Uniroyal RainExpert

The Uniroyal RainExpert is a High Performance Summer tyre designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

Tyre review data from 132 tyre reviews averaging 83% over 1,279,762 miles driven, and 7 tests with an average result of 10th.

Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 91%
Road Feedback 81%
Handling 76%
Wear 75%
Comfort 86%
Buy again 85%

First On MarketMarch 2009
Wheel Size13 - 17"
Width175 - 245mm
Profile60 - 80
Rolling ResistanceD - D
Wet GripB - B
Noise (dB)70 - 72
Winter RatingNot Winter Rated

The RainExpert is ranked 21st of 201 Summer High Performance tyres.

This tyre replaced the Uniroyal RainMax 2 and this tyre has been replaced by the Uniroyal RainExpert 3.

Tests Included

7

Best Result

2nd

Worst Result

18th

Average Result

10th

Latest Tyre Test Results

2015 Auto Bild Top 18 Summer Tyre Test
18th of 18 tyres
  • Good security reserves against aquaplaning, balanced wet handling.
  • Understeer and longer braking distances in the dry. Poor wear, high rolling resistance.
View Full Test >>
2013 Auto Zeitung Summer Tyre Test
7th of 12 tyres
  • Living up to its name, the Uniroyal is one of the best tyres in the wet, only to be let down by its dry performance
View Full Test >>

2015 Tyre Tests

2013 Tyre Tests

2012 Tyre Tests

2011 Tyre Tests

2010 Tyre Tests

SizeFuelWetNoise
13 inch
175/70 R 13 82 HDB70
14 inch
195/60 R 14 86 HDB71
185/70 R 14 88 HDB70
195/65 R 14 89 HDB71
175/80 R 14 88 HDB70
195/70 R 14 91 HDB71
175/60 R 14 79 HDB70
15 inch
205/60 R 15 91 WDB71
205/60 R 15 95 H XLDB72
17 inch
225/65 R 17 102 HDB71
245/65 R 17 107 HDB71
View All Sizes and EU Label Scores for the Uniroyal RainExpert >>

Questions and Answers for the Uniroyal RainExpert

2019-04-04 - In Dec 2016 I bought 4 Uniroyal 'The Rain Tyre' 205/60 R16 HXLMS plus 77. I had asked for winter tyres and the receipt says 'Winter tyres'. I have run them for the last 3 winters but noticed when I changed them this time, that they are called 'The Rain Tyre' (I know, I should ha e noticed this before.) My questions are: 1. Are they suitable for winter motoring? 2. Are they better in winter than summer? I would appreciate your technical expertise. Thanks.

The MS Plus 77 is a winter tyre pattern.


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Size Price Range  
Available in 5 tyre sizes - View all.

Top 3 Uniroyal RainExpert Reviews

Given 93% while driving a 1988 Polo (155/45 R13) on mostly town for 4,000 easy going miles
I have to be realistic here , since I have a 1988 Polo , but I still take tyre performance very seriously .
I have never bought cheap tyres ,
to me thats a false economy .
How much other drivers value their and other peoples lives is reflected in their choice of tyres .I buy best .
Helpful 174 - tyre reviewed on September 26, 2017
Given 83% while driving a Peugeot 106 s16 (175/60 R14) on a combination of roads for 0 spirited miles
- slight defects on dry hot asphalt.
very soft sides.
feedback is a little bad.

+ perfect tire for rain
today in the heaviest downpour and floods I easily drove 130 km/h on the highway (the car does not have electronic aids such as abs-esp and similar toys).
I definitely remain loyal to Uniroyal for daily tires
Helpful 25 - tyre reviewed on August 4, 2023
Given 97% while driving a Hyundai Getz (185/60 R14 H) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Amazing Tire with great braking distance and superior handling. Car feels like train on rails! Astonishing grip both on dry and wet surfaces. Driving With these tires is a real pleasure every time, plus they look fantastic, instant rally look! (big fun of V shape tread patterns).. A small con is the fuel economy but it's a small price to pay i think for such a great rubber. I totally love these tires, too bad they are discontinued in many sizes.
Helpful 58 - tyre reviewed on February 26, 2021
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Latest Uniroyal RainExpert Reviews

