Uniroyal RainSport 3 Reviews - Page 3

Given 68% while driving a Subaru Impreza WRX 2006 Hawkeye (215/45 R17 V) on a combination of roads for 30,000 average miles
This was the second set of these tires I have bought, but unfortunately never again for my Impreza.

I only noticed problems when I moved a pair from the front to the rear wheels having previously run Toyo Proxy R1s. The problem with the Uniroyal Rainsport 3 is the lack of strength in the tire wall. When cornering hard, the tire wall would collapse to nearly half its height and scuff mark could be seen around the tire wall, so much so the corner of the car would suddenly sink. The grip in the wet is superb and I’d have to wring the cars neck hard to get all four wheels spinning in the wet. The tread cuts through standing water very well and you feel safe on the motorway in very bad weather.

This tire is an excellent choice for a car that isn’t going to be thrown into bends and you want good stopping power in dry and more so wet driving conditions.

Not driven enough in the snow.

Very good wear, 30,000 miles wear on a 4x4 transmission
Helpful 26 - tire reviewed on December 23, 2019
Given 89% while driving a BMW 330d M Sport (235/40 R18) on a combination of roads for 12,000 spirited miles
Driven for 12,000 miles on the front of a bmw 3 series. The car never would understeer, purely because these tires are like glue. The wear was fantastic. Deep tread cause everso slightly vague feedback at times and a little more noise, but that's the trade off for such good all round performance. I drove my car hard and these never failed. At 12,000 I would say they were 50% worn, but weren't fitted to the driving wheels. If they did them in the right size for the back wheels then I'd have got them.
Helpful 23 - tire reviewed on December 5, 2019
Given 61% while driving a Honda Integra DC2 (195/50 R15 H) on mostly country roads for 4,000 spirited miles
Had those tires fitted to two of my cars when i bought them.
A Delta Integrale EVO 1 and a Honda Integra DC2 Type R.

Both almost new, and the rubber was fresh. The cars were in tip top condition, new bushings, suspensions and properly aligned and what I have to say about those tires is pretty bad.
They are properly scary in the wet and close to useless. I had the begining though both cars were starting to be dated but when i switched to some other tires the grip level went up...a lot !

Good tires for dry otherwise but in the wet they are very dangerous and will slide out with out warning with a very low grip level. I did 4000km with them on both and ditched them that's how bad they were in the wet.
Helpful 33 - tire reviewed on November 13, 2019
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Given 84% while driving a BMW 320si (225/45 R17) on mostly town for 8,000 easy going miles
I purchased theses tires for my 2006 BMW as replacements for the damn awful Bridgestone run flats that came with the car. I don't do a lot of miles per year maybe 5000 or so, after 18 months of ownership I am delighted with my purchase and would recommend these wet weather tires to anyone. I don't push my car to the limits on public roads but find grip in both wet and dry very satisfactory to my needs. Wear limits have not been an issue and ride quality compared to run flats is very noticeable, though not all together super smooth as I still have the M sport suspension to contend with.
Helpful 22 - tire reviewed on October 30, 2019
Given 71% while driving a Vauxhall Insignia CDTI SRI 160 (225/45 R17) on mostly town for 12,000 spirited miles
Had two fitted on the front. In the wet they were quite good and never had any issues. In the dry again not bad although when pushed a bit on cornering they could at times feel on the limit without going too fast.
After 12000 miles they’re done and wonder how some of the reviews have good mileage on rear wheel drive cars.
Generally good all round but the wear for me is the downside. Time to go back to the goodyear eagles.
Helpful 17 - tire reviewed on October 29, 2019
Given 100% while driving a Fiat Punto Evo mjet 95hp (195/50 R16 V) on mostly town for 12,000 easy going miles
Fitted a set to the wifes diesel punto old car 2004 model with some after market alloy wheels on 195/50/15.
I wanted her to be safe in the wet as most branded tires are good in the dry, she had a slide with Michelin energy tires fitted when it was wet and it scared her so we opted for a tire known for wet grip to put her mind at rest. Suspension and tire pressures were all correct as was alignment.
Four fitted and I have to say they are awesome I took it out the first time it rained and did it rain bouncing heavy rain and I give it some as it is like driving a go-cart, It gripped like a track tire in the dry. I took her out with me and she said wow she couldn't believe what a difference different tires can make to the handling.
They look good they grip very well in the dry and phenomenal in the wet they are very comfy and she has now done about 12k on them and the rears are like new still and the fronts have about 5mm left so all in all that is very good.
She hasn't noticed any difference in fuel economy which is unusual going from Michelin Energy to Uniroyal Rainsport 3 but it does do over 60mpg it is only a 1.3 td.
All in all best wet grip I have found but it is a small car. I have Dunlop sport maxx on my Focus and they are good but I dare say the Rainsport3 would be even better.
Helpful 17 - tire reviewed on September 15, 2019
Given 57% while driving a Lotus (225/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Rainsports always seem to get great reviews so I thought I would give them a go as more of an experiment really than anything else,a full set not being that expensive. The main reason I decided to try them being I was I was after a softer compound tire.
The car they were being fitted to does minimal mileage and as a result the recommend tires go 'off' really quite alarmingly,maybe 18 months before the compound starts to harden with no amount of heat cycles bringing them back. Pretty much within the first 5 miles of driving you can figure these rainsport tires out. First thing is yes,they are soft,it's a wet bias tire so to be expected,but I then remembered having an early version of rainsports fitted it a car years previously and I had forgotten how much the mass of the car floats on the tread blocks when steering is applied. It reminds me of really bad winter tires. The result is you tend to make two inputs to any corners when you're travelling at any reasonable speed,not a good feeling because you get the initial load from turning in then a split second later you get a 2nd load as the mass of the car catches up when the tread block settles down,the best way I can describe it is as if someone is nudging the side of the car part way through a corner,very unnerving and you're almost waiting for the inevitable following oversteer. The result is turn-in on the car has all but vanished with this tread block/side wall movement (to be fair to fit this tire to the front of this vehicle a higher aspect ratio has to be used so that doesn't help the side wall movement) It was a warmish day they were fitted and the road surfaces around the area where quite polished,the result was quite a lot of chirruping from the fronts when braking with even moderate force. This did disappear on rougher surfaces but braking distances have markedly increased in the dry with some instances where I was thinking this car isn't going to stop on some heavy braking. What these tires are good at is wet conditions not surprising really I guess,it's probably why they are used as 'wets' by a lot of club racers. That tread block then comes into its own clearing standing water extremely well and wet braking is very good.
I've covered about 1000 miles with half of that at decent speeds and heavy braking and they do seem to be changing their character slightly,the secondary movement on turn-in has reduced quite a lot but it's still present and feed back is as vague as ever. As an experiment they weren't a success so they will be coming off shortly.
Helpful 24 - tire reviewed on August 7, 2019
BMW (255/35 R18 W) on mostly country roads for 6,000 spirited miles
I have them in a staggered setup so 225/40r18 on the front and 255/35r18 on the rear of my bmw. They are a phenomenal tire in the wet, but yet with a progressiveness when they start to slide. This characteristic is also apparent in the dry, very progressive as they lose grip.

