Cheers. Will go for the Ultracs I think. Was just tempted by that price - if they lasted well enough.

The tracking was out by different amounts each side (cannot remember for sure but something like -8 and -5??) but I could not feel anything - no pulling either way even with no hands.

Is it worth checking the geometry? I take it this is the 4 wheel allignment which is around £70-£80??

slightly of topic, i have just put a full set of Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta 225/45/17 on my tfsi vrs Combi and am finding it hard to find the right tyre pressures...

had 32psi in front and back .... back was scarily skittish

30psi front and back ...... back is planted but front seems funny .. heavy

Had Federal 595 W 's on it before and had 30 psi all round

any suggestions on the right mix and match front to back

Cathal

Try 2-4 psi less in the back than the front. As a starting point 34F/32R.

edit: Bahnstormers says NO!

He's right, it will promote roll oversteer to a certain extent. Personally I think it needs it but it comes down to driving style/conditions. I agree with him about 35psi as well.

Edited 17 November, 200817 yr by brad1.8T

I ran 34 psi front and 32 psi rear on my Goodyear Asymetrics and that handled just fine.

so what pressures should I be running my 2.0 L&K estate? on 205 55 16 's

If the 'snowploughing' was equal both sides the the car would have drive straight ahead BUT will result in excess tyre wear.

In a word; Yes. If you factor in how long they will last the apparent gap in price closes; Falkens will not last as long as Ultracs.

Talked to the tyre place again today. My tracking was 16mm out. I am sure it was 9mm one side and the other side was then obviously 7mm so it was not even. They say this is a hell of a lot out and will be the reason for only getting 3k mikes and the tyres being down to 1mm above the wear indicators. Thing is I can only get the Ultracs from 1 supplier at £105 each. The tyre place I use can only get them from that 1 other tyre fitter so won`t be able to be competitive with the price BUT will let me have another pair of Goodyear Assymetrics for £95 each, which is a cracking price for these tyres. They fit them to all the police cars and say none have come back yet for worn tyres after nearly 3 months (don`t know how many miles they will have done in 3 months but would guess it would be a few).

So I have the choice of another pair of Goodyears and see how they go with the tracking sorted out, or go for the Ultracs at £10 each more.

Is it plausible that the tracking has wiped out 6000-7000 off the Goodyears life. What would one realistically expect from these driving the car sensibly most of the time?

Talked to the tyre place again today. My tracking was 16mm out. I am sure it was 9mm one side and the other side was then obviously 7mm so it was not even.

Wow; that's a massive amount 'out'. No wonder you only got 3,000 miles from the tyres; almost lucky to have got that far!

Thing is I can only get the Ultracs from 1 supplier at £105 each. The tyre place I use can only get them from that 1 other tyre fitter so won`t be able to be competitive with the price BUT will let me have another pair of Goodyear Assymetrics for £95 each, which is a cracking price for these tyres. They fit them to all the police cars and say none have come back yet for worn tyres after nearly 3 months (don`t know how many miles they will have done in 3 months but would guess it would be a few).

So I have the choice of another pair of Goodyears and see how they go with the tracking sorted out, or go for the Ultracs at £10 each more.

Whilst I have a leaning to the Ultrac Sessantas, I am a firm believer of keeping all four tyres the same brand if at all possible. If I were you, I'd opt for the Goodyears and give them a change with correctly set geometry, after all they did win the Evo 2007 tyre test.

Is it plausible that the tracking has wiped out 6000-7000 off the Goodyears life.

YES.

What would one realistically expect from these driving the car sensibly most of the time?

I measured the tread depth on my tyres (two sets) over the weekend, been doing this every 2,500 miles, and have come up with the following data, based on 27,500 miles in the car from new.

Michelin Pilot Exalto 2, 225/40 r18 - 20,000 mileage covered; expected replacement @ 2mm depth - 24,000 miles front/60,000 miles rear. Cost c. £150 per tyre.

Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas, 225/45 r17 - 7,500 mileage covered; expected replacement @ 2mm depth - 10,500 miles front/27,500 miles rear. Cost c. £100 per tyre.

Clearly the Ultrac Sessantas cost more on a £ per mile basis but they are much better for wet grip/handling; although I was expecting the Ultracs to last a bit longer than they will, maybe I'm driving the car harder?

I guess a case of 'pays your money; takes your choice' and I think I'd be expecting 10,000 miles or more from Goodyears.

Bet you'll find the Goodyears will wear seriously quickly.

I got 3 times the wear from the Ultracs than I did with the Asymmetrics.

