Hi Everyone .

I am from India and driving Octavia II 1.9 tdi ambiente currently . It has clocked 32k kms . Few weeks ago i got the front two tyres replaced to Bridgestone Turanza ER300 205/55 R16 . Now the rear tyres are totally worn out and i am not able to find the same tyres (ER300) in the market . The delaers say its not available anymore , they are suggesting me to go with some other pattern or some other make of tyres for the rear . I am not too sure what effect it ll 've overall in ride ,handling of the car ?

Please suggest me guys what should i do ... Should i go for the different make of tyres for the rear ? If Yes ,what effect 'll it make overall to the car ? please suggest the tyres that go well with Bridgestone ER300 ? My priorities are Ride comfort ,Roadholding and noise more that the Handling since the roads in India are poor .

Please help guys . Any help will be highly appreciated .

Thanks.

Take a look on here for Tyre Safety advice - Road Safety : Advice and Information : Motor Vehicles : Tyres Information Sheet.

Basically you shouldn't mix radial and cross ply tyres on the same axel and if you do the radials should be on the back. Cross ply aren't readily available in Britain but I don't know about India.

You may wish to stick to the same brand of tyre, i.e Bridgestone for some consistency but it really doesn't matter. Just go for a decent brand such as Michelin, Goodyear, Vredestein, etc and you'll be fine.

Also if you're only changing two tyres it's best to have them fitted on the back too which will be the case for you anyway.

I've used Continentals (Premium Contact 2) mixed with Turanzas on my TDi140, and they go all right. I had the Contis on the front, but IMHO, they'd go as well on the back. Never a problem. I had Pirellis on once, and they didn't go. Can't remember which type, though.

The other thing to do is rotate your tyres to prevent against having tyres in different states of wear then you can change them all at the same time.

Thanks for the advice guys . As suggested by you i am looking out for some other alternatives since the bridgestone is not available .

The other thing to do is rotate your tyres to prevent against having tyres in different states of wear then you can change them all at the same time.

The front tyres that i got fitted few weeks ago are already done 6k kms ,i feel i should put the new tyres in front .

Guys, Please suggest me tyres with good ride comfort , roadholding and less noise . thanks .

I highly rate Michelin Primacy's which I have fitted to the Syrius alloys on my Octy II. Wet and dry grip is good and they wear slowly. IMHO, they are better than Bridgestone Turanza's and miles better than a pair of Dunlop SportMaxx tyres.

Michelin recommend fitting tyres with the most tread on the rear axle. I also alternate (rear to front) my tyres in order to ensure no pair of tyres is significantly older than the other pair.

Ask the dealer what the Bridgestone replacement is for the ER300. That's what I'd go with.

If he says there's no replacement then I'd suggest he is telling fibs. I'd Contact the Indian Bridgestone distributor & ask them whether there are any ER300s available in the correct size.

At the risk of opening up a hornet's nest here. The advice these days is that the better tyres should go on the back.

The logic is that if you lose the back, you've lost it, whereas a loss of front grip is restored by lifting off or dipping the clutch.

At three tyre different places I've been told this now; one, COSTCO refusing to fit new to the front only. National swapped them round, leaving the ones with less tread on the front.

Sounds logical, but I reckon they're only doing that to clean up on the extra labour. I swop them round occasionally, but not every time!

Thanks for the advice guys .Highly appreciated . I spoke to one tyre dealer and he told me that 'the pair of tyres should be same on one axle and it doesnt make a difference what pattern is there on the other' .(same what jonno vrs said) .

So now can i go for any good tyres irrespective of the pattern ? please clear my confusion and help me out make my decision .

Thanks .

So now can i go for any good tyres irrespective of the pattern ?

Yes, and put them on the back.

Ask the dealer what the Bridgestone replacement is for the ER300. That's what I'd go with.

Please share if there is any particular reason why you would go with the same ER300s ?

I'd Contact the Indian Bridgestone distributor & ask them whether there are any ER300s available in the correct size.

Bridgestone Officially never launched ER300s in India . Thats the reason i am facing this problem today . However they are available with the Skoda Dealer at exorbitant price .

I like the ER300, that's what I use most of the time (distribution in France is a joke...) but the Contis are as good. I have had conflicts, though, with Pirellis which I put on the front on my wife's Passat. Skated round all over the place - at the front end. Not fun. She crashed it anyway before I could swop them round to see if it did any good. Not her fault - a young, just got his licence kid came round a corner in the middle of the road. Familiar story. Everyone walked away, and I got rid of the Passat, which was the old, ugly sort - MkIII? Anyway...

Please share if there is any particular reason why you would go with the same ER300s ?

Just for consistency. In the past I've had different brand tyres front to rear & the handling can becomes inconsistent when pushed.

Also, we had ER300 on the company pool car (Astra) and they were pretty good.

Bridgestone Officially never launched ER300s in India . Thats the reason i am facing this problem today . However they are available with the Skoda Dealer at exorbitant price .

No point paying an arm and a leg.

What brands/models are available?

I agree with the others. Put the new tyres on the back. I'd also do a X-rotation every 5,000-7500km to even out the wear. It means you'll have the tyres with the most tread on the front occasionally but otherwise you get caught only buying 2 tyres all the time. (which some people think is good, others not)

Thanks for the suggestions ndici and brad1.8T .

What brands/models are available?

The Brands/models that are available and shortlisted are :

1) Falken FK-452

2) Continental Contact 2

3) Bridgestone Turanzas ER 30

4) Bridgestone Turanza GR 80

Which one you guys think will be the best along with the ER300s that are there in the front .

