Oh, if we are back on tyres 

 

My V6 estate is just coming up to 18k miles.

I have about 4.5mm left on them all round. I do rotate wheels every 5,000 miles to keep wear even.

Currently running Conti 3's but will change at around 3mm and prob go for either Goodyear F1's or Michelin PS 3's.

 

On my last car, Audi All Road, got 16k miles out of the original Pirellis but over 30k from the optional Goodyears.

 

Not brave enough to risk some unknown brand on a car as powerful and heavy as the V6, but good luck to those of you that do 

 

 

They'll be ok, as long as they are XL branded and approved, I've never had any issues with cheap tyres and I used to fit them to a V6 Omega years ago

 

The Wanli,Westlake ones I use now are similar price to Neds Saliun ones, seem to do 13k front 35k rear under mainly urban conditions as a cab

 

I did get through a set of Bridgestones Turanzas pretty rapid in my Superb 1 though, 8k iirc

 

Look into Hankook tyres, they are a pretty good midrange effort http://www.hankooktire-eu.com/uk/

Oh, if we are back on tyres 

 

My V6 estate is just coming up to 18k miles.

I have about 4.5mm left on them all round. I do rotate wheels every 5,000 miles to keep wear even.

Currently running Conti 3's but will change at around 3mm and prob go for either Goodyear F1's or Michelin PS 3's.

 

On my last car, Audi All Road, got 16k miles out of the original Pirellis but over 30k from the optional Goodyears.

 

Not brave enough to risk some unknown brand on a car as powerful and heavy as the V6, but good luck to those of you that do 

Fully agree with this. I've tried all sorts of tyres on many cars and its not simply down to how does the tyre perform when new that some are suggesting is important. In terms of compound, I've never had a cheap tyre that's still anywhere near as good as something like a Michelin PS3 when they are both down to 3mm for instance. Cheap rubber is a false economy and I stand by that. Michelins also consistently give me the highest mileage so although they may cost more at the beginning, they do go further.

Fully agree with this. I've tried all sorts of tyres on many cars and its not simply down to how does the tyre perform when new that some are suggesting is important. In terms of compound, I've never had a cheap tyre that's still anywhere near as good as something like a Michelin PS3 when they are both down to 3mm for instance. Cheap rubber is a false economy and I stand by that. Michelins also consistently give me the highest mileage so although they may cost more at the beginning, they do go further.

Unless you get a puncture.

Fully agree with this. I've tried all sorts of tyres on many cars and its not simply down to how does the tyre perform when new that some are suggesting is important. In terms of compound, I've never had a cheap tyre that's still anywhere near as good as something like a Michelin PS3 when they are both down to 3mm for instance. Cheap rubber is a false economy and I stand by that. Michelins also consistently give me the highest mileage so although they may cost more at the beginning, they do go further.

Cheap tyres maybe fine, but if traveling at speed do you want even the slightest doubt?

 

Back in the 90's I ran a Volvo T5R estate, real flying machine (for a big estate), took it to Germany with the family.

Had a day at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, left the event and got back to the hotel, 100 miles away, in just under an hour, including the queue to get out of the event! When you sit on the autobahn at an indicated 150mph + you dont want to worry about having saved a couple of quid on the only thing keeping you on the road.

Oh and most of the time I was in lane 2, being passed by Porsches and Mercs doing 20-30mph more.

 

But for normal UK stuff they are prob fine, just not for me. 

This is the website for the Canadian reviewer I mentioned in my earlier post.

http://johnmahler.m.webs.com/site/mobile?dm_path=%2Flatesttiretest.htm&fw_sig_session_key=c79cd1a57f85331fa574a088a56007369a9fe248d7353fa93034eef73c9bae16-54091585&fw_sig_api_key=522b0eedffc137c934fc7268582d53a1&fw_sig_tier=0&fw_sig_premium=0&fw_sig_permissions=none&fw_sig_site=54091585&fw_sig=eed72a927fbb828ab5ed129d5c4a1246&fw_sig_url=http://johnmahler.webs.com/&fw_sig_permission_level=0&fw_sig_is_admin=0&fw_sig_access_token=3c4b64e4052be2192fcdedd4ece170e81c7c3cc1&fw_sig_social=1&fw_sig_time=1372561183780&fb_sig_network=fw#2311

Note that they didn't test for longevity.

Unless you get a puncture.

Which I've never had in almost 20 years of driving. The last thing I'd want doubts on, especially when I'm sitting at 140mph on the Autobahn or having done 14 hours straight with just fuel stops, is the quality of the tyres fitted to my car. :(

Which I've never had in almost 20 years of driving. The last thing I'd want doubts on, especially when I'm sitting at 140mph on the Autobahn or having done 14 hours straight with just fuel stops, is the quality of the tyres fitted to my car. :(

Each to their own.  Personally I have no doubts.

Based on experience, I do which is why I feel happier choosing the mid range stuff rather than the cheapest tyres.

Based on experience, I do which is why I feel happier choosing the mid range stuff rather than the cheapest tyres.

 

 

Can't beat piece of mind

 

Ned is right though and there is a lot of placebo effect placed on tyres, as long as they are approved they should hold up as well as any expensive tyre would or the kite mark folks would refuse to allow their sale in this country.

