Accelera PHI R

There were 4 brand new PHI R tires fitted to my XKR when I bought it. In fairness, it's not a tire I would choose for a 510bhp RWD coupe, but you'd expect them to be at least passable in all conditions, and to give you a sense of security as long as you drive within your limits and those of the environment.

To be blunt, these tires are bl--dy dangerous in damp and cold conditions. I can barely use more than approx 25% throttle without the TCS light firing and the rear end squirming. The final straw for me, was going round a damp corner (6 degrees temp) at approx 20mph with no throttle applied, and feeling the back end starting to slide around. Consequently, all subsequent bends, corners and cambers were taken with extreme caution.

They currently have over 6.5mm of tread and are well scrubbed in.

In terms of the front end; well, it's passable in terms of comfort but turn-in is anything but sharp - and I don't trust the lateral grip whatsoever.

So if you're considering these as a good budget option on a larger wheel size, just DON'T. I wouldn't let a family member in my car (never mind let them drive) in the damp with these things on the rims. You are literally risking your life to save a few quid. I'd rather fit mid-range part worns for the same price!

Dry Grip - given the price of the tire, just £61.99 a corner, you really cannot ask for more grip than what it has on offer. What these tires can offer in the dry for the price is nothing short of very impressive

Wet Grip - I cannot even put in to words just how dreadful these are in the wet. It feels like I am driving on slicks. I think just about the only positive thing I can say it is the back end doesn't want to come around when lifting off the throttle, but that is likely only because of the utterly insane amount of understeer these have. Even at a normal road driving pace, going around roundabouts it wants to send you in to the curb. It will push wide if you even look at the throttle the wrong way. In the UK considering it rains as much as it does, they are bloody dangerous.

Road Feedback - really just doesn't talk to me at all. Am I understeering? How much grip is left? Am I about to run out? Who knows, because these tires have their lips sealed. Coupled with the atrocious wet grip, you don't really know you are about to or are already understeering until it is about to send you in to the curb. In the dry it is good enough, but it just doesn't really tell me what it's limits are making it hard to really press on.

Wear - I can't comment on this, they were so bad in the wet that I had to take them off after just 3000 miles

Comfort - it is a 225/35 18 tire so it is only bound to be so comfortable. The side wall does feel very stiff, it jitters about and big bumps are back breaking. It reminds me a bit of run-flats.

Buy again - if we lived in a dry world and I was on a tight budget, honestly for anyone not eeking out every percent of their vehicle and really looking for a dynamic drive, these are brilliant. Downright groundbreaking for £61.99 a tire dare I say. But unfortunately that isn't the real world, and a tire where I fear the poor weather as if I have to avoid an accident these will likely fail miserably, it is not fun to own.

Not only that but they were so bad that if the weather forecast said rain it would genuinely ruin my drive, any slight dampness on the road would mean fun out of the window and a fight for not understeering in to a ditch. Just to give some perspective, my new Continental Sport Contact 7's are a joy to drive. If anything I get excited for some rain every now and then as it means grip limits are lower, meaning more playing about with the chassis without the risk factors being as high.

These tires covered roughly 22,500 miles.

The car is a South Western United States car, so driving in the wet is rather uncommon and therefore not going to be covered very thoroughly in this review.

Dry grip, however, is solid. I do not currently have another tire to compare to, so this will stand as my baseline.
The tire has a very stiff sidewall, which does not offer much in terms of body roll. This does, however, add to road noise and ride stiffness by a fair amount.
Daily driving on this tire is rather unremarkable. It does all that is necessary and nothing more. It's gotten me through the thick of standing water on a freeway in Arizona during monsoon season, so wet grip within limits is good.
The Turbo X is a manual sedan, and by default a rather front heavy car, so the shoulders of this tire wore very quickly during spirited driving. It grips all the way to the limit, and then begins to step out right outside of my comfortable driving pace. I usually lose the rear prior to the front when pushing it to my limits. Understeer is horrendous, but that is more likely due to my driving style.

All in all, a well rounded tire and can't complain about the price.

(Note: this review does not cover snow or ice grip)

These were fitted by the dealer on a new car and they are probably the worst tires I've ever used. They're about average for grip in the dry and probably acceptable for the price, but in the wet they are absolutely terrifying.

On a motorway in the rain, they feel as if you could aquaplane at any moment and changing lanes is a genuinely scary experience even at low speeds. Under braking when wet, they just don't want to stop and the car feels floaty and squirrely, especially down hill. Pulling away from junctions and roundabouts when the roads are damp is fun as well.

If it wasn't for the fact I couldn't bring myself to throw away four new tires, they'd have been binned off right away. However, I thought I'd wear them down over the summer then swap them out for some PS5s when the weather turned. Luckily I've done over 4000 miles with them and the fronts don't seem to be wearing great so I won't feel too guilty about getting rid of them soon!