Tyre replacement any recommendations

[carbman]

Just got home from our annual 740 mile round trip to Cornwall, at the beginning of which I sensed/felt the dreaded rumble of mis-aligned tracking. It was only very slight and only was aware at about 65+mph. On our return I checked the tyres and sure enough the o/side front is worn away on the inside, not too badly but is now illegal. All tyres are Dunlop BluResponse 205/55 16 91V. The car has done 58,200 miles, 43000 in our ownership. The front tyres were replaced at 34,000 miles at first MOT and seemed okay before the present problem. The rears, as far as I'm aware are the originals. MOT coming up in September, so thought it might be prudent to replace all 4 in one hit. We're both retired and wondered about a decent budget brand. We don't do a lot of motorway work. The Dunlops are rated 'B' for Fuel efficiency and 'A' for Wet Grip/Braking. I am very fuel efficiency conscious. Got 66.1 mpg overall to Cornwall, on the 'in car' computer. Re-fill computed out at nearer 70mpg. Any thoughts on other brands please?

[KevC_Derby]

I would certainly look for value rather than budget, I was looking for a replacement after my pothole incident tonight and if I can't get a Bridgestone Potenza S001 to match the other (about 4,400 miles) then I liked the look of Vredestein Ultrac Satin at around £70ea with good Fuel Economy (C but I am sure I've seen them at B )and A rated wet performance. 

[Golf-Fiend]

I like Goodyear Efficient Grip. They are really good but wear fairly fast. I prefer safety over wear. 

[Longship]

Another vote for the Goodyears. Had them on my previous car in that size and I'll switch the currents out for them at renewal time. 

[KenONeill]

Round ones. According to Neubauer's old logbooks Mercedes tested square ones at the Nurburgring in 1934 and all the drivers complained about excessive vibration!

 

Seriously, I wouldn't fit more Dunlops (rubbish for wet grip and tyre life IME) or Pirellis (usually propping up the "brand name" part of tyre test tables) but have no issues with Barums (last model Contis) or Toyos. I'd ignore EU "tyre test" data because that's all manufacturer self-certified.

[promethian]

Uniroyal rainsport 3.

Set them to correct pressure and they last well and grip is extraordinary.

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/Rainsport-3_2.htm

 

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s16p111649/Uniroyal_Tyres_Car_Uniroyal_RainSport3_Uniroyal_Rain_Sport_3_-_225_45_R17_94Y_XL_FR_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_A_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_72dB

 

You won't regret it.

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

I replaced the original fit Dunlop SP01's with Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance and in my experience they outperform the Dunlop's; quieter, better handling and stopping. Cannot comment on fuel economy as my commute changed after fitting the Goodyear's, I now average a daily commute of 7 miles per day urban compared to 100 miles motorway. 

 

I swap over to cold weather tyres for 6 months of the year, and after 5 years and approximately 20k miles they still have 4-5.5mm on them, they were measured yesterday. They are showing signs of slight cracking, but that is only to be expected considering their age. 

 

After saying all of the above, I am considering fitting Michelin Cross Climates when it comes time to replacing the Goodyear, purely due to the fact the roads around here can be icy in the early hours of a July morning. Will still swap over to cold weather's though. 

 

It just depends on your needs and priorities. 

[penguin17]

14 hours ago, Golf-Fiend said:

I like Goodyear Efficient Grip. They are really good but wear fairly fast. I prefer safety over wear. 

+1.  Best tyres I've ever had and much more performant than their ECO branding would suggest. 

 

I don't quite agree on the poor wear rate, though.  I  had a couple of sets on the front of my Leon FR TDI which was remapped to 230ps and I was still getting ~20k miles before I replaced them and I replace at 3-3.5mm not the legal limit. 

[Golf-Fiend]

1 hour ago, penguin17 said:

..............

 

I don't quite agree on the poor wear rate, though.  I  had a couple of sets on the front of my Leon FR TDI which was remapped to 230ps and I was still getting ~20k miles before I replaced them and I replace at 3-3.5mm not the legal limit. 

 

Really? I get way less than that in my 2.0 TDi pushing out a mere 140ps and I drive like a granny for economy too! I also run Winter Tyres for at least 5 months too. I was shocked at how quickly my last set wore. My car is 4 wheel aligned regularly too. Mine were down to about 2mm with about 12k miles. I blame the really sh!tty roads we have. 

[GrahamWade]

I would definitely go for Goodyear efficient grip, fairly quiet, good efficiency, good grip and I have been getting 25K miles (3 monthly rotation).

[DJSmiley]

What about all-season tyres?  Do you use winter tyres at the moment? 

With your milage I would consider decent all-season tyres as an option 

 

Recent allseasons are pretty good, almost as good as a full summer tyre, but with (much) better winter performance. Of course it can't outperform a real snow tyre, but in general it still might be a very good option.

