Alfa Romeo 146 1.4 Twin Spark Tires

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Tire Reviewed Dry Grip Wet Grip Feedback Handling Wear Comfort
Toyo Proxes CF2 (103) 88% 83% 82% 83% 84% 86%
Dunlop Sport BluResponse (185) 88% 84% 79% 75% 62% 83%
Continental Eco Contact 3 (54) 80% 78% 73% 68% 74% 78%
Bridgestone Turanza T005 (149) 82% 79% 73% 73% 65% 73%
Maloya Cresta 220 (1) 20% 10% 20% 10% 10% 10%

Alfa Romeo 146 1.4 Twin Spark Tire Review Highlights

Writing about the Bridgestone Turanza T005 given 74% (195-45-16-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 8700 average miles
About to change my T005 tires for something else (probably Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance ones), I'd rate them as an "alright" tire with not very sporty characteristics. Meaning they are noticeably less suitable for my Alfa 146 than the Toyo Proxes CF2's I had before them (have posted a "mid life" review & an "end of life" review for that tire also).
Regarding dry grip, the do grip well which is why I've given them "9", but they are very unhappy after just 4-5 minutes of spirited cornering. You can feel the tire getting "tired" after that.
Wet grip, again a "9" there, only once lost a bit of traction because I was indeed pushing things along - however they were easy to recover with quite a predictable amount of opposite lock. Was very satisfied by their progressiveness at the limit on that wet day.
Road feedback, not so good, it isn't a sporty tire, Alfas always have very communicative steering, and mine unfortunately has "lost" about 40% of its feedback from day 1 with these tires. Which is a shame. A "6" there from me.
Wear gets "7" by my observations, having lost ~ 3mm of tread in just 14.000 km (8,700 miles) in 4 years.
Comfort gets "7", they are a bit noisy. And they got a bit noisier still, after just 14.000 km (8,700 miles), something which I was not too happy about.
Would I buy again? Given little other choice, yes I probably would, hence the "7" in that category as well. Going for the Goodyears mentioned above, see how they will fare. Changing them purely for their age, they are slightly over 4 years old.
The one area which they do absolutely excel, rolling resistance, indeed I was getting great fuel consumption figures right from day 1. I do value that a lot given how expensive fuel has become here in Greece. The EfficientGrip Performance in my dimension (195/45/16) is rated "A" in rolling resistance, so expectations are slightly higher than the "B"-rated T005s.
tire reviewed on 2023-10-05 13:25:20
Writing about the Bridgestone Turanza T005 given 98% (195-45-16-V)
Driving on a combination of roads for 1750 spirited miles
No comments left
tire reviewed on 2020-02-11 04:10:43
Writing about the Toyo Proxes CF2 given 96% (195-45-16-V)
Driving on a combination of roads for 18400 average miles
After almost 5.5 years on the car, today the Toyos had to go - they had become very old. Usually I change tires every 4 years, at the most.
A total of 29,600 km were done on them, and I have to say the performance degradation was both impressively little and progressive.
Dry and wet grip remained excellent, as did the road feedback and handling. Wear, they had suffered from dry rot a bit, but that's just because of the strong sun here in Greece, and the fact the car did more than 3 months out of the normal garage protection here (being parked outside). But the tread had more than 4.5mm left still, so the tread wear (index "400" on the 195/45/16 tires at least) was indeed very little given the fact I was driving very aggressively the first 2 years they were on my Alfa. Wet braking showed a minor -but noticeable- degradation though, when they passed their 4th year of age.
Comfort, they were good overall, but not perfect. I had mentioned again that slight "buzz" they do at -practically- all speeds, not tiring but a little bit annoying, mostly on longer journeys. At motorway speeds they were just about fine.
Would I guy again? Yes, but only if I could find them at a cheaper price than the Bridgestone Turanza T005 tires that replaced them (it's a tire that was first launched in 2013, let's not forget), let's see how will these turn out to be.
Overall though I do maintain it has been a thoroughly capable tire, and perhaps that "buzz" only affects low profile dimensions like mine. Very, very good indeed, very satisfied with them.
tire reviewed on 2019-10-07 07:31:05
Writing about the Dunlop Sport BluResponse given 86% (195-50-15-H)
Driving on a combination of roads for 30000 average miles
No comments left
tire reviewed on 2017-11-07 11:50:13
Writing about the Toyo Proxes CF2 given 99% (195-45-16-V)
Driving on a combination of roads for 11041 spirited miles
Mid-life (mainly in terms of age, I've had them for >2.5 years now) review, after 11,041 miles on the car.

