Beware of tyre-fitters recommendations - do some research

[Brimma]

While I was waiting for my window tints to be done today I popped into a well-known tyre fitters to get quotes for 225/40 18's to go on the estate (Y rated).

First one they recommended was a new Michelin Pilot, just out - £560 for four ! One of them "had a mate" who had fitted them to a vRS, and they "totally transformed the car" - slight exaggeration methinks.

I'd read up on a few posts on Briskoda, so mentioned the highly-rated Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta - great in the dry, they said, but no so good in the wet (surely that's true of the majority of rubber you can buy, I would have thought).

They then mentioned the Avon ZZ5, which wouldn't be a great deal cheaper than the Michelin.

I then dared to ask about the well-respected Falken 452, and almost got laughed out of the place. Ooh, they said, ditch fodder. Strange, I thought, as quite a few of you out there have spoken highly of the Falken.

I don't drive like a BTCC driver, so am not overly bothered about outright grip on the limit - I just want a tyre which isn't going to put me into reverse on the first corner I come across, provides a reasonably comfortable ride, and does a reasonable mileage.

Have been on ebay, and can get a set of 4 Falken 452's for £286 + £12 delivery, and a local fitter will fit them all in for £10 a corner, so a total of £338 - that seems good value to me. If I drove over to Macclesfield they'd fit them for free.

Anyone got any comments on any of the above, or any other recommendations ?

[allan1888]

At the moment i have falken ze912'S on the back and goodyear eagle f1's on the front cant fault either of them for grip in the wet & dry + they are wearing well too

[Simon TDI Sport]

I'm using Khumo Ecsta SPT at the moment. Used these tyres on my two previuos cars aswell. I find these have decent wear and grip in both wet and dry conditions. cost to ME £58 fitted. Size(225 45 17)

[cjb]

IME tyre fitters often recommend whatever makes them good commission. The place I use don't bother, but then again I ring them asking how much for tyre X, already knowing what I want and roughly to going rate.

[james26]

That " well-known tyre fitter" wasn't the local branch of ATS? ATS Euromaster is owned by Michelin.... HiQ8 is owned by Goodyear.

James.

[moley]

For test look at blackcirles, these are on Camskill.[

url=http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m4b443s134p6214]FALKEN TYRES / CAR / FALKEN FK452 FALKEN FK 452 - 225/40R18 92Y XL TL :: £64.70 :: Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres :: R18" - 225/40/18, 225/40 R 18 ::[/url]

[GAFF]

I have the Falkens and they wouldn't give much confidence in the wet, none at all in the damp. But saying that you ain't going to be pushing the limits of friction so would be okay. Also look at the Kumho Esacta KU31 IIRC, budget but good from reports I heard.

[Octygone]

Can't fault the goodyear eagle f1 gsd 3 good in the dry and good in the wet.....downside if there is one ....useless in snow and around £100 per corner fitted

[peanut18]

I make a habit of never visiting the chain tyre places, the advice is usually biased and the prices laughable. Personally I always go to Micheldever Tyres or Pro-Tyre (also owned by Micheldever). Generally their prices are fantastic and advice very sound. I have had FK-452's on an Audi A3, a BMW 3-series and now my Octavia VRS and for the money I don't think you will find much better. Falken are owned by Goodyear and the performance is certainly comparable with say an F1 GSD3. The FK-451's have not had good reviews so perhaps the tyre fitter misheard you, or maybe it's because most of the chains do not stock Falken's (more likely me thinks). But the FK452's are sound as a pound.

[luke_a]

God knows what tyres are on my car, the cheapest non matching rubber I suspect. But if you are being sent into reverse going round a corner on a public road you might want to consider driving lessons instead of moaning about tyres being rubbish!

[Brimma]

God knows what tyres are on my car, the cheapest non matching rubber I suspect. But if you are being sent into reverse going round a corner on a public road you might want to consider driving lessons instead of moaning about tyres being rubbish!

Think you've missed the point somewhere - the whole point of the thread is to try to avoid investing in a set of sh1te tyres.

Maybe you could consider lessons in reading skills, and interpreting the meaning of the words

[luke_a]

Tyres are pretty subjective really, someone might rate a certain type while someone else may prefer another, unless you have tried them all in exactly the same conditions its not a fair test for comparison. I'd rather trust a tyre fitter than a random driver on a forum. If you don't trust tyre fitters call a few of them up and see what the general consensus is.

What do Skoda recommend? After all they made the car and the wheels.

[Brimma]

Tyres are pretty subjective really, someone might rate a certain type while someone else may prefer another, unless you have tried them all in exactly the same conditions its not a fair test for comparison. I'd rather trust a tyre fitter than a random driver on a forum. If you don't trust tyre fitters call a few of them up and see what the general consensus is.

What do Skoda recommend? After all they made the car and the wheels.

On the contrary - I'd sooner to listen to 'random drivers' who have actually driven on them, than the guy in the office who is trying to get as much profit out of you as he can.

Thanks anyway for your valuable contribution

[luke_a]

It's a bit unfair to stereotype all tyre fitters like that - would you like it if someone did it to you about your business or profession?

What do Skoda recommend to use with that model on those wheels? (serious question)

[Captain Scarlet]

I'm going to be needing a new pair of front tyre soon, definately before I go off on holiday. Will be putting some Falken 452's on to match the rear. If I was needing a full set i would be thinking the Vredesteins.

Could try a look at this site, I thought it was useful, especially when looking at tyres for swmbo's Yaris.

