Uniroyal RainSport

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

This tyre has been replaced by the Uniroyal RainSport 2.

Dry Grip 78%
Wet Grip 88%
Road Feedback 68%
Handling 78%
Wear 72%
Comfort 74%
Buy again 65%

Tyre review data from 25 tyre reviews averaging 75% over 767,577 miles driven.

The RainSport is ranked 74th of 143 Summer Ultra High Performance tyres.

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Questions and Answers for the Uniroyal RainSport

2020-02-14 - what mileage will I get from this tyre

Mileage depends on vehicle and driving style, you can look at other peoples reviews to give you an indication on how much mileage you can expect.


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Top 3 Uniroyal Rainsport Reviews

Given 39% while driving a Nissan Nissan X Trail 2.0 (215/60 R17) on a combination of roads for 4,000 easy going miles
I have a Nissan X-Trail these tires are ready for changing already they've done less than 4000 miles not a tyre I will be buying again waste of money
Helpful 41 - tyre reviewed on January 13, 2017
Given 74% while driving a Volvo V70 D3 (225/50 R17 W) on mostly motorways for 27,000 easy going miles
I had these fitted on the front axle my Mk3 Volvo V70. They still have 2.5mm on them..after 43,000km/27,000 miles. I did notice that the level of grip decreased in the last 10,000 km of their life but I don't really care especially when I look at the average people are getting on these tyres. I do mostly highway driving and the V70 is on the heavy side at 1,700 kg curb weight and front wheel drive. I'd buy these again
Helpful 28 - tyre reviewed on December 26, 2014
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Latest Uniroyal Rainsport Reviews

Mazda 3 Sport 2.2 Diesel 185 BHP (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 10 average miles
Using The Rain sport 2 on my Mazda 3 sport 2.2 185BHP model and have done about 10K with them they are quite a noisy tyre but now the rear ones are producing excessive road noise as if a wheel bearings had gone so when I had it serviced I asked that the rear wheel bearings be checked. The outcome was that the inside edges of block treads had worn into a wedge shape causing the tyres to bounce. I returned to the tyre supplier and they have said it's a suspension problem(Rear shocks)which I find hard to believe as nothing has shown up on the service, the car is a 2010 model and not driven hard. If any one else has experienced the same and knows why this has happened I would love to know. I am now faced with having to buy replacement tyres and the worn ones are going to be sent to the manufacturer to be tested. So far very disappointed with these tyres, never had a problem like this before with tyres. I was also told it may be that these tyres just don't suit the Mazda 3!
Helpful 19 - tyre reviewed on April 12, 2015
Given 88% while driving a Mazda 3 Series (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Swapping from Bridgestones to these tyres was like going deaf! We have had this Mazda 3 TS2 for three years on Bridgestones and I can tell you that they were deafening. These tyres make it feel and sound like a new car. I can actually hear what the passenger is saying to me now. I don't know yet about wear, but I don't care. I can now drive without the earplugs.
Helpful 17 - tyre reviewed on January 20, 2014
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Given 64% while driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser (215/45 R17 W) on mostly country roads for 2,000 easy going miles
I bought some used wheels and there were two Uniroyal Rainsport 1 tyres on them. The other ones are Goodyear Excellence. So obviously I put the Uni on the front of my car.
They have a great dry grip and, as assumed with Uniroyal, fantastic wet grip. But these tyres have real soft sidewalls which will make them feel like they want to roll off the rimm. They also tend to screech while cornering.

So I put the Goodyears Excellence on front and that's much better. Equal in dry and wet grip without the downsides.

My conclusion is that the Uniroyal Rainsport tyres are nothing to write home about. I would, for sure, never spend money on them. Same with other Uniroyals cause the thing with the soft sidewalls is something that is mentioned frequently.
Helpful 19 - tyre reviewed on September 20, 2012
Given 60% while driving a Alfa Romeo 147 (225/45 R17) on mostly motorways for 10,000 spirited miles
I found this tyres put on the front wheels when i bought my car. I was thinking it drove good until I bought Pirelli Pzero Neros and experienced that it could be better. No screaming tyres anymore by cornering and less tyre noise by normal driving. And the Pirellis got a better grip.
But I think its still a good tyre.
Helpful 20 - tyre reviewed on June 11, 2012
Given 67% while driving a Mazda Mazda 6TS Estate (205/55 R16 V) on a combination of roads for 1,500 average miles
Had to get a full set of tyres for my Mazda 6 estate. Looked through various review sites looking for a good grip tyre in wet conditions. Chose the Uniroyal Rain Expert. I can not criticise the tyres performance in terms of grip. Grip in both wet and dry is brilliant. Very safe tyre. I have driven 1500 miles on these since purchasing in November 2011.
I have been driving for over 35 years, in this time I have driven on many different tyres, makes, tread pattens, etc.. so I can honestly say the noise is the WORST I have ever had from a tyre. My daughters liken it to a pod racer in Star Wars, or the sound you get from the tyres of jet landing on a runway.
I did offer Uni Royal via there web site comments link, to listen to the tyre on my car and discuss why they do not put a warning about the sound these tyres make, but it seems to have fallen of deaf ears.... ! perhaps that is why the do not realise there is a noise problem !
Helpful 14 - tyre reviewed on February 18, 2012
Given 42% while driving a Volkswagen Golf MK3 GTi 16v (205/50 R15 V) on mostly country roads for 0 spirited miles
Just awful. Went from an Avon zv3 to these and it is now like driving on pillows. Car wallows and feels unconnected to the road. I guess they are predictable and reasonably comfy and quiet but do not get them on anything you would like to go around bends in.....what a disappointment!
Helpful 20 - tyre reviewed on November 17, 2011
Given 46% while driving a Citroën C5 (225/55 R17 W) on mostly motorways for 9,000 average miles
Appalling wear on these tyres - havnt lasted 9000 miles yet !. I noticed wear at 2500 miles. Yes - they stick ot the road, wet or dry. They look good too.

