I didn't join in with this thread as it just seemed to go in totally the wrong direction very quickly.

I don't read all of the reviews out there - I just stick with brands that I know and trust.

 

My Mk2.5 vRS had Good Year AS3's on for the final years that I drove it and I loved the tyre. Not the most expensive but I knew just how far I could take them, they never let me down.

When I'm eventually looking for 19" replacements (hopefully not too soon, factory P Zero's have 11k on them at the moment) I will almost certainly be looking at the AS3's again.

Seems the usual trash talk about tyres....*sigh*

 

*Best* tyre is completely subjective....if you don't have a personal favorite you clearly don't use the car in a manner which pushes the tyres performance at all.  And if you're just slapping PS4S on it because the sticker says they're mint, more fool you!

 

Adding to that, different size, drivetrain and weight vehicles suit different tyres better depending on their construction and compound. 

 

 

There is something to be said about not spending over £500 on absolutely top end tyres.   Not everyone needs PS4S levels of grip.   As the OP said...they wanted people's general opinions. 

 

1 hour ago, siobhanemerald said:

 

To be honest, I find your manner a bit arsey and there's absolutely no need for it. People like you are why many folk don't like to use forums anymore...

 

First of all, these are the wheels that came on the car... the Extreme 19s... I didn't change them  

 

I have never had to change tyres on the Octavia so purely asking for the *best* tyre option that is recommended by those who have already tried and tested tyres. Because I don't have a crystal ball and don't actually know what the best tried and tested tyre is for this specific Octavia. I said I don't want budget tyres, cost is not an issue. But as any normal human being I also don't want to pay more than I have to and will always try and get a decent deal... 

 

I am well aware of the purpose of tyres and that if you buy budget you'll get budget performance  

 

Every other person was able to be helpful and I thank the rest of you for your input. In future @wardth , don't bother commenting on my threads please.

 

All the best 

Hey sorry - genuinely didn't mean to come across as arsey so apologies for that.

 

Secondly I misunderstood and thought you had 18's for some reason, hence my comments. Teach me to respond to posts while doing other things.......

 

My issue was primarily with people on here coming out with irellevant nonsense about doubling of road noise, driving "millions of miles" etc.

 

At the end of the day I was simply saying your choice should be influenced by the fact you drive a performance hatch and therefore tyres should really be as premium as possible........and your bank account :-)

 

....and also saying the P-Zeros were crap!

 

 

1 hour ago, uttanutta12 said:

Seems the usual trash talk about tyres....*sigh*

 

*Best* tyre is completely subjective....if you don't have a personal favorite you clearly don't use the car in a manner which pushes the tyres performance at all.  And if you're just slapping PS4S on it because the sticker says they're mint, more fool you!

 

Adding to that, different size, drivetrain and weight vehicles suit different tyres better depending on their construction and compound. 

 

 

There is something to be said about not spending over £500 on absolutely top end tyres.   Not everyone needs PS4S levels of grip.   As the OP said...they wanted people's general opinions. 

 

Current top-tyre in the various tests is without a doubt the PS4S. It's also a very common recommendation for our vehicles, hence your comment about "Adding to that, different size, drivetrain and weight vehicles suit different tyres better depending on their construction and compound" is largely irrelevant as the vehicle is known in this case.... 

 

Opinions generally come from experience. I'm currently running PS4's after my P-Zeros one this vehicle. I have previously run AS3's on my MLK2FL and found them inferior to the Premium Contacts I used after Sport Contact 5's. Ive also have relatively extensive experience of midrange and yes, budget tyres on other vehicles and wouldn't give most of them houseroom, despite the fact I do 30K a year and could Dave myself a fair bit of money by using them. Personally I value the ability to rely on and if necessary lean on a tyre should the need arise. The extra margin, however small, could make all the difference...