Given 69% while driving a Vauxhall zafira 1.6 (205/55 R16 V) on a combination of roads for 3,000 average miles
After the original Conti tyres these seem smoother & quieter having a softer side wall, not being high mileage drivers under 10k per year they should last a while, reasonably priced too. Ask me after 20k & I will have a more informed opinion.
Helpful 49 - tyre reviewed on July 15, 2017
Given 89% while driving a Nissan almera 1.5 (185/65 R15) on a combination of roads for 5,000 average miles
was advised to buy these boots for the front, really good tyres, superb in the wet, grippy in the dry. even in cold conditions they are solid. plenty of feedback. on my 2nd set and the 1st set did 15k and this set is on about 5 and feeling good. will be my 1st choice for front tyres
Helpful 31 - tyre reviewed on October 26, 2016
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Given 79% while driving a Toyota Yaris (185/60 R15 H) on a combination of roads for 9,000 average miles
Very good grip on dry or wet, very comfortable, however, tyre feels too soft, seems to get punctured quite easily as well, due to soft tyre structure. If Uniroyal make the tyre a little bit more stiffer, I might buy again
Helpful 35 - tyre reviewed on February 18, 2016
Given 71% while driving a Fiat Panda (155/80 R13 T) on mostly town for 20,000 average miles
4 of these on my Fiat Panda 1.1. They have been on my car for slightly over 1 year(Rear tyres about 18 months) and have driven in a wide variety of conditions from winding muddy broken UK country roads to high sustained speeds on the autobahn and also unpaved farm tracks. They have been used in icy conditions but not in snow.

General: Excellent tyre which gives a nice soft ride (probably due to soft side walls) with good progressive grip that lets me know what its doing.
Icy: Not great, managed well in straight lines, but quick to lose traction when breaking.
Wet:Excellent, I always seemed to have as much grip as in the dry. Very impressive.
Mud: Surprisingly good. Aggressive chicane like tread grips well and grip on muddy gravel tracks has been excellent.
Dry:Always seemed very safe and on the occasions when I have taken corners quickly my bravery has always gone before the grip.

Wear: This is more of a mixed review. Rear tyres have been on for about 20000 miles and show little sign of wear, but the front tyres have been on for only 13000 miles and are well over half worn. I rarely drive aggressively and my car does not weigh much so I've found this quite poor. Levels of grip in all conditions bar dry have also decreased at the front as the tyre wears so the review above is only really for tyres under 10000 miles.

Would I buy again: I'm not sure. Previous tyres have lasted for about 25000 miles and performed well despite wear, whereas the rainexperts on the front will likely only manage 18000, maybe 20000 at best and have shown a noticeable decline in performance. Probably I will go for something from a more premium brand, or try all seasons.

Conclusions: Initially a great tyre in all conditions tested, but wears quickly when on driven wheels and performance drops off quickly once half worn in all conditions apart from dry. I would recommend that if you do not rotate your tyres having a pair of these on the rear axle is recommended, but if used on the front axle will need frequent replacement.
Helpful 30 - tyre reviewed on February 6, 2016
Given 71% while driving a Mazda (195/60 R15 H) on mostly country roads for 20,000 average miles
Fantastic tyre in wet weather, dry grip also very good, tyre a bit noisy but is expected from a rain tyre,tyre wear is also good, I have 25k kms on them now ,will need replacing in the coming weeks , will try Uniroyal rain sport 3 as i have hear good reviews on them, these tyres are not cheap but if you are looking for tyre that is good in the rain/wet weather then I would recommend them
Helpful 32 - tyre reviewed on November 10, 2015
Given 91% while driving a Lancia (165/55 R15 H) on a combination of roads for 18,000 spirited miles
Had these on a Lancia Delta 1.6 16V.
Dry grip is exceptional in the price range. They have a softer side wall, so inflated them to 2.8 Bar - no problems there. Wet grip is more than phenomenal!!
I even used them on a trackday with the delta, pushing them to the limit, no problems whatsoever. They just grip and squeal, you can hear when they're about to let go.

