Hi everyone

I need to replace my front tyres. they are 205/55 16's. currently I have Pirelli P6000 on the front and micheiin Primacy on the back. The Pirelli spin lots and are noisy.

I can't find much on the forum about tyres other than for vRS. (eyes going fuzzy after staring at screen too long!)

I have an L & K estate with 170 bhp & 380 Nm torque from my PD engine.

Most important is peace & quiet in the cabin, then grip.

We have a VW Gold GT TDi with those size tyres on and found Michelins were very quiet with good feel and grip, we've now put on Falken 912s (saving money everywhere at the moment) and they don't seem to be any worse and they were a lot cheaper

not suprising they spin with 380 torque:rofl:

Having driven a remapped Fabia vRS (derv), the simple answer *other than tyres* are to use a more sensible right-foot, particularly in 1st and 2nd gear, and in the wet, 3rd gear.

The wheelspin means you are overdoing it at least, and if you have ASR only (not sure on the Mk2 Octy) it would be cutting power in annoying and potentially dangerous ways if you want to pull out at a T-junction for example.

Spinning the wheels definitely won't help with the noise either, and may cause uneven tyre wear which in turn increases the noise even more...

if you have ASR only (not sure on the Mk2 Octy) it would be cutting power in annoying and potentially dangerous ways if you want to pull out at a T-junction for example.

Very true, I personally am fairly careful, but the PD is fairly brutal! I can and will adjust the low speed torque to help prevent this, but at this point in time I need tyres......Now.

I've got bridgestone turanza's er300 on mine all round and it seems better balanced. Haggled a better than 4 for 3 deal. Thought that was reasonable back in December. They seemed to be OEM for a while. They seem good enough for the 1.9tdi. Used to have pirellis on the superb and went through 4 in 20,000 even rotating at 10,000 miles. Very soft but grippy.

Are these the same Pirelli P6000 that were the ducks-guts in the mid-'80s? Pirelli have certainly got there investment money out of those moulds. I think tyre tech might have moved on since the '80s

I'm not sure if they are sold in the UK but Bridgestone Adrenaline give a good performance/price compromise down here.

The AutoExpress tyre test is a good start. I've had a look and fancy the ContiPremium Contact 2 as they are about the same but quieter than Bridgestone ER300.

I'm not sure if they are sold in the UK but Bridgestone Adrenaline give a good performance/price compromise down here.

Don't think so yet. :thumbdwn: Having read a few reviews, they are the tyre to have but IIRC are not available in the required 205/55 16.

Hi everyone

I need to replace my front tyres. they are 205/55 16's. currently I have Pirelli P6000 on the front and micheiin Primacy on the back. The Pirelli spin lots and are noisy.

I can't find much on the forum about tyres other than for vRS. (eyes going fuzzy after staring at screen too long!)

I have an L & K estate with 170 bhp & 380 Nm torque from my PD engine.

Most important is peace & quiet in the cabin, then grip.

I'd suggest putting your current Michelins on the front and then buy a new, matching, pair of Michelins for the back. Always best to have the same tyres all round.

try some goodyear F1 eagles gsd 3 ...not too bad at around £100 per corner...very quiet and the grip is great.....bridgestones are noisy as are dunlop

try some goodyear F1 eagles gsd 3 ...not too bad at around £100 per corner...very quiet and the grip is great.....bridgestones are noisy as are dunlop

Sorry; don't think GSD3s are available in the required size; 205/55 16.

Here is a selection of thyres that are;- Elite Direct.Com - Avon, BF Goodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Falken, Firestone, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Nokian, Pirelli, Toyo, Budget, Nankang, Nexen And Many More

I'll conceed the Toyo Proxes T1-R isn't the quietest tyre in the World, but it's quieter and grippier than the Pirelli Ditchfinder! And available in 205/55R16W.

try some goodyear F1 eagles gsd 3 ...not too bad at around £100 per corner...very quiet and the grip is great.....bridgestones are noisy as are dunlop

We get 2 types of the GSD3 in AUS. The German made unit gets good results & the Thai made unit is absolute rubbish. The varying quality of Goodyear stuff is enough to keep me right away.

I'll conceed the Toyo Proxes T1-R isn't the quietest tyre in the World, but it's quieter and grippier than the Pirelli Ditchfinder! And available in 205/55R16W.

Another tyre that gets varying reviews down here. By all accounts they hang-on then let go without warning..... except the speed they let goes varies all the time:confused:.

I haven't really thought that much about tyres for mine (same 205/55x16 size). I doubt I'd buy the ContiSportContact2 simply because they are very expensive down here (AUD300+) and most of the competitors are < AUD200 (as low as $120 for something decent).

My short-list would probably be:

• Bridgestone Adrenaline RE001
  
• Pirelli Dragon
  
• Pirelli P-Zero Rosso (crazy cheap down here at the moment)
  
• Michelin (no idea which but have liked them in the past)
  

With a few others added in depending on what's out there. We get a lot of price variance depending on who is bringing stuff in (parallel non-distributor import stuff).

