Just a quick question,
Friends Fiat Brava needs two new front tyres. I have already found the advice to put the new tyres on the rear axle.
The car has Firestone Fuelsaver tyres (175/65 R14). Should she stick with the same brand tyre again, or would something else be a better choice? Options would be: Uniroyle Rallye 680, or Continental EcoContact CP.
The Uniroyals are cheaper (about £2) a tyres, and the conti more, so the cost between them is not an issue. I suspect the to keep with Firestone is the best idea.
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Pete,
It's possible to think of so many tyre choices confusion can set in. If the car already has 4 Firestones why not keep to them so the whole set match.
We've fitted 4 F590 Fuelsavers to our Polo and they are very good. Also I fitted a pair to a customer's Citroen the other day and he was well pleased with the quality/price balance.
The Continental should be a slightly better all round tyre than a Firestone but oddly enough I've just seen a couple of bulges appear on a new pair fitted just a week ago. I'm getting them changed under warranty any day. I'm sure this was a one-off though because they have a very good name.
Of course I would fit the new ones to the front but then I know how I want my car to brake/handle. ;-)
David W
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New tyres to the front avoids the shunt.
Loosing the back end is just embarrassing loosing the front very scarey. I assume at leat 3.5/4 mm left on the rears. Yes stick to the tyres.
Peter
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David
Perhaps being "trade" is helping you with the Continentals. My wife had the same thing happen on a 3-month-old Continental and the supplying tyre centre didn't want to have anything to do with a claim, stated that it must be kerb damage causing the bulge but reluctantly took the tyre back for checking by the manufacturer and then refused to return any 'phone calls asking about progress with Continental. Since the centre was some way away and the tyres had been replaced (as a pair)elsewhere we let it drop and the car was sold.
Not surprisingly, we have never gone back to any branch of this company--previously vilified by others on this forum--nor will we ever buy Continentals again. I do, however, have the other three-month-old Continental stopping any bumps against the rear wall of the garage.
David
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David,
My luck was with them being almost new, they were actually for a trailer and had only been moved about a grass paddock so the tyres were obviously unused.
The bulges were very unusual and appeared over a few days, as the tyre absorbed the "stress" of inflation compared with its stored state.
Also the bulges were identical and in identical places on the sidewall compared with the lettering.
Most odd but I'm still a fan of Continentals.
David W
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Right Firestone it is then.
Personally I have always used Continentals (fitting the same as the car came with), never really come across a car with Firestone tyres before - Good to know that noone has a major problem with them!
Thanx
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Hopefully Firestone have moved on from their terrible F100s of the mid 1970s. I couldn't understand why my wheels needed balancing so often but it turned out that the tread rubber width was so inconsistent that the balance changed as the tyre wore down! I'm sure that is not a problem these days though.
I have Continentals on my car and have no complaints at all. Very low wear, good grip wet & dry, and quiet running. I am very close to buying new ones and hope David W's experience is not indicative of a reduction in quality. Think I'll investigate a bit more before buying (I still have 3mm left so I can afford to delay a few weeks).
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Dizzy,
I mentioned the Continental issue because it happened but I would happily buy them again tomorrow.
They both had identical faults in identical sections of the sidewall...like a batch run fault.
David W
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Right Firestone it is then. never really come across a car with Firestone tyres before - Good to know that noone has a major problem with them!
Fitted to Vectra's as standard. No probs with mine.
Also fitted to my mates new Rover Hearse - sorry Tourer.
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Unless the Firestones are not to your liking stick to them, even if you change both fronts to a different make which should be ok if the time comes to replace a flat the spare tyre will probably be of the original type and could upset the handling.
The primera i had used Dunlop's which only lasted 8k at the fronts so i changed to Michelins, apart from the spare, i get on average 3 flats a year, everytime i fitted the spare the cars handling was upset.
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A car performs best when all four tyres are the same and in relatively good condition. Unless she is unhappy with the tyres performance then stick to the same tyres.
Put the new ones on the back. If you lose the back end in a braking manouvre in the wet you will lose total control over the car and like as not you will spin (this can happen even with ABS). This may cause you to have a side on crash - this is one of the types of crash you are least likely to survive, especially if you hit a post of some kind (telegraph pole, tree, lamp post etc). This is why there are many cars now with side airbags.
If you really must crash let the cars structure take it from the front and let the airbags at the front do their work.
Go learn cadence braking (the art of pumping the brakes to get maximum retardation in slippy conditions). It's not as easy as it sounds. If the car has ABS, practice using it - remembering especially not to let the pedal go when it activates (most peoples natural reaction when they first experience ABS).
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