Yeah, that is my worry. I think I would kick myself if I got the Goodyears again and they didn`t last long.

Bahnstormer says he is expected to get 10500 out of Ultracs on the front tho so even that to me is not great. What would you expect from the Falkens as I can get them for £65 each fitted (without even haggling!) so anything more than about 6k and I would be better off.

Preferred the days of just getting a `mid range ` tyre for £40-50 and it lasting 20k.................................not as much fun tho!

I guess a case of 'pays your money; takes your choice' and I think I'd be expecting 10,000 miles or more from Goodyears.

Definitely the case. I probably got around 12k out of the fronts and the rears still had quite a bit left in them after 16k.

This from a tweaked petrol vRS.

What would you expect from the Falkens as I can get them for £65 each fitted (without even haggling!) so anything more than about 6k and I would be better off.

On my Subaru forum, a few of the guys have used Falken FK452 as a replacement for the Bridgestone RE050A. The rate it as 90% of the RE050A for 60% of the price.

The other tyre that is getting great reports among mates is the Bridgestone Adrenaline RE001.

The other tyre that is getting great reports among mates is the Bridgestone Adrenaline RE001.

Just googled to Bridgestone's website on these;- Adrenalin - Bridgestone POTENZA

All looks very impressive, available in sizes required for an Octy and almost looks sexier than the Ultrac Sessantas (shouldn't really judge on this but more on how they perform).

Just googled to Bridgestone's website on these;- Adrenalin - Bridgestone POTENZA

All looks very impressive, available in sizes required for an Octy and almost looks sexier than the Ultrac Sessantas (shouldn't really judge on this but more on how they perform).

They are an interesting tyre. They take about 500km to "break-in" and reward smooth driving.

Here's some guys I know that have tested or bought them - Post 1 is by a guy that's was a motoring journo at the time. Take the time to trawl through all the drivel/BSposts & there is some good info from people that have shelled out there own money.

Tyre life seems to be about 35,000-40,000km but that's on AWD so they don't get as much wear on take-off as a FWD.

They are an interesting tyre. They take about 500km to "break-in" and reward smooth driving.

Here's some guys I know that have tested or bought them - Post 1 is by a guy that's was a motoring journo at the time. Take the time to trawl through all the drivel/BSposts & there is some good info from people that have shelled out there own money.

Tyre life seems to be about 35,000-40,000km but that's on AWD so they don't get as much wear on take-off as a FWD.

One eeny weeny small problem; I've done a search of on-line tyre retailers here in UK, they do not seem to be available and are not even listed on Bridgestone's UK website, yet! :thumbdwn:

One eeny weeny small problem; I've done a search of on-line tyre retailers here in UK, they do not seem to be available and are not even listed on Bridgestone's UK website, yet! :thumbdwn:

Time to emmigrate!

Time to emigrate!

Not a bad idea, although it is somewhat surprising the number of Australians who come to UK.

However; might just recommend the Bridgestone Adrenaline RE001 to my brother who lives in Singapore and has a Subaru Forrester STi - ought to be just right for him.

Not a bad idea, although it is somewhat surprising the number of Australians who come to UK.

It's a rite-of-passage thing.

The UK is a nice place to visit with totally different landscape & much older history. You speak a recognisable form of English:rofl:, jobs are (pre-current financial crisis) easy to get (apparently Aussies are good workers:confused:) and the pay is OK. We might put sh!t on you but it's all in good fun.... and you're pretty good at giving it back. It could be worse - you might be Kiwis:D.

Both my nieces lived/worked in London for a year and loved/hated it (spoilt bitches).

I was SPOC for my employer at a construction site a few weeks back - out of 12 subbies, 9 were Irish. They near pooped their pants when a black snake slithered onto the site.

Bridgestone's ranges and availability is different across the world. The US get a lot of tyres we don't, and we get a few they don't.

I'm gonna sing the praises of the FK452s again... still in awe of the grip/traction/feedback of these tyres on my remapped TFSi. What's more, with about 6-7k 'spirited' miles on them they have about 5-6mm of tread left. I'm usually lucky on previous cars/tyres to get 10k before replacing the fronts, so considering the grip levels I'm amazed how well these are lasting.

My mate with a 6MPS got them after my recommendation and reckons they are better than the Potenza RE050s he had from factory (but then I had Potenza S-03s before them and they get pwned too imho). Although with his heavier 2.3T and 260bhp I reckon his fronts are wearing faster than mine :P

I'm tempted to try Vreds but unless I got a real bargain on them I can't see past the FK452s atm

apparently Aussies are good workers:confused:)

It's eeeeinstinct!