The price you pay for this is wear: they wear out faster than other tires, however you can get them for a lot less money.

Comfort and noiselevels are good.

Highly recommended, very safe!
Helpful 43 - tyre reviewed on July 26, 2015
Given 87% while driving a Toyota Prius (195/55 R16) on mostly town for 12,000 easy going miles
Got this tyre after a traumatic wet+cold braking experience with Bridgestone ER30. This is a safe and confortable (I guess the central rolling band on sizes >195 might help with that), economical tyre that won't let you down when you need it the most. Suitable for moderately cold climates where wear is actually very good so far, but don't take it for a highway trip when it's 30C outside or it'll age much quicker. Fuel economy is plain bad (I suspect inversely correlated, just like wear, to wet road handling, especially on inexpensive tyres). 2 years after this Bridgestone scare that prompted me to switch to Rainexpert, I had the same type of emergency braking, only much, much worse (faster ~25mph, on 3cm of fresh snow rather than cold rain, steep descent + corner, fully loaded car) and came safely to a stop after a bit of ABS intervention. They're not "good" on snow, just not plain dangerous, which can be nice as I'm not going to buy snow tyres for one day of snow per year, nor do I want to have an accident on that day every year! Can't comment on feedback or handling at the limit as these are mounted on a Prius.
Helpful 43 - tyre reviewed on March 5, 2015
Given 89% while driving a Kia Motors (185/65 R14 H) on a combination of roads for 15,000 spirited miles
Done 15k miles with them and they are the best summer tyres I had. The grip in wet and dry is excellent. Progressiveness is quite good, but the limit of the tyres is very high. Due to the softer compound, their wear is a bit higher but they do repay themselves in the outstanding performance. Would buy again for sure.
Helpful 37 - tyre reviewed on January 28, 2015
Given 90% while driving a Mazda MX5 (185/60 R14 H) on a combination of roads for 700 spirited miles
Very good tyre. Have done about 700 miles of town, motorway and country roads and feel very confident with their grip. It would seem that you would need to push them quite a bit to get them to become unstable.

Had a set of mix 'n' match tyres originally which became quite squirmy with acceleration out of corners but not with these.

I understand what some say about the soft walls giving a tendency for a bit of roll. I have noticed this on occassion when heading down country roads that undulate quite a lot but not really a problem on typical cornering. I think the soft wall adds to the overall drive comfort.
Helpful 50 - tyre reviewed on January 18, 2015
Given 90% while driving a Renault Grand Scenic (205/60 R16 H) on mostly town for 15,000 spirited miles
Put these on as Grand Scenic can be a handful in bad weather and impossible in icy conditions. The improvement was amazing and in all but icy conditions it sticks like a car half its size (my nerve goes first). Downside is that they don't wear as well on the front (the backs go for ever) but I am quite exuberant particularly where roundabouts are concerned. This said I am probably on course to do 25k+ on fronts with very little motorway driving.
Helpful 38 - tyre reviewed on November 28, 2014
Given 74% while driving a Mazda 3 Series (195/65 R15 H) on mostly country roads for 20,000 spirited miles
Got them at a good price last year and they've done 20000 miles. Really good in the wet.
Helpful 48 - tyre reviewed on November 1, 2014
Given 82% while driving a Mercedes Benz E Class Estate (195/65 R15 H) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Just an initial review after doing around 1000 miles, for the price these are hard to beat. Loads of grip, good in wet & dry, low noise, look good and comfortable ride. The only downside to these tyres are their soft sidewalls- I have them on the front of my heavy old Diesel Merc estate and they were too soft at normal pressures (32psi). Upped them to 36psi and there's a massive improvement without sacrificing comfort. Probably not an issue on a lighter car, or if you have a low-profile version but these really need to run a relatively high pressure to be at their best, especially if you have a car requiring 'balloon' tyres with a large sidewall area! Can't comment on wear yet but otherwise recommended.
Helpful 23 - tyre reviewed on September 17, 2014