I actually thought these were seconds !. Wear is the worst ever. Its back to Avon Z3's for me.
Helpful 26 - tyre reviewed on June 29, 2011
Given 86% while driving a BMW 318is (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 160,000 average miles
Great tyres - I was lucky enought to be given a set for free and are way better that the bald ones I had on!
Helpful 16 - tyre reviewed on December 7, 2010
Given 63% while driving a Ford Focus ST170 (215/45 R17 W) on a combination of roads for 9,000 spirited miles
This is a review of the Rainsport 1's on the front of my car, a follow on from my previous review of these on the rear.

I have to say that I have really not been overly impressed by these. You get more feel of how good or a bad a tyre is when theyre on the driven wheels and what felt like an alright if a little grip deficient tyre on the rear felt completely numb on the front.

Straight line grip in the dry was actually quite good. I didnt find wet grip to be any better or worse than any other tyre ive had, so dont get this tyre if your sole concern is better grip in the wet. As I have said, the tyres feel very numb and made the steering of my car feel overly heavy. One of the biggest things about the st170 is its sublime steering feel, but with these on it was reduced to what i can only describe as steering through sludge, no sharpness or directness. Although there was little feel, the tyres progressed into understeer gradually. The main issue I feel is that the sidewalls are incredibly soft, ompared to continential sport contact 1's, pilot sport 1's and my latest rainsport 2's. I can squash the sidewall with my hand incredibly easily with the rainsport 1's. This soft sidewall is totally apparent in any kind of at speed cornering. Going round a large roundabout with the window open, you can physical hear the point where the sidewalls of the tyre fold on themselves. At this point you still have some grip, but zero feel.

Wear has been ok, at a total of 24000 miles. Not as good as the Michelin Pilot Sport 1's which lasted 30000. Comfort is excellent, I assume as a result of the soft sidewalls and quite soft compound. Of course, in a 'sport' tyre this isnt really what your looking for.
Helpful 22 - tyre reviewed on March 20, 2010
Given 46% while driving a BMW E46 3 Series (255/35 R18 W) on mostly motorways for 2,500 spirited miles
Always run Michlin Pilot Sports on my BMW since I bought it and always had good traction wet and dry with more than just spirited driving and very rarely saw any traction control lights even after I had a DMS remapto 270bhp/410Ibft.
Thought I would see what tyres other people rated and saw these rainsports were in the top 3 when my michlin's were rarely in the top 20 so I thought I would give them a try. Must say they were harder to get hold of but they did come in cheap @ ?150 each. I had both rears changed to rainsports and kept the Michlin's on the front as they are only 1/3rd worn. First impressions were not good as the tyres had zero grip like most new tyres but they also have very soft sidewalls so the car feels like the rear tyre's are flat even though they are pumped up to 3 bar. They got better after around 500 miles but they are still struggling to maintain grip. I find when I exit a motorway and the road bends round the DSC flashes on the instrument and I can feel the car automatically braking individual wheels to keep the car from sliding out as the rears can not live with the front grip. I wouldn't mind if I was really pressing on but this happens when driving normally. (depending on what you class as normal I suppose)!
Overall I'm dissapointed with the Unirayal's mainly in the dry but they are no better than the Michlin's in the damp so I think the reviews for these tyres have been posted by someone from Unirayal's sales team!
You do pay for what you get I suppose so I'll be back on to Michlin's asap.
Helpful 20 - tyre reviewed on April 16, 2009
Given 93% while driving a Ford Mondeo (225/40 R18 W) on a combination of roads for 107,000 spirited miles
bought these to replace the pirellis that i fitted on my car. Infinatly better than pzero rossos. The grip in the dry was fantastic. The grip in the wet made the road feel like it was dry. the ware rate was pretty good as well with one lasting 25k miles on the front of my mondeo zetec s, the other sadly failed in its prime after hitting a 1.5 meter long 8cm deep pothole at 70mph! They have good size rim protectors as well. They were as good as goodyears F1 GSD3s but were cheaper .
Helpful 25 - tyre reviewed on April 14, 2009
Given 76% while driving a Ford Focus ST170 (215/45 R17 W) on a combination of roads for 15,000 spirited miles
This is a review of these tyres on the rear of my car.
A good all round performance tyre.

Dry grip has been good if not exceptional. If anything the problem is not the rubber itself but the somewhat soft sidewalls which give and make the car slide out under hard cornering. This was shown markedly when driving a very twisty mountain pass in the Peak District where almost every hard corner had the tyres sliding a little. This was definitely not a huge issue though and even in this situation the actual grip was still good and very controllable. For normal driving these tyres are faultless. I found them quiet and comfortable.

I didnt really find these 'rainsports' any better in the rain than my previous michelin pilot sports, although they did get up to temperature and optimal grip faster.

Wear rate has been good. They started with a thread of 8mm in the centre and 6-7mm on the outsides and have gone down to 7mm centre and 5mm on the edges in the 15000 miles they have been on the rear.

All in all not the ultimate tyre but for the money a very good one.
Helpful 14 - tyre reviewed on April 8, 2009