My only criticisms of them is how they deal with heat and abrasion. The following is understandable due to their focus on wet weather performance, but they do suffer from overheating when pushed hard on the road, and the tread blocks on mine have become distorted and in some cases have partially torn away. Even when the rears are overheating they retain their progressiveness.

As for wear, they have worn quickly, but again they are optimised for wet conditions, and have been driven hard in both wet and dry conditions so I was expecting the wear rate I have experienced with them.

Overall they're a good tire for the road, and inspire confidence no matter if it's wet or dry.
Helpful 23 - tire reviewed on June 2, 2019
Given 100% while driving a Volkswagen Tiuan R Line (255/40 R19) on a combination of roads for 0 average miles
Just purchased another set for VW Tiguan. I've had these tires on a VW Eos and a Mercedes SLK 55 AMG and cannot fault them.
They are hard wearing, I managed 20,000 miles on the rear of the SLK before I sold it and there was plenty tread left.
The tires are quiet and although I don't drive everywhere fast, they offer excellent grip in both the wet and dry. The previous tires on the Tiguan were also impressive in the snow for traction.
Helpful 24 - tire reviewed on May 31, 2019
Given 70% while driving a Mazda 6 Wagon (225/55 R17 W) on a combination of roads for 10,000 spirited miles
Not doing much miles per year, but I've always liked how these handled wet roads. I'm usually driving fast, and I'd recommend them to anyone if not few problems. I have a XL version
- noise (definitely on the noisy side), the pattern is very noisy on some roads.
- they often catch small pebbles in the channels (and big enough to catch bigger pebbles, so you will hear them)
- soft while cornering, may be because of the wall height.
- they do smell funky
- unconnected feeling despite the harshness of the XL version.
Helpful 21 - tire reviewed on May 30, 2019
Given 77% while driving a Renault Megane (205/55 R16) on a combination of roads for 5,000 average miles
Overall a fantastic all round tire that i managed to pick up for £50 a tire
Helpful 19 - tire reviewed on May 27, 2019
Given 90% while driving a Daihatsu Materia (185/55 R15 V) on a combination of roads for 15,000 average miles
These tires came with my Daihatsu having not long been installed. Tires have gone from approxinately 6 to 2.5mm in the past 18 months and 15000 miles. So approximately 20k total tire life on a car like a Meriva with 105bhp.

My experience of these tires is that their dynamic abilities are greater than the mini mpv they attach to. Apart from spinning up the inside while pulling out of a junction in the rain a bit sharpish, these tires have have had 15k miles of near permanent traction.

Dry grip is excellent and has on occasion let the little daihatsu do some very naughty things!

Wet grip is good although I do not push the car in the rain, I have confidence in its braking and the ABS has had a relaxed 18 months.

Feedback seems quite dull but I think that's the setup of the car more than the tire so not a fair appraisal of the tires ability.

Handling is a bright point with these tires. what makes them safe also makes them good fun to throw around. They load up nicely and have never left me surprised even in poor conditions.

These attributes may come at the expense of wear as far as other reviews say. I think 20,000 miles is good considering the nature of the tire. Even if the car isn't too demanding in general.

While these tires may be a bit sporty, I have found they work nicely with the cars suspension. Car reviews say the Materia is quite firmly sprung but mine rides very well on these tires. Noise is not invasive but is audible on poor surfaces. I tend to run at ~34psi all round. That's a little higher than recommended but wear seems even and mpg improves without the ride degrading.

Overall I would definately buy these tires again. They're not the most fuel efficient (rated E) but I can quite easily improve on the cars official MPG with little effort. I might change to something more fuel economy focussed for doing some longer distance transporting with the car. I will probably install RS3's on my other light car which does a lower milage soon. The last 1mm before change may be slightly less impressive but still above average for the price. As I said, these tires are more than up to the task of mangaing my Daihatsu. Even in spirited moments they're confidence inspiring and put a smile on my face!

Helpful 18 - tire reviewed on May 24, 2019