WHICH TYRES ?

[scratchman]

Need to replace all four tyres on my Octavia Elegance presently shod with Bridgestone Turanza ER300's - they seem O.K., but I've only had the Octavia a short while, and wonder if I should replace with similar or switch to, say, Continental or Dunlop. Any views would be appreciated. Also, can anyone recommend a fitter guaranteed not to damage my alloys - I've heard that a mobile fitting service called Event-Tyres (who use Hofmann tyre fitting equipment) are a good bet ?

[ChrisRs]

I have Dunlop Maxx GT's as standard on both our cars BUT the Octy ones have only lasted 6500 miles

Good grip in the dry but noisy

I think I'll be replacing them with either Uniroyal Rainsports or Vredestein's.....Excellent reviews on both and not a bad price

[Rob JS]

the dunlops fitted to my VRS only lasted 9000 miles before they needed replacing and that was just motorway miles on them. Not ompirssed at all. Bought some falkens and they seem ok so far. Everyone seems to have their own preference though. Had continentals on all my previous cars ( french manufactured so they came standard) and they seemed to be really good, in fact, i cant remember even replacing any of them!

[rainbowsend]

Need to replace all four tyres on my Octavia Elegance presently shod with Bridgestone Turanza ER300's - they seem O.K., but I've only had the Octavia a short while, and wonder if I should replace with similar or switch to, say, Continental or Dunlop. Any views would be appreciated. Also, can anyone recommend a fitter guaranteed not to damage my alloys - I've heard that a mobile fitting service called Event-Tyres (who use Hofmann tyre fitting equipment) are a good bet ?

I have Dunlop Maxx GT's on my Vrs, noisey with uneven wear, expensive and only done 7K !!! Will not replace with same.

[furn]

ive just fitted conti sport 3s , because they won a few tyre tests and they are very good, i think if you go with any of the big manufactures you wont go far wrong, i notice you have the elegance so maybe you dont need an high performance tyre, maybe something like conti premium contacts

tyre test

try this link it reviews the type of tyres your after i think, the bridgestones come second in the test but when you look they perform poorly in the wet , might be worth getting a tyre that is better in the wet for this country, as for fitting what area are you in , some briskodians might know decent fitters in your area

[swordstoke]

the dunlops fitted to my VRS only lasted 9000 miles before they needed replacing and that was just motorway miles on them. Not ompirssed at all. Bought some falkens and they seem ok so far. Everyone seems to have their own preference though. Had continentals on all my previous cars ( french manufactured so they came standard) and they seemed to be really good, in fact, i cant remember even replacing any of them!

Big fan of Conti's and done 16k in 5 months across UK and they still have 4 mm tread left.

Wont use any other as they suit the motor perfect! Thought they were a German company though?

[CEPi]

Conti is German, thought they make tires everywhere. I just bought some TS830 and are made in Czech rep.

[gregoir]

I replace my OE Michelins with their nearest equivalents, Primacy HP. Happy with them as I had got a good mileage out of the originals (23,000) when I changed at ~3mm tread depth. I found a cheap , recommended,local garage which made it easier on the wallet to go OE, BUT one of the fitters damaged a wheel. Damage was repaired after a fashion and is probaby good enough.

[SBirch]

Hi I have only just joined the Skoda Club, but I had Falkens on my old BMW (325) fitted by Event tires. I would recommend both. The Falkens were 90% of the performance of the continentals and only 70% of the cost.

Simon

[jacko]

Very recently replaced my factory fitted Bridgestone Turanzas with CONTINENTAL PREMIUMCONTACT 2 having read some very favourable reviews - Absolutely great in the wet compared to the Bridgestones and inspire confidence in all conditions. A lot quieter too. Can't comment on mileage yet but expect they will last at least as long as the Bridgestones. Would defenitely recommend the Contis.

[scratchman]

Many thanks for your helpful input. Have decided to abandon Bridgestone, and now need to decide between Continental Premium Contact 2's or, alternatively, Michelin Pilot Primacy HP's.

[hussarman]

Keep well clear of Dunlops, I reccomend Uniroyal "RainExpert" or "RainSport" tyres, absolutely fabulouse. got mine from Event Tyres last month.

[scratchman]

Uniroyal - hadn't considered these - thanks for the tip. Incidentally, did the fitter manage to avoid any damage to your alloys ?

[Hauptmann]

Recommending tyres is a bit of a minefield.

But consider..

Uniroyal is a second-line brand of Continental - generally priced a little cheaper, but still a good tyre.

Falken is secondary brand of Dunlop (Sumitomo Tire and Rubber) - mostly obsolete Dunlop patterns.

A lot of people rave about Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas. Although I am a fan of some Vredesteins (e.g. the SnowTrac 3) I found the Sessantas distinctly average on my Golf GTi (same chassis as Octavia). They also came bottom in a recent major German tyre test (http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-Auto-Zeitung-Ultra-High-Performance-Summer-Tyre-Test.htm) when fitted to a 2.0TSi Scirroco.

Consider the Hankook Ventus S1, which did will in the test mentioned above, and several other recently published tests.

[firestormwest]

I will be trying Kuhmo on mine shortly.....

Very well priced and a few sets served on my MK1 VRs well for 60K miles excellent levels of grip on the road and track with good wear rate.

Must admit not that impressed with front end grip on the standard Contis I have at present.

[Hauptmann]

I will be trying Kuhmo on mine shortly.....