GSD3 are good but yes get European made, Vredestien Ultrac are good and Vredestien Sessanta but they are creeping up in price now they are Russian owned instead of Dutch....Michellin Exalto(i think) are a good tyre as are the Vredestien quatrac but these are a little noiser but very good all year round as they are made with a differant rubber compound which allows normal flex under 7c whereas other tyres don't offer this and they can effectively freeze/harden up, However i'm a little dubious on the longetivity of the vred quats sometimes, v good tyres though.

I'd suggest putting your current Michelins on the front and then buy a new, matching, pair of Michelins for the back. Always best to have the same tyres all round.

Thanks for that. I have gone with Michelin Primacy HP's all round, and swapped the rears to the front. Not quite sure why as it is front wheel drive.

Now to find a cheap supplier of Koni FSD's & new coils (std) as my suspension is also shot.

Thanks for that. I have gone with Michelin Primacy HP's all round, and swapped the rears to the front.

good move; I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Not quite sure why as it is front wheel drive.

I shared your wonder for some time as I always reckoned that on a front wheel drive car you want best tyre on the front for drive/steering and braking BUT the current, understandable, thinking is that you want the best tyres on the rear to give best grip for safest handling; if the back end 'lets go' a majority of drivers would likely just spin with potentially disastrous results, if the front end 'lets go' you get understeer that is more easily controllable.

Now to find a cheap supplier of Koni FSD's & new coils (std) as my suspension is also shot.

Check out JKM in Portsmouth, they are forum partners and always do a good deal; I got my FSDs from them 2 years ago; they'll probably try and sell you some eibach springs that will likely be cheaper than OE ones. Happy hunting.

Just changed Pirelli P6000's on the front of my Saab Aero - the WORST tyres I have ever used and will never go near again.

I have changed to Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's - Very impressed so far and yet to see/hear of a bad report about them

bridgestones are noisy

Wow, way to tar everything with one brush!

Actually, the ER300 is a very quiet tyre, have them on the front of my Vectra and they considerably quieter than the Goodyear NCT5 they replaced. They also last well, and considering the grip available it's surprising. I'm expecting to see 40k out of the ER300 on the front easily.

The P6000 is total junk, it's got no redeeming features in any way. I had them factory fit on a Corsa, had them off it within 3 months, replaced with Bridgestone Potenza RE720 which gripped considerably better, lasted longer...

Check out JKM in Portsmouth, they are forum partners and always do a good deal; I got my FSDs from them 2 years ago; they'll probably try and sell you some eibach springs that will likely be cheaper than OE ones. Happy hunting.

I was impatient and ordered from Larkspeed in Leeds. they were cheaper delivered than Awesome. No point in ringing JKM now. I don't want to know that I could have got them cheaper. larkspeed's price seemed cheap anyway.

Some people have advised that I replace the springs, other say no need. I want to keep it as std as possible & even if they are slightly worn, it would make the ride even smoother! So if I did change the springs, I would only get the oem ones. My aim is comfort & peace (and better handling than present worn shocks). I was told that the VAG group car springs are made from a better material than Ford/Vauxhall etc, and was told I probably wouldn't notice the difference between my 75,000 mile ones and new ones.

When the Koni FSD's arrive I'll book it into Wheels in Motion to fit them and set up the chassis properly.

The P6000 is total junk, it's got no redeeming features in any way. .

That isn't quite fair. They were a fantastic tyre back in the '80s. IIRC they were OEM fitment on M5 Bimmers, etc. They really were the tyre to beat.

Now they are a budget tyre that has been overtaken by technology. Any other tyres that are still on the market after 20 years?

Last time I looked we're at the end of the 00's, not in the 80's. The P6000 was a revelation when they came out, compared to the tyres of the day. Today they compare badly to even the cheap chinese junk.

Why pay £80 for a 25 year old design when a £50 Kumho that was designed 2 years ago?

As I said, my 2004 Corsa came with P6000, and they were shockingly bad.

Last time I looked we're at the end of the 00's, not in the 80's. The P6000 was a revelation when they came out, compared to the tyres of the day. Today they compare badly to even the cheap chinese junk.

Why pay £80 for a 25 year old design when a £50 Kumho that was designed 2 years ago?

As I said, my 2004 Corsa came with P6000, and they were shockingly bad.

Sorry, you mis-understood. I think they've had their day too.

My father-in-law buys them because thay are cheap and he like's to show his mates that he can still afford European tyres:rolleyes:.

Ah, I get you now. There's still dealers over here selling P6000 at over £100 a go for 17" sizes. The last one I told to catch a grip that I didn't want a 20 year old piece of **** like that, took a bit of a huffy head. "Oh but they're Pirelli". Yeah, but a Michelin MXT is still a Michelin, but I wouldn't put one of those near a car now.

Been happy enough with OEM Bridgestone ER300s (205/55R16) and getting 4 new fitted tomorrow.

Changing from Bridgestone RE040 (and RE050A) to Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my '8, also just ordered 4 (225/45R18) to be fitted next week -- these got great reviews in magazines, and on the RX8OC forum -- but I don't think the Octy deserves them

Still getting uneven tyre wear though on the Octy, with the rears wearing as quickly as the fronts, and one slightly more than the other, which is a tad unusual? Time for an alignment check (again?)...

Bad news: £700 in a week on tyres :eek:

Edited 8 April, 200917 yr by SeanP