280 Tyres

[Nick_H]

Well after 21000 miles  the Pirelli’s have gone to be replaced by Pilot Sport 4’s.

 

Still plenty of tread left on the Pirelli’s. Well 3.5mm on the front and maybe 4.5 on the back so could have kept them longer.

 

Not sorry to see them go :-)

[penguin17]

To confirm...did you get the PS4 or PS4S? 

 

Im tempted to try the PS4S...

[newbie69]

24 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

Well after 21000 miles  the Pirelli’s have gone to be replaced by Pilot Sport 4’s.

 

Still plenty of tread left on the Pirelli’s. Well 3.5mm on the front and maybe 4.5 on the back so could have kept them longer.

 

Not sorry to see them go :-)

The difference must be pretty noticeable, let us know of your impressions once you've added some miles to them.

[Nick_H]

Just now, penguin17 said:

To confirm...did you get the PS4 or PS4S? 

 

Im tempted to try the PS4S...

 

Yes me too but chickened out so vanilla PS4. They look much better than the Pirelli’s though so not really bothered how they drive ;-)

[2BeFrank]

My previous car was a Lexus IS300h whose OEM tyres were Bridgestone ER33's

 

Great tyres for Economy and high mileage, but due to that aim not particularly quiet or grippy.

 

After a lot of research I switched to Michelin PS4's and absolutely loved them.

 

So much quieter (on a very quiet car) terrific wet weather performance and super grippy in the dry.

 

Not sure how that translates to a Superb, but would definately be at the top of my list for consideration

[newbie69]

According to some sources even from Michelin themselves, the PS4 vs PS4S differences are small and definitely not noticeable in daily or fairly fast driving but only when approaching the limit. They are both extremely capable on both wet and dry and the 4S would justify its extra cost in applications where absolutely every last bit of grip is needed, I don't think the Superb with its AWD falls in this category, the PS4 is already huge improvement to Cinturatos.

 

Personally I am inclined to switch to 245/40 when replacing the stock tires. More grip, higher sidewall, and much more choices. The 4S only comes in 235/40 while the PS4 comes in 245/40. A 245/40 PS4 will offer almost  235/40 4S performance at around 80% of the price.

 

 

[DBT85]

Once more with feeling, here's a comparison betwen the MPS4, MPS4S and the Michelin Cup 2.

 

 

Like @newbie69 I'll be upping to 245, when I drop these winters as they are actually cheaper to get than the 235 though I'm not hugely convinced that an extra 10mm width is going to offer any great or noticable (to me) increase in grip given that the contact patch gets a bit shorter with a wider tyre too. Not I've never done any testing or had any experience to qualify that statement of course. It's armchair analysis which as we all know is the very best kind of analysis.

 

Now to wait for the chap who wrote "well if you think you know better than the manufacturer" when I swapped from 235 summers to 225 winters 

 

I have MPS4 on my S2000 and I'm very happy with them, though I don't drive it in quite the manner some do.

 

These were the pries when I looked a week ago. The MPS4S has a treadwear rating of 300 compared to a 320 for the MPS4.

 

Price from tyreleader/camskill. Tyreleader includes postage. Add £15 for Camskill for a set of 4.

 

225/40/19

MPS4 - £154/£147

MPS4S - £172/£162

 

235/40/19

MPS4 - £167/£155

MPS4S £182/£175

 

245/40/19

MPS4 - £155/£147

MPS4S - £157/NA

Edited 19 January, 2019 by DBT85

[hpoom]

How much can you stretch a tyre then?

 

I am just about to change the Pirelli’s, which were crap, at 19k miles. Thinking about Michelin PS4's which I have on my Cayman and love.

 

Should I go 245/40/19  instead of the manufacturer'ss default of 235/40/19

[technics100]

47 minutes ago, hpoom said:

How much can you stretch a tyre then?

 

I am just about to change the Pirelli’s, which were crap, at 19k miles. Thinking about Michelin PS4's which I have on my Cayman and love.

