Since nobody in the country seems to have stock of any Kumho KU31's at the moment (not even Micheldever), I'm trying out some of the new Avon tyres.

I used to have Avon ZZ3's on the front and ZV3's on the rear, but moved to a full set of KU31's for the price and loved them to bits. So I'll give some feedback soon on what I think of the new Avon's.

http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/car/zv5hhhhhhhhh

I went for the 205/50R17XL 93W size. £108 fitted/balanced per tyre at my good local independant. I know I could have got them cheaper, but I like the guy and he does a good job.

I've got the Kumho KU31's on the back now, at the same size/rating (205/50R17 93W XL).

KU31's are directional, and the ZV5's are asymmetric.

I'm doing 2,500 miles next week so I should have a fairly good review! Lots of 120mph Autobahn cruising (with the odd 150mph blast to wake me up!), and twisty country roads.

Anyone else using the Avon ZV5's?

Oh I just bought some of these too for £65: http://www.autosock.co.uk/

TUV approved and come with gleaming reviews, so should keep me out of trouble!

P.S. I know it's against the law to drive on snow covered roads without winter tyres (or all season tyres with M+S symbol) in Germany and Austria.

My parents have the Avons on the mondeo and dad has them on his morgan aswell and he swears by them. I have driven the mondeo with the avons and they are a nice tyre, grip well and quiet.

Wear is pretty good as well, done about 15,000 and there just over half worn.

All in all good tyre i would say!

I think when I got mine it had one ZV3 and one ZZ3 on the front (bought from a dealer as well so not sure why it had 2 different kinds of tyre :no: ). They were very long lasting tyres and gripped quite well but like you I didn't want to pay over £100 per tyre to replace them so went with a pair of Hankook EVOs, I don't think I'll get anywhere near the good balance of grip and wear rate the Avons had out of the Hankooks though.

Oh I just bought some of these too for £65: http://www.autosock.co.uk/

TUV approved and come with gleaming reviews, so should keep me out of trouble!

They're fantastic and have saved me a few times over the last two winters. However - make sure you fit them before you get snowed in. By this I mean for example, fit them if the car is in a car park and you know it is going to snow. I got caught out when I arrived at work and backed into my usual spot at the bottom of a slight incline with the rear wheels about 10cm from the curb. It snowed all day and when I attempted to move off, there wasn't a chance. I couldn't go forward and couldn't go backwards. I then realised maybe the socks should have been fitted when I arrived, just in case.

As for the Avons, I'd be really interested to hear how they fare as I was looking at them, but couldn't find any test data on them. I went for something else instead.

I'm running a front pair of ZV5s on 195/65/15s, done nearly 20K. They've been ok although maybe a little noisy. Not so good in the cold but I can't say I struggled that badly in the snow. Supposedly made in Britain too.

word of warning,the Avon compound often cracks on the side wall,close to the rim

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=avon+cracks+sidewall&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

If you do high miles you'll prob be ok,but if they're for a car that does only a few thou a year,please bear this in mind

They're fantastic and have saved me a few times over the last two winters. However - make sure you fit them before you get snowed in. By this I mean for example, fit them if the car is in a car park and you know it is going to snow. I got caught out when I arrived at work and backed into my usual spot at the bottom of a slight incline with the rear wheels about 10cm from the curb. It snowed all day and when I attempted to move off, there wasn't a chance. I couldn't go forward and couldn't go backwards. I then realised maybe the socks should have been fitted when I arrived, just in case.

As for the Avons, I'd be really interested to hear how they fare as I was looking at them, but couldn't find any test data on them. I went for something else instead.

Cheers for the tip

My mate uses them too and really rates them. I have one small private dirt road to try and get up in Austria, which will be covered in snow, so I'm gonna see how the socks get on with it. If I cant get anywhere then the car will just get left somewhere less snowy! I have a shovel and tow rope for if I do end up getting up the track, and then get snowed in like you say!

Cheers to everyone for the feedback, I'll let you know what I think in a couple of weeks.