Need new boots...how much!?!?!?!?!?!?

[BigBadRob]

Lets start with the obvious, yes its been asked a lot and yes I have searched on this subject:google:

Right, my Furby has quite successfully made our road look like a runway in the past 10 months:yeahdude:, leaving a very good pair of Toyo T1R's smeared all over it, and credit where its due, they have lasted about 13000 hard driven miles with a remap I didn't know I'd got (Not the kind of thing you'd put in the service history I suppose)

The time has come for some more rubber however and I did what I normally do, ring 10 or 15 different places around the area and get a quote for the tyres plus Vat n fitting etc etc

I've just **** a brick as I realised that across the board here in the East Midlands, they seem to have increased quite considerably in price, some places were giving me quotes well in excess of £100 a corner:jawsmall:

10 months ago I had 2 fitted to the front for £152 all in, which seemed pretty reasonable to me and was the second cheapest.

Heres what I'm after:

Opinions from around the country as to whether I'm being scammed or whether Toyo's really have increased in price by that much at the supplier.

Ideas for similar tyres in price, performance and ability(remember the winter we've just had-My T1R's were flawless!!!)

I'm seeing a lot of love for Uniroyal Rainsport 2's and obviously Eagle F1's, I don't really care what the name is as long as they stick like poo to a blanket and aren't more than £80 a corner. Is this an unrealistic price to expect now for this kind of performance?

Let us know like,

Rob

[Jim H]

Why not try Internet sites, such as Mytyres.co.uk, Blackcircles.com, or Camskill.co.uk.

Camskill sometimes have special offers on Toyos. You of course have to pay extra to get them fitted and balanced, but they are sometimes cheaper than tyre places, even when fitted.

[Ad Lav]

What size?

[wja96]

Kwik-Fit currently have Continental Sport Contact II for £82.50 fitted if you buy online. I don't think you'll get a better deal than that at the moment.

[BigBadRob]

Standard size-205/45/16

I have looked at Camskill and Blackcircles and their prices seem to be the same as they were a year ago which is pleasing but like you say, if someone charges me £20-£40 for 'disposal' of the old ones, its not really worth it. Thats what made me go to a garage last time, it worked out slightly cheaper at the time IIRC.

[WaveyDavey]

I just got 4 T1R's for my vRS from Camskill. Think they were about £60 each and were delivered the next day. Kwik Fit charged a tenner per wheel to fit them.

Cheers

Dave.

[Ad Lav]

That's expensive - I can get four 205/40/17 T1R's fitted and balanced for £300...

[Ad Lav]

Not you dave - other post

[BigBadRob]

I like the Kwik Fit tip, although it is a speed rating lower than the Toyo's, I do have Conti Sport Contact 2's on the rear and in the time its taken me to take 9mm of tread off the fronts, they've only gone down 2mm between MOT's and believe me, cornering is not something I take lightly.

Keep the suggestions coming

[wja96]

Toyo's have very poor wear characteristics - the Continentals will last about twice as long (20-25,000 miles on the front, 30,000 miles plus on the back) and they wear much better. The only Toyo's I tried were very good for about 6000 miles then they went a bit carp and then they just wore out after about 12,000 miles. I reckon that makes them very expensive.

[BigBadRob]

Anybody got any thoughts on Pirelli P Zero Nero's? They're quite cheap on all the websites I've checked. Are they complete pants? Any opinions welcome.

Rob

[WaveyDavey]

The mrs had them as standard on her IS200 Sport.... I think... I know they were P-Zeros anyway. Always stuck to the road well and never had any probs. Although they were on the bigger wheels that came with the aero pack so had a lot of contact area with the road.

Cheers

Dave.

Edited 3 June, 2009 by WaveyDavey

[rik_t]

I got two Nexen N3000 from HiQ for £100 fitted. Now I don't want to start a tyre argument but these have good reviews on the net, nice tread pattern and I can't fault them. At the end of the day its a Skoda, not an F1 car.

[BigBadRob]

Kwik Fit also add valve and balance charges at the checkout so the charge for the Contact 2's is actually £92.50 per corner, I admit its still not bad for what you get but still a bit more than I wanted to pay thats all.

Am currently reading reviews on Pirelli's. Can anybody add weight to the argument they're a bit soft and wear quickly?

At the moment the Conti's(Although pricey) are heading up the field...