Very well priced and a few sets served on my MK1 VRs well for 60K miles excellent levels of grip on the road and track with good wear rate.

Must admit not that impressed with front end grip on the standard Contis I have at present.

Yes, Kumho are a decent tyre - KU31 has been around a few years and similar in performance to the Hankook Ventus. When I sold tyres we always had good feedback on the Kumhos. Major snag was that supply was rather random, they seemed to import in huge batches, and then didn't re-order until stock ran out. So there would be lengthy periods when some sizes were not available.

[scratchman]

Many thanks for all you thoughts.

Have decided to get Event Tyres mobile fitting service to fit Michelin Primacy HP's.

[Raglits]

Recommending tyres is a bit of a minefield.

But consider..

Uniroyal is a second-line brand of Continental - generally priced a little cheaper, but still a good tyre.

Falken is secondary brand of Dunlop (Sumitomo Tire and Rubber) - mostly obsolete Dunlop patterns.

A lot of people rave about Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas. Although I am a fan of some Vredesteins (e.g. the SnowTrac 3) I found the Sessantas distinctly average on my Golf GTi (same chassis as Octavia). They also came bottom in a recent major German tyre test (http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-Auto-Zeitung-Ultra-High-Performance-Summer-Tyre-Test.htm) when fitted to a 2.0TSi Scirroco.

Consider the Hankook Ventus S1, which did will in the test mentioned above, and several other recently published tests.

That test also put the Dunlops above the Vredsteins, having replaced those Dunlops with those Vredsteins I would say that at the very least those results should be reversed (at least on a vRS) as I hated the Dunlops with a passion and have been quite impressed with the Vredsteins (first time I've bought them). I will admit, that in warmer weather, the grip from the Dunlops was very good, but they were noisy and were absolutely shocking in the wet, in my opinion, far worse than the Vredsteins which probably have 90-95% of the dry grip

There's also no mention of longevity of the tyres on that test, my Dunlops lasted 8500 miles, the Vredsteins have done over 15000 so far and I reckon there's another 4-5K left in them, and no, my driving style hasn't changed...

I have noticed though, as the weather has got colder, the performance of the Vredsteins has dropped considerably. Yes, I know they are summer tyres, but the Michelins I had on my Saabs and Jaguar before this didn't seem to have the same level of performance drop in the winter so next time I may just go back to the Michelin fold...

[sprout99]

Keep well clear of Dunlops, I reccomend Uniroyal "RainExpert" or "RainSport" tyres, absolutely fabulouse. got mine from Event Tyres last month.

i've just put 4 rainsport 2's on mine and had it in wales at the wrc at weekend

p155ed it down all way home and coming down off hills they were really good.

£87 a corner from CAMSKILL

Edited 18 November, 2010 by sprout99

[FatblokeVRS]

Hi

I still have 2 bridgestone turanza's on my astravan - they are scary in the wet and very noisy. Changed 2 of them for falken 912's - much better in the wet and much quieter. Very impressed with the falkens.

The Falken 452's seem to be quite popular (and get a good write up) - have dunlops on the vrs at the moment but they are very noisy, sawtoothed and wheelspin in the wet when moving off from junctions (sensible driving) - will be changing to the falken 452's soon on the vrs and my astravan.

Cheers

Dave

[Guest Dark Matter]

Need to replace all four tyres on my Octavia Elegance presently shod with Bridgestone Turanza ER300's - they seem O.K., but I've only had the Octavia a short while, and wonder if I should replace with similar or switch to, say, Continental or Dunlop. Any views would be appreciated. Also, can anyone recommend a fitter guaranteed not to damage my alloys - I've heard that a mobile fitting service called Event-Tyres (who use Hofmann tyre fitting equipment) are a good bet ?

HiScratchman,

I have found that puttung a set of Falken's was the best thing I ever did!! very grippy, even in the wet and extremely quiet,

I can have quiet conversations in the car at motorway speeds!!!

I recommend Falkens!!!

Dark Matter!!

[ChrisRs]

Rainsport 2's for me...In April

[sprout99]

Hi

I still have 2 bridgestone turanza's on my astravan - they are scary in the wet and very noisy. Changed 2 of them for falken 912's - much better in the wet and much quieter. Very impressed with the falkens.

The Falken 452's seem to be quite popular (and get a good write up) - have dunlops on the vrs at the moment but they are very noisy, sawtoothed and wheelspin in the wet when moving off from junctions (sensible driving) - will be changing to the falken 452's soon on the vrs and my astravan.

Cheers

Dave

i've just taken the 452's off.....not impressed on the VRS

[Hauptmann]

The Falken 452's seem to be quite popular (and get a good write up) - have dunlops on the vrs at the moment but they are very noisy, sawtoothed and wheelspin in the wet when moving off from junctions (sensible driving) - will be changing to the falken 452's soon on the vrs and my astravan.

Cheers

Dave

Strange that people are rating the Falken above the Dunlop. Falkens are basically old Dunlop designs. When the Dunlop division introduce a new tyre the old pattern is rebranded as a Falken and sold at a lower price. Its a way of squeezing more return out of tyre development and tooling costs.

[Aspman]

I got Maxxis MAZ1s on the front. Would have liked something nicer but budget dictated. TBH I've been pleasantly surprised. Plenty of grip in the wet and dry (I don't rag the car). No noisier than the original Contis but not a quiet tyre.

Good for the money I'd say