Dry grip: Was always -easily- 10/10, no complaints whatsoever, and it's still the same.
Wet Grip: Also pretty excellent, nothing short of expectations - in fact even better than that, genuinely great.
Road feedback: Amazing. I always know what the tires are doing at any given moment when close to / at the limit.
Handling: Quite progressive, when the grip -eventually!- runs out. Sharp, instant handling too - which does match the Alfa's sporty nature. I really have to push hard to reach the limit in the first place.
Wear: Minimal. Still over 5mm on both axles (I rotate them every 7,500 km / 4,650 miles AND check my alignment once a year).
Comfort: Perhaps the only area where the CF2 doesn't get 10/10 - for me. At times, on less than perfect road surfaces there's still a slight "buzz" from the tires, albeit at motorway speeds they are very quiet, it has to be said. Still, it isn't bad at all overall.
Buy again: DEFINITELY. Unless Toyo gives us the CF3 before I change my CF2s - but they will have a heck of a lot to live up to, to be even as good as the CF2s. And one final extra point, they are quite efficient, no drop in MPG so far, at least, they roll quite well indeed.

Quite happy with my choice, great tire, on the whole recommended. If they keep performing like new (which they do), I may even keep them for 5 years instead of my personal limit of 4 years.
tire reviewed on 2017-07-03 15:54:50
Writing about the Continental Eco Contact 3 given 73% (185-60-14-H)
Driving on a combination of roads for 0 average miles
I thought I'd come back for a complete evaluation as soon as I was about to change tires.

I have been using the Eco Contact 3s for 24,421 km (15,178 miles) and 47 months, in all sorts of environments and temperatures. So, here we go, evaluating their overall performance, from day 1 to today - they will be changed until next week.

Dry Grip: 7, they started off a bit better but as soon as they became 3 years old the grip slightly worsened, just 6 days ago I had 2 locks on the fronts with moderate braking, once with about 50-60 degrees steering lock in.

Wet Grip: 7. They let me down last February when entering a slightly fast right hander on a mountain at 10 degrees temperature, first they understeered and immediately as I lifted off the throttle the tail broke loose, oversteered. I corrected this but nonetheless on a narrow mountain road it did gave me a bit of a heartbeat.

Road Feedback, Progressiveness, Wear & Comfort: 8. I always knew I was getting to the limit, the tires provided me with feedback and they were always progressive, excepting that one instance I mentioned above. They are still at 4 mm both fronts and rears. They have never been too noisy either, even on rough, rotted road surfaces.

I won't buy again though, firstly because they've been discontinued and secondly because their successor, the Eco Contact 5, seems to be a considerably better tire - it will be the next tire for my Alfa 146, I've ordered a set. Let's see what more they will offer.
tire reviewed on 2014-09-22 10:27:15
Writing about the Maloya Cresta 220 given 13% (175-60-14-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 1000 average miles
Had them in the front of my Alfa for few months, than crashed on the higway as they slip on wet road. After i moved them at the back and the car was like a slide in the snow even with 15 mph and than finaly throw them out. Go away and save your live! Highly dangerous tires!
tire reviewed on 2014-01-19 06:09:13
Writing about the Continental Eco Contact 3 given 66% (185-60-14-H)
Driving on a combination of roads for 9320 average miles
Have been using these on my Alfa Romeo 146 1.4 Twin Spark for 2 years now, I have to say the dry grip is very good, wet grip is slightly less than what you'd anticipate. They do provide adequate feedback and they are progressive enough; wear, after 15.000 km, is minimal - almost all the tread is still there. As far as comfort is concerned, they are good, but next time I'll go for the much improved ContiEcoContact 5 ones.
tire reviewed on 2012-12-03 10:46:20
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