going to swap over to Continentals but do you think it is worth sticking R3s on the front and then look to swap all 4 out later as they'll likely come up around the same time and I tend to change when about 4mm left.
No reason to wait to change to the Continentals either, apart from maybe trying out the new Rainsport 3's :)
So you think the Continentals would be better than the mixed R2s and R3s or indeed 4 x R3s ?
If so, or for an alternative, I'd need the best Contis for 205/55/R16s
Low mileage (8k pa), not worried about wear, village setting so quite a lot of rain, loose roads etc. and more town / country driving than motorways
This test should explain everything :)
http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
Thanks. This is exactly how I ended up with R2s on all corners ! (and very pleased with them too).
I do note however though that when I first looked at the R2s, their numbers were significantly higher than they are now, though not as high as the R3s currently have.
Job done, off for 2 R3s
I wondered what these Rainsport 3's are like in the snow and icy conditions of the UK winter. Some snow tires ive looked at dont work so well in the wet, and as we know the UK winter can snow one day and chuck it down with rain the next. Any info would be great.
Like any summer tire, we're afraid the correct answer is "not very well".
Due to the soft compound and block design, they're likely to work SLIGHTLY better than a more "normal" asymmetric tire with the main centre ribs, however compared to a dedicated winter tire these will be next to useless!
Have a look at our article regarding all season tires, these are probably the best compromise for the UK winters:
http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
All season tires would be better in UK imo
Brilliant, maximum stability on wet, even coils, but after 3000 km, sporty drive on winding road wear is greater than 50%, but then you can't have it all. 99% satisfied about safety, but about 30% satisfied wear
i would like to know the exact treadwear number of this tire*size 185/55R15 82H thanx in advance
For anyone else reading this, this conversation was finished on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
hello
i want to put 215/45/17 and 245/40/17 on an s2000. the thing i am concerned is that 215 has V speed rate and 245 has Y.
P.S. s2000 has W speed rate. better go down in speed rate especially when we talk about rain tires because i would have a thing with warming up, right?
so what should i do? abandon the idea of rainsport 3 since 245/40/17 come only in Y?
It's difficult to comment on individual speed ratings without actually testing them, however it's the load ratings you need to be sure at least match the OE specification.
User feedback is highlighting soft sidewalls are a feature of the Rainsport 3 (like the 2). Which this isn't a bad feature, it improves comfort and makes for a quiet tire, we're not sure they'd be best matched for a car like the S2000, which is known for quite twitchy handling.
that was exactly my thought. thank you.
Have worn too quickly, on my Alfa 159 I previously had Dunlops which lasted twice as long and served very well.
I bought 4 new rainsport 3's for my Mazda MX5 and these tires are just brilliant as they stick to the road like glue. Brilliant practice emergency stops in the wet and fast round wet roundabouts. No silly sliding anymore just grip grip and more grip!
I share the same opinion of @Konstantinos... Hope I'm wrong cause I only saw that after have them on the car. BTW, Alfa Romeo Crosswagon, 225/55R17 101 Y XL.
According to Uniroyal you shouldn't be able to notice a difference, so no need to worry :)
Well, comparing with the Michelin Pilot Alpin 3, the car behavior is much better but, its normal, we're on summer :) . The tires are very confortable and not noisy at all. Just need to test them on wet but for that I need to wait for the rain. About "Accordding to Uniroyal...", I never saw a brand giving a bad opinion about the own product. I hope they're right cause driving over 200 km/h (I use to drive a lot, from Poland to Netherlands, Belgium etc... and in Germany there's no speed limit) any difference of traction/grip matters. Even in a 4X4 like mine. Thanks for the reply ;)
Report back when you've had some wet running :)
Is this tire directional? (meaning that when fitted on a car, the left side pair is mirrored by the right side pair?) If not, the left side pair will go backwards compared to the right side pair, or vice versa. If the latter is the case, then how can they achieve the same wet handling characteristics on both the left and right side of the car? Just asking...
P.S. I'm very happy with my Rainsports 2 and thinking about replacing them with these. But I need to know about their fitting.
Is it not directional, and as you say, can look a little odd mounted to a vehicle (though not as odd as the Ultrac Sessanta: http://lovetires.com/tire/V... )
We asked this very question on the launch and Uniroyal assure us there is no measurable variance between right and left side.
Early reviews seem happy enough with the performance too :)
Could you explain that a little please.
Does it mean that they do not have to be fitted a particular way - no inside and outside.
Thanks in advance.
They have an inside and outside, they do not have a direction :)
Put both fronts on last weekend. I went for these as the roads are wet at least 250 days a year in Lancashire.... 235 40 19 on Alfa 159ti with 200bhp and Brembo brakes. Had all sorts of tires including Conti 3's which have all struggled on wet roads. Wet traction is unbelievable through these Uniroyals. The car used to spin the front wheels in 3rd gear on wet roads but now it grips like it's 4WD.
Thanks for the feedback, glad they're working well for you :)
Been running these for a couple of months now. 235/45/17XL on a 450bhp evo. The brakes are CarbotechXP20 on the front and Pagid Rs15 on the rear. The grip on cold damp wet greasy roads is excellent. Hard braking does not bring in the abs. Have used F1 assy1and2, mich ps2, hankooks v12evo,T1R, yoko advans and ao46 and c-drive. The best wet grip so far. Looking forward to some dryer summer weather to see what dry grip is like.
I just got some of these today in 195 - 45 - R16 for my 09 Ford Fiesta, very good tires !
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m...
Any idea where we can buy them from yet, I'm having a hard time finding them online.
lovetires have them: http://lovetires.com/tire/U...
Very limited sizes available in the UK at the moment, so you might want to check some of the german sites such as mytires
Is there any info on which sizes and when will be available? I plan to buy Rainsport2 next year but it would be great if Rainsport3 was available!
Sizes are rolling out as we speak. We spoke to a wholesaler to get a little more information and they're saying Uniroyal are automatically delivering the Rainsport 3 where they have stock, which means there should be good availability of the Rainsport 3 in key sizes over the next month.
can't wait to test :) Uniroyal are here and 'black' again