I went down to the local garage for a chat today, they recommended replacing the ex fronts that are now on the back, and putting the new ones on the front. They could get some Falken all season tyres in by tomorrow so I'm trying a couple of them.

 

Not sure about sawtooth? Can you tell from this pic?

From the pic, can’t tell regarding sawtooth as the change of colour (the tread and sidewall) appears to be following a continuous curve rather than uneven, but is only a small part you have photographed.

 

But you have pictured the wear indicators (the small triangle marks these) and it appears they are very close to the surface (the bumps in the longitudinal grooves in line with the marker triangle).  As these mark the absolute minimum legal tread depth tyres are close to needing replacement anyway.

 

Very sensible to put all seasons on, rather than summer tyres.

 

10 hours ago, Eeeekkk said:

Not sure about sawtooth? Can you tell from this pic?

It's hard to tell sawtooth from pictures. If you run your hand both ways round the circumference and feel steps that are more pronounced when your hand is moving in the direction of rotation than against it. that's sawtooth.

6 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

From the pic, can’t tell regarding sawtooth as the change of colour (the tread and sidewall) appears to be following a continuous curve rather than uneven, but is only a small part you have photographed.

 

But you have pictured the wear indicators (the small triangle marks these) and it appears they are very close to the surface (the bumps in the longitudinal grooves in line with the marker triangle).  As these mark the absolute minimum legal tread depth tyres are close to needing replacement anyway.

 

Very sensible to put all seasons on, rather than summer tyres.

 

 

Those are the old fronts so they were more worn on one edge. They've switched the original backs back again and it does seem quieter now. Not sure how much longer they'll last but they look ok now?

6 hours ago, KenONeill said:

It's hard to tell sawtooth from pictures. If you run your hand both ways round the circumference and feel steps that are more pronounced when your hand is moving in the direction of rotation than against it. that's sawtooth.

 

Would it be all the way round or just in one place? I can feel some bumps but not all the way round.

Nice new fronts 😀

10 minutes ago, Eeeekkk said:

 

Would it be all the way round or just in one place? I can feel some bumps but not all the way round.

There's no hard and fast rule either way on that with anti-lock equipped cars (which would be pretty much all of them these days).

21 hours ago, Eeeekkk said:

They could get some Falken all season tyres in by tomorrow

 

Have you now got All Season Falken on the front and Summer Dunlop on the rear?

 

Thanks AG Falco

Yep. I did ask the garage if that was ok and they said yes.

12 hours ago, AGFalco said:

 

Have you now got All Season Falken on the front and Summer Dunlop on the rear?

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

11 hours ago, Eeeekkk said:

Yep. I did ask the garage if that was ok and they said yes.

Well, that looks like the sort of fun that leads to uncommanded  panoramic views of your surroundings in Winter!

22 hours ago, Eeeekkk said:

Yep. I did ask the garage if that was ok and they said yes.

 

Get them to look at this demonstration then ask them again.

The Falken All Season tyres have got the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake Symbol on them.

 

 

Thanks AG Falco

Edited 4 September, 20196 yr by AGFalco
Added Falken TPMSS bit.

@Eeeekkk you need to stop asking this tyre place for advice.

 

You should never mix all-seasons and summer tyres front to back for what I’d have thought would be obvious reasons as @KenONeill has alluded to!

 

Any professional tyre fitter would never recommend putting new tyres on the front axle whilst keeping the part-worn ones on the back! If you have to swerve suddenly you don’t want the back end swinging out.

 

Do yourself a favour and do some research on tyres / best practices with them. Tyres are a safety critical part of your car and that tyre reviews website has pretty much all the info you need to swot up - A bonus is their videos are pretty interesting I think.

12 hours ago, AGFalco said:

 

Get them to look at this demonstration then ask them again.

The Falken All Season tyres have got the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake Symbol on them.

 

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

The video is mixing winter and summer, which is a step further than all season and summer.  It is also on packed snow (rare in UK)

 

Whilst a mix is not ideal, I too did it for 9 months with all seasons on front in November and backs not changed to last month.  No problems in 9 months.   

 

The all seasons do tend tend to work similarly to summer tyres in wet or dry, but perhaps not on packed snow (we didn’t have any in those 9 months).    

 

On balance moving to 2 good all seasons is probably better than some of the rubbish combinations fitted by some tyre fitters, 4 random tyres (often budget tyres) all with different characteristics.  

