Wet grip is the clearest strength of the Uniroyal RainSport 2, with 133 positive mentions against two criticisms, followed by dry grip at 95 against eight. Comfort is also more often praised than criticised, while tread life is closely divided at 43 positive comments and 32 complaints. Around one in six criticise soft sidewalls, and smaller minorities mention imprecise steering or noise, with noise itself nearly evenly split. Repeat reviewers mostly remain favorable, but their scores and mileages do not show one consistent ageing trend. With an 81.4% average across 210 reviews, the strongest agreement concerns grip rather than long life or sharp steering.
What owners mention most counted across 207 reviews
Previously I had Dunlop SP Sport 01 (Runflats) and then Goodyear Excellence (Runflats) which I decided to replace with conventional (non-runflat) tires when they were worn out. After reading the reviews I fitted these Uniroyal Rainsport 2 and I was initially very disappointed as some of the ??go cart?? precision and feel had gone! After increasing the tire pressures to 36psi all round this improved but the steering still feels a bit soft and movement at the back can be felt on turn in.
On the plus side the grip is very good, almost as good as the Dunlops in the dry and excellent in the wet. Ride comfort and noise is also vastly improved over both brands of runflats. Typically I get 17 ?? 20K miles out of a set of tires, rotating back to front after half worn, these seem to be no exception as after 10k miles the front tires are about half worn.
If you change from runflats to improve the ride and noise levels be prepared to sacrifice feel!
OK to give a balanced review I'll tell you what I had before and after the change.
Before: Front Dunlop SP Sport 01 Wear OK, Grip OK
Rear Avon ZZ3 Wear Good, Grip OK
After : Front Uniroyal Rainsport 2 Wear/Grip Excellent
Rear Uniroyal Rainsport 2 Wear/Grip Excellent
To give an overview, before I changed the tires I always had confidence in both wet and dry conditions but ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) could cut in if pushed hard on sharp bends. (Wet and Dry). With ESP off I could get the fronts to slide (Understeer)if pushed and lift off oversteer when pushed hard through sweeping bends. This in a 4X4 (Quattro).
After the change I hardly ever see the ESP cut in(Wet or Dry) unless you go over a bump on a corner and one wheel lifts slightly and loses traction. With ESP off I can increse the speed through corners before any loss of grip (understeer or oversteer) which gives much greater confidence.
The only other difference between the Uniroyals and the previous tires are that they have less rigid side walls which give a bit more 'movement', or feel if you want, as you turn in to corners. This you get use to and is really down to personal preference if this bothers you at all.
I bought all 4 tires together at ?80 a corner fitted.
These tires for the price are excellent when you compare them to 'premium' brands.
Uniroyal is owned and marketed by Continental (Europe)
Uniroyal is owned and marketed by Michelin (USA)
If you want best wear than go for a Michelin but you will pay alot more for them! The only thing that will grip better would be a track tire which is no good in the wet.
This is the best allround tire for price/wear/grip/look
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
This tire is Wicked i bought them straightaway i got them fitted on my car, ive changed all 4 tires to UNIROYA RAINSPORT 2,
i got to say these tires are everything what a tire needs, you cannot go wrong with these tires.
i have done nearly 6000 miles and the tire still looks like new as i just had them fitted to my vehicle.
If you people are looking for tires then this tire will impress you on how it can perform with your vehicle, i am hoping to rotate all my tires arround, to get the most of all my tires.
But now i know why its called a rain tire because you have so much control even in wet conditions, the car doesnt even slip slightly.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Uniroyal RainSport 2? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I've been using Rainsport 1's for over 20k miles and replaced them with Rainsport 2's when they came out. Overall I am very impressed with them and will continue to use them. The price has varied from ?58 to ?74 each (I've gone through about 8 RS1's and 6 RS2's) but that is still much cheaper than the 'Premium' brands. The car came with P Zeros which were pretty good but I would lose traction in the wet and dry if I floored it in 1st or 2nd gear. Same with Bridgestone Potenza RE040. The Rainsport 2's don't lose traction at all in 2nd gear unless it's very wet. They last the same number of miles as the P Zero and RE040 but give slightly more road noise. At that price I can live with the noise and turn the stereo up
I bought these tires for the rear only of my standard 1.6 VICT Focus on the strength of the reviews on this site. I have to say that these are the worst tires I have ever bought for one sole reason - the super soft, bouncy sidewalls. The amount of oversteer that I now get in the dry would be comical, were it not for how disconcerting it is. The rear of the car now rolls massively on the soft sidewalls as the car turns and, and then continues to roll even more, meaning that I have to wind lock off mid corner. The missus even refused to drive the car at first, until I showed her that the grip was there. Ultimate grip in the dry seems OK and in the wet is very good and (unfortunatley) the wear rate seems ok too. All this coming off Pirelli P7s, which I have never rated highly anyway. This tire may be ok in lower sidewall height guises and if used on all 4 corners at once, or for changing the balance of a car if you feel that it understeers/oversteers too much.
