Hi Everyone,

 

I am looking for some experienced advice on tyre choice for my 15 plate vRS estate.

I bought the car a few months back and it was previously owned by Skoda Finance as what I was told as a "Rep-mobile".

Mainly motorway mileage and so it seems budget tyres have been used. They are branded as Jinyu.

 

I have the 225/40, R18's.

 

I am just wondering what people wold recommend? I dont do alot of motorway miles, I would say I did around 8k a year, mainly back roads (to and from work) with the occasional family holiday up the M6 into the lakes!

In the past, on my smaller cars, I went with Pirelli, but I know these wear quite quickly in my experience.

 

Is it worth paying the £100 or so per tyre to put Pirelli or Conti (high-end) on, or do people have good experiences with Nexen (mid range) or even the budget ranges?

 

I do find the ones I have struggle a little in the wet and dry when pulling away; but as this is the most powerful vehicle (BHP and Torque-wise) I have owned I am not sure if thats just the nature of the beast if you know what I mean,

 

Anyway, looking forward to your thoughts,

Lose the "Ying Tong Ditchfinders" before you find out why they're called that. Personally I like Barums or Toyos or websearch for "tyre tests" and take note of which brands crop up a lot.

It is the only connection with the road. 

Even if you are not driving many miles per year, it still pays off if the car sticks instead of slides.

 

Look at the Dunlop SportMaxx RT2 and the GoodYear Asymmetric3. In my opinion very good rubber for a decent price.

 

And, throw away those ditchfinders 

+1 for Goodyears.

 

Check the likes of Kwik-Fit etc as they weirdly come out cheaper a lot of the time for Goodyears and frequently offer cashback.

Goodyear F1 AS3 are the best value/performance at about £90 a corner fitted imo, otherwise I'd go with Michelin Pilot Sport 4. I currently have Continental Sport Contact 5 all round which have been ok, but there's better out there for the money. Anything cheaper than the Goodyear's doesn't seem to warrant enough of a saving for the drop in fuel economy, wet grip and noise ratings etc.

 

 

I went to my local tyre depot back in May for a new pair on the front.  I was either going for PS4's or Goodyear asymmetrical's.  I was asked to try the Avon ZV7's instead, with the offer that if I didn't like them I could go back for the PS4's.  I haven't gone back and really like them.  Reassuringly grippy in the wet too.

 

Gaz

9 minutes ago, V6TDI said:

I went to my local tyre depot back in May for a new pair on the front.  I was either going for PS4's or Goodyear asymmetrical's.  I was asked to try the Avon ZV7's instead, with the offer that if I didn't like them I could go back for the PS4's.  I haven't gone back and really like them.  Reassuringly grippy in the wet too.

 

Gaz

 

When they need replacing tell them you didn't like them and  ask for some PS4's, worth a punt Gary  

 

 

 

Edited 28 September, 20178 yr by Auric Goldfinger

1 hour ago, magic62 said:

It is the only connection with the road. 

Even if you are not driving many miles per year, it still pays off if the car sticks instead of slides.

Agreed 100%.

 

As I have never heard of this brand, I wanted to check with people before making the assumption that they weren't worth the risk.

 

Annoyingly they are not old at all and have plenty of tread left on them. Seems a shame to waste that (financially) but you can't put a price on safety.

 

I'll go with the Goodyear Asym 3's. For anyone else thats interested currently £85 with Tyres on the Drive (each) and £65 cash back if you buy 4.

 

Thanks very much everyone; much appreciated! 

 

I assume the TPMS system is passive ABS type as I cannot find sensors when I scan them. So a quick reset through the car would fix that.

 

On a secondary note with the tyres, does anyone find wear its worth ever rotating tyres (front/back mainly)?

GY Assy 3s a great choice.

They have good rim protection too. 

 

That's a good deal too. 

26 minutes ago, dunc69 said:

GY Assy 3s a great choice.

They have good rim protection too. 

 

That's a good deal too. 

 

I am glad to hear that!

Highly recommend Hankook Ventus V12 Evo tyres - they're in the mid range of price, but their performance is so much more. Had them fitted to my mk2 FL vRS and a Mini JCW GP and they were a great tyre.

Yep GY AS3's on mine, the Pirelli's were awful.

 

The Hankooks mentioned above are good but I've not had them on the Skoda, the missus has them on her Leon.

