Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ?

[TonyDB]

Hello all and I hope you can help me!

I am looking at getting 4 new tyres for my car (2007/57 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp)).
Currently have Bridgestone RE050 on the rear and Barum Bravuris 2 on the front - all on the car when I bought it.
All are: 225x45x17 - 91W.

The Barums have performed well for my style of driving - usually easy going around town with occasional 'spirited' moments on twisty A roads (A134 Essex/Suffolk).

I fancy a change from what I've got and I am torn between:

Budget tyres (GT Radial Champiro HPX @ £60 + fitting and seem to get some favourable reviews and seem to have a good history behind the Company so maybe not as bad as some 'proper budgets').

Mid-range (something like the Uniroyal Rainsport 2 @ £85-£95 + fitting, because they are good in the wet).

Premium like Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (£97 + fitting, because they are on the local Constabulary's high performance Volvo estates so, good enough for advanced Police drivers, good enough for me!).

My priority is good grip and stopping.

My question is that all the above tyres come with a choice of standard or Extra Load / XL / Reinforced - bar the HPX's, which only come as XL.

I have heard that the Golf is a heavy car, especially in diesel guise, so I should fit XL tyres, but the Golf never came with these as standard so are they really needed?

Also, I've heard that XL tyres improve handling (but make the ride harsher?) and are safer IF you have a blow-out as the reinforced sidewalls give better support until you can come to a standstill.

Please could you spare me a moment to tell me what you think about the above selection of tyres and whether I should go for the XL version or not?

Many thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you all,
Tony.

PS: VW have contacted me re. a free recall due on my car on the ECU. Don't know what it is yet as they never explained, but might be worth getting your cars checked for any outstanding recalls!
PPS: LOVE this site!

[vince70]

I have budget branded tyres on my Audi and find them ok'ish but I will put something better on when it comes round to renewing them.

I had a Golf Mk3 Cabriolet last year and it handled terrible and didnt stop to well which I put down to scuttle shake or knackered shocks and it had some really cheap nasty Chinese tyres on the front.
I had mechanic friends look over my car because I couldn't believe it would be the tyres as there was loads of grip on them.

In the end I got a puncture so I had a new pair of Avons fitted and couldn't believe the difference it felt like a completely different car after that I won't buy cheap nasty tyres again, also I find if you phone about or check the net there is always someone doing a deal on good brands locally, and you can get them for not a lot more than buying the cheap budget crap.

[TonyDB]

Hi Vince and thank you for replying...

I have now purchased 4 x Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (91Y) for just under £385.00 delivered from Camskill. I have a mate who will fit them for £20.00 and another friend who will do the 4 wheel laser check (Hunter ???) for £25.00.

I decided on these after considering the likes of Kumho, Hankooks, Uniroyals etc etc., but these F1's were only about £50.00 to £100.00 more (depending on what I was comparing them with) and they get consistently rave reviews and they are a reasonably new tyre (so new technology - I hope!).

Although I cannot really afford the extra price this month of all months (nor do I drive my car like I stole it to test the capabilities of these tyres), I figured I'd cut back on a couple of small things (takeaways/DVD rentals etc) for a bit and get some top quality tyres on. Now I'm a Daddy to a GORGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, PERFECT little girl, my outlook on things has certainly changed!

Tyres not fitted yet due to work comittments, but cannot wait to get them on and see what they are like. I just hope they do not disappoint or they attract any nails too soon!

Thanks again for your reply and all the best,
Tony.

[phil miller]

ive got 225/40 R 18s on my 105 golf, ive had Autogrips and now have fulways they are both budget tyres, the Autogrips done 30,000 miles and still had 3 mm on 80% but when the roads were wet they felt alittle unsure, the fulways i have now feel great in the wet but i get the feeling they wont get near 30k, the Autogrips cost me £50 a corner and the fulways £32 a corner, that was trade and i had to fit them myself, IMHO mid range budgets are all good tbf

[TonyDB]

