I've just bought a nice 17 plate Superb 220 SE Executive. It is fitted with RoadX tyres which are a Chinese brand. They aren't very good in the wet...

Any recommendations for decent ones? I'm thinking Michelin or Goodyear. Size is 235/45/18.

I'm using cross climates in that size and they are perfectly respectable in all conditions. Not a performance summer tyre nor a fully fledged winter. Safe in all conditions though and perfect for a daily. If after something more performance related, Goodyear eagle f1 get mentioned a fair bit on here or Michelin pilot sports.

3 hours ago, matchmaker said:

I've just bought a nice 17 plate Superb 220 SE Executive. It is fitted with RoadX tyres which are a Chinese brand. They aren't very good in the wet...

Any recommendations for decent ones? I'm thinking Michelin or Goodyear. Size is 235/45/18.

 

Are you going to be using them all year round, including temperatures below 7 degrees Centigrade?

 

If so, you need at least all-season tyres. All-season tyres have the 3PMSF (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake) symbol which you can see in the photo below.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_tire#/media/File:Winter_tires_with_North_American_symbol.jpg

 

Having a 3PMSF symbol means that the tyre has passed tests for good traction in the snow.

 

There aren't that many top brands that make good all-season tyres. This is because a lot of research and development (and money) is needed to produce a tyre that doesn't have any big weaknesses in any conditions. Saying that, no tyre works well on sheet ice unless it's a studded tyre, or perhaps a nordic tyre. A nordic tyre is a special type of winter tyre that is made of rubber that stays flexible at very cold temperatures. You might use this in very cold winter countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, etc. You wouldn't use it much further south because once the temperature rises much above about 7 degrees Centigrade the rubber would overheat.

 

Good brands that make good all-season tyres include in alphabetical order: Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Goodyear, Hankook, Michelin, Vredestein.

 

BF Goodrich, Kleber, and Nokian are good winter focused all-season tyres. So although good in winter conditions, their summer performance leaves something to be desired. To some extent, these three makes of all-season tyres are a bit like winter tyres in that their summer performance is not so good.

 

235/45R18 is not a common size, so there's very limited choice of all-season tyres in this size, and what is available is expensive. For these reasons you might want to consider going up 10mm in width to 245/45R18. The outside diameter of 245/45R18 is about 1.3% bigger than the standard 235/45R18, but up to 1.5% difference is rarely considered a problem.

 

Michelin CrossClimate 2 245/45R18 96Y

 

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m141b0s8826p208551/Michelin_Tyres_All_Season_Car_Michelin_Cross_Climate_2_-_245_45_R18_96Y_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_B_NoiseClass%3A_B_Noise%3A_71dB

 

https://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/michelin/crossclimate-2/245/45/R18/Y/96/m?tyre=42160849

 

Edited 17 December, 20214 yr by Carlston

Thanks for the comments so far - very helpful. The car is remapped - it has 285bhp and 448Nm and can currently trigger the traction control on a damp road at 60mph - yes, a 4x4 would have been nice, but I couldn't find one in my price range!

 

I'll have to decide between an all-weather or a good summer tyre. I'm now retired, so don't make too many longish journeys. However, the in-laws live in Inverness which is 150 miles away on the A9 over a 1514 feet summit at Drumochter!

33 minutes ago, matchmaker said:

Thanks for the comments so far - very helpful. The car is remapped - it has 285bhp and 448Nm and can currently trigger the traction control on a damp road at 60mph - yes, a 4x4 would have been nice, but I couldn't find one in my price range!

 

I'll have to decide between an all-weather or a good summer tyre. I'm now retired, so don't make too many longish journeys. However, the in-laws live in Inverness which is 150 miles away on the A9 over a 1514 feet summit at Drumochter!

 

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 in size 245/45R18 should be ideal for the 285HP. Wide and very grippy in difficult conditions.

 

Summer tyres are good in warm weather above about 7 degrees Centigrade. Below that temperature the rubber hardens and their performance falls off a cliff.

 

The braking distance for a summer tyre can increase by about 40% when the temperature drops from 20 degrees Centigrade to about 2-3 degrees Centrigrade. A braking distance of 25m in the warmer weather suddenly becomes a much longer 35m in cold weather. The class leading Bridgestone all-season tyre (class leading for cold wet weather braking) went from a braking distance of about 28m in the warm weather to about 29m in the cold weather, ie. the braking distance hardly changed from warm to cold.

 

2021 All-Season Tyre Test Video

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2021-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

 

Edited 17 December, 20214 yr by Carlston

I put on some all season Pirelli SF2. Cannot fault them.  Nice & comfortable / quiet too