These tires are slightly overated in my honest opinion the dry and wet grip are good but not brilliant as I have read on these threads and they dont last that long either. A good mid range tire.
Best Tires I have Come Across,
Car Drives Exceptionally Well In All Conditions Wether its Raining,
Dry Roads,
And other weather Conditions,
This Tire Can Cope With Everything You Can Expect On The Roads, so If You thinking In Purchasing Tires For Your Car, DONT LOOK FURTHER THESE RAINSPORT 2 WILL GUARANTEE YOU A SMILE.
After a while skidding and sliding with factory standard RE040s on my Civic R, I plumped for these due to the good reviews. My god, they are SO much better! Wet weather performance is like night and day compared to the Bridgestones. Not a hint of wheelspin in the wet and very grippy in the dry. The walls are a little softer than RE040s but provide a smoother and quieter ride. I'm fully used to this difference now and its not a problem. I would definately recommend this tire for FWD cars which need all the grip they can get!
Just put these on my Clio 172 and they're phenomenal for the price (?89 for fitted pair - bestbuytires.co.uk). Massively better than existing P600s.
Been wet here (as in rest of UK) for last few weeks and my old, terrible (although pretty worn) tires gave very low confidence at roundabouts (etc.) and often, severe understeer as well (you couldn't really get oversteer, as the front didn't bite enough to provide confidence to corner at the speed the car is capable of). The RS2s however were great as soon as they were on and warm! Apparently no real need to scrub in - or, amazingly, more grip will be produced when they do... So good, that the old P600s at the back now produce oversteer at roundabouts (i.e. the front grips, the back doesn't.
Pros: Wet grip phenomenal (dry seems fine as well - but will review again after 500 miles or so); comfort fine; price.
Cons: Driving everywhere 10/15 mph faster and cornering like a hooligan --> 1: I'm using more petrol! 2: More or less controlled oversteer. 3: Will need to buy a pair for the back - where's that piggy bank?
All these listed bullet points have a great response to everything i am very happy about me deciding to have these Uniroyals R/S 2. will deffo buy again and again i hope they come out with rain sport 3!!!
For the virtually the same price as a pair of low end Firestones I picked up a pair of these tires after reading the reviews on this website. I was somewhat dubious that they could match the hype given the low cost (?123 delivered for the pair) however after driving 500 miles on them in dry conditions, damp conditions and torrential rain I can safely say they have exceeded my expectations on every front.
The grip in the wet is amazing, I have the confidence to carry at least 10mph more through the bends. They have virtually killed all understeer (although, to be fair, understeer has rarely been a problem in my current car)
The water clearing abilities are where I have noticed the most difference, and being a FWD car, is where the understeer was most frequently encountered. To be honest, unless you are driving through deep puddles, the car may as well be in the dry. The biggest issue I have now, is the fact my back tires are not as capable in the wet my front end trip is so good I have to pay more attention to my back end when going around a roundabout!
My criticisms of the tires are fairly inconsequential. I have only driven 500 miles on them so far so I can't really comment about tire wear - they look maybe a little bit more worn than my most recent looked after 500 miles, however I have been driving a lot more aggressively since putting them on - and my last set were a rear set so the type of tire wear is completely different.
The other criticism could be leveled at comfort - when they were first fitted they were a little bit harder than most, however they soon wore in. They also make a much lower pitched squeal when you get them to slide.
However, these are very very minor criticisms and I am definitely planning on fitting these tires from now on.
Several people have commented on how much they like the tread pattern too.
