Given
90%
while driving a
Lexus IS200
(205/50 R17)
on
a combination of roads
for 300
average miles
Not run these very long, so can't comment on longevity, but so far I've been thoroughly impressed. Bought these second hand (allegedly with under 2000 miles on them) for this winter, and fitted them Dec 1st, and so far used them once in snow, and a few times in the rain.
SNOW : massively impressed. Granted it was only a couple CM, but being a RWD car, I was expecting slip and spin on the snow and ice, and the day it snowed 2 BMW's and a Merc all tried and failed to get out of the estate (up a slope). I just cruised out like it was nothing. Likewise, down and up the next little hill, cars were struggling, even FWD, but I just poodled up with no TRC light flashing and no sliding. Their performance on the white ice was equally impressive; both moving off from standstill, and braking to standstill too. The only time the TRC light came on was moving from standstill on black ice, with just a little bit of off camber tramping - but then, you can't change the laws of physics, so still very impressed.
RAIN : Again, very impressed. Long drive (175mi) on the M11/M25/M4/A4 this eve, been raining all day more or less non stop and LOTS of standing water, including some deepish stuff on the A4. Granted, you slow down for the deeper stuff, but on the motorways, doing 70-80mph and hitting the standing water, there was not even a hint of aquaplaning. No snatching, no pulling, nothing. Just glided through. Even crossing the white lines, which can sometimes be a little slippery in the wet, gave no indication you were doing so. They are a VERY reassuring tyre in the wet, and drove nice and true, with healthy braking.
DRY : First thing I noticed when comparing them to the Hankook V12 Evo summer tyres I swapped from, was that the Uniroyals are a bit softer, in feel, than the Hankooks. This may or may not be down to, or at least attributed to, the taller side walls (Hankook's are 215/45's and the Uniroyals are 205/50's). It's possible the side walls are more forgiving than the Hankook's, resulting in a tiny bit more "roll" when cornering. But that's not to say the grip is "off" with the Uniroyals; the Hankook's are just a little bit more sure-footed is all. A great tyre tester in the dry (and wet for that matter) is the S-bend slip road from the M25 to the M11; nicely banked, long sweeping S-bend that tightens just after each apex. The Hankook's hold through that, in the dry, at about 80mph. The Uniroyals held nicely at about 70. I didn't push them harder through it, as it was only the 2nd day I had them on, but they'd probably hold just as nice at 75, though I'm not sure they'd hold identically to the Hankook's at 80mph.
All in all, for the colder, wetter, winter months, these Uniroyals are a great bet, in my opinion, and so far I've been really impressed. Only time, and mileage, will tell how long they last. Likewise, only wear will indicated when their snow capabilities drop off, but for now they've got about 7-8mm of tread across each tyre, and they coped great in the (albeit little) snow we've had, and were fantastic on the wet, rain soaked motorways. They are not as quiet as my Hankook summer tyres, but by no means are they a noisy tyre. You have to expect a little increase in road noise, considering the larger grooves and multitude of sipes on them.
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