tires

[steve09]

do you buy cheapo tire's or the expensive ones?
what are the best tires you have experianced and the worst?

 

[obi_waynne]

Tyres are important so I never buy cheapos.

The best for handling were Goodyear Eagle F1's and they were good in the wet. They didn't last very long though.

Michelin Pilot sports are brilliant especially in the wet but quite expensive. Wear is also very good.

Currently I'm running with Dunlop SP Sports and they were cheap(ish) and I am quite pleased with them. They give a good road feel, have lasted 25,000 miles so far and are good in the wet and mud.

Tried some Pirelli P6000's and hated them. They were rubbish and frequently locked up, wheelspun and slid in the wet.

 

[HDi fun]

I used to rate Goodyear Venturas highly. These were directional. No longer available.
Bridgestone RE-720s. Directional. Superb grip, fast steering response. Fast wear. No longer avaiable.
COntinental Premium Contact 2. Assymetric. Good drive. Reasonable wear.

Viking Protech II (COnti made). Good value. Lateral grip not quite as strong as I'd like. Wear fast.

 

[pgarner]

Dont bother with the cheaper yokos ether. had some for the civic £35 (185/65/14) each and they were lasting around 3 months, and i wasnt driving hard

Michelian sports were alright had done around 15-20k on them when sold the car still plenty left on them. got them cheaper at costco think it was around £45 each (195/50/15) phoned a mate with the prices who works at local fitter they were selling them for £60.

currently got bridgestone R040s on the bora and there not too bad. have done 10k on them still got around 3mm left on the front

 

[herb]

from experience i rate yoko a539's good in the wet, dry and lasted well plus i could get them £40 each fitted :cheesy:
i currently have the standard wheels on the car at the moment and they have goodyear eagles equally as good as the yoko's
and on my gti alloys i was a little skint at the time so i bought budget tyres their called kings and cost £150 fitted and to my surprise they are great tyres equally as good as the above in the dry but not as good in the wet cant really rate the wear on them as they have only done about 250 miles

 

[Juddian]

I do a lot of reading up of reviews from the likes of 'tyretest' etc before spending out.
Do keep an open mind on the public reviews like those though, as a new maker could easily get a few cronies to bump up the review count, and many of the comments on the German site are in different languages (obviously), but the scoring system is ok.

The various mags sometimes do good tests, but obviously these usually only cover a small percentage of whats available out there.

My number one priority is wet grip, and as such Chinese ditchfinders are out of the question.

I have found some very good alternatives to the mainstream over the years and Vredestein is one such (the wintrac has to be one of the best winter tyres available), also Nokian (difficult to source).

I've taken my Goodyear F1's off as fed up to the back teeth with having to drive 2 or 3 miles to get rid of the overnight flatspot, and the hopeless wheelspin when the tyres are cold.
Now on a set of Toyo T1R's on the ageing MB, so far so good.

By the way, i run winter and summer tyres/wheels , does anyone else bother?

 

[pgarner]

Did look at the T1Rs but they were dearer than the bridgestones, might look at them in the future.

Nah i dont bother with summer / winter tyres