Which Tyres???

[Buzcrash1]

I have got 2 Ltr TDI sport estate & it has come to that time where I need to put new tyres on, & speaking to various tyre centres they all seem to contradict each other with ref to hard / soft compound blah!! blah!! blah!!
my requirement is simple
I want a tyre that costs £50 lasts 10 years & has the grip, water dispersion, & the performance of a formula 1 car . I have whittled some out of wood but their not very good in the wet & the squirrels have chewed big chunks out of them.

All joking apart I just need a good all round performance tyre?

[ronmcintosh]

Hi there

There are a few good threads about tyres. If it is any help here is a post i made a while back:

"Hi there.

I drive about 70K a year with work and have done for the last 8 years so have seen off a few tyres in that time. Everbody will have a personal favourite based on their own driving style and the car. For my 2 penneth.

Michelin pilots: very good grip wet and dry but usually fairly pricey they last as well
Michelin exalto: amazing grip but will wear out quickly, i have seen front sets go in under 8k in a big motor (that was mainly motorway miles)
Goodyear NCT: stunning grip wet and dry and amazing length of wear, most high mileage repmobiles will be on goodyears for this reason and decent price
Continental Prem contact: maybe not the trendiest of names but good grip and last well
Dunlop SP sport: same as above
Avon ZV3 : In the wet It will feel like someone is greasing the road in front of you...........don't do it !
Bridgestone Potenza: almost gravity defying levels of grip wet and dry. I have heard people say they wear quickly but i never really found them any worse than most
Barum: Bit of a wild card here they are made by continental and are considered a budget brand. I had a full set put on a Volvo 3 or 4 years back as that was all that was available, I found them to be grippy and they lasted well

I had a look at mytyres and there are some good deals:

If it was my money Goodyear NCT for length of life and grip(and that from someone who always used to consider michelins the best)
If you are not doing a big mileage i might be tempted by the bridgestones "

Ron

[Quatrelle]

Kumhos? Supposed to be budget, but some people recommend them. Goodyear do one which is supposed to be very quiet. Have a look at "Similar threads" at the bottom of this page.

[mellie]

I'm running Toyo Proxes T1-R (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:fnShowProductModel%28%27?modelid=1518851&cid=912&productid=1518894%27%29;). There as grippy as Goodyear F1's and I've found they are lasting longer than the F1's. They are £69.29 from black circles for 16". The girl friend is running Kumho's and she's more than happy with them, she only does city driving though.

Phil.

p.s. If you put NHS in the discount tab that knocks 5% off.

[james_tiger_woo]

I've had some Goodyear Eagle F1s on a Seat Leon TDi FR - don't get them, they're great dry tyres - show them a wet road and they'll spin you round and kill you...

P6000s are pretty good all round tyres though...

[jewjew24]

My 06 Passat sport came from the factory with Pirelli Rosso Pzero's on and I have been more than happy with them, there grip is excellent in the wet as well as the dry. I was also impressed with wear 19,000 for fronts and 38,000 for the back which is good the way I drive!! Be aware as mine needed to be extra load, I presume cos' of the heavy diesel engine!!

[Drash]

I'd have to disagree there - we've got factory fitted Potenza RE050As (235/45*17) and they are scary in the wet/snow, I've absolutely no confidence in them - I skipped sideways hitting a wet patch navigating a supermarket chicane at walking pace. I'm looking at Michelins next. They've lasted ok though - 19k and two years old and there's still a bit left on the fronts (backs are better).


Hi there


Avon ZV3 : In the wet It will feel like someone is greasing the road in front of you...........don't do it !
Bridgestone Potenza: almost gravity defying levels of grip wet and dry. I have heard people say they wear quickly but i never really found them any worse than most

Ron

[Buzcrash1]

Hi there

There are a few good threads about tyres. If it is any help here is a post i made a while back:

"Hi there.

I drive about 70K a year with work and have done for the last 8 years so have seen off a few tyres in that time. Everbody will have a personal favourite based on their own driving style and the car. For my 2 penneth.

