Tyre advice please. - Hector Brocklebank
Which tyres for a Mk1 1.8 focus? I'm planning on using etyres as they have an excellent selection at indy prices. Here's the shortlist; Avon ZV5, B'stone E300, Conti' prem' contact 2 and Pirelli P7. Avons are a good £10 per tyre cheaper so should I just plump for them? All get good reviews on t' web.

Also, the brake fluid has not been changed in 4 years now altough the car has done very few miles in this time (no more than 7k). Would a change be at all benficial and if so where best to get it done?

Tyre advice please. - Paul G1pdc
the last few years i've looked at tyres test in mags and on the net,
Avons always come out near the bottom of the table...
b'stone and conti. are always at/near the top.
on my wifes car/ family children carrier i always buy the best conti sport contact tyres.
even thought there on a 9 year old volvo v40. my thinking is that if theres a crash, then naff tyres won't be a cause.
i'd also go for the fluid change, most places/garages can do this very cheaply, even errr fast fit garages can do the job, just make sure you don't get stung for brakes and tyres, suspension etc while your there....
a chap i worked with last year was told when he was having 2 tyres replaced that his rear shocks where leaking.....funnily enough he'd changed them 6 months earlier and cleans the underneath of his car almost more than the top side...and he alway checks things like that....he recons they had squirted some oil on the struts..
paul...
i get good results from blackcircles.com
Tyre advice please. - Hamsafar
I agree with Paul that Avon are always bottom of the 'heard-of' brands in tests I have read. I read a test recently where in a wet braking test from 70mph, when the car had LingLong tyres fitted, it was still going ~27mph at the point where the Continental Premium Contacts had stopped!
LingLong piddle I po.

Edited by Hamsafar on 18/03/2009 at 15:07

Tyre advice please. - Boggy
" the car had LingLong tyres fitted"
My Mondy 3 had Linglongs when I bought it - took roundabouts "like a shopping trolley full of logs"
Stay away from 'em! Had a set of Goodyear Excellence tyres fitted - corners like a housefly!
Tyre advice please. - Hector Brocklebank
The reason the avons appealed is because they've had some good reviews on tyrereviews.co.uk. However, I should probably opt for one of the other 3 brands. All get good ratings but what would backroomers recommend?

Regarding the brake fluid, could anybody give me a rough ball-park figure for what it should cost to change? Is there really going to be any improvements to breaking performance when the car has covered so few miles?
Tyre advice please. - zookeeper
apparently brake fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs water) thus reducing its ability to be efficient because water boils in the system and causes expansion, causing the mechanical properties of the brake fluid to be compromised, as far as i know its use/ time that is the equation , but change it any way , if you change it yourself it would save you paying a spanner man £60 an hour to press a brake pedal to bleed the system....self help DIY garages are all the rage so i hear, look out for one in your area


Edited after a complaint

Edited by Pugugly on 18/03/2009 at 21:56

Tyre advice please. - GJD
Regarding the brake fluid could anybody give me a rough ball-park figure for what it
should cost to change? Is there really going to be any improvements to breaking performance
when the car has covered so few miles?


Recently had mine done at a main dealer for around £60 inc. VAT.

I believe it is time more than mileage that limits the sensible life of brake fluid.

Tyre advice please. - Mapmaker
£25?

Brake fluid changes make manufacturers loads of money by specifying changes...

OTOH, some cars' ABS units rust if the fluid is not changed regularly.
Tyre advice please. - FotheringtonThomas
Regarding tyres, if they really were poor, there'd be an outcry. I'd use them.

Regarding the brake fluid - the change will be because the fluid slowly deteriorates rather than to improve braking. If you change it, it could flush rubbish out of the system and prevent the necessity for extra maintenance/component replacement.
Tyre advice please. - Auristocrat
Although tests on tyres aren't comparable between sizes, the recent Which? test rated the following as 'Best Buys':
Bridgestone B330
Continental Evocontact 3 and Premiumcontact 2
What size do you need
Tyre advice please. - Hector Brocklebank
Tyre size 195/60 R15. It seems that the Conti's and Bridgestones get the best write-ups. Are the Pirelli P7's any use? Etyres have them for similar money, much better than the P6000's, so I'm led to believe.
Tyre advice please. - alfalfa
I have used Bridgestones on my A4 and Goodyear and Bridgestone on my wife's Golf and personally would use either of them again. Size on Golf is 195/60x15. Paid approx 65 pounds each for Bridgestones at my local independent tyre supplier.

Problem with mediocre tyre performance is that you may not notice it until too late ie emergency stop in the wet. Cost difference between best and poor tyres is not that great when you spread it over the lifetime of the tyres.

