The Lifespan Of A Ditchfinder

[Isaac Hunt]

Our MGZR came to us is 2013 equipped with a different ditchfinder on all four corners, always a sign of a truly cherished car.

 

The OSR looked to have been a recent edition at the time of purchase based on look and tread depth.

 

The two fronts were soon shot as a failed track rod end had resulted in some toe out and by MOT time, the tyres were passed it on the inner edge.   The NSR was replaced shortly after.

 

The replacement front tyres were moved to the rear as the wear cut in.  The OSR had hardly worn even after some 30,000 on the rear. So at the same time is was deployed to the OSF where some 20,000 later it is still not on the 2mm bars.   I don't think i've ever had a tyre last 50000 miles, not even a long life Meechalunn

 

To be honest, it doesn't seem too bad on grip, although if you push it hard in the wet, I think it fair to say that understeer is not hard to induce, not surprising given it must be made out of some tough rubber.  Having said that, my test was on a tight roundabout and chances are there was plenty of diesel down there. 

 

And the brand, an Accelera Alpha

 

[Richard]

One of the factory-fit Hankooks on my first Transit had plenty of life on it at 80k and would probably have made 100k if the useless garage hadn't mixed it up with somebody else's wheel during a service. Completely frictionless though.

[unclecalzone]

I'm lucky to see 15k on a set of fronts these days, using kuhmos or Toyo but then they are probably soft as butter.

I remember the Camac auriga - tyre of choice for those for of us who needed an odd size like 185/55 on a 13 inch rim or something equally weird (as in the rover metro gti) . Poor in the dry and utterly lethal in the wet quite, simply the worst tyre I've ever used when it was raining - how they passed tyre testing for eu certification is beyond me.

That said you could not wear them out though, the rubber they were made of was probably 90% recycled plastic which made them unkillable 40-50k easily achieved with 2/3s of the tread still to go.

I still managed a track day on a set which they shrugged off without any real wear. A friend decided to fit some to his mk1 escort which made for much terror crossed with fun on a wet round about

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sierraman]

I always liked Avons, quite a hefty wear rate but they held on and had a nice progressive break away. Not as good as Barums though, I've driven hard on these tyres and they've never failed me, predictable, wear nice and even and tend to last a fair while.

 

Thing is it's alright them lasting a while but if they put you in a ditch when you need them they're no fucking good.

[unclecalzone]

Aren't barum an arm of continental? Run Avon zz5 on the wife's car, can't field them in the wet or dry not that her car has the power to really provoke them to much but still.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rml2345]

I stuck four Barums on my 740 and they were ace. Gripped well and came in slightly old fashioned size like 185/70 on 14s.

Of the budget rubber Landsails are pretty good but most of the rest are teflon grip plastihoops and only good if you'd like to have a crash.

[Hendry]

I've got 3 brand new Barum Bravuris 3HMs on the Jetta in 225/45/17 94Y and they are fucking shocking, the thing spins into 2nd gear in the wet with the traction control on, they must not be able to handle the torque from a car with a maximum figure of 320nm. Even on roundabouts in the wet coming off the front end goes really slidey like it's got no grip. I've used budgets in the past with names I've never heard of and they've performed better than this junk.

 

If it had to be budget it'd be Nexens or Hankook although Hankook are not the budget or even mid range price they used to be, they aren't far off the price of big name tyres like Michelin, Contis, Goodyear and Dunlop.

 

Best tyres ive had so far are Continetal ContiSportContact 2s, a lot to be said for buying the best tyres you can afford, maybe doesn't matter quite as much on a 60bhp Fiesta but on something with a decent amount of power and torque like a modern diesel it really makes a huge difference to driveability especially if you don't drive like a granny, can't wait till these fuckers have worn out so I can replace with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3s, first car I've had in years which has a tyre size they do these tyres in.

[Cavcraft]

I had some awful looking (and handling) WankFiddle Broomstick Cateye things that just wouldn't die. I eneded up keeping them for a couple of years and just swapping them onto the next BX I bought. I swear the tread depth never seemed to budge a single millemeter. In the end I left them on a car I was selling, after a trouser browningly close incident on a roundabout off the M53 in the wet.

[Lacquer Peel]

Westlake = gr8 4 drifting a Xantia 1.9D.

 

The Berlingo needs a couple of new tyres, no idea what to go for. The local tyre place does Kumhos fitted for £36 each - I don't think I need commercial tyres really.

[cort1977]

Oe spec lada niva tyres are made of depleted uranium or something. The spare on my niva honestly looked more like black plastic than a normal tyre. god knows what they grip like as I never had to use it thankfully.

