Just had a pair of these fitted to the front of the Altea.
What really nice tyres. Immediately notice improved smooth ride, cut in road noise. The grip in wet / dry seems good. Cant comment about wear but I am impressed.
{couple of typos corrected in header}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 23/10/2009 at 01:49
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Those particular tyres do indeed have a good reputation, according to tests I have read.
But having said that, in my experience, replacing tyres which have worn down to the minimum with brand new tyres having a nice tall tread height, always results in a quieter, smoother ride, and better wet grip. For a while (because you get used to it and stop noticing).
From tyre tests, I note that the difference in performance between top brands and cheap unknowns is relatively small when the road is bone-dry. The differences really show up on wet roads.
But here's a thing: Damage apart, people only usually replace tyres because their existing ones are worn. What I'd like to see is a proper scientific test for wet road performance comparing a worn-to-just-above-the legal-limit top-brand tyre with a brand new (but run-in) unknown cheap brand.
*IF* the new cheap tyre turned out better, then for the same overall cost it could potentially be safer to use the cheap ones and replace them 3 or 4 times as often.
Anybody ever seen a report of such a test having been conducted?
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hmmm.. had them from new on the Toledeo 2.0 tdi dsg, they lasted up untill the car was sent back to the leasing company - 22k. I suspect they would have lasted another 1k or so. However they got progressivly noiser from about 18k until the point that I refused to take the car on long journeys!
Edited by Downesi1 on 22/10/2009 at 13:19
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My recently acquired (used) Grand Picasso has these. I haven't had Bridgestones before but they do seem to perform well enough (quiet, grippy). Obviously I can't compare to any other tyre on the car.
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I'm surprised about the "smooth ride" comment. Bridgestone's generally are noted for having stiff sidewalls so they're good for handling precision, but not for ride.
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I'm surprised about the "smooth ride" comment. Bridgestone's generally are noted for having stiff sidewalls so they're good for handling precision but not for ride.
Yes, BP, I think that you are right about conventional tyres made by Bridgestone, however, my dealer advised me to fit Bridgestone run-flat tyres on my car when the original Continental ones came up for replacement.
What a difference! Great tyres!
Not only are they cheaper, but they ride better and last 50% longer. They grip better in the wet as well.
The Continentals mayhave been good for something (better braking maybe?), but I don't know what it could be. I've never had good experiences with Continental tyres, though.
Do the Germans fit them just because they are another German brand, I wonder?
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Just had a pair of these fitted to the front of the Altea. What really nice tyres. Immediately notice improved smooth ride cut in road noise. The grip in wet / dry seems good. Cant comment about wear but I am impressed.
What tyres did you have originally AE? I had (and have) Pirelli P7s on my Leon and they seem pretty good, but "only" lasted 17,000 miles (although this is my first diesel car, so I guess that may well be average). How long did your previous set last?
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My current car came with Bridgestone Potenzas as O.E. and the fronts lasted 30,000 miles (on a FWD Diesel too). Needless to say I replaced like-for-like. Rears show hardly any wear at 35,000 miles.
Apparently it's now the world's number one tyre maker.
Edited by AlanGowdy on 22/10/2009 at 19:05
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It came with continentals as standard, and the fronts lasted 36k miles. The rears still have 6k left on them
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36k miles - that is pretty darned good. Fronts only used to last around 15k on my old car - they were continentals. And I didn't drive like a nutter. To be honest I really didn't notice the difference between those and some bargain basement replacements fitted not long before I sold it. Mind you the car had done 80k