 

@SurreyJohn

 

The point is that during winter you need  rubber on the ground on all 4 corners that is designed to work in cold temperatures when that 3 year old steps out in front of you at 30 MPH, or when you're mid-corner in a country B road and suddenly you’re met with Jack the lad coming the other way at a rate of knots on “the racing line”.

 

If you have summers on, don’t expect your stopping distance to be too great. If you have a mix of summers and all-seasons on, the same is still true, but with the added bonus of loss of traction on one axle well before the other if you have to swerve or in a corner already.

 

Just because you “had no problems” doesn’t mean it’s not a bad idea (which to your credit you do hint at): You need tyres to excel during an emergency.

 

 I never understand why some people, some of whom are mechanically minded, think buying budget tyres is fine on the basis that they perform OK in normal circumstances.

 

 

Edited 5 September, 20196 yr by DJ_EFK

Hello,

I am about to buy summer tyes for my Fabia 3 Estate and I have to choose between 3 variants:

1)  Michelin 185/60 R15 84H      TL PRIMACY 4 MI, 068 dB, weight 7.2kg

2)  Michelin 185/60 R15 88H XL TL PRIMACY 4 MI, 069 dB, weight 7.3kg

3)  Michelin 185/60 R15 84T       TL PRIMACY 4 MI, 068 dB, weight 7.2kg

All have RR=C and WG=A (Rolling resistance, Wet grip).

Variants 1 and 3 have the same price and 2 is just a little bit more expensive, so the price is not a selection criterion.

Variant 3 falls because it is similar to variant 1 only it has a lower speed index.

 

It remains to choose between 1 and 2.

Variant 2 are the most resistant. Anyway, I will not use them for more than 5-6 years, but I think that it may help you in certain situations: a road hole taken harder, a nail, etc. (and another tire would be damaged or explode ...)

Option 1 is better at the noise level and is a little lighter (so lower consumption).

The differences between 1 and 2 I think are still small - I do not know if they would be noticeable in real life.

What do you think, what would you choose?

30 minutes ago, Alex_ said:

Hello,

I am about to buy summer tyes for my Fabia 3 Estate and I have to choose between 3 variants:

1)  Michelin 185/60 R15 84H      TL PRIMACY 4 MI, 068 dB, weight 7.2kg

2)  Michelin 185/60 R15 88H XL TL PRIMACY 4 MI, 069 dB, weight 7.3kg

3)  Michelin 185/60 R15 84T       TL PRIMACY 4 MI, 068 dB, weight 7.2kg

All have RR=C and WG=A (Rolling resistance, Wet grip).

Variants 1 and 3 have the same price and 2 is just a little bit more expensive, so the price is not a selection criterion.

Variant 3 falls because it is similar to variant 1 only it has a lower speed index.

 

It remains to choose between 1 and 2.

Variant 2 are the most resistant. Anyway, I will not use them for more than 5-6 years, but I think that it may help you in certain situations: a road hole taken harder, a nail, etc. (and another tire would be damaged or explode ...)

Option 1 is better at the noise level and is a little lighter (so lower consumption).

The differences between 1 and 2 I think are still small - I do not know if they would be noticeable in real life.

What do you think, what would you choose?

 

These are summer tyres. They don't work as well as all-season or winter tyres below 7 degrees centigrade.

 

If you like Michelin tyres, maybe look at Michelin's all-season CrossClimate+ or Michelin's winter Alpin 6.

 

I would go for 84T or 84H. However, sometimes Michelin only offers XL in certain models and sizes, so you won't always have a choice other than going to another make.

 

185/60R15 has a good amount of sidewall height so isn't so prone to being damaged by potholes as lower profile tyres. If a nail was to puncture a 84H it would also puncture a 88H XL.

 

If your roads are very bad, you might want to look at 175/70R14 tyres fitted to 5Jx14 ET35 rims. These will only fit the Fabia if the front discs are no bigger than 256mm outside diameter. 288mm outside diameter front discs need at least 15" rims. Non-standard oversize 185/65R15 is also an option as the sidewall height is 9.25mm more than the standard 185/60R15. 185/65R15 is a cheaper size than 185/60R15 and more comfortable and better at absorbing potholes due to the bigger sidewalls.

 

Edited 7 January, 20215 yr by Carlston

Thanks for your answer Carlston!

 

Yes, these are summer tyres ! I will buy them in this period but I will use them in summer.

 

Do you think that a 1 db difference (from 68 to 69 db) can be noticeable?

I understand that being  a logaritmic (not liniar) variation, a 3 db difference would translate into approximately double the levels of perceived noise.

 

I don't know if you would notice the difference, but Michelin's noise meter would.