[xtriple]

Was never bothered about tyres for cars, so long as black, round and squiggly bits aplenty, happy times. Bikes, only the best and that varied. However, the Bentley now has posh Michelins all round to replace the barely worn Nexen tyres that cracked. The difference is night and day! These are quiet, grip like nothing on Earth and response is precise and accurate - even the mechanic that delivered it back yesterday commented on them, again, saying how good they are and so much better than standard Avons.

 

I used to get wheelspin all the time and had the sod sideways more than once just in damp conditions. Now it feels planted and safe as though you could tip the world upside down and the car would still hang on!

[Guest Hooli]

Westlake = gr8 4 drifting a Xantia 1.9D.

 

The Berlingo needs a couple of new tyres, no idea what to go for. The local tyre place does Kumhos fitted for £36 each - I don't think I need commercial tyres really.

 

I suspect your insurance could be an issue if you don't fit a manufacturer recommended spec of tyre.

[Lacquer Peel]

Like most elderly small commercial vehicles, it's riding on a mix of passenger car tyres. Its rated payload is only 600kg.

[twosmoke300]

Commercial tyres seem to last longer and have tougher sidewalls

[cort1977]

As long as the load rating is up to original spec then there is no insurance issue with non-commercial tyres.

[155V6]

Can you get commercial tyres in 205/45 17 size?,as that's what my MG uses 

[Hendry]

Looking at tyres online, does the fuel efficiency rating on them accurately reflect real world?

 

The ones I'm looking at are C rated for fuel and A rated for wet grip.

 

The other thing is even on tyreleader the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 is £70.37 base price. The likes of National Tyres and even Shit Fit are doing them for £81.50 fully fitted, including nirogen inflation, valve, balancing and tyre disposal. Has tyre leader suddenly got expensive or have the fast fit places suddenly realised they are ripping people off and lowered their prices?

[r.welfare]

The whole rating system for fuel economy and wet weather grip isn't policed as far as I am aware which is why a lot of the ditch finders show good scores.

 

Tyreleader is based in Germany - the post Brexit exchange rate will explain the price rises.

[Guest Hooli]

Like most elderly small commercial vehicles, it's riding on a mix of passenger car tyres. Its rated payload is only 600kg.

 

Just wondered as my ex's Caddy needs commercial tyres & that's only a 860kg payload.

[twosmoke300]

For mot purposes only class 7 needs commercial tyres

[Bren]

We had a R5 GT turbo that had a colway remould on the back - it never wore but in the wet has as much grip as one of things in arcades that grabs the teddies then drops them.

[gordonbennet]

When i bought the current Landcruiser it had a set of new tyres recently fitted so well over 7mm each, bit pissed off really cos well they is Nankangs and i bloody can't stand Chinese tyres all due to previous experience.

 

I want to hate the things cos any excuse to get shot, but the bloody things stick like shit to a blanket in the wet, WTF? thats goes against everything i've ever found before, decently quiet too with smooth ride, had to eat me words, maybe the motor's soft suspenders suits 'em, i dunno.

They're bloody great 265/65 x 17s and still showing no signs of wearing or slipping, anything half decent is £100+ in that size so for once until the bloody things show signs of slippage might as well run them, probably years.

[FakeConcern]

Conversely I have 18 inch Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my C4 VTS. In the cold and wet they are crap.

Also they last less than 10K so I'm on my 4th set.

[gordonbennet]

Conversely I have 18 inch Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my C4 VTS. In the cold and wet they are crap.

Also they last less than 10K so I'm on my 4th set.

Had them in 195/45 x 16 on the C2VTS Diesel SWMBO had for a couple of years, bloody awful, noisy, torque steer (mind you remapped a tad) and hard ride, but to be fair they did grip well.

Swapped 'em for a set of Vredestein Sportrac, completely different car improved in every way.

[r.welfare]

I wouldn't class Nankangs as ditchfinders, nor Kumhos or Hankooks. They're midrange.

[CreepingJesus]

Was just pondering this today, while changing my week old Barum Bravuris at the side of the road, because it had picked up a nail in the recycling centre. Not a bad tyre at all, especially for the price. Hopefully it's fixable. Couldn't have been the Hwa-Fong Slidemaster (copyright: Performance Bikes of yore) on the OSR that makes getting boost on out of left hand bends much more interesting* than right handers, could it. Should really get decent tyres for the Turbo Brick's drive end, but I'm a miserable bastard and commie sympathiser, so Barums will do.

Landsails are a good shout if you're not overly burdened with power or racing ambitions. Worked a treat on the V70. I do however, know someone who skinted himself so comprehensively, buying a BMW 330 coop, that it was treated to four new Landsails. Shiny, shiny, teflony Landsails. On a car with what? The best part of 250 horse? Sensible chap...