I am looking more for comfort, low noise , roadholding than the sports type handling OR please feel free to suggest any other brand .

Thanks

Edited 8 December, 200817 yr by skodaa

1) Falken FK-452

A few of my mates have run these on Mazda MPS & Legacy 3.0RB & LegGT. They rate them as an excellant tyre for the money compared to the OEM Bridgestone RE050A, 90% of the tyre for 60% of the price. The only thing I don't like is that it's directional - but that's one of my prsonal pet peeves.

2) Continental Contact 2

I have these on my Elegance. A nice all-rounder but does howl a bit on course-chip bitumen. I've had noisier tyres & can put up with it.

3) Bridgestone Turanzas ER 30

Not as good as an ER300. We have these on our other Astra pool car. They seem OK but I think they might be overwhelmed for traction on an Octavia.

4) Bridgestone Turanza GR 80

Don't know this tyre

If the pricing is like AUS then of the first 3 it will be Continental then Bridgestone & Falken. The Falken is the best value for money and gives great performance & is quiet. Because it's directional the preferred fitment is on the front(when mixing with assymetrics or non-directionals) but it does no harm fittin to the rear as well.

Contis would be my 2nd choice. I wouldn't get the Bridgestone ER30 unless you are a very conservative driver.

Thanks brad 1.8T . Highly appreciated . Just enquired from Falken tyre dealer and was told that Fk 452 are no more available in my size ,they are available in 17 and i dont want to go for 17 inches wheel becos of the poor roads in India . . In 205/55/16 they are having only ZE 912 and i am not sure they are as good as FK 452 .

Guys, how about Goodyear excellence ? How is the ride comfort and noise ? I am looking for soft ride that could soak up bumps .. Are they better than the Bridgestone ER 300s ? Pls Help .

Thanks .

wheel becos of the poor roads in India . . In 205/55/16 they are having only ZE 912 and i am not sure they are as good as FK 452 .

Guys, how about Goodyear excellence ? How is the ride comfort and noise ? I am looking for soft ride that could soak up bumps .. Are they better than the Bridgestone ER 300s ? Pls Help .

.

Our roads can be fairly lousy here too.

I wouldn't have a problem fitting ZE912 to my car. Goodyear Excellence looks OK too.

i've also run Pirelli Dragon on my old Golf & was very happy with them.

Others worth checking availability (based on what works down here):

• Dunlop Sp Sport Maxx
  
• Sumitomo (They own Dunlop IIRC)
  
• Yokohama (S-drive or C-drive)
  
• Michelin
  

Guys, after a lot of market research , i find the tires that are available here and i 've to choose between these tires :

1) Conti Premium contact 2

2) Falken ZE 912

3) Kumho Ecsta KH 11

4) Yokohama S Drive

Pls suggest me the best tire that suits my needs .

Thanks .

Guys, after a lot of market research , i find the tires that are available here and i 've to choose between these tires :

1) Conti Premium contact 2

2) Falken ZE 912

3) Kumho Ecsta KH 11

4) Yokohama S Drive

Pls suggest me the best tire that suits my needs .

Thanks .

Of the four tyres listed, I'd personally opt for the Conti's.

Some prices would be nice?

I'm guessing they would be priced (cheapest to dearest)

~ equal: Kumho + Falken

Yokohama +15%

Continental + 80% (more than the cheapest).

Based on that, and our crappy roads, I'd choose

Falken: Looks OK. Hard rubber compound for long life

Kumho: I believe the sidewalls are quite hard but this will probably work well with the Octavia factory recommended 29psi - personally, I prefer to run 34psi+

Yokohama: would be first choice based on reputation except I am a directional tyre bigot - the reviews look bad though.:confused:

Continental: because I think they are overpriced & the sidewalls are too soft for bad roads.

Some prices would be nice?

Ok, following are the prices i am getting in India (converted to $US) .

1) Falken ZE 912 - $ 132/tyre

2) Kumho KH 11 - $ 92/tyre

3) Yokahama S Drive - $ 115/tyre

4) Conti Premium contact 2 - $ 142/tyre

5) Michelin primacy hp - $ 173/tyre

6) Bridgestone ER300 - $ 170/tyre (expensive as they are available only with the Skoda Authorized dealers)

Based on that, and our crappy roads, I'd choose

Falken: Looks OK. Hard rubber compound for long life

Kumho: I believe the sidewalls are quite hard but this will probably work well with the Octavia factory recommended 29psi - personally, I prefer to run 34psi+

Yokohama: would be first choice based on reputation except I am a directional tyre bigot - the reviews look bad though.:confused:

Continental: because I think they are overpriced & the sidewalls are too soft for bad roads.

I am more inclined towards the contis but i am only worried about the sidewalls as you rightly mentioned they are too soft and are prone to those bubbles if driven on bad roads .

Yokohamas i am not very interested in as you said the reviews are preety bad all over the web and they are told to be preety noisy as they are more performance oriented whereas i am looking for comfort oriented tyres .

What do the guys suggest ?

thanks .

Edited 21 December, 200817 yr by skodaa

I've just had Goodyear Excellence put on mine and I have to say I like them. They seem quieter than the originals and grip is excellent.

As has been mentioned the new pair went on the back and the back moved to the front. Seems sensible as with my mileage it means that they will get 6 months on the back then 6 months on the front before they are worn. Will always be replaced in pairs with no tyre ever being more than 12 months old. This current thinking was also featured on 5th Gear as well with a demonstration of the theory done on a skidpan. You may be able to see it on YouTube.