 

Should I go 245/40/19  instead of the manufacturer'ss default of 235/40/19

 

I having the same debate for my 220.. Although I only need front tyres.. It's a lease so not sure how it would look going back with front and rear tyres in different sizes.. 

[IanJD]

Just be aware that some tyre places won't fit tyres which aren't on the manufacturer's approved size list for a car, presumably in case there's an accident and they then get sued (regardless of how unlikely a 10mm wider tyre with a few mm bigger diameter is to cause an accident). I've also heard that insurance companies have used this as an excuse to reduce or refuse payouts because it's "a change from standard equipment on a safety-critical part" and they weren't told about it and didn't approve it.

 

So I'd suggest checking with your insurer first and getting approval in writing (or email), then you can show this to the fitting shop in case they get shirty about it.

 

Or just ignore all this as scaremongering and go ahead, it's your decision 😉

 

With a leased car you've got zero chance of them agreeing to you fitting non-standard tyres, and if you do it without telling them you'll probably get hammered for replacement costs when you return the car. I'm currently having an argument with VWFS who are trying to charge me £700 on return for replacing a bumper which had a scratch on it because they claim it was cracked, when it was nothing of the sort... 😞

Edited 6 December, 2019 by IanJD

[AGFalco]

6 hours ago, technics100 said:

I having the same debate for my 220.. Although I only need front tyres.. It's a lease so not sure how it would look going back with front and rear tyres in different sizes.. 

 

Having different size tyres front to rear can cause problems with the ABS as the wheels/tyres are already travelling at a different speed all the time.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[nicknorman]

Well for the record I don’t particularly like the PS4S. They are quite a hard tyre. Maybe good on a track when they get hot, but for normal spirited driving on Scottish country roads, quite hard and not particularly grippy. And a somewhat harsh ride too. But being hard, they last quite well of course. Any idea that they are somehow a soft and grippy sports tyre is BS IMO.

[SurreyJohn]

6 hours ago, technics100 said:

 

I having the same debate for my 220.. Although I only need front tyres.. It's a lease so not sure how it would look going back with front and rear tyres in different sizes.. 

 

@technics100 If it is a lease, why not swap them front-back mid lease

Much cheaper than buying 2 new tyres

Normally do the switch around 14000 miles

 

[technics100]

1 hour ago, AGFalco said:

 

Having different size tyres front to rear can cause problems with the ABS as the wheels/tyres are already travelling at a different speed all the time.

 

Thanks AG Falco

Thanks.. never thought of that.. 

[technics100]

1 hour ago, SurreyJohn said:

 

@technics100 If it is a lease, why not swap them front-back mid lease

Much cheaper than buying 2 new tyres

Normally do the switch around 14000 miles

 

I have 21k on the fronts so far, so they wouldn't do on the back for another 20k.. 

[SurreyJohn]

7 hours ago, technics100 said:

I have 21k on the fronts so far, so they wouldn't do on the back for another 20k.. 

 

OK, if going to do 40k+ miles then going to have to buy 4 tyres before a lease return, the swapping is only really good way of avoiding buying replacements if hand back before about 28-32k miles 

 

Edited 7 December, 2019 by SurreyJohn

[Ootohere]

Different size tyres front and rear are an Option with the likes of the Audi RS3 a model back.

It really does not cause an issue with with the ABS as those that have run tyres of different sizes front and back.

We are talking FWD or Haldex cars here though, not other Drivetrains as on on 4x4's from other manufacturers,

[penguin17]

12 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Well for the record I don’t particularly like the PS4S. They are quite a hard tyre. Maybe good on a track when they get hot, but for normal spirited driving on Scottish country roads, quite hard and not particularly grippy. And a somewhat harsh ride too. But being hard, they last quite well of course. Any idea that they are somehow a soft and grippy sports tyre is BS IMO.

I’m actually surprised you aren’t impressed with the grip. I’ve never heard anyone critique them for their lack of grip. 