Michelin pilots: very good grip wet and dry but usually fairly pricey they last as well
Michelin exalto: amazing grip but will wear out quickly, i have seen front sets go in under 8k in a big motor (that was mainly motorway miles)
Goodyear NCT: stunning grip wet and dry and amazing length of wear, most high mileage repmobiles will be on goodyears for this reason and decent price
Continental Prem contact: maybe not the trendiest of names but good grip and last well
Dunlop SP sport: same as above
Avon ZV3 : In the wet It will feel like someone is greasing the road in front of you...........don't do it !
Bridgestone Potenza: almost gravity defying levels of grip wet and dry. I have heard people say they wear quickly but i never really found them any worse than most
Barum: Bit of a wild card here they are made by continental and are considered a budget brand. I had a full set put on a Volvo 3 or 4 years back as that was all that was available, I found them to be grippy and they lasted well

I had a look at mytyres and there are some good deals:

If it was my money Goodyear NCT for length of life and grip(and that from someone who always used to consider michelins the best)
If you are not doing a big mileage i might be tempted by the bridgestones "

Ron
Cheers Ron Happy Christmas

[ronmcintosh]

I'd have to disagree there - we've got factory fitted Potenza RE050As (235/45*17) and they are scary in the wet/snow, I've absolutely no confidence in them - I skipped sideways hitting a wet patch navigating a supermarket chicane at walking pace. I'm looking at Michelins next. They've lasted ok though - 19k and two years old and there's still a bit left on the fronts (backs are better).


HI There,

On wet or snow when you have gone as wide as a 235, the weight of the car is spread too much and the tyres cant cut down through to apply enough pressure to obtain good grip. I used to do a bit of rally and off road driving and as soon as the conditions were a bit damp you;d shift the tyre profile up and the width down.

Any 235 will be great in dry conditions but will be very unforgiving in wet or worse. It doesent really matter whats on the car, if the car is not applying enough pressure to the ground then it is not going to keep you connected to the planet.

On my last car a 3.0 V6, I used a set of alloys with 225*45 x 17, during summer months, but switched back to the standard 205 * 60 x 15 in winter. It completely transformed the handling in winter conditions.

In general i think VAG have got it about right with 55 profiles as a decent mix of firm/comfort handling.

Don't get me wrong , from a looks point of view the bigger wheels and skinny profiles are the business. But a lot of people think that wide tyres will always give better grip. That really is not the case when the weather has turned.

You have done well to get 19 K +, out of your fronts on such a low profile though.

Cheers

Ron

[Drash]

Fair points, all. My Summer convertible (2CV) was a gem in the thick white stuff, shame it was allergic to the accompanying salt.

The 17" wheels are standard, so, short of shelling out ££££ for a winter set for a climate that doesn't really get too extreme, it's a matter of making the best of a bad job. Previous Bridgestones (on other cars) haven't impressed, but I've never had a bad Michelin, so you pays your money you makes your choice, as the saying goes. Short of arranging a multi-way tyre test I can't really see how else you can make a choice. Magazines have done this, but there are so many variables essentially they're just having a blast in the furtherance of selling paper - little true worth.

I'm also surprised at getting 19+k out of the fronts given the wife's the main driver - I'm the steady(ier) one :D

Cheers.


HI There,

On wet or snow when you have gone as wide as a 235, the weight of the car is spread too much and the tyres cant cut down through to apply enough pressure to obtain good grip. I used to do a bit of rally and off road driving and as soon as the conditions were a bit damp you;d shift the tyre profile up and the width down.

Any 235 will be great in dry conditions but will be very unforgiving in wet or worse. It doesent really matter whats on the car, if the car is not applying enough pressure to the ground then it is not going to keep you connected to the planet.

On my last car a 3.0 V6, I used a set of alloys with 225*45 x 17, during summer months, but switched back to the standard 205 * 60 x 15 in winter. It completely transformed the handling in winter conditions.

In general i think VAG have got it about right with 55 profiles as a decent mix of firm/comfort handling.

Don't get me wrong , from a looks point of view the bigger wheels and skinny profiles are the business. But a lot of people think that wide tyres will always give better grip. That really is not the case when the weather has turned.

You have done well to get 19 K +, out of your fronts on such a low profile though.

Cheers

Ron