Just before Christmas we went on the lookout for someone to join the PH team and do a bit of tyre testing for us.
After much thought we picked out PHer Tony Carter-Inman, who runs a 1990 E34 M5 and does lots of miles on all sorts of roads.
We thought the big Beemer should give the Interstate tyres – an own-brand make from www.blackcircles.com – enough punishment to see if they are up to scratch.
The company believes that they are as good as far more expensive rubber, so we wanted someone to give us some feedback on how they perform.
Tony had a set of Continental SportContact 2 on his M5 which he said cost of £460 for four, including fitting.
The new set of Interstate IS Sport IXT 235/45 17s (extra load) that went on would have cost him £367.76 with fitting.
Having covered almost 3,500 miles on the Interstates in one month this is what Tony had to say:
‘I drive a modern classic - a 1990 E34 M5 (3.6 litre, 315bhp model), in Diamond Schwarz with Champagne leather and only 125,000 miles on the old girl. I’m not into mechanical sympathy and the only concession I make is that I try to keep on top of the maintenance and only drive hard once all the mechanicals have warmed up properly.
‘I’m not what you would describe as ‘light footed’ and my current annual driving tally works out to about 15,000 business miles - which are 90% motorway (unfortunately) and 10% fast A-roads -and 5,000 personal miles. These include driving to car meets and various circuits around the North-West to either marshal or partake in a track day.
‘I go through rear tyres quite quickly, although I don’t tend to buy the long-life, economy, generic tyres - usually due to trying similar generic tyres in the past and not getting on with them very well. I’ve even tried some of the big names such as Pirelli’s P-Zero, Yokohama’s AVS-Sport, and Goodyear’s F1 Eagle, but none of them have matched the tyres I use in the main, which are Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 and Continental SportContact 2.
‘The day dawned and I had to take my car to the fitters to swap my tyres over - and work out a way to take my own perfectly legal tyres back home in the back of the car. Two hours later and all four tyres are on and I’m driving out of the fitters very carefully due to the lubricant still being on the rims and the tyres still having their curing potions on.
‘The first 50-100 miles were the worst, as I simply had no confidence in the tyres and the abysmal weather wasn’t helping. However the more I drove the more confident I felt and the better the tyres were. I wouldn’t say I’m well in to the testing period, as I’m now only on about 3,500 miles, but if I’m honest I’d have to say I’m pleasantly surprised at how good they are for a ‘budget’ tyre. They’re probably not the best I’ve ever used, but they do perform in some areas better than my beloved Michelin/Continental favourites—specifically they don’t transmit much road noise, they disperse water with alacrity and they don’t tramline like some directional tyres I’ve had.
'Initially I thought they were twitchy in the dry but now I’m getting used to them and they are gripping well. In my opinion they’re certainly better than Yokohama’s AVS-Sport and Goodyear’s F1, but it’s early days and I’ll let you know how I get on after a few more miles…’
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