 

I find they drone terribly when the road surface isn’t the best but apart from that I’m mightily impressed with them. 

[technics100]

3 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

 

OK, if going to do 40k+ miles then going to have to buy 4 tyres before a lease return, the swapping is only really good way of avoiding buying replacements if hand back before about 28-32k miles 

 

 

The backs still have 6mm of tread, so I'll give it a go.. 😉

Edited 7 December, 2019 by technics100

[nicknorman]

On 07/12/2019 at 08:39, penguin17 said:

I’m actually surprised you aren’t impressed with the grip. I’ve never heard anyone critique them for their lack of grip. 

 

I find they drone terribly when the road surface isn’t the best but apart from that I’m mightily impressed with them. 

I’ve generally gone for non-mainstream tyres in the past, latterly Kumhos for many years. I must say I was expecting the Michelins to be better but I suppose you just have to go back to the basics which is that the Michelins are on track to last 25-30k whereas the Kumhos were done after 10k, starting with a similar amount of tread.
Therefore the Michelins are either magic, or have a harder tread compound! Compared to the Kumhos they feel a bit skittery and lack the solid secure feel of the Kumhos. As well as being a lot louder and harsher. It was quite noticeable.

 

when I got the car with 9k on it,  it had the original Pirellis. They seemed ok at the time but obviously when you go from tyres that are worn out, to tyres that are new, you expect a better ride and feel and so when I put the Kumhos on I wasn’t surprised. But I was surprised when I took the worn out Kumhos off and put on the brand new PS4S, that it didn’t immediately feel better. They just felt much harder with all the things that go with that - noise, harshness and skittery-ness. Of course they are a perfectly adequate tyre, but for brisk country road driving in the wet, the Kumhos were better and for normal driving, they gave a more pleasant ride.

[AGFalco]

Had a car in with 225 45 17 in two corners and 235 45 17 in the other two corners, when they should be the same all round.

 

Every time you braked the ABS light came on because of the difference in this FWD car.

With the same size/diameter tyre all round there was no ABS problems.

 

See this from APEC re ABS sensors:-

Active ABS sensors on the other hand are a lot more accurate and are able to detect speeds of less than 0.06 mph, this is vital for modern traction control systems.

https://www.apecbraking.co.uk/Resources/TechniciansGuides/ABS-Sensors.aspx

 

Thanks AG Falco

[Ootohere]

@AGFalco  What kind of car was that?

I have run and friends have VW Group cars with different sized tyres on the front to the rear and no issues, not even the TPMS giving a warning when the TPMS is reset.

You can even fit an odd one out Spare tyre on some cars and reset the TPMS and no warning and no ABS light either.

 

Put Snow Chains on and you are told to switch off the TC.  You can drive with Snow Chains on the Drive Wheels and no ABS warning light.

 

It is simple to find things out, you just do it and then you know.   

Or someone can tell you something and believe it if correct or not.

 

'audi staggered tyres vs non staggered tyres',    as a search should give some idea of what other do on the same VW platforms.

Edited 8 December, 2019 by Roottootemoot

[AGFalco]

On 08/12/2019 at 13:43, Roottootemoot said:

What kind of car was that?

 

Ford Focus, hot type, ( ST? ) not new.

 

No TMPS, no spare tyre, but it did have ABS, ETC and ESC.

Owner drove the car hard and probably used Left Foot Braking.

The other problem was that the paired sized tyres were in opposite corners, not on the same axle.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[Ootohere]

@AGFalco

Sorry i read it as you having a car.   My bad, i see you had one in.

Are you a tyre fitter or a mechanic?

 

Then it had odd tyres on the same axles.  

So you had something to do with a Ford someone else had and which has nothing to do with a VW Platform / System.

Edited 9 December, 2019 by Roottootemoot

[AGFalco]

On 08/12/2019 at 11:55, AGFalco said:

Had a car in

 

at work.

 

Thanks AG Falco