I aso have the Vreds on my 145, and have been very impressed.
Very grippy, yet I still have loads of tread left, and I must have done 12k miles on them at least.
Toyo Proxies also have a very good reputation, while being cheaper than the 'big' manufacturers tyres.
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Are Michelins really expensive in the long run?
My Picasso has done almost 50,000 miles on a set of Michelin Energy tyres, run down to 2mm. My driving style is not snail-like nor manic...I just drive to get there rather than admire the scenery.
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PS Costco are well cheap for Michelins
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Only SOME Michelins, the Primacy 225/55VR16s are £135 which is a terrible price - about £40 more than elsewhere. not worth the £30 a year membership, just for the privelage of being able to buy overpriced tyres and big boxes of Persil.
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I replaced Dunlop 9000s for Toyo Proxes. Similar tread pattern, but they get a better score on mytyres. Cost £75 per corner fitted as opposed to £120 for Michelins! No Dunlops available, but they would have cost £100 each. The Toyos seem to produce less road noise than the Dunlops.
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continentals.
best grip in wet or dry.
not real long life like harder compounds, but i would rather sacrifice sticking to the road, than a few quid.
imho.
(and yes have tried them all, for 8 years on 12 company cars)
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OK tyrexpert, you are claiming cheap prices, where should I go for a good price in Harrogate / York area ?
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OK tyrexpert, you are claiming cheap prices, where should I go for a good price in Harrogate / York area ?
will let you know soonest
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I ran a Michelin and a remould with michelin style tread on the front of an Astra. The Michelin did last longer 40,000 to 35000 miles on the remould. Only an extra 5000 miles.However the remould did also go dreadfully out of balance towards the end of its life though.
Peter
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>> OK tyrexpert, you are claiming cheap prices, where should I go >> for a good price in Harrogate / York area ? will let you know soonest
I do not know yorshire that well, so I asked one the largest wholesalers in the uk who happen to have their hq in your county. Mentioned 2 around harrogate Oatlands Tyre service and Knaresborough tyre service eveidently both long esablished companies. When I did a price check both were enthusiastic on the phnone and reasonably competitive on goodyear in particular. I cannot comment further as I do not know them personally. I also understand that North Eastern Are based in york. I do know the owners personally they are a well respected company, having very high standards of both equipment and service levels. I hope this helps. PS what do you mean by saying "claiming" I never claim but always do !!!
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<< My driving styleis not snail-like nor manic...
They're one and the same thing to me!! ;-)
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I'm never deliberately going to test which grip best, so my only issues are quietness and life length.
Anyone put me right too on the different driving comfort levels produced by the various different circumferences and profiles nowadays? I know that deeper tyres seem to promote a softer ride, but what's the impact of 18" over 16"?
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tyrexpert
thanks for those - I knew of NET&E (used to be called Melbourne motors iirc) didnt know oatlands and knaresbr'
Ed,
Think about it, the total diameter of the wheel and tyre doesnt change, you just swap a bit of flexible rubber and air for not so flexible alloy. So you get less flex in the sidewall - hence more direct steering (but potentially worse tramlining) and your ride will get very hard.
Worth commenting also that a step like that usually involves changing the width of the wheel which can cause it to foul on the body or suspension. Also watch the offsets.
Im sure that you can put a lot of extra stress on the suspension changing like that. plus it will cost significantly more for rubber bands.
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big impact on your wallet !!!!!!
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Try a Kumho. They are not a 'cheap' tyre, they are inexpensive. Kumho are well regarded in the US, Australia and elsewhere. They are a big company (based S. Korea) with a pretty massive R&D expenditure. The ECSTA 712's compare well with any high-performance premium tyre. Check out their ratings on tirerack.com and elsewhere on the 'net.
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Mark, my query was relating to wheel size more than tyre type. Many models offer 16,17 and 18 inch wheels. Is larger in theory less likely to go down each dip and be smoother riding? Or, getting back to tyres, do you always lose some rubber when you gain some wheel, so losing any improvement in ride quality?
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Ed
you always keep the same total diameter, so if you get alloys which are bigger you get a lower profile (thinner) tyre.
If the total size of the wheel and tyre together increased then you would need to get the speedo recallibrated because you would travel further for each revolution of the wheel.
various tyre web sites have calculators telling you which size tyre you need if you change alloys.
ie on 15" 195/60-15 but on 16" 205/50-16 etc
Mark
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Try a Kumho. They are not a 'cheap' tyre, they are inexpensive. Kumho are well regarded in the US, Australia and elsewhere. They are a big company (based S. Korea) with a pretty massive R&D expenditure. The ECSTA 712's compare well with any high-performance premium tyre. Check out their ratings on tirerack.com and elsewhere on the 'net.
I'd never heard of these before last Wednesday, but my Coupe came with them fitted.
I have been VERY impressed with the levels of grip, although obviously I haven't experienced other tyres on this car, so it may be largely down to the cars grip levels rather than those of the tyre.
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Try a Kumho. They are not a 'cheap' tyre, they are inexpensive. Kumho are well regarded in the US, Australia and elsewhere. They are a big company (based S. Korea) with a pretty massive R&D expenditure. The ECSTA 712's compare well with any high-performance premium tyre. Check out their ratings on tirerack.com and elsewhere on the 'net.
I cannot understand where you are coming from on this. I have been to Seoul and seen the R&D facilities there, I have also been to Goodyears facilities in Luxembourg and Mireval in France as well as Pirellis in Milan. Unless things have dramatically changed in the last 3 years you could fit the Korean ones in Goodyears R&D cark park and still have spaces left.