[Jigger72]

What about Kumhos? They seem to get good reports. I think that's what I'm going for after the next 1,000 miles. Bit cheaper than the others too

Don't go to 5hit Fit though, unless you want your alloys scratched and the wheels 'un'-balanced. Go to a local indy fitter – still £10 a corner and it'll be miles better service. Kwik Fit don't care enough in my experience

[WaveyDavey]

What about Kumhos? They seem to get good reports. I think that's what I'm going for after the next 1,000 miles. Bit cheaper than the others too

Don't go to 5hit Fit though, unless you want your alloys scratched and the wheels 'un'-balanced. Go to a local indy fitter – still £10 a corner and it'll be miles better service. Kwik Fit don't care enough in my experience

I must have the only kwik fit in the country who aren't too bad.... As good as any of the indy places around here. Can't say the same about the other kwik fits in the area / country though.

Cheers

Dave.

[wja96]

Google Translate

German Road Test Magazine tyre tests. Toyo T1Rs finished dead last out of 16 in the aquaplaning test. They were a bit poor in the wet generally apparently. Not what you'd want to strap your loved-ones into in the UK.

Unsurprisingly, Pirelli, Dunlop and Continental came out top. Nokian and Fulda were top 8 in every test though.

[BigBadRob]

In my experience, playing the indy garages against Kwik Fit works quite well, thats how I got my Toyo's for the price I did, I gave them the quote and said beat it. If I'm honest, I'm hoping that might work this time with that Conti offer.

[bluepassion]

ive just had Pirelli P Zero Nero's fitted on the front of my vrs they seam grippy but ill have to wait and see how long they last £75 fitted near Mansfield each

[skomaz]

How about Vredestien Ultrac Sessantas or Sportrac 3's?

[SkoDave]

Standard size-205/45/16

if someone charges me £20-£40 for 'disposal' of the old ones, its not really worth it.

I don't think a garage is supposed to charge you a disposal fee. One would assume if a local independent is fitting the tyres purchased from an internet site, the internet tyre company must be paying them a fitting fee. I can't remember exactly where I bought my tyres recently, but I got a great deal checking on the internet, placed the order, paid by credit card, the tyres arrived at the garage the day before my fitting appointment, and when I arrived at my chosen appointment time they were fitted no problems and with no additional fees.

Our local Kwik Fit is fine as my wife has bought tyres for her car from there and they are great, but they just didn't stock the tyres I was interested in. And don't complain too much about the price, as the wife's Volvo has 18" wheels and they are close to £200 a corner!!! :eek:

[DGW]

Here is another source of user feedback for tyres for the Fabia vRS:

Tyres For Skoda Fabia vRS reviews - tyre reviews, ratings and road tests for all car, bike and trackday performance tyres

I was surprised to see that the Continentals did so well in the German test. The Sport Contact 2s fitted to my Fabia are far too noisy and I will be looking for a much quieter tyre. The Uniroyal Rainsport 2 is highly rated on TyreReviews and might be a suitable replacement.

Edited 4 June, 2009 by DGW

[R1chard]

I have just bought 2 brand new 205/40/17 Toyo PX4 Tyres for £103.50

Local tyre place will charge around £10 to fit them aswell

Have a look on ebay which is where I got mine from there is some pretty good deals !

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/MAILORDERMOTORSPORT-01524-840053__W0QQ_armrsZ1

[chris_newell41]

Toyo's have very poor wear characteristics - the Continentals will last about twice as long (20-25,000 miles on the front, 30,000 miles plus on the back) and they wear much better. The only Toyo's I tried were very good for about 6000 miles then they went a bit carp and then they just wore out after about 12,000 miles. I reckon that makes them very expensive.

I'n my experience they lasted the same for both Conti SC2 and Toyo T1r proxes.

Changed the front's which were on the standard contis at 13k miles, put on 2 proxe's on, swapped fronts again at just over 26k miles.

I have now swapped the rear old conti's to the front and new toyo's on the back.

so for me they have been the same , yet the toyo's seemed to be grippeir and quieter and more importantly alot cheaper.

I've not noticed the toyo's going off either. however I can pretty much get 1.5 totyo's to a conti so even if they wore out/went off 2/3 into the life length of a conti, I would still be having better grip for the same cost... lol

I don't do motorway miles mainly a and b roads. I get around 55mpg so i'm not caning it to waer the tyres down.

[Jim H]

How about Vredestien Ultrac Sessantas or Sportrac 3's?

The only problem with Ultrac Sessantas or Goodyear F1 Assymetrics is they don't have anything smaller than 17 inch, which is no good for the Furby. The Sportrac 3s are said to be very good, they win or do very well in Auto-Express tyre tests.