Buying new car tyres ~ which make is best?

A quick google found the following

kwikfit.co.uk said:
Although not illegal, it is not recommended to have tyres with a lower speed rating or load capacity than the manufacturer recommended tyre specification for your vehicle, or to have a combination of different tyre construction types.

Stick with the "H"

Cheers

Don

Your insurance company may have something to say in the event of an accident claim, when reading the police report on your vehicle.

Nymph

I manage vehicle safety policy in NZ and am surprised nobody has mentioned the importance of ensuring your new tyres are fitted with a proper wheel alignment - quite critical to maximise safety and reduce tyre wear.

Regards

Don

quote:

proper wheel alignment

Most garages here in the UK provide a "free" wheel alignment check when you buy tyres from them. They then charge about £20 to actually correct the alignment if it is needed.

Of course, in many cases its pretty obvious that the alignment is out, only the outer edge or inner edge of the old tyre has been worn.

Cheers

Don

My tyres have worn fairly evenly, in alignment respect across the tread face of the front tyres…

But I’ve noticed some vibration though my steering wheel, and I believe this indicates the fact that tyres don’t usually wear out evenly around the circumference of the tread; in other words tyres wear out to become very slightly ‘oval’, and this will cause an oscillation which is felt thought the steering wheel. This can also result in more noise, vibration, judder, and a less pleasant feel good factor for the driver.
In the case of my worn out tyres, I do notice this, but it isn’t chronic.

~<>~

About a decade ago, I owned a Volvo 360. It was a good reliable run-about. When I first acquired the vehicle the steering felt very heavy, so I had the power-steering servo and wheel alignment tracking checked over in a quick-fit garage… they found noting wrong… so the heavy-steering remained.
Every time the vehicle was routinely serviced in another garages I would ask about the heavy-steering but every time I got the car back, they said they found nothing wrong.

Later, after three years of ownership, and building up some very firm bicep muscles, I took my Volvo to a tyre-change garage for two new front tyres, and while I sat in the waiting room for a few minutes, a very young spotty faced teenage mechanic came up to me and said,
“I may be some time doing this, I’ve noticed the tracking is out by a county mile, and the lock-nuts are a bit seized”!

Long-story-short, the young lad corrected the tracking to perfection, and the car steering was much lighter and an absolute joy every after.
I wrote a letter of thanks to his manager saying what a bright young genius he had working for him.

nymph

One friend advised me years ago that the tires (USA spelling) are the first part of your suspension and road contact. It's all the rage to have low profile tires here, but they are very hard to live with. I bet what you bought are very good with the H rating.

As said before performance tires for bad weather are when you need them or in a tight accident avoidance. And use that tyre pressure gauge.

After a pit-stop for new tyres over 3 weeks ago, here's an update report with some early results...

The worn-out Goodyear’s came off, and brand new Michelin Energy's went on, with new valves, balancing, and the vehicle tracking was done too.

The Goodyear’s were great for road holding wet or dry, strong, reliable, and lasted about 20k miles. The average mpg was 43. (calculated accurately after fuel fills).

After three weeks and 400 miles the new Michelin Energy's have scrubbed in nicely. They are noticeably quieter on road-roar noise, the vehicle feels a bit more sprightly as if the new tyres are slightly lighter, the feel is not at sure-footed as the Goodyear's, but this does not mean the grip any worse, in fact they grip very safely wet or dry, the feel is just a bit more 'floaty' which i find comfortable and to my liking. After the first tank fill with the Michelin‘s, the mpg has worked out to 48.15 so this would appear to be a rise of at least 10% in fuel saving!
So over a year of fuel costs, say £750, i may have a saving of £75+
The Michelins are reputed for a slow wear rate so i calculate they could pay for themselves completely in four years of my typical use of about 30.000 miles. By then, my Toyota will be 13 years old, and still have tyre tread for another year or two...

Thanks for the good advice guys! : )

nymph

Wifes Honda Jazz has same size you are looking for and it takes Yokohama A349 all the time since new (2004). My Accord is happier with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A. Personally the fuel economy benefit of tyres would not influence the decision, grip and wet weather performance
are what counts.

BE CAREFUL WITH BLACKCIRCLES - YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FITMENT IN ADVANCE ! I use EventTyres, all the fitters are employed by the company and are not one-man band as a franchise.

just fitted a pair of Michelin Energy tyres to the front of the old 230TE. They replace Michelin Primacy fitted about 4 years and 40,000 miles ago. 195/65R15/91H at £63.50 each fully fitted plus £20 for the tracking - the old ones were more worn around the outer edge on the offside wheel.

Can't feel any difference to the car's handling.....which is a relief

Cheers

Don

quote:

Originally posted by Calum F:
Personally the fuel economy benefit of tyres would not influence the decision, grip and wet weather performance are what counts.

The Michelin Energy tyres have a softer feel giving a more comfortable ride but which does not compromise wet or dry grip. I have used them on damp roads, wet roads, heavy rain and the conclusion is that they are very safe tyres. The excellent grip in heavy rain is probably made possible by the two larger than usual groves running around the tyre face.
They do what they say on the tin; less road noise, more fuel economy, more mileage, and they grip like leaches! : )

quote:

BE CAREFUL WITH BLACKCIRCLES - YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FITMENT IN ADVANCE ! I use EventTyres, all the fitters are employed by the company and are not one-man band as a franchise.

