Initial Impressions Review
Given
71%
while driving a
Hyundai I30N
(245/35 R19)
on
for 20,000
miles
Fitted these to my i30n on a 4 for 3 deal to replace my worn pzero's. What a night and day difference.
Positives, The tire immediately feels very direct and sporty and it's easy to feel what the front end is doing. Grip in the dry was incredible for a road tire the just go and go, though they definitely need a little heat to work it's best. More on the feel I found the grip to feel very intuitive and I could tell when that "endless" grip was running out with the tires breaking away progressively. The star of the show was the wet grip, I don't see any tire ever wowing me more when I first drove them spiritdly in the wet. They just cut through the water and make it feel like you're in the dry, obviously there's a limit and I have aquaplaned on some deeper standing water but otherwise superb.
On to the negatives, the first this I noticed is definitely the road noise, the i30n is never a quiet car but I can manage to hear them over my exhaust cruising at highway speeds. They're also very firm, South Sydney speed bumps and poorly paved roads have never felt worse, that being said definitely something I could put up with being younger and with all the other positives. Last thing was the wear, on road they held up well for approximately 20,000km with many spirited drives through the twisties and the occasional launch control from a stop light. However one track day at pheasant wood circuit and they were toast, I expected some heavy wear going in but yikes! Front left tire had some minor delamination and the tread on the front was gone particularly on the outside of the front tires, the culprit being overheating according to my mechanic.That being said a proper alignment and maybe more careful monitoring of tire pressures and temperatures they may have lasted better. Because otherwise they did feel great on track!
After said track day, they still felt okay with grip being about the same but of course replacement was in order. Unfortunately no 4 for 3 deals this time around and having being bitten by the track bug I will not be using them for my next with some Conti SC7's replacing them.
All in all definitely a great sporty tire meant for enthusiasts. Maybe not the best for track days in a heavy fwd car but certainly a good tire for some spirited driving and a sporty feel. Hopefully when the Potenza Sport Evo's come to Aus in my size I can grab a set and see how they fair as I really liked the feel of these Potenza Sports and without the track wear I'd definitely get them again!