 

The Michelin Primacy 4's in size 185/60R15 have rim protection which makes the ride harder.

 

Michelin Primacy 4 in size 185/60R15 shown with rim protection

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&pdp_alt=2&suchen=Search+for+tyres&live_chat=125&m_s=3&cart_id=tReyWyZog6djv4rq.110.732291735&sowigan=So&Breite=185&Quer=60&S_Z=&Felge=15&Speed=&Load=&Marke=Michelin&kategorie=6&filter_preis_von=&filter_preis_bis=&homologation=

 

Edited 7 January, 20215 yr by Carlston

On 01/09/2019 at 17:51, AGFalco said:

And do the inside edges have a sawtooth pattern to them?

 

Thanks AG Falco

I've got Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (same as Eeeek did) and i've got horrible sawtoothing on the inside edge of the rears. Haven't had any issue with any other tyres. The noise drives me mad after i swapped the front and rear pairs, it's as if the front wheel bearings have suddenly failed lol.

 

I tried to cure it with limited success by finding a remote bit of road and doing one massive smokey burnout. It did reduce the noise a little but i think my lungs and throat are much worse for wear after doing that! Next time i'll have to turn on recirc before doing it... 😂

 

I'm hoping that these tyres last me until i've got the rest of the suspension upgrades sorted so I can have it laser aligned and know it's all spot on and wont ruin the new tyres (got a set of michelin ps4 on the way).

 

I feel part of the sawtooth issue is that i've fitted eibach springs & bilstein shocks on the rear (where the noisy tyres came from), the only thing that should have changed though is the ride height, as nothing else seems adjustable (i didnt touch the pivot bushes yet, but i do have some poly's to go in there soon) maybe the geometry changes as the ride height does? Seems an odd way to do it in my opinion but hey.

On 01/09/2019 at 17:51, AGFalco said:

And do the inside edges have a sawtooth pattern to them?

 

Thanks AG Falco

I've got Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (same as Eeeek did) and i've got horrible sawtoothing on the inside edge of the rears. Haven't had any issue with any other tyres. The noise drives me mad after i swapped the front and rear pairs, it's as if the front wheel bearings have suddenly failed lol.

 

I tried to cure it with limited success by finding a remote bit of road and doing one massive smokey burnout. It did reduce the noise a little but i think my lungs and throat are much worse for wear after doing that! Next time i'll have to turn on recirc before doing it... 😂

 

I'm hoping that these tyres last me until i've got the rest of the suspension upgrades sorted so I can have it laser aligned and know it's all spot on and wont ruin the new tyres (got a set of michelin ps4 on the way).

 

I feel part of the sawtooth issue is that i've fitted eibach springs & bilstein shocks on the rear (where the noisy tyres came from), the only thing that should have changed though is the ride height, as nothing else seems adjustable (i didnt touch the pivot bushes yet, but i do have some poly's to go in there soon) maybe the geometry changes as the ride height does? Seems an odd way to do it in my opinion but hey.

On 01/09/2019 at 17:51, AGFalco said:

And do the inside edges have a sawtooth pattern to them?

 

Thanks AG Falco

I've got Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (same as Eeeek did) and i've got horrible sawtoothing on the inside edge of the rears. Haven't had any issue with any other tyres. The noise drives me mad after i swapped the front and rear pairs, it's as if the front wheel bearings have suddenly failed lol.

 

I tried to cure it with limited success by finding a remote bit of road and doing one massive smokey burnout. It did reduce the noise a little but i think my lungs and throat are much worse for wear after doing that! Next time i'll have to turn on recirc before doing it... 😂

 

I'm hoping that these tyres last me until i've got the rest of the suspension upgrades sorted so I can have it laser aligned and know it's all spot on and wont ruin the new tyres (got a set of michelin ps4 on the way).

 

I feel part of the sawtooth issue is that i've fitted eibach springs & bilstein shocks on the rear (where the noisy tyres came from), the only thing that should have changed though is the ride height, as nothing else seems adjustable (i didnt touch the pivot bushes yet, but i do have some poly's to go in there soon) maybe the geometry changes as the ride height does? Seems an odd way to do it in my opinion but hey.

17 hours ago, FabiaGonzales said:

maybe the geometry changes as the ride height does?

Quite normal on most cars, especially the camber.

 

 

To stop the sawtooth build up you can try this:-

 

Don't fit directional tyres.

Fit new tyres to the rear if you are buying two.

If it is fronts you are replacing then move the rears to the front.

Rotate your tyres from side to side twice a year.

 

Thanks, AG Falco