Yeah i know what you mean!... and wasn't sure myself and had to ask a friend about this strange way of paying up front on line for tyres to be fitted a few days latter at a garage you‘ve never been to before... But it's okay, it's just the 21st century way of doing it. The tyres get ordered from the depot in advance, delivered to the garage you choose on your local list. This means the garage does not need to keep a costly range of stock tyres piled up in the way, and it keeps costs down.

I would have used Blackcircles - they are okay, but i used a similar type of company called BBT (BestBuyTyres) because they just happen have a garage quite close to where i live,
...a handsome bunch of Welsh boyo's there who are very friendly and did a really excellent job! : )

Debs

quote:

Originally posted by Guinnless:


Exactly, Pirelli carcasses are known to be weak.


Steve

Source, please.

I have had no problems with Pirelli PZeros on the aston and bentley. Excellent dry and wet grip, v good track performance, v good on road in all conditions.

jon

I have no official source however I have personally seen many Pirelli failures where the tread has deformed or the tyre has blown out in a disproportionate number to other manufacturers.
A tyre specialist (with no particular axe to grind) told me that at least one UK remould company won't use Pirelli carcasses.

I'm pleased that you are happy with the P-Zeros though. Diablo Corsas seem to get rave reviews too.

I'll stick with Bridgestones though. Ta

quote:

Originally posted by naim_nymph:
...a handsome bunch of Welsh boyo's there who are very friendly and did a really excellent job! : )

Debs

And us blokes get all the bad press for being a bunch of lechers!!

John

I have also been very pleased with pzeros on my carrera and boxster. This blow out suggestion is the kind of rumour that the internet seems to specialise in generating and then propagating without ever troubling to base in fact!

I had a pair of Michelins save me from what could have been a nasty crash. I was amazed at how well they regained traction right at the critical moment in the wet. I'm not suggesting they posess inteligence, but I was damn thankfull that they were on the car!

My fave tyres are Goodyear F1's - excellent grip in the damp and I found them to last longer on a BMW 5 estate than the preceding Michelin Primacies (cool tread pattern too). For some reason buying them from the BMW dealer was cheaper than black circles too

Didn't like the Pirelli P7's I had as original fit on an Audi A6 a couple of years ago - replaced them with F1's when I got the chance

I never skimp on tyres

quote:

Originally posted by living in lancs yearning for yorks:
My fave tyres are Goodyear F1's - excellent grip in the damp and I found them to last longer on a BMW 5 estate than the preceding Michelin Primacies (cool tread pattern too).

Is that the new Asymetric ones? I've just puit a set on my E39 530d Touring, I've another set of wheels with Eagle Ultragrips for the winter.

John

When dealing with high performance and expensive motor cars why would any seek advice from any but the maker of the car in the first place?

With a low perrformance, or old car, of no great value, then other things come into play but with expensive cars requiring expensive tyres, surely the manufacturer of the car would always be the source of the best advice.

No doubt this manufacturer advice could be found out for free from an official approved retailer for the car ...

Other good sources of advice might be a good local and independant garage, who services many different makes of car and gets a feel for what is good in the tyre line, or a reliable tyre factor ...

ATB from George

quote:

Any thoughts on tyres for an S-type? I was thinking Michelin, Continental or Pirelli.

I put Michelins on my S Class, the E Class and my wife's C Class.

Cheers

Don

www.tirerack.com

Tire Rack is a great resource, not only for tires but for information. You can enter your car and look at the factory choice and all the alternatives. You can look at reviews for any tire on a car similar to yours. It may vary somewhat from our country to yours, but I bet you still find it useful.

I said:
My fave tyres are Goodyear F1's


fixedwheel asked

quote:

Is that the new Asymetric ones?

Nope - (look the) same as I've had for years before

Just got a new set of Toyo Praxes 4 205/55 16 (V) on my Volvo V70R (modified.) I love them and I have put some pretty good g's on them without so much as a squeak. They are nice and grippy, but I am sure they will not last as long as a more traditional tire.

I heard from a few independent sources that the new Michelins have a problem with cracking and peeling on the walls after a year or two. I do not have any knowledge of this other than hearsay.

You've only got 205/55 16's on a (modified) V70R???? Crikey

One tyre depot I went to wouldn't stock Avons as "they couldn't be balanced propoerly"....

I can't say I've had any problems with my Michelins, maybe they're supposed to start cracking as they last so long (my Dad once went 88k miles on a set on a rwd car!).

After nearly coming off the road for the third time in my BMW 5-series (E39) I got rid of the Pirelli P6000s and replaced them with Dunlops which stood me in good stead through two rounds. That said, the Dunlops did seem to wear rather more quickly than I'd have liked (I drive spiritedly, but not as spiritedly as in my youth).

Not a fan of Pirellis for that reason. Found Continentals to be similarly gripless on my old MR2 which loved the Yokohamas that replaced them (twice). The Yokohamas lasted 20-25k miles every time which was a surprise (I drove more spiritedly in those days).

Lots of people seem to like the Avon ZZ3 which hasn't been mentioned here.