Sick of buying tyres for my 2012 Superb 170 DSG SE.  For the 26,000 miles completed I am now buying tyres 7 & 8 for the rear.  I have always had Pirelli P Zero's on these however like their F1 siblings I am having sidewall failure issues, mostly from scraping kerbs but they do seem weak.  This time I am between these two:

 

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx RT - 225/45 R17 Y (94) £91.99 each

Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110 - 225/45 R17 Y (94) £82.79 each

 

Any one with any thoughts/experience that can contribute experience/thoughts/other? 

 

 

Originally posted back in January:

 

There are people out there who say, "always go with one of the big names" or "never buy a tyre made in China" or whatever... During the last ten years, I've had Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Dunlop, Fulda, Firestone, Kumho, Uniroyal, Maxxis, Altenzo... And do you know what? I could barely tell the difference between any of them in normal driving. The Goodyears had a step in one of the tyres so I noticed that the subsequent Michelins were a lot quieter; the Uniroyal Rainsports got me through some spectacular standing water once, but apart from that I couldn't have actually told you which tyres I had on.

Of course, I don't go round corners on two wheels, and I like to practise the arts of anticipation and observation, so maybe I've never subjected my tyres to the sort of stresses which would "sort out the men from the boys"; the fact that my last car but one was a spiritedly driven, lime green Peugeot 207GT (I was going through a phase), though, should indicate that I'm not necessarily Mr. Slow of Slowville, Slowshire. I just drive... normally.

Anyway, I had a blow-out recently, so decided to shop around for two new fronts. I found a tyre which has an economy rating of 'B', a wet-weather braking performance of 'B' and a noise rating of 72dB. Go away and check how comparatively rare that combination is. ValueTyres has them listed as a "premium" tyre, yet I had them fitted at a local Halfords autocentre for £127 the pair. The manager told me that they perform on a par with Michelins for just over half the price; the only downside is that they might last for only 80-90% of the life of a Michelin. A Michelin that doesn't suffer a mid-term puncture or blow-out, that is! He laughs at all the brand-snobs and the suckers who insist that they "always go with one of the big names", and is insistent that the Big 6 are ripping off their customers due to misplaced "received wisdom" on the part of the market. I should add that no sales pitch was involved: I had ordered online from www.tyresavings.com who merely use Halfords as the fitters.

I'm quite sure that there will be people on this site who know better than the manager of the tyre company and who will rubbish the new system of tyre ratings, including the wet weather performance; I'm sure they'll make their opinions known. For what it's worth, I've done c.500 snowy/rainy/dry miles on the tyres now and - you guessed it - I can't tell any difference from the Michelins, the Pirellis, the Continentals... 

 

Update: still going strong 10 months later: absolutely safe, confidence-inspiring; haven't lost a lb. of pressure in all that time.

 

SAILUN ATREZZO Z4 (c.£67 a corner for 18")

Good to hear that they are working for you. My previous car was very sensitive to different tyres (Alfa Romeo 159) and finding good tyres for it was via many threads on forums. Pirelli's where brilliant, Kuhmo where excellent but tyre wear was an issue. Nankyan apparently where fantastic, unless it was wet (i neve tried them). When it comes to tyres my priority these days is comfort and grip. I need the tyres to be quiet on the motorway, and since we are in the season where adverse weather comes into effect i need them to work in the wet, ice and snow too. Some cars i have found will wear a particular tyre quickly where on a different car that tyre will be fine. I have just fitted two Hankook's to the front of my partners Polo and yesterday whilst driving through lots of standing water they where excellent, far better than the Michellins they replaced.

I have replaced 5 tyres now due to sidewall damage in the Skoda. I cannot recall replacing a tyre for sidewall damage in any other car I've had. Don't get me wrong, its not the cars fault. I have hit kerbs, last month it was a pot hole in standing water. Yesterday my partner was driving the car and she said she barely touched the kerb. The tyres appear very sensitive to sidewall contact. I would have orederd the Dunlops already however it appears that this is an area where they have decided to save weight in the tyre and I'm concious that they may be weak here too. Perhaps the low profiles on a big car makes it sensitive.

