tyres.

[skattrd]

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/

Has some all seasons in that size for £35 - 40 a piece, add £5-10  a piece to get em fitted, so £40-50 a piece.

 

These are what I have ... http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=13219610.110.29107&sowigan=GAN&Breite=185&Quer=60&Felge=14&Speed=&kategorie=6&Marke=&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&search_tool=standard&Label=E-E-69-1&details=Ordern&typ=R-207006

[The Moog]

Cheers. I can get set of remoulds for £120 plus £20 fitting at local place. I think the car may be sold in April time so don't want to spend that much.

[Bren]

I had cheapo primewell / triangle on my vectra.

 

Lethal in the wet with as much grip as Stephen Hawking's fingers.

 

Replaced them with Falken's - only mid range but much better.

[Richard]

I've done about 45k on the original tyres on my RWD Transit, which is driven like a white van should be and weighs 3200kg with me and my gear on board. My last Transit was FWD and I'd have got 100k out of one of the back tyres if it hadn't blown out on the A90 at 90k.

[drum]

I know naff all about gaylanders but if they are permanent 4x4 that won't help tyre wear.

 

On the subject of tracking, I took the alfa in for new tyres after I fitted new upper wishbones and asked them to check the tracking while it was in. Apparently it was well out which was no surprise. Last weekend, I was changing a broken drop link and there are no signs of the track rod ends having been touched. Is there another way of changing the tracking I don't know about?

[Junkman]

Yes, he is an arsehole. But when he is right, he is right:

 

http://www.topgear.com/uk/jeremy-clarkson/jeremy-clarkson-on-tyres-2012-05-22

 

Besides, the RoD was most fun to drive, when it was still on 30 year old Fulda Diadems.

It also sounded like in the Sweeney when going 'round a roundabout.

 

Apart from that, there is only one thing that interests me, when it comes to tyres.

The Pirelli Calendar.

[hazzalandy]

Due to parents not being shite converts, I can observe that new Freelancer 2's on a diet of 5 a day ( 5 miles) with a twice weekly motorway blatt, will devour the continental conti conts that were fitted from new. Only 3,000 miles managed on the set of fronts!

[richardmorris]

Michelin are poor now, but try telling that to some in the Citroen car club and you may as well be denouncing the second coming. I put continentals on the merc when I bought it, but wasn't thrilled with them, so have now gone with goodyear.

[Tayne]

RWD is better?

 

Well I bought the BMW 2.5 years ago and have done a fairly average 30k miles.

I reckon about 20k were on the Cont Sport Contact 3s it arrived on. The fronts (225/40r18) have 6mm of tread left and the rears (255/35r18) are looking rather worn but still reasonably legal.

The other 10k was on the 17" winters and they don't seem to have worn at all.

 

And I'm not know for hanging about.

[320touring]

RWD is better?

 

Well I bought the BMW 2.5 years ago and have done a fairly average 30k miles.

I reckon about 20k were on the Cont Sport Contact 3s it arrived on. The fronts (225/40r18) have 6mm of tread left and the rears (255/35r18) are looking rather worn but still reasonably legal.

The other 10k was on the 17" winters and they don't seem to have worn at all.

 

And I'm not know for hanging about.

Aye, ya kept me honest in the 316i;)

 

Bmws are not too heavy on their tyres unless cornering quickly enough to start to melt the rubber. Then its fun..once did a set of nexxen rears on an e34 535 in 2hrs.properly mullered

[Albert Ross]

Tested a 4 year old Astra today. Original Goodyears all round, 36,400 or so miles, and still had 3.5mm on the fronts. I know they're the original tyres by the date stamps.

[HillmanImp]

Everything was better in 1986.

 

Not in Chernobyl it wasn't.

 

The tyres I have on the Visa are so hard they can probably cut glass. I need to order some new ones desperately especially now its taking on daily driver duty. Not really bothered about wear I just need something safer, they really are horrid boots on it at the moment. Might sort this out tomorrow.

 

Although I might see what tyres the spare wheels in the garage have on first. 

[DS20]

Saab: about 30,000 miles on the front axle, and 40,000 miles on the back (Continentals)

 

Range Rover: 45,000 miles to a set of Pirellis (both axles)

 

VW: 22,000 miles on the front axle, and 35,000 on the back (Dunlops)

 

Citroen: dunno exact details, but the tyres (Michelin) last AGES.

 

None of them are tyre-chewers, really - they're all pretty good.

[forddeliveryboy]

 The 2CV eats tyres, but then I thrash the absolute knackers off it almost constantly. 

 

 

It really shouldn't - I know these things backwards and unless something's knackered or wrong they should last reasonably well even when you drive to end it all, all the time. Think about it, the car weighs 700kg ish and has 30hp to use.

 

Plenty of late ones even when unworn, unrotten and on the right chassis wore their tyres fast, though. Over-flexible suspension arms (crap steel), even when all pointing straight ahead, aren't very good at making the things handle at all well. You've made light of my comments about crappy late 2cvs in the past, dw, but I'm afraid it's all true. There wasn't a decent one made after '85, and plenty before that which weren't.