Tyre reviews - tyre reviews, ratings and road tests for all car, bike and trackday performance tyres

[Captain Scarlet]

Also forgot to say that I use our local tyre fitter for the tyres and the fitting, have always had good prices.

[brad1.8T]

It's a bit unfair to stereotype all tyre fitters like that - would you like it if someone did it to you about your business or profession?

What do Skoda recommend to use with that model on those wheels? (serious question)

Not sure about Skoda UK but Skoda OZ would say:

• Talk to your dealer
  
• Refit whatever the car came with
  
• Talk to your dealer
  
• We have no opinion
  
• Talk to your dealer
  

In Oz, Octavia came out with Continental (soft) , Dunlop (medium) & Bridgestone (hard). The Contis grip well but are noisy & expensive. The other 2 just wheelspin everywhere.

He's right about tyre places. I used to mechanic/sell (we were all sales people first) for Goodyear & have probably fitted a few thousand tyres in my lifetime. It's true, we'd allways recomend the tyre that had the best profit margin, that way if the customer baulked we had a cheaper fall-back.

Also, the only time we ever drove a car with the tyre we were trying to sell was a quick spin around the block of the customers cars as most of us fitted 2nd hand tyres that cost nothing. Drive for a few thousand km until they were bald & fit more 2nd hand tyres for free.

I cringe when i think how much BS used to spout from my mouth just to earn a living.

[cheezemonkhai]

On the contrary - I'd sooner to listen to 'random drivers' who have actually driven on them, than the guy in the office who is trying to get as much profit out of you as he can.

Thanks anyway for your valuable contribution

205/55/R16 the Falken 452 is an excellent tyre. Only slight downside is that they are quite soft, but I still got 25k miles out it (75% m/way). If the price is right or you have a lot of debris and a harder wearing tyre will never get to the end of it's life i'd say go for it.

I'm currently running one of the Nokian all season range and the dry grip is pretty good, the damp grip is astounding and the wet and snow grip are also very very good.

For long life and reasonable grip then the Michelin pilot primacy HP are a good tyre, but you can get them fitted for a lot less than you were quoted.

[cjb]

It's a bit unfair to stereotype all tyre fitters like that - would you like it if someone did it to you about your business or profession?

The stereo type exists for a reason. And I wouldn't care. People make jokes about my profession all the time.

As it happens I do have a tyre fitter i trust- but I don't trust most, especially the big chains, as they are motivated by commission and head office promotions, not by customer service.

What do Skoda recommend to use with that model on those wheels? (serious question)

Presumably whatever it left the factory with, but that varies. Quite often a Conti of some description, but OE fitting changes a lot- it's usually a premium big brand (Conti, Dunlop, Michelin, Goodyear).

[harveys]

I fitted a pair of Sessanta's on the front late last year...based on recommendation on here & from some of the mags...& so far so good...the only minor issued I'd highlight is, they seem to be a bit noiser than the original Conti's...I I would say they are stickier in the wet (which contradicts one of the comments on here?)

...as for the chains - I gave up on them years ago - prices are shocking, advice poor (based on profit) & they treat your pride & joy with the same respect as they treat their own motors...i.e none ! I used an independant garage I trust, who still makes a profit, but doesn't charge me the earth !

This place has much more knowledge (if you are careful/selective/balanced) than you'll ever find down your local chain !

[symyman]

Try these new Hankook Ventus V12 Evo I have just had fitted at £92 per corner and are the best tyres I have had on my VRS, superb grip and are the quietest tyres

I have had by far. They are some £45 per corner cheaper than my last tyres Michelin Exalto 2 which have only lasted a disappointing 13.5k on the front.

You should always do your own research and never take the opinion of some tyre fitter which is normally based on what margins he makes on certain tyres and how good they are on his mates chaved up Vectra.

My choose was based on long research and a recent independent German group tyre test under controlled conditions .

Here is the link for this recent test in which the new Hankook came out second overall.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=678662&mid=0&nmt=Latest%20Auto%20Zeitung%20Summer%20Tyre%20Test%20-%20interesting%20result

Please let me know your opinions on this tyre if you are trying them for the firm time.

[Genoa1893]

Here is the link for this recent test in which the new Hankook came out second overall.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=678662&mid=0&nmt=Latest%20Auto%20Zeitung%20Summer%20Tyre%20Test%20-%20interesting%20result

Please let me know your opinions on this tyre if you are trying them for the firm time.

It is a subjective world anyway. In my own experience my Pirelli PZero (Rosso) 18", those ranked as first, are way inferior to Goodyear Eagle F1, both in grip, precision and noise.

So...

Edited 15 May, 2009 by Genoa1893

[mr_awol]

Anyone have any opinion on 'Mabor'? I am looking at a car for the missus and it has them fitted but i have never heard of them and google doesnt throw much up of any use. They seem to be a budget extension of the conti brand, but that's about all i can find out..............

[skippy41]

I have michelin energies on the rear and they have done 40K with me, and still have 3.5 mill left, but they where on the car when i bought it last July but where not new then, I have Vredesteins. snow track 2s on the front they have done 28K and are only half worn

[disco-barry]

TBH you pretty much get what you pay for with tyres, Falkens and Kuhmos are ok which is why i use them on my 97 Passat but it also depends on the car, if i had say an Octavia VRS i would stick with something like the Michellins or Vredestiens, Goodyear are also good but like i say it depends on what car you get as they all have differant handling characteristics and you do get what you pay for.

For the folks above who seem to think tyre fitters are all on commission well we are not! Infact i don't get commission for mechanical work even, i'm looked after with a good enough wage to not get greedy.

Highly offensive to make some of the comments above i wouldn't dream about doing it with you all.