Not posted for some time but I've just been through a 20 page forum search on tyres

 

I just need some simple advice

 

Coming back to the UK next week, (I live in France) and need some new tyres

 

In winter I run 16" wheels with winter tyres, very happy with these much better than the 17" on Goodyear

 

What do you guys recommend that I replace my original Goodyear Excellence, (on 17 Spitzbergs) with.

 

I'm not a "speed" merchant - I prefer a comfortable and quiet ride - but the rural road are not great here in France - do about 10k miles of mway driving each year plus about 5k miles of rural roads

 

I usually buy my tyres from Micheldever tyres near Winchester

 

Just a simple recommendation guys - not too expensive and all that

 

Cheers

So do I, buy my tyres from Mich. I live a matter of 10 minutes drive away.

 

Though we have only just received our Yeti, it runs really nice on the Cinturato P7 but we have only covered 80 miles. I believe these are expensive but have yet to personally cost.

 

For our now departed Suzuki Grand Vitara I went through the same exercise, which were the better option for cost and noise and I ended up buying Falken's. They were some £150 cheaper per set of 4 than the original tyres and proved to be very good through that very wet weather we had.

 

So you might cost them up.

I've got no problem with the OEM Dunlop Sport SP01 but it seems a lot of people think otherwise.

I'd only look elsewhere if there was an offer too good to refuse.

Although I don't own a Yeti, I've run Toyo Proxes 4's on the 17" rims on the Roomster for a good number of years. They seem to strike a good balance between wear and grip.

Approx £85 per corner the last time I bought.

My tyres have 3 or 4mm left - I know the minimum is 1.6mm - but presumably it's better to change them at 3mm

 

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/miscellaneous/2011-09/when-should-i-change-my-tyres/

 

Thanks for all your replies

Edited 5 July, 201412 yr by BillN_33

run SP01's no probs so far, on 2nd set, now 40k+mls, got em from Pneu123.fr(mytyres.co.uk(com)), a german outfit, paid about £460 equiv for 4, +£5 a corner fitting,valves and balance - choose a quiet time at the tyre depot to get 'em fitted, it does make a difference!!

run SP01's no probs so far, on 2nd set, now 40k+mls, got em from Pneu123.fr(mytyres.co.uk(com)), a german outfit, paid about £460 equiv for 4, +£5 a corner fitting,valves and balance - choose a quiet time at the tyre depot to get 'em fitted, it does make a difference!!

Thanks

 

SP01's are about Euros160 each now from Pneu123 plus fitting

Micheldever quote £544 fitted …… so that's a similar price ….. and I have always been happy with Micheldever

 

They are also quoting £579 for Goodyear Vector 4 seasons …… fitted etc.

Edited 5 July, 201412 yr by BillN_33

I've used Kumho's now for 4 years on the Yeti and have been very pleased with them. 

In the past on a Passat estate, I used Uniroyal Rainsport 2, they had masses of wet & dry grip, but very soft sidewalls.

That didn't really suit me; I wanted something a bit stiffer with sharper turn-in as I enjoy some enthusiastic driving on twisty roads.

However, if you ARE wanting a softer tyre, perhaps the Uniroyals are worth a shot, plus they are quite reasonably priced.

They've recently launched the Rainsport 3 as well, with better grip & economy ratings.

I've just ordered a set for the wife's Mondeo which is the family car; in the in larger 235/45/17 97Y size for the Mondeo, they're about £90 each delivered (to UK) from Camskill.

You can still buy the Rainsport 2s, but they are more expensive, bit odd as they're an older model now that have been on the market for several years.

 

For my Yeti, I've ummed and ahhed for a week or two now, having read loads of the euro tyre tests, along with user feedback, and have just ordered 4 x Dunlop SportMaxxRT in 225/50/17 98Y size. 

Judging by the larger amounts of user feedback on tyrereviews, it seems the Dunlop Sport SP01is pretty outclassed these days.

 

In general, Camskill are the cheapest place to buy online, and being UK based, delivery is generally quicker than the foreign firms such as mytyres, oponeo, tyres-pneus-online etc.

Or just use their prices as a basis for negotiations elsewhere (factor in £10ish/tyre for fitting).

Recently changed original P Zero Rosso's to Good Year Efficient Grip Performance, cost £139 per tyre fitted. Good Years generally quieter, good grip, softer ride and economy has risen by about 8%, by my calculator over the life of the Pirelli's 28000 miles the fuel savings ought to work out about £400 easily covering the extra cost of buying them ( over replacement Pirellis £5 per tyre).