Cheers Phil!
I agree, there are some good mid-range budgets out there. I used to have them all the time as my manner of driving did not really warrant anything top of the range and I think that is the important thing... manner of driving. You could have the cheapest, most lethal budgets on but if you drive to the conditions (with a looked after car), you are less likely to have an RTC than having the same tyres on and driving like a loon!
However, a recent and very minor RTC (1 CM crack in my bumper) with my baby in the back of the car, made me realise it is not always about out and out grip or the most mileage. It is also about stopping as safely and in the shortest distance as possible. Sure, when it is raining, I drive more carefully, but there are times when the unexpected comes along (as in my case).
If money was really tight and the risk was driving with illegal tyres or sticking what I could afford on, then I would stick budgets on if that's what the money could afford and adjust my driving accordingly. Saying that, even with these Asymmetric 2's on, I will not be driving in such a way to test their limits.
What swung it for me, is the (alleged) stopping distances for the Asymmetric 2's because of the minor RTC I had.
I managed to save the money up despite all my bills this month (car insurance, tax bill, timing belt, service, CSA etc.!) and just felt that I would rather spend the extra money on better tyres than on stuff I don't need - like takeaways, new jeans etc... I am not saying that these tyres will save me from another accident, but if it should happen again and I have my Daughter in the back, I want to know that, with decent tyres on and reasonably sensible driving, I did all I could to avoid the accident in the first place.
Sometimes, it's not you that causes the accident, but some other muppet!
Mileage is also not too important at this stage for me because of my Daughter (and not just when she is in the car, but also because I want to see her grow up). I would rather have good tyres that last 15k, than rubbish tyres that last 40k but leave you wondering whether you're going to end up in a ditch every time you go out on them!
I understand that a lot of 'budget' tyres, use tread patterns/technology etc. from tyres that were considered 'premium' a couple of years ago, so they are not going to be the really scary/lethal tyres that you hear people talking about. I wanted to avoid those types of tyres but, having very limited knowledge of which ones are the good budgets and which ones are the lethal budgets, I decided to go for something that was consistently rated highly... that and to save my sanity as I was going crazy reading all the different reviews and all the differing opinions from different people!
To be honest, these are the first set of premium tyres I have ever bought and I will have no hesitation on going back to mid-range budgets like before, but this time, with my first reasonably decent car and my new little monster... er... I mean, baby... I thought I'd give premium a go.
Who knows... they may turn out to be rubbish and I will kick myself for spending the extra cash! I know I won't be reading the Asymmetric 2's reviews anymore, just in case their percentage starts dropping once more and more people buy them and don't like them - what I mean is, I would rather buy a tyre on 80% with 100 reviews, than a tyre with 100% with only 2 reviews - if that makes sense?
Once I've done some decent mileage in them, through different sorts of conditions, I'll be in a better position to know whether I have made the right decision or not!
Well, better go... it is late and I'm waffling on!
Thanks for your reply mate and all the best!
Tony.

[Crasher]

I have just put 2 more Uniroyal Rainsport 2's on my Octavia and a set of four on my wife's Polo GTI. They are brilliant value for money.

[busta]

I have just put 2 more Uniroyal Rainsport 2's on my Octavia and a set of four on my wife's Polo GTI. They are brilliant value for money.

where did you find them the cheapest?

[busta]

I have 4 pirelli p6000 and the front 2 need replacing.

I dont want to go with the pirelli again so looking at the uniroyal rainsport/conti contact2/good year eagle asy2

Not had the car the long and the pirellis are very noisy

[TonyDB]

Hi Crasher!
I was considering the Uniroyals and will try them if the Asymmetric 2's turn out to be rubbish - or Rainsport 3's if they are out by the time the Asy's are dead.
What sort of average mileage do you get out of the Uniroyals (if you know) and do you go for the standard load ones or the XL ones?
Many thanks,
Tony.

[Crasher]

I paid about £95 a corner for 225/45 17's and £90 PC for 205/45 16's, I do not use XL tyres as they ruin the ride. My RS1's lasted 15K on the front but hit 4 years on the rear a while back so I binned them at 4-mm. I see good life from customer’s cars on RS1’s and 2's but I cannot give figures although to be absolutely honest I think the RS1 was better than the RS2. Today in the snow the RS2 was very predictable and I did not even get a flash of ASR light but I did get some major 4 wheel lock as I approached a junction on the A610 whilst trying to negotiate the loss of one lane due to a 2 inches of snow stranded C class Merc (those things are a joke in this weather) and the loss of the next lane as I tried to make use of what little space was left as a paramedic in a Skoda Octavia Scout came up behind me and then around my right, then cut across the front of me to make a left turn across what would have been two lanes of traffic on a normal day, I have no idea where he thought I could go and he would have made better progress if he had turned left behind me! If I had stuffed him in his left side he would have been in a lot of trouble and was probably only rushing to assist some low life benefit scum in Broxtowe that had run out of milk for their tea...