 

1 hour ago, MashAsh said:

Annoyingly they are not old at all and have plenty of tread left on them. Seems a shame to waste that (financially) but you can't put a price on safety.

 

I'll go with the Goodyear Asym 3's. For anyone else thats interested currently £85 with Tyres on the Drive (each) and £65 cash back if you buy 4.

 

On a secondary note with the tyres, does anyone find wear its worth ever rotating tyres (front/back mainly)?

 

You could keep the tyres once they've been removed and sell them on Gumtree/Facebook/eBay. If you look on eBay you might be surprised how much you should be able to sell them for. Tyres can be posted quite cheaply in pairs - just use brown tape to hold them together.

 

Good choice on the AS3s - I have a pair on the front of mine (and AS2s on the back).

 

There are probably other threads on here already discussing tyre rotation. If you have a set of 4 brand new matching tyres all round then to my mind it makes sense to rotate them occasionally so long as you can budget for another replacement set in one hit.

I’m another that just got some Goodyear AS3 fitted recently and they are excellent!

 

All great information, thanks very much gang!

 

2 hours ago, vrsTom said:

 

 

You could keep the tyres once they've been removed and sell them on Gumtree/Facebook/eBay. If you look on eBay you might be surprised how much you should be able to sell them for. Tyres can be posted quite cheaply in pairs - just use brown tape to hold them together.

 

 

I'll have a look on eBay (and other auction websites ) and see what I can find. Never really thought about selling the old/being removed ones! But that does make sense.

Just to throw the in the mix. Uniroyal rainsport 3’s remember winter is coming up ;-) they feel a bit less grippy for the first couple hundred miles and then they work beautifully 

With the diamond cut Gemini wheels rim protection would is high up on my list, they are virtually level with my Kumho Ecsta Le Sport, any minor parking transgression with a kerb would be seriously punished!

 

I see the GY A3s have been mentioned, I wonder what other tyres will protect my rims?

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/nokian/weatherproof/225-40-r18-92v-333493

been on my vRS for nearly 3 years, a great tyre all year round, just no rim protection is the only downfall I can say against them!

I have the Nokian Z-line on my car and am very happy with them.

 

Previously had Continued SportContact 5 on my Saab and hated them with a passion.

Recently fitted 4 x Michelin Pilot Super Sport's in 235/35/19. Not cheap, but superb tyres, especially in the wet.

 

Slightly taller sidewalls than standard 225/35/19's help the ride a bit it seems, and rim protection is pretty good

 

Did not get on well with the Pirelli P-Zero's at all TBH.

My 13 plate VRs running 18's came with the original Continentals and have changed them for Michelin Pilot Sport 4's and cant fault them, great wet/dry grip, low road noise and good rim protection - Got them when Costco had £100 off when 4 tyres brought. 

Would put them on again, no worries.

On 28/09/2017 at 20:23, Esseesse200 said:

Just to throw the in the mix. Uniroyal rainsport 3’s remember winter is coming up ;-) they feel a bit less grippy for the first couple hundred miles and then they work beautifully 

+1 for rainsports. Unbelievable wet grip, downside is you'll struggle to get 15k or more out of the front. 

On 9/29/2017 at 10:31, pist0nbr0ke said:

Recently fitted 4 x Michelin Pilot Super Sport's in 235/35/19. Not cheap, but superb tyres, especially in the wet.

 

Slightly taller sidewalls than standard 225/35/19's help the ride a bit it seems, and rim protection is pretty good

 

Did not get on well with the Pirelli P-Zero's at all TBH.

How much clearance have got on the insides of the tyres ? I'm keen on going 255's for mine but, don't want to run spacers if I can help it

5 minutes ago, themanwithnoaim said:

How much clearance have got on the insides of the tyres ? I'm keen on going 255's for mine but, don't want to run spacers if I can help it

 

Not really gonna help, cos I have spacers...but 235 will not cause issues even without them. 255 is likely to I would think?

 

What sort of profile are you thinking for 255's? 35? Does that not negate the tyre price advantage you wanted originally of running 18's rather than 19's?! 

 

Actually, just checked Blackcircles.com for Goodyear Eagle F1 Asy 3 - 255/35/18's are £132 each, 235/35/19's are £146 so still slightly better.

 

Having run the 18's for a fortnight they're off, soon to be listed for sale, win some, lose some, next.

 

Yeah thinking 255/35/R19 a touch larger circumference but, I'll live with that £154 a corner for Michelin PS4 sorry, I don't like the Goodyears