I would agree with the comments re the Which reports on tyres, as that is usually my guide.

alfalfa
Tyre advice please. - Auristocrat
OK - Which? best buys for 195/60 15's are:
Bridgestone Turanza ER300
Continental Premiumcontact 2
Dunlop SP Sport Fastresponse
Goodyear Hydragrip
Pirelli P6

Don't buys are:
Avon ZR3
Wanli S1095
- both of which offered poor wet performance

They road tested 119 tyres from premium and budget brands and assessed wet & dry performance, noise and rolling resistance.
Tyre advice please. - AlastairW
I had 4 Firestone Firehawks (185/65R14) fitted to my 1.8 Focus in December. Much quieter than the Federals they replaced and MUCH better grip both wet and dry. At times the Feds were genuinely scary, despite having quite a bit of tread on them.
Cost £172 inc fitting and vat from Top Ten Tyres of Hazel Grove (no connection other than as a satisfied customer)
Tyre advice please. - Hamsafar
I really liked the P7s on my Omega and had a few sets, but I also read a review which said they weren't very good. The Autoexpress one I think. They are much better than P6000s I had before. They were also good in snow and muddy fields as a bonus.
Tyre advice please. - Red Baron
I'm going through exactly the same selection process at the moment for 195/60/15 tyres. I've chosen the Pirelli P7. They have been given good reviews in Which? and the German ADAC tests (albeit for the 205/55/16 size). I currently have the Conti PC2 on my Mondeo. They don't last long. Grip well, but wear quickly especially on the outer edges. Won't get those again. Blackcircles want £77 per tyre fully fitted for the P7 which I find expensive, but they'll be priceless if it means that I avoid an accident!
Tyre advice please. - A. Badger
I recently needed two new tyres for a Honda Accord. Blackcircles had Toyos on offer and I decided to take the gamble as they are highly regarded in the USA, made in Japan and were probably only (comparatively) cheap because Toyo isn't yet a major name n the UK.

About 1,000 miles on, I'm very impressed. I can't detect any significant difference between them and the Dunlop SP01s they replaced (and I was very impressed with those).

Tyre advice please. - Dynamic Dave
Blackcircles have never given me a competitive quote over anyone else's prices I've tried.

The Vectra is requiring fresh rubber on the fronts (and no, I'm not fitting the new ones to the rear, before you ask!). www.camskill.co.uk have come up trumps yet again for me. Even though I've got to pay someone to fit them I will still make a £30 saving over all the other quotes I've obtained from 8 or more other online tyre suppliers, and some of those quotes were delivery only and I would still have had to pay extra to have them fitted.

Please note that Camskill don't list every tyre they stock on their website. If in doubt drop them an email and ask.
Tyre advice please. - AlexJ

Since discovering Toyo Proxes T1 R, T1 Sport, Ive not looked back, had them on front wheel drive Saabs and a rear wheel drive BMW, I only do around 12000 a year, so a good choice for me, as they are quite a soft tyre with superb grip, so the need for a hard wearing tyre, which are far more expensive, is not an issue. These are about performance and road handling. Have really transformed the cars Ive put them on. I can recommend Top Ten Tyres in Hazel Grove, for balancing, and Ears Motorsport Macclesfield for good tyre prices on Toyos. I have bought once from Oponeo tyres, internet only, who really messed me around, the internet is not always worth the hassle, great when it all goes right but not worth the saving when it goes pear shaped.

Tyre advice please. - gordonbennet

Agree with the grip of Toyo T1R's absolutely fantastic wet or dry, however i ended up removing them at well over 4mm remaining as i could stand the noise and crashing ride no longer..

I've bought several times each from web suppliers Camskills Mytyres and Tyremen, not once have i been messed about, indeed Mytyres bought have arrived from Germany within three days which is quite astonishing, and when one of their listed fitters charged more than advertised they themselves refunded the difference when informed them, i neither asked nor expected them to do so it was purely an information note i sent, very good customer service there, i obviously return custom to them when needed without hesitation.

Camskills a few years ago didn't have their site kept up to date as well they should have and they were sometimes unable to supply my choice even though listed, in the last few years that has been improved no end and they have supplied quickly every time.

If certain normal tyre shops didn't try to sell me tyres i don't want whilst making a perfectly simple request for a quote for a set of my choice seem incredibly difficult to get then i wouldn't be bothering with the net, its not just about price its about buying what i want without being turned over.

Tyre advice please. - MrDanno

The last 2 sets of tyres I have bought from Kwik-fit. I'm not a fan of them but, They were reasonable priced and only 80 pence more than buying tyres online and paying someone to fit them.

I'm not keen on buying some of these funny named budget tyres but, have heard good things about some of the more well known ones. However, I think for the small difference in price it is worth buying something better.

Tyre advice please. - Cyd

My wife takes a country route to work. Her car came new with ContiPremiumContacts and we've stuck with those untill recently (80k up 9yrs). They are superb, especially in the wet, they shift standing water as well as any tyre I've ever driven on (incl those mentioned below). We have recently put a pair of Yokahama BlueEarths on the rear and these are just as good at shifting the water as the Contis.

On my previous car (the 200PS version of the Rover 800 Vitesse) I had Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2s fitted to replace the Uniroyals the car came with. The car was transformed; fantastic grip in the wet whether braking, accelerating or cornering. It was noticeable that the Torsen diff had less work to do with the increased grip and I was often able to leave other FWD cars trailing in the wet. After two full sets of these over about 60k, for some reason I cannot explain I changed to Toyo Proxes T1R. Utter rubbish. The car was all over the place again if it got even damp. The Torsen was working overtime. They were progressive in the dry and I can see why Scooby drivers like them, but I won't make that mistake again. So 3 weeks ago I fitted 4x Goodyear Eagle F1 Ass2 to my Saab 9-3 Aero. I can report that they are as excellent as expected, though I haven't tried them in the wet yet.

To summarise: for your Focus I'd suggest the PremiumContacts.