Technical What tyres to go for!?

[craig20102010]

Coming to the point were im needing a new set of front tyres..

iv been looking around the internet and im willing to spend around £100 a tyre to get some decent ones but where would you recommend to get them from and what brand?

iv got some cheap Hero ones on at the moment there not Bad but not excellent (car can wheel spin them once the turbo kicks in hard in 2nd 3rd gear, diesel bravo remapped) my rears are the original Continental Sport contact 2s i think.. if thats what they come with when you buy new.

size i need is 225/45/17 and i think they need to be XL

been looking at:

Goodyear Efficient Grip £88
Uniroyal RainSport 2 £89.70
EAGLE F1 Asymmetric £90
Goodyear OptiGrip £96.10

 

[dave]

toyo t1r from ebay

 

[Andysan]

Yeah I too will need some fronts soon - surely some treads are better for motorway driving vs about town or economy vs grip? Anyone got any thoughts please?

 

[Charnwood Fox]

Tyre reviews: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre

Buy online, get fitted locally: http://www.blackcircles.com/

I fitted a pair of Uniroyal Rainsport 2s on my front end a few months back and, to be honest, they're not much of an improvement on the Pirelli P7s they replaced.
My MPG is down by 10%.

 

[craig20102010]

well im looking at mytyres.co.uk and so far they are producing the best prices plus they have a rating for most of their tyres done by tyretest.com and the Goodyear OptiGrip are coming out with really good results on the score board.

costing a total of £95.10 per tyre which isnt a bad price for the brand and for the results there getting... Question is do i really need all that grip considering im going from some budget "hero" ones to these and the Hero ones werent that bad in the dry if im honest.. but not that great in the wet and in the snow.

theres also some Falken ZIEX ZE-912 which are only £73 and are the same performance in the dry but not as good in the wet and alot worse in snow.

any one had any of these Tyres?

 

[Andysan]

Doesnt your economoy dive massively the grippier a tyre you have though? I'm not one for sacrificing safety for economy, but surely grippier tyres = more rolling resistance?

 

[craig20102010]

Doesnt your economoy dive massively the grippier a tyre you have though? I'm not one for sacrificing safety for economy, but surely grippier tyres = more rolling resistance?

dont think thats completly true as it will be down to tyre pressure, tread pattern, and obviously the compound its made from will make a bit of a difference.

would of thought tread pattern and tyre pressure will make the most difference to fuel eco

now which site do i go off for reviews.. they both say the goodyear Optigrip and Eagle f1 Asymmetric are good though.. there nearly on par with each other which is good as ones a bit cheaper haha

 

[Tad-bravo]

from my rpevious experiences, the most expensive tires aren't necessarly the better choice. best tires I used were Toyo Tyres.

 

[PROV]

We had Goodyear Excellence on ours. The fronts lasted 30k miles and gave good grip.

Try C&S tyres in Middlesbrough, they are always reasonable.

 

[craig20102010]

We had Goodyear Excellence on ours. The fronts lasted 30k miles and gave good grip.

Try C&S tyres in Middlesbrough, they are always reasonable.

cheers ill ring around and see what prices they come up with..

i do realise the most aint always the best but usually they are safer to go with ha.. but thats why im reading reviews from a few different sources..

iv had toyo proxies T1-Rs and they were really good when i had them but then i didnt really have a car with decent power and torque then.

Toyo tyres at the moment aint all that cheap any more either your still looking at around £85 per tyre for them so might be worth spending the extra £10 for the better tyres - as the reviews reflect

Do my Tyres need to be the XL ( Xtra Load ) Version or not? since thats whats on at the moment on the front dont know if thats just chance that thats what they are.. Not sure what the load rating needs to be for my car any ideas?

 

[dave]

i used to use mytyres but since the £ lost value i found ebay sellers to be cheaper

 

[craig20102010]

i used to use mytyres but since the £ lost value i found ebay sellers to be cheaper

there is a set on ebay for the tyres i want but they only have 4mm of tread left on them but they are £100 cheaper so works out about right i guess since a new tyre only has 8mm on it..

 

[dave]

i only buy new on ebay, you dont know where used ones have been, they could have been in a side impact crash, they are then death traps

 

[hilly81]

there is a set on ebay for the tyres i want but they only have 4mm of tread left on them but they are £100 cheaper so works out about right i guess since a new tyre only has 8mm on it..

Buy new mate. Tyres are the only thing in contact with the road and in my opinion the most important componant on a car from a safety point of view. I would always buy the best I could afford.

 

[Caravadossi]

... been looking at:

Goodyear Efficient Grip £88
Uniroyal RainSport 2 £89.70
EAGLE F1 Asymmetric £90
Goodyear OptiGrip £96.10

If you’re going with Goodyear or Dunlop then try the HiQ (Goodyear-Dunlop Group) dealers on Longlands Road.

HiQ have (in the past) sold at the retail list price of the tyre, with no extra costs re fitting etc. – but things may have changed (… & you’re also looking at 20%VAT now). They should also be able to offer another Goodyear-Dunlop Group tyre – the mid-range Fulda. But they may keep quiet about it (in hope of a Goodyear or Dunlop sale) & you’ll have to argue for it. Falken is also argued to be from the Goodyear-Dunlop stable – but I don’t know if they can offer those.

Your tyre spec is on the inside back cover of you OH!

Let us have your feedback on quotes.

2011/01/06 23:55

 

[flyingscot]

Question is do i really need all that grip considering im going from some budget "hero" ones to these and the Hero ones werent that bad in the dry if im honest.. but not that great in the wet and in the snow.

Even the best tyres will be poor in the snow unless you get one designed for it.

An all-season which is a compromise of both types would be the only option for a year round tyre decent in snow (a good all season tyre would probably be better grip wise than a cheap budget tyre).

Anyway- there is a lot of choice on MyTyres in your size including a Nokian Z G2 which seems to get good ratings on the site too.

For the other poster I think tyre holy grail is around improving rolling resistance when going straight but still increasing lateral grip.

 

[PROV]

If you are weighing up all seasons check this tyre test out (the winter bit!)

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/259582/tyre_test_2010.html

 

[Hellcat]

I've had Eagle F1s. Very good tyre (read excellent) in everything except snow. Pretty useless on the white stuff. Found I wore the centres rather than the shoulders which is a first for me. Tyre wear has been ok.

Got a pair of Vredestein Sessanta. Seem to be very good and also not totally useless in snow. Tyre wear has been good.

I've now got a mild speed related vibration. It could be a thrown weight, but may also be a tyre flatspot. The Eagle F1s can at the end of their life become less than perfectly round, and the tread pattern doesn't hide this.

Curious that you still have the originals on the rear. Do you not rotate them to keep best rubber on the rear?

 

[janjam]

I also had the same dilemma 6 months ago, and at the end I fitted Michelin PS3. I can only say EXCELLENT tyres in both dry or wet (though just a bit on the noisy side... at least for my ears)
I don't know about prices in UK, but I paid 500e in total (125e per corner) in a local shop, what should be in your price range too.

 

[Hellcat]

I've now got a mild speed related vibration. It could be a thrown weight, but may also be a tyre flatspot. The Eagle F1s can at the end of their life become less than perfectly round, and the tread pattern doesn't hide this.

Just an update to this - looks like the belt has failed in the tyre about 2 weeks after I had an unexpected meeting with a brand new speed hump which had arrived without warning during the day.

My flatspot was actually a giant bulge in the side and tread of the tyre. Lucky not to have a blowout.