My tyres lasted ~19K which seems to be around the norm for a 170 4x4, going by other owners too. These were factory fit Continentals. I'm now running Goodyear f1's

Got that wrong, I must have been thinking of the service. I changed my tyres at 24,900 miles. As above I changed to Goodyear Eagle F1 AS2's. I have now done 34,000 miles and i just measured tread this evening. So after 9000 miles fronts are ~6.4mm and rears are ~6.8mm. They are 8mm when new. They should last about 30K before changing again at this rate.

Personally, I have no doubt that these are a better tyre than the Chinese brands for now and for me its worth paying the ~£220 for the better braking and handling these tyres give.

Got that wrong, I must have been thinking of the service. I changed my tyres at 24,900 miles. As above I changed to Goodyear Eagle F1 AS2's. I have now done 34,000 miles and i just measured tread this evening. So after 9000 miles fronts are ~6.4mm and rears are ~6.8mm. They are 8mm when new. They should last about 30K before changing again at this rate.

Personally, I have no doubt that these are a better tyre than the Chinese brands for now and for me its worth paying the ~£220 for the better braking and handling these tyres give.

How do you find the Eagle F1's compared to the Conti's with regard to noise and rim protection? My wheels are currently unmarked and want to keep them that way.

 

Plan to change to either PS3's or the F1's soon.  Views of those that have run either much appreciated.

Based on experience, I do which is why I feel happier choosing the mid range stuff rather than the cheapest tyres.

Fair point, but there's cheapest as in "least expensive" and cheapest as in "crappiest". The Sailun are cheap but not shoddy - ValueTyres has them listed as a "Premium" tyre and they have an externally validated wet weather braking performance of 'B'.  OK, it's not 'A', but it's not Chinese ditch-finder either; check out all the tyre sites and you'll find that there's not that many that exceed 'B'.  An approved rating of extreme performance or performance under duress would be handy, but I don't know if any one exists. Subjectively, the Sailuns seem to have a lot of grip; I feel very confident driving them in all weathers and at all speeds.  Remember also that I'm not an ingenue in respect of tyres: I've had all the leading brands in 500,000 miles of driving.

 

My understanding from reading around the subject is that they are attractively priced at the moment to enable the company to get a foothold in a conservative market, but their global strategy is explicitly to challenge perceptions of Asian brands; I can see their prices going up soon to reflect the quality of the driving experience as more and more people catch on.

 

I don't work for Sailun, incidentally! 

How do you find the Eagle F1's compared to the Conti's with regard to noise and rim protection? My wheels are currently unmarked and want to keep them that way.

Plan to change to either PS3's or the F1's soon. Views of those that have run either much appreciated.

Better for compliant ride at town speeds, better handling all round and crisper turn in. I find they have really good levels of grip when you floor it out of a bend too.

Could be lower noise levels, but hard for me to judge as Contis got noisier when worn, so when you change you are comparing new with old.

The rim protector is really substantial so good, however, I did have tyre split on a pothole. It was a big smack, but I do think that with a lesser rim protector the tyre would have got away ok and not needed changing. I see if I can dig out the pics.

Cheers

Steve

Better for compliant ride at town speeds, better handling all round and crisper turn in. I find they have really good levels of grip when you floor it out of a bend too.

Could be lower noise levels, but hard for me to judge as Contis got noisier when worn, so when you change you are comparing new with old.

The rim protector is really substantial so good, however, I did have tyre split on a pothole. It was a big smack, but I do think that with a lesser rim protector the tyre would have got away ok and not needed changing. I see if I can dig out the pics.

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve, most helpful 

Found the pics...

And after pothole...

It's split where extra rubber is for rim guard, so its not actually compromised sidewall, but still needed replacing.

Well I've come to a compromise with the Skoda dealer, they wouldn't change all the tyres, they are insistent that the tyres are approved for use by Skoda, however they have agreed to remove the Accelera's and fit Champiro's so they match the rear. I'm happy enough with this given the Champiro reviews are ok, they're ordering the tyres in and they'll be fitted next week.

Well I've come to a compromise with the Skoda dealer, they wouldn't change all the tyres, they are insistent that the tyres are approved for use by Skoda, however they have agreed to remove the Accelera's and fit Champiro's so they match the rear. I'm happy enough with this given the Champiro reviews are ok, they're ordering the tyres in and they'll be fitted next week.

Glad you got it sorted, good result, just a shame they did not just fit Champiro's all round from the get go.

So they should, I hadn't realised they'd put two different makes of tyre on each axle. On a 4x4, any manufacturer would take a dim view of this for a dealer offering under approved used scheme.

Good for you. What tread pattern are the GT Champiro, are they HPY?

Just out of interest and to add to the other comments, My Superb estate 170 4x4 had Contis fitted when I bought it new. I got 16k out of the fronts which, when they were approaching the legal limit during the Winter, I decided that the rears which had just under 3mm remaining would get replaced too. Having read various comments on tyres at the time I fitted Goodyears. The wear rate on these was better than the Contis, the fronts were changed last week after 21k miles as they were approaching the legal limit. The rears have 4mm left and I've left them on as there isn't much prospect of snow and ice in July (I hope!)

In terms of grip, ride and noise I didn't find a lot between the two brands. 5k extra miles though is a big difference in favour of the Goodyears.

Jakeblade - yes they are HPY