 

I myself are considering the Michelin Crosslimate+ as new tyre. Also, the goodyear vectron seems to be pretty good, but I would prefer the Michelin one's.

 

[carbman]

Thanks everyone for all the input/advice.

DJSmiley, you were just a bit late with your suggestion about all-season tyres. We ordered a full set of Goodyear Efficient Grip yesterday and will be fitted at National Tyres in Barnsley on Tuesday.

Thanks again everyone, but don't you think it's a bit of a minefield with all the choice?

[DJSmiley]

2 hours ago, carbman said:

Thanks everyone for all the input/advice.

DJSmiley, you were just a bit late with your suggestion about all-season tyres. We ordered a full set of Goodyear Efficient Grip yesterday and will be fitted at National Tyres in Barnsley on Tuesday.

Thanks again everyone, but don't you think it's a bit of a minefield with all the choice?

 

I fully agree with the minefield of options. And for reviews.. this doesn't make it any better. Some tyres have excellent performance on specific sizes, while they are outperformed by others on other sizes.

 

I personally think the Goodyears are a good choise, as summer tyre. I don't know about your location, but for winter I won't recommend driving on summer tyres. Since the weather here (in NL) is rather unpredictable, having full winter tyres is just a guess.. I've been driving through snow in April with my summer tyres, and drove in dec 2016 to Czech with temperatures of over 15 degrees... Pretty useless to have summer or wintertyres. 

 

Thats why I'm highly considering allseasons. Average winters are soft, mostly >5 degrees, and rain. Think a decent summer tyre will be a safer option. But for the days with ice and snow, the winter tyre will be the better one off course. Since thats not happening that much, I'll set my bet on a good tyre for 90% of the conditions, instead of an excellent tyre in 50% of the time (where as the weather doesn't match the tyre on most other days).

In the end, I think an all-season will be the safer option...

 

And since the allseasons are now (almost) as good as a summer tyre (which, to be honest, is fine for 70% of the year), I'll go for that as next tyre.

 

If they are to be fitted next week, i think you can discuss a swap off course. 

 

[carbman]

Hi DJSmiley, we ordered the tyres on-line through the Tyreshopper  (National Tyres) website, so might be a bit of a 'faff' trying to change things. We're pretty happy with our choice as they seem to be well recommended in the posts.

Thanks for your interest and input. Carbman.

[Sheriff]

Good choice John, I got 30k out of the fronts and 55k on the rears with the Goodyear Efficient grips. Recently changed to Yokohamas as the Goodyears weren't available from my supplier. The Yokos are a sport version and I've noticed that fuel consumption is down by 3mpg now!!

[NicRobinson]

I've had Michelin Energy on my 55 plate for the last 3 years.  They've done a great job and lasted really well.  They're out of production now so just put a pair of Primacy on the rear.  Not sure if they'll last as well or give as good fuel economy.

[robt100]

I know I'm late to the party here but...
first of all, goodyear efficient grip and dunlop blueresponse (on whatever their eco tyre is called) are the same. AFAIK dunlop and goodyear are owned by the same people. I've had the goodyears a few times before, and whilst they are great for economy, they are rubbish when it comes to grip, either in a straight line or round corners. Soft sidewalls make it iffy on the limit too. And once they start to wear past the 'eco' layer they arent much better than any other tyre for economy, but still have no grip, especially through puddles when new or old.
Best compromise I have found is Hankook Ventus Prime 3's they are probably on average 2-3mph worse, though that's really only noticeable at 60+ Mph. The fact they have reinforced sidewalls is a bonus for me due to the heavy loads I can carry, and just for the feedback you get in the steering rather than feeling like your driving on tyres made of jelly. Ok, so theyve probably cost me £100-200 in fuel over a year with my mileage loosing 2mpg average, but they've probably also saved me from an accident or two where the goodyears wouldn't have stopped or turned in time!

Edited 7 July, 2018 by robt100

[Longship]

Everyone's experience is different. I consider myself a "press on" driver, and there's no dual carriage ways within 60 miles of me, yet I'm more than happy with grip the Goodyears give me. The load index ( 91) of the Hankook's would appear to be same as the Goodyears.

 

Oh, and I live in one of the wettest parts of the UK. 

Edited 7 July, 2018 by Longship

[Webber1888]

On 05/07/2018 at 13:33, promethian said:

Uniroyal rainsport 3.

Set them to correct pressure and they last well and grip is extraordinary.

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/Rainsport-3_2.htm

 

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s16p111649/Uniroyal_Tyres_Car_Uniroyal_RainSport3_Uniroyal_Rain_Sport_3_-_225_45_R17_94Y_XL_FR_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_A_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_72dB

 

You won't regret it.

 

 

 

 

Another vote for uniroyal rainsport 3 

[dcstuurman]

On my Mk1 I really enjoyed my Michelin PS 4's...

[Webber1888]

It’s each to their own 

prople stick to what suits their driving