 

Loads of people think these cars understeer like a bastard until they try one which is made from decent steel, not rotten or mechanically shagged, on a good chassis and which is either as it came out of the factory or rebuilt and set up by someone who knows. I once drove a car before and after a total rebuild by some legend in the 2cv world in Lincolnshire, it was sweet as sweet before and as unpleasant as rotting fish afterwards.

 

When they're right they're so sweet, when not they must be the nastiest car in the world which a load of 'enthusiasts' conveniently ignore, because theirs is shiny/rare/expensive/different. Aftermarket chassis and casually re-welded bodies play havoc with torsional characteristics - fundamental to a sweet-natured little Cit.

[forddeliveryboy]

Are remoulds any good? Or to be avoided? Need some tyres for civic and dont want to spend the earth.

 

There's a German company which uses Conti, Michelin and Pirelli carcasses only (I think it's those three, if not Pirelli then some other decent make) for its all weather retreaded tyres. They're barely over £60 a pair for 195-65-15s, delivered - and they're bloody brilliant. They make a tyre which costs twice as much feel cheap, although the tread won't last as long as some hard-compound thing, obviously. Have a look on mytyres.

 

On the other hand, instead of buying those this year when needing another pair for winter, I checked another website and found a pair of Vredesteins at  barely any more, so given my location and this years potential for nastiness, according to rumour, blew another £9.

[danthecapriman]

When I worked in a garage we used to fit Avon tyres. It amazed me how quick these wore down as they were/are a good tyre, they just didn't seem to last very long, even on normal family type cars with old proper sized side walls.

 

I can't say I've had much trouble personally with tyres. I had a set of Perelli P6000's on my old Volvo 740 and they lasted well. So I've tended to favour them a bit. I've had some newer type of Perelli's fitted to my Granada and it seems good on them and they are lasting ok.

The only thing I've had issues with was old rwd Transits, wearing out the inner edges of the front tyres. seems more to do with the van though as the make of tyre and tracking doesn't seem to make much difference.

Speaking of Transits, my current mk2 still had its original fronts fitted when I bought it! They were about 28 yrs old when I had them changed! Loads of tread left but really hard and smoothe rubber and the side walls were all perished. The grip was horrific, even for an old Transit it was scary to drive! Replaced by a pair of C rated Hankooks, which seem pretty decent.

 

As others have said, I think most of the trouble is down to our roads falling apart, stupid low profile tyres on everything, excessive weight in moderns and people can't be arsed/don't know how to check and adjust the pressures.

[forddeliveryboy]

The inherent twisting of the geometry on the back of a Golf-like torsion beam can wreak havoc with wide tyres - it was designed when a 175/70/13 was a low-profile, sports tyre. Stick a 225-50-16 or even a boggo standard 205-55-16 on and the inside of the tread can start to feather badly. I know one bloke who almost replaced a rear wheel bearing before he found out it was the tyre.

[twosmoke300]

Are the girls on the pirelli calendar noisy ,hard and perished like the tyres are ? Oh and slippy when wet ?

[UmBongo]

Poorer quality cotton in pants and shirts.

 

Poorer standard of ingredients in chocolate and biscuits.

 

Poorer quality rubber in tyres and other well known rubber products.

 

Blame Georgy Porgy - everyone else does.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Apart from that, there is only one thing that interests me, when it comes to tyres.

The Pirelli Calendar.

 

Neither their tyres nor their calendars are what they used to be...

 

When I bought my 214 it still had two of the original, 1994 vintage, British-made, 47K mile P2000s ! I immediately replaced them, for fear of dying, but don't expect the "low noise", "fuel saving" WanQings that I bought to last anywhere as long as the Pirellis.

[HH-R]

I never really keep a car long enough for tyre wear to be an issue, end up buying a car with the most terrible mismatched shit on it so they all get binned and a decent set of mid ranges out on.

 

I've got Uniroyal RainExperts on at the moment and they're bloody good grip wise. They're 13/85/155s on a light car with no power so might last a while. Only done about 3k so far so hard to tell wear rate, I suspect the car will be moved on before I wear them out though.

 

I have noticed in the last couple of years garages just saying the car is fine and giving it back just as bad as it went in. Either they don't check their work or don't check anything at all. My car wanders like a drunk on a dual carriageway and needs constant correction which is hugely irritating. I had the tracking done with the tyres because I didn't want them to be ruined, got somewhere else to check out the suspension (drop link was replaced) and hoped that something would be picked up on the MOT but nothing found, it's no better than it was beforehand.

[Wackeldackel]

At the moment I'm driving on 4 continental winter contact tyres (inherited from previous owner) All are date stamped 2006 and all have 4-5mm left on them. They will see me through this winter in Germany and quite probably next winter in the UK. A couple of plug repairs and a dodgy valve replaced, but no complaints. Strictly speaking I should replace these tyres, but I'm loath to as they are all still in fine fettle, sidewalls crack free, and the little frilly bits on the tread that mark them out as winter tyres (there's a proper word for it but I've forgotten) all still looking good, no splits or uneven wear.

