I've finally worn my horrible Falken tyres down enough to get them replaced - 13 months and 23k miles.

 

The car is leased, so they need to be on the limit before the leasing company will consider replacing them.

 

We have to use Kwik-fit, so I went in there on Friday morning and asked them what tyres they had for my car.  They said only Pirelli and Michelin.  Having been pleased with Michelins in the past, I asked them to try and fit those, if possible.

 

I assume the leasing company get a better discount on Pirellis, as that's what they fitted.

 

Anyway, I'm pleased to report that I can now pull away on a damp surface without spinning the front wheels, and accelerating out of a corner has become a lot less dramatic.

 

I haven't had a chance to see how noisy they are at speed, but I'm pleased so far.

 

My only concern is that I will now have more grip on the front than the back, so cornering in the wet could be interesting.

 

I still can't believe that a VAG company could fit such cheap and nasty tyres to a new car.

 

1 hour ago, daveo138 said:

My only concern is that I will now have more grip on the front than the back, so cornering in the wet could be interesting.

 

Stay safe and get them swapped round. You will then wear out the Falkens on the front and get another pair of Pirellis fitted.

 

But I must say that the Falkens I had a few years ago were pretty good. Better than the OEM Michelins on the car before.

48 minutes ago, skidpan said:

 

 

Stay safe and get them swapped round. You will then wear out the Falkens on the front and get another pair of Pirellis fitted.

 

 

 

The only problem with that is the rear tyres have lots of tread left, so would probably last until the end of the (2 year) lease.

Edited 11 February, 20188 yr by daveo138
typo

1 minute ago, daveo138 said:

The only problem with that is the rear tyres have lots of tread left, so would probably last until the end of the (2 year) lease.

 

So you would be safe to the end of the lease.

1 minute ago, skidpan said:

 

So you would be safe to the end of the lease.

 

But I'd still have no grip. 

Far safer to have no grip on the front rather than on the rear.

You could try highlighting to the lease company that you believe the car is now dangerous and try to persuade them to change the others. I know company car drivers that have managed similar in the past. Personally I think it is irresponsible to fit tyres with significantly different grip levels on the different axles, the car will not handle as designed and could even be used as wiggle room by the insurance in the case of a claim. I always ensure I have the same tyres all round even if it means dumping some with tread on when I change brand. Lay the safety angle on thick with the lease company and you may be surprised where you get - they should not allow the car to be fitted with tyres that result in handling outside of the design specification.

On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 17:38, daveo138 said:

 

 

The only problem with that is the rear tyres have lots of tread left, so would probably last until the end of the (2 year) lease.

 

 

If swapped, and if being quite immature about it, I'm pretty sure you could reduce the tread quite quickly if required (assuming you don't pay the fuel costs?)