The website you quote is as the spelling would suggest American and though I love the place and have many good friends out there when it comes to tyres sorry tires if the US had had its way we would still have been driving on crossply/bias belt tyres.
US driving conditions are totally tyre friendly ie long straight highways/interstates and long distances. US cars have soft and sloppy suspension setups which certainly act against pace. Americans by and large stick to the 55mph limits and these limits are well enforced as I can certainly vouch for.
The treadwear and traction tests they do bear little relevance to European conditions. Our tyres are speced for not only our poor roads but also high speed German autobahns.
I looked at the website and I thought I was watching the Antiques Roadshow. some of their offerings were out of the ark.
Examples Avon Mtech 500 (our cr228) replaced 6 years ago by the ZV1/ZZ1 replaced by ZV3/ZZ3 soon ZZ4. Bridgestone S01 replaced by S02 then S03 soon S04.Goodyear Eagle Gsd replaced by F1 Gsd2 replaced by F1 Gsd3. Conti Sport replaced by Sport Contact replaced by Sport Contact 2 etc etc etc. Their ratings are by Americans for Americans.
I am not Knocking Kuhmo/Marshal/Roadchamp ( same manufacturer) as a budget tyre they are one of the best, when compared to Gajah Tunggal/Champiro Indonesia, Rosava Ukraine, Fate Argentina, Wanli China, Cheng Shin Taiwan, or Nankang from I cant remember and about 200 others. What I do object to is the fact they are sold at high prices. I sell Kuhmo but my conscience will not allow me to price or categorise them other than budget.
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"Americans by and large stick to the 55mph limits and these limits are well enforced etc etc etc"
what a lot of complete tosh, compared to where? compared to here where i only have to breath out at 31 mph and im on camera somewhere? i lived in the usa for many years and visit often and can say with absolute authority that you are totally misinterpreting what its like over there
US cars are on the whole larger, are set up for comfort and not handling, and the ROAD surface is typically less grippy than the equivalent in the UK, hence the tyres are typically aimed at the road surfaces they have to deal with
The roads are wider, the style of driving is more relaxed, they are better at a lot of things, and worse at a whole other bunch
however i agree that a USA review of a tyre should be taken with a pinch of salt, as their conditions are so different to ours
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John D I bow to your greater knowledge of Us conditions. I only spend a few weeks a year there mainly south of the Mason Dixon line in Georgia Louisiana and Texas. Thanks however for the other supportive comments.
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The website you quote is as the spelling would suggest American and though I love the place and have many good friends out there when it comes to tyres sorry tires if the US had had its way we would still have been driving on crossply/bias belt tyres. US driving conditions are totally tyre friendly ie long straight highways/interstates and long distances. US cars have soft and sloppy suspension setups which certainly act against pace. Americans by and large stick to the 55mph limits and these limits are well enforced as I can certainly vouch for. The treadwear and traction tests they do bear little relevance to European conditions. Our tyres are speced for not only our poor roads but also high speed German autobahns.
What on Earth are you talking about? When was the last time you went to the US - you are perpetuating all the usual myths about driving in the US. Many states have long since abandoned 55mph limits. Not long ago I drove New York City to Rochester. In upstate NY I was the slowest thing on the backroads at 70mph! Driving through New England there are lots of twisty roads with poor surface and lots of Americans are driving European cars these days. In fact a lot of modern US cars are set up with more 'European' suspension than they used to be.
As to Kumho tyres - well they are good - I have driven on them (ECSTA Supra 712) on a test track. I expected then to be rubbish, but they're not, they're very good now, and the ECSTA is comparable to premium European brands.
See this tyre test result from the ADAC (German equivalent of the AA) in 2003 - this is for Kumho's *budget* KH11 tyre, and *not* the high-performance ECSTA, which is a much better tyre:
Summary "Empfehlenswert"
Ausgewogener Reifen ohne Schwächen in sicherheitsrelevanten Bereichen, sicheres Fahrverhalten auf trockener Fahrbahn, niedriger Preis, hoher Rollwiederstand und leichte Komfortbeeinträchtigungen.
In English:"Recommended"
A well-balanced tyre without any weaknesses in terms of its safety-related aspects, secure grip on dry streets, low price, high rolling resistance and slight comfort deficiency.
Not a bad result for a budget tyre - and I would guess the ADAC do test them on the autobahn!
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I spend on average six weeks a year in the States. All of a sudden the US website is forgotten in your reply. You have missed the point on the R&D comments I made .Kuhmo focus their efforts on the US in everything they do because it is the largest tyre market in the world. I did not say Kuhmo were bad tyres just seriously overpriced over here. When it comes to tyre testing I have driven for hundreds of miles over many test tracks including the small ones in Korea. I have had the ECSTA on my M5 and they were ok but not a patch on the P Zero Nero,the Dunlop SP8080, the Avon ZZ3, The Bridgestone S03, and the Goodyear F1 Gsd3 which I am currently driving. I am lucky to be given my tyres free, and my tests are as subjective as anyones, but at least I am comparing them on the same vehicle. I change at 6k miles per set and compare wear rates as well as recording my impressions of handling wet braking etc. I am also fortunate enough to take my car around several race tracks on manufature test days so I can comment on the various tyres high speed performance. I know the MD of Kuhmo personally and I was very grateful for their kind invitation to Korea a few years ago. Let me restate Kuhmo are not a bad tyre just overpriced ! Glad to see you can read the German language
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