 

On the other hand I was a bit disappointed in the summer when I bought a brand new set of Fulda EcoSport summer tyres 205/60/15 for my newly painted alloy wheels. First of all I'd have expected them to be made in Germany (Fulda is a town in Germany known for the tyre firm) but instead these were made in Thailand. Secondly I found them to be very very soft, they would pick up chippings like you wouldn't believe. Even on cooler days and in drizzle they still seemed to be "picking up". Only had them on for 8 weeks before changing to winter tyres and wheels but I don't expect them to last more than another summer.

[Grundig]

In the good old daze, tyres were always SR or HR rated Low profile was 185/70X13, the bollocks. The tread was good in rain n snow n ice and everything.

.

I'll downsize and next time go back to something with 13 inch rims and the world will be a better place.

 

^^ well I've made a start in making the world a better place 

 

 

185/70x13 

[gordonbennet]

At the moment I'm driving on 4 continental winter contact tyres (inherited from previous owner) All are date stamped 2006 and all have 4-5mm left on them. They will see me through this winter in Germany and quite probably next winter in the UK. A couple of plug repairs and a dodgy valve replaced, but no complaints. Strictly speaking I should replace these tyres, but I'm loath to as they are all still in fine fettle, sidewalls crack free, and the little frilly bits on the tread that mark them out as winter tyres (there's a proper word for it but I've forgotten) all still looking good, no splits or uneven wear.

 

On the other hand I was a bit disappointed in the summer when I bought a brand new set of Fulda EcoSport summer tyres 205/60/15 for my newly painted alloy wheels. First of all I'd have expected them to be made in Germany (Fulda is a town in Germany known for the tyre firm) but instead these were made in Thailand. Secondly I found them to be very very soft, they would pick up chippings like you wouldn't believe. Even on cooler days and in drizzle they still seemed to be "picking up". Only had them on for 8 weeks before changing to winter tyres and wheels but I don't expect them to last more than another summer.

 

Frilly bits...sipes?

[Pete-M]

We get 18k on average from the OE Michelin / Dunlop / Contis on the cars in work.

 

The Westlake / Longlomg / Wanli jobs that replace them tend to last 10k, are noisier and don't grip as well.

 

Zafiras got through front tyres every 8-10k no matter what make they were.

[Wackeldackel]

Frilly bits...sipes?

Indeed, thankyou

[brickwall]

My Rover 25 had wee fat tyres and I never had to change them in 4 years. Michelin.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

My Chrysler weighed almost 2 tonnes had 425lb/ft of torque and I'm always in a hurry ,yet the Avons I put on because I was a bit skint and they were only £100 each instead of £160 of P7s ,lasted 40,00 miles on the front and were still legal on the back after 60,000 miles. They weren't the last word in wet grip admittedly, a mate once said 'This thing is like a big fat mk2 Escort' after a spirited(showing off) drive .

The 5 Series I replaced it with has just got an advise on inner wear on the rears after only 12,000 miles, they're Bridgestone Potenza run flats and seem to lose traction at every junction even in the dry.

Old shite never seems to wear out tyres,probably because they do so few miles and I drive them like Miss Daisey.

[stephen01]

Had two bridgstone on the front of the CRV, lasted less than 10k and cost me £120 a tyre, just had to replace them (tuesday) ready for MOT, Now the CRV is not a hot hatch, it's a 140 odd BHP diesel, but my lord these were lethal in the wet. 

 

I've opted for Westlake (ditchfinders) but after giving the car a decent drive I've got to say they seem very good. a few brake tests and I can honestly say so far I'm impressed. 

[dollywobbler]

It really shouldn't - I know these things backwards and unless something's knackered or wrong they should last reasonably well even when you drive to end it all, all the time. Think about it, the car weighs 700kg ish and has 30hp to use.

 

Plenty of late ones even when unworn, unrotten and on the right chassis wore their tyres fast, though. Over-flexible suspension arms (crap steel), even when all pointing straight ahead, aren't very good at making the things handle at all well. You've made light of my comments about crappy late 2cvs in the past, dw, but I'm afraid it's all true. There wasn't a decent one made after '85, and plenty before that which weren't.

 

Ok. 'Eats tyres' may be overstating it a bit. I do get confused as well as I do rotate them, so I can't always recall when a tyre was purchased. I'm pretty sure I put a pair of Toyos on three years ago and they're now in the bin though as I've not long put another set on it. I do think the tracking is slightly out, but then I am prone to power understeer on damp roundabouts...

 

I must also concede that now mine has almost 200,000 miles on it, I would like to try one in near-factory condition. I don't buy your 'all after 1985 are crap' rule though. Post '88s certainly had issues with the nearside suspension arm wearing, leading to atrocious tyre wear (only the nearside oddly) but there were good ones too. They aren't all ruined by having a replacement chassis under them either. If they were, I doubt the race boys would use them.