Matador MP 46 Hectorra 2 Reviews - Page 4

Pros:
- quiet
- superb anti-aquaplaning tire
- great wet handling
- good mpg
- tire wears very well

Cons: practically none.

Comments:

Great tire, sub brand of Continental from what I know/have been told. It is superb in the wet - I have done some tests and I have never felt out of control. This was fortuitous, as in the dark I hit a deep road-wide puddle at 60-65mph and besides the shock of hitting this, I quickly had control of the car. I cannot comment on whether I aquaplaned in that instance, but when I hit the brakes the car responded and didn't feel like any other time I know I aquaplaned.

The first 10k miles on the front and the tires had a lot of tread - then I replaced the tie rod ends, scrubbed the tires taking it to get re-aligned and ended up losing a bunch of mms so the last 5k I have been driving like a lunatic - pushing the limits as the replacements are ordered. I generally drive fast, but the last 5k has been an attempt to wear tires. I know they would have hit 20-25k on the front, as currently they are still legal and I have been trying to ruin them.

I'd like a little more feedback from the tire, but to be fair these are as good as any I have driven. I know when they are about to let up and they behave well in understeer on a corner etc... I think in 15k + miles I have experienced 1 instance of ABS when braking very hard, which is amazing as on the previous yoke (Focus w/k415 hankooks) I had slid a few times over their duration. Furthermore, the previous set of cheap Perillis on the Focus were ditch finders... Real skid pan stuff...

I am changing my tire at the front to a Hankook Ventus Prime 2 as camskill don't have the Matador in stock, I want to try another highly rated tire and I like change. If they suck the pristine Matadors on the rear will be going on the front.

Hope this ramble helps. Mike

After an almost new Continental tire was ruined by a pot-hole, I decided I was no longer going to spend £125 per tire. With a little research I found out about the Matador brand. I was instantly interested because the circumferentially grooved pattern (much like the Contis) lends itself well to quiet running and water clearance.
I fitted a pair which cost £56 each on offer from Camskill. I was instantly impressed and resolved to promptly buy another pair for the back.
I am a keen driver, my hobby is race driving, which I hope lends credability to my assertion that these tires are as good if not better than Conti Sport Contact 3s.
I fit and balance my tires myself. These required only 50 or 60 grammes per wheel to balance- a sign of a quality tire
They are as smooth and quiet as the continentals
Dry and wet grip is as good as the continentals
Puncture and bulge resistance is better than the continentals
Also, over the 16,000 miles I have used them I have found them to be more durable than the Continentals, and they are still performing now the fronts are down to 3mm.
Highly Recommended.

These are very good tires. I fitted 4 to an S3.

I have the extra load (XL) version because of the relative weight of the Audi, and together with such a low profile (40) it helps to keep the side-wall rigid under hard cornering.

The tires themselves I purchased online for about £75 each and I was chuffed with how they looked (?) I know that's meaningless but they look and feel like a quality product. Matador is owned by Continental and it shows in the quality of construction.

My reasoning for choosing this tire was that because the car was made in 2002 it wasn't worth spending extra on the very best tires available today (i.e. conti SC) as it wasn't designed with them in mind. This is a mid to high range tire and really fits the characteristics of the car, there isn't much more grip to be had, any more and on-road handling would simply become unprogressive and snappy at the limit.

Performance wise I can't fault much, the new tires replaced well worn Yokohama Parada 2's and Pirelli P Zeros, the Yokohamas gave a little more grip in very hot conditions but were dangerous in the wet. I'm glad I chose this tire.