I am fortunate enough to be able to have 2 sets of wheels/tyres for my car. So during winter (Nov-Apr) I use P Zero 225/40YR18 which are comfortable, quiet and perfectly good enough for the reduced speed I drive at this time of year. They were also only £75 each. During summer I run a wider 8.5J alloy with 235/35YR19 Michelin PS4S which offer fantastic grip but ARE noisier than the admittedly narrower Pirelli. However they were twice the price at £150 each so makes sense to me to only use them in the summer when I can take advantage of the better grip.

53 minutes ago, wardth said:

Current top-tyre in the various tests is without a doubt the PS4S. It's also a very common recommendation for our vehicles, hence your comment about "Adding to that, different size, drivetrain and weight vehicles suit different tyres better depending on their construction and compound" is largely irrelevant as the vehicle is known in this case.... 

 

Opinions generally come from experience. I'm currently running PS4's after my P-Zeros one this vehicle. I have previously run AS3's on my MLK2FL and found them inferior to the Premium Contacts I used after Sport Contact 5's. Ive also have relatively extensive experience of midrange and yes, budget tyres on other vehicles and wouldn't give most of them houseroom, despite the fact I do 30K a year and could Dave myself a fair bit of money by using them. Personally I value the ability to rely on and if necessary lean on a tyre should the need arise. The extra margin, however small, could make all the difference...

 

The point about the differing vehicles was more a point backing up the reason to ask a forum full of owners of that specific vehicle, rather than blindly following what some numpty from Autocar reckons is mint. 

 

Undoubtedly the PS4S is a very good tyre, i'm sure the OP would love them and i'm sure you've come to the conclusion that they're your favorite through thorough usage, but it's nice to get people's opinions on something as personal as tyres, in case you haven't thought of a particular brand/model.

 

My point is that testing is a bit robotic and tyres are quite personal to how you like the car to behave. So just reading the tests isn't comprehensive enough for me. 

1 hour ago, uttanutta12 said:

 

My point is that testing is a bit robotic and tyres are quite personal to how you like the car to behave. So just reading the tests isn't comprehensive enough for me. 

Ok so what else do you do when a new tyre comes to the market ? I'd have thought you can only then go by some independent tests by Car magazines ECT.

 

I always find it difficult to believe a salesperson's recommendation for fear of them being (individual or company) on some form of commission/incentive.

5 hours ago, siobhanemerald said:

 

To be honest, I find your manner a bit arsey and there's absolutely no need for it. People like you are why many folk don't like to use forums anymore...

 

First of all, these are the wheels that came on the car... the Extreme 19s... I didn't change them  

 

I have never had to change tyres on the Octavia so purely asking for the *best* tyre option that is recommended by those who have already tried and tested tyres. Because I don't have a crystal ball and don't actually know what the best tried and tested tyre is for this specific Octavia. I said I don't want budget tyres, cost is not an issue. But as any normal human being I also don't want to pay more than I have to and will always try and get a decent deal... 

 

I am well aware of the purpose of tyres and that if you buy budget you'll get budget performance  

 

Every other person was able to be helpful and I thank the rest of you for your input. In future @wardth , don't bother commenting on my threads please.

 

All the best 

Thread highjack is common & whilst it can be annoying, the good info can & generally does out weigh the bad.

 

Good luck with your choice but, I haven't really seen any bad recommendations in the thread, its not like you get frost often in the West Country so, you'll be fine

1 hour ago, themanwithnoaim said:

Ok so what else do you do when a new tyre comes to the market ? I'd have thought you can only then go by some independent tests by Car magazines ECT.

 

I always find it difficult to believe a salesperson's recommendation for fear of them being (individual or company) on some form of commission/incentive.

Ok so fresh to the market, you have nothing else to go on obviously. So you'd have take a punt and hope. Stuff like PS4 has history to indicate it's probably going to be a good tyre.  But I'd take individuals experiences en mass, or the general result of a thread/discussion over testing alone.

 

You see it all the time in the track based and motorcycle discussions, industry tests normally say something completely different to the general user opinion and especially in the biking, everyone likes a different tyre! Although i do appreciate track and bike use is somewhat more sensitive to conditions etc etc.