I had a set of Dunlop Sport Maxx (non RT) on my Octavia when I got it. Worst Tyre I have used. Scary in the wet and down right dangerous in standing water; 4th gear wheel spin in a 140bhp diesel estate on the motorway is not fun....

I loved the Hankooks I put on there and replaced like for like 3 times (a first on that car!) Father in law now has fitted them to his MPS on my recommendations and is very pleased.

Currently have PS3 fitted (car came with them) and very very impressed. Possibly the best Tyre I have ever used. In all this wet weather they have been nothing but safe and secure. Not cheap but certainly cheaper than my insurance excess....

I always like to leave this for people to look at http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2012-Autobild-50-Tyre-Braking-Test.htm

Ignore dry results and look at the wet data. Then tell me if this budgets to save £50 are such a good idea? (Although not in your case but still food for thought)

Edited 4 November, 201312 yr by Nathanio

Thanks Nathanio.  A good link and shows the value of good rubber.  Ordered the Hankooks' - hope I have no more sidewall failures, too expensive!!!

 

Will post my findings once fitted.

Surely any modern that is radial tyre has incredibly thin and therefore vunerable sidewalls.

hence kerbing is a deathknell.

No tyre other than reinforced sidewall Van or trailer tyres will be any different.

PS

I really rated Hankooks in my BX days, really grippy in the wet and very reasonable life too.

But currently running on Dunlops.

Certainly better than the everlasting plastic/but not fantastic Turenza's she came on.

Yeah, but the promotional video on the 'optimisation' of this part of the Dunlop tyre mades me think that they will be even more vulnerable.  Does look a nice tyre however.

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx

 

Worse tyre ever invented  ( my Opinion )

 

 

The End

My 2011 SE still has the factory fitted 17" Pirelli Cinturato's on.

 

Just passed 26,000 miles and they have 2mm left on the fronts so will replace with the same in the next few weeks at £96 each.

My 2011 SE still has the factory fitted 17" Pirelli Cinturato's on.

 

Just passed 26,000 miles and they have 2mm left on the fronts so will replace with the same in the next few weeks at £96 each.

 

Very similar mileage here, Silver; 26,700 on my December 2011 1.4 TSi. Original tyres are Conti Sport Contact 2, and I have 3-4mm right across both front tyres, and just under 6mm on the rears - can't remember any tyres lasting so long on a car - however, maybe the dynamics of the 1.4 don't lend itself to being thrashed 

You guys are not using all of the road 

Well perhaps we stay between the kerbs better.

Anything behind the kerb being generally not considered to be part of the "road"

Hence our sidewalls lasting longer.

just a thought

M

I spoke too soon!!

 

Driving to work this morning over the speed humps out of the estate I heard the drivers side mudflap bottom out. Unusual I thought, perhaps carrying more speed than normal?

 

An hour later well up the motorway, moving back into lane one over the cats eyes and the thump through the suspension was far more pronounced than normal. It was at this point I knew I had a problem.

 

Very luckily I was 500 yards from the services so was able to pull over safely almost straight away.

 

Sure enough the drivers side front was flat (and steaming - it was raining). The sidewall had completely collapsed with air (and bubbles) leaking out around the entire circumference of the tyre.

 

Whipped the wheel off to check for obvious signs of punctures in the tread - nothing.

 

Now, the question is has driving on the tyre at motorway speeds caused the damage to the sidewall or was it the sidewall that failed to start with?

 

Looking at the passenger side front tyre the sidewall is cracked and beginning to perish at exactly the same point.

 

The front pair was at the end of their useful life anyway but I've never had a tyre fail in this way.

 

I'm now questioning my choice of replacement, do I really want to replace with Pirelli Cinturato P7's again?

 

I need to make a decision fast as I'm on the spare and will need to get the pair swapped over in the morning.

 

I bought the car used with 14,000 miles on it so I can't say how many kerbs they have seen but I can say for sure that they haven't been up against one kerb with me from 14K to today's 26.5K.

 

The Superb (at least my 2011 2.0 TDi CR140 SE Twindoor with 225/45 R17 94W tyres fitted to Triffid alloys) requires extra load tyres. I wonder if this is the reason for the weak point of the sidewalls specific to the Superb?