Still clueless

 

I was attracted by the Rainsport 2 but on checking they do not produce them in 225/50/17

 

I have winter tyres so I think that the Good Year Efficient Grip Performance may be the best bet

 

I have had Kumho's in the past but looking thru their range I have no idea which is the model to go for

 

Prices seem to be in similar ranges - £65+ for budget - £100 to £110 for the less known good tyres and maybe £130 to £140 for the usual big names

 

Not sure tyres dealers help as presumably they recommend what they want to sell

 

It is a real minefield

Edited 8 July, 201412 yr by BillN_33

Still clueless

 

I was attracted by the Rainsport 2 but on checking they do not produce them in 225/50/17

 

I have winter tyres so I think that the Good Year Efficient Grip Performance may be the best bet

 

I have had Kumho's in the past but looking thru their range I have no idea which is the model to go for

 

Prices seem to be in similar ranges - £65+ for budget - £100 to £110 for the less known good tyres and maybe £130 to £140 for the usual big names

 

Not sure tyres dealers help as presumably they recommend what they want to sell

 

It is a real minefield

 

I've used the Ecsta KU39's on the Yeti for 4 years now and am very happy with them. Blackcircles have them for £113 fitted but my local man always undercuts that price 

Recently changed original P Zero Rosso's to Good Year Efficient Grip Performance, cost £139 per tyre fitted. Good Years generally quieter, good grip, softer ride and economy has risen by about 8%, by my calculator over the life of the Pirelli's 28000 miles the fuel savings ought to work out about £400 easily covering the extra cost of buying them ( over replacement Pirellis £5 per tyre).

Were the new tyres installed at the same tyre pressure as the old?

Mine were 45psi when delivered and the ride seemed a bit harsh but you get good fuel economy that way.

I bet you are confused now...

I bet you are confused now...

 

yes I suppose I'll just "roll up" to Micheldever and let them persuade me - but I just don't want any mention of Sport, low profile, stiff sidewalls, extra performance and fantastic grip in extreme conditions ………….. I have found my winter tyres on 16" steel wheels to be far better than the Goodyear Excellence on 17" Alloys in all the above …….. they are amazing in rain and great on the autoroutes ……… but I realise that they will "melt" in the summer heat of SW France

Edited 8 July, 201412 yr by BillN_33

I'd like a 'taller' tyre to correct the optimistic speedo if I could get away with it.

yes I suppose I'll just "roll up" to Micheldever and let them persuade me - but I just don't want any mention of Sport, low profile, stiff sidewalls, extra performance and fantastic grip in extreme conditions ………….. I have found my winter tyres on 16" steel wheels to be far better than the Goodyear Excellence on 17" Alloys in all the above …….. they are amazing in rain and great on the autoroutes ……… but I realise that they will "melt" in the summer heat of SW France

 

The problem with the winter tyres is that dry braking is quite compromised compared to summer tyres; if you had to stand on the brakes from speed on a hot autoroute, for whatever reason, the winters will have noticeably longer braking distances than the summers.

 

A little while ago I asked on a tyre forum which tyres had stiffer sidewalls - IE probably the opposite of what you want - as I wanted something that would turn in sharply on twisty roads and stand up to some enthusiasm.

 

Reply was this:

 

 

 

...as a rule Bridgestone run some of the harder sidewalls, and the S001 should be made in your size. Make sure you go for the higher load rating if possible.

Avoid the new breed of low rolling resistance tyres, stuff like the EfficientGrip Performance and Premium Contact 5, these have really soft sidewalls.

Vredestein also have strong sidewalls, as do a lot of the Yoko patterns.

 

So for your purposes, based on their advice, I'd suggest you avoid Bridgestone, Vredestein and Yokohamas.

And instead, look at the ones they recommend I avoid - like the EfficientGrip Performance, and Premium Contact 5.

 

Given that someone else has mentioned the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance as having improved comfort, I'd be tempted to go for those.

 

Also, they generally get a good score here, including the "comfort" score, and are consistently highly placed in the euro tyre tests:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/EfficientGrip-Performance.htm

They have an "A" wet rating, and "B" for fuel efficiency which is generally as good as it gets, and the sound level rating of 68dB looks among one of the lowest too.

They're also classed as a "Touring Tyre" rather than a performance tyre.

 

I'd go for the 94 load rating, rather than the 98.

Thanks all for your replies

Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance transformed the ride of our Nissan Note, road noise is quieter and small potholes and other irregularities are coped with more comfortably. Not a boy racer tyre though.

At £63 a corner from F1 Autocentres for 16" wheel not bad, and a whole lot better than the Chinese budget tyres they replaced. No problems so far.

I would certainly look at them to replace the Dunlop SP01's for the Yeti when the time comes, even considering an extra set of 16" wheels to get the higher profile. 

The 17" Dunlops SP01's are less comfortable and less efficient than my 16" Michelin Alpin 4 winter tyres.

 

Hope your happy with whatever you choose - you've got them for a good few thousand miles anyway. 

Shame there's no way of trying different tyres before buying.

Were the new tyres installed at the same tyre pressure as the old?

Mine were 45psi when delivered and the ride seemed a bit harsh but you get good fuel economy that way.

YES - I check my tyres every couple of weeks and go by the day to day loading pressures rather than the max load pressures as recommended by the table on the inside of the fuel cap. When the new tyres were fitted they were inflated to the normal pressures. Oh and by the way I have my own (car) battery inflator as I've found petrol station ones can vary and there's always a queue .

Oh and by the way I have my own (car) battery inflator as I've found petrol station ones can vary and there's always a queue .

And driving somewhere to check them warms the tyres up, when they should be checked cold

Were the new tyres installed at the same tyre pressure as the old?

Mine were 45psi when delivered and the ride seemed a bit harsh but you get good fuel economy that way.

 

Hopefully tongue in cheek otherwise another of your less inspired observations...and there have been a few.

+1