Tyres

[elephino]

Having bought new tyres a couple of weeks ago to replace the, to keep it clean, Dunlops that were on there I was wondering what tyres people suggest for certain cars. I know that a tyre that suits one car may not suit another but it is handy to know.

To start it off, I replaced some Dunlop Performas which only lasted 12,000km (really would have been 13,000 but I ran a bit too long needing a wheel alignment after hitting a pot hole...mainly because I had over 500km to get home) with Yokohama A539s. After only a couple of hundred kilometres I am already noticing how much better the handling is and the ride in general than the dunlops ever were.

[Ray Bell]

I have some Toyos on the front of the main 504 I drive now. They're pretty good, and they've lasted well, too, despite a crook damper that had to be replaced along the way.

But no good when the tread gets down...

I found Toyos good on the 404 I had in the seventies, too.

[redback]

I agree totally with Ray on this one. Toyos are the only tyre I use on my road cars. I have done 68000 klms so far on a set of Proxes H4s on a V8 Falcon ute, they still look o.k. but they do go off when they get about a mil from the wear bars. I've used them on all sorts of cars (front and rear wheel drive) and they always prove to be sure footed, good in the wet and long wearing.

[SL]

Last time I hd a pair of Pirelli's on the back, the ones with the directional tread, absolutly amazing tyres.
These were replaced about a month ago with some Avons that are about half as good. Next time it will be back to Pirelli's.

Simon

[Valve Bounce]

You guys already know I have Michelin Pilot Sports on my Volvo AWD. When my relacement tyre is fitted, I will take the car out (by myself) on a proper road and tyre test, and let you know what I think of them.

Elephino, when you replace a set of worn tyres with new tyres, it always seems like a miracle. Your memory is never good enough to compare the previous set of tyres when they were new. I used to run Michelin on my Volvo 240 in Hong Kong, and got over 24,000 miles on each set of tyres.

[Diabando]

I agree with most of the above, but what about budget? Given that a set of tyres dont last me the usual time span, I had a look around for a set that would last a fair bit longer, work as well as those I had used previously, and cost less (not asking much eh?). But, I found them! and am currently on my second set. What are they?

Goodyear Eagle Aquatread

I give them 5 gold stars

[Crash Test]

Our wee little A-Class Merc comes from the factory with Pirellis, and they obviously cured the rolling over problem! But deadset, those things give incredible grip in the wet....they really do make the car feel safe.

[elephino]

VB, this is not a memory thing...I only had the old tyres for 12 months (12,000km). The amount of grip now is a huge amount better.

[Wolf]

I'm having Semperit M+S tyres on my car... They have good grip (for that sort of tyre) and wear out extremely slow (had 'em for quite a while- few years). Having 24 BHP, that isn't very surprising.

[mtpanorama]

I am running yokohama A539 on my Falcon and they are the smoothest and quietest tyres that i have had. the grip is also sensational. I did 40 odd laps of oran park on them a couple of weeks ago and they were fantastic. Never looked like letting go.I have done about 5000km on them now and would recommend them to any one.

[Airhead]

Yes Mount,

I have Yokahamas on my Falcon and they are a great improvement on the previous Dunlops.

Now for really interesting tyres, I have Metzlers on my motorcycle and I loathe them. I should have stayed with the Bridgestones.

[paul c]

Diabando was asking about budget tyres. On the advice of a 'friend' who supposedly knew about tyres and cars I bought a set of Woo Sung tyres, a mid-range Korean thang for my Old Granada (now sadly deceased). Never, ever again!! They lasted forever, but the car simply wouldn't go around corners in the wet and the ABS came on under mild braking. At the time I worked for a rubber research company and had them checked out. Apparently they were fine as far as any testing could determine. I've learnt my lesson though, I put a set of Michelins on the latest aquisition (Volvo 740 estate) and have no complaints so far, except from the bank account!

[Bluebottle]

When I bought my Dutton Sierra it had really cheap retreads- they were so badly made that you could still see the name of the original tyre, I replaced them very quickly with Goodyears.
My first Dutton wore out a pair of Firestones in 6 months- that prompted me to check out the geometry!

[Sparky]

The best 'budget' tyre I've ever bought is the Falken ZE502.
They have amazing grip, and they don't seem to wear out either!
I've had a pair on the rear (driven) wheels of my 2-litre Mk1 Escort for almost 20,000 miles. I can't seem to kill them!

The old Yokohama A510 was another good, if slightly more expensive tyre, but sadly, they are no longer produced. I had one set of these on the Escort for over FOUR years, and the day they were replaced, they were just as grippy as when they were brand new.

Elephino, I had 175/50x13 Dunlop SP2000 Sports on my 1300 Mini Van, and they were an amazing tyre. I guess, as you say it depends on the vehicle they are fitted to.

[Diabando]

*cringe* No! I would never use budget tyres!! My phrase of "budget" was related to the hip pocket, rather than choice of tyre. For instance, I can see no reason why I should spend $100 more per tyre for a set of Yokohamas, when the reputable brands such as Goodyear supply a range of tyres to suit most cars, and they dont cost the earth (but are still reasonably expensive). What I have also found, is that although the tyres at the "upper end" of the scale are very very good when new, they simply dont last as long, so on top of paying the maximum amount for a tyre, you also end up paying that amount on a more frequent basis.