Edited 5 November, 201312 yr by silver1011

I think this is the big question.  Technically the 94 load rating should suffice (670Kg) but I'm not convinced.  My Alfa 159 was as heavy as the Skoda is but it was on a 98 load rating (225 55 R17) and I never had this issue.  Hopefully I won't be replacing tyres next month again to find out.

Hmmm, I too now follow your suspision.

 

Anyhow, I rang up my local favoured tyre fitter and without mentioning the Pirelli's that were on he rated them and recommended them.

 

And they are in stock (no doubt the reason for him recommending them  )

 

Booked in tomorrow for a pair.

 

Pirelli Cinturato P7 225/45 R17 94W XL Ecoimpact, £80 + VAT (£96 fitted) each.

Now the BIG question!

 

Do I put the new tyres on the front or get the lads to swap the original rears to the front (half worn) and put the new tyres on the back?

Oh, I think its a question of what is going to give you better traction in the snow in the next few months.

Very good point.

 

New tyres on the rear aren't going to do me any favours!

Very good point.

 

New tyres on the rear aren't going to do me any favours!

 

There is an issue there. I know that Costco will always fit the new tyres to the rear (regardless of whether fwd / rwd ). Even if it is the fronts you are having replaced, they will move your rears to the front, and put the new ones on the back.

New tyres should go on the back, regardless of whether the car is front or rear wheel drive. Check out this video for a demonstration of why this is the case.

Good video.  Looks like I will be swapping tyres over on the missus car however 

Could the sidewall failure issue also in part be due to the generally lower profile tyres now fitted, combined with a tad of underinflation, which appears to be harder to spot visually in a lower profile tyre. And I can only presume produces less feedback through the steering wheel when running soft.

Then because the sidewall is so low (or short) it flexes more as a result.

Resulting in premature failure.

There is always a reason.

Lot of comments throughout the site on subject of tyres including vociferous rhetoric bagging Dunlop Sports Maxx including me. I dumped my Dunlops within 10000km of delivery of the new car and swapped to Contis. Never looked back. Dunlop suffer really bad sawtoothing and the Dunlop dealers (and Skoda!!!) simply shrug and turn away. Dunlops suck!!

Could the sidewall failure issue also in part be due to the generally lower profile tyres now fitted, combined with a tad of underinflation, which appears to be harder to spot visually in a lower profile tyre. And I can only presume produces less feedback through the steering wheel when running soft.

Then because the sidewall is so low (or short) it flexes more as a result.

Resulting in premature failure.

There is always a reason.

 

Could well be.

 

I've had a few flat tyres in the past on other cars which have been immediately noticeable but I have to say that I never noticed a thing in the Superb the other morning until driving over the cat's eyes at 80mph. Even then there was no discernable difference in handling or steering response, simply a louder intrusion into the cabin through the suspension.

 

There is blame to be attributed to me. I do not check the tyre pressures anywhere near as often as I should (other than visually) and the car gave me an obvious sign something was wrong before I left the estate by scraping its mud flap over the top of the speed humps!

 

The profile of the tyre isn't that low on my Superb as it is running 17's so (I can only assume here) I'm sure I would have spotted a gradual deflation / puncture over the previous days, and when washing the car on Sunday.

 

It is also worth mentioning that the side wall on the passenger side tyre is quite badly cracked / perished in exactly the same place as the failure on the driver's side tyre.

 

Like I said for all I know the car spent the first 18 months / 14,000 miles up against kerbs which may have weakened the tyre.

 

Add to this me not checking / noticing an under inflated tyre and hey presto - an inconvenient / dangerous deflation.

 

I've taken note and will be checking the pressures more regularly.

Sliver,

At 54 I have become complacent about checking tyres, a quick visual is normally all they get.

But my comment was simply based on observing cars with low profiles, are they soft/flat or not, I cannot tell visually. :think:

Plus the generally much better suspension isolation making it all too easy to drive on a deflated/deflating tyre.

Plus comments from local tyre fitters, disgusted at some of their customers in fancy cars, who are apparently shocked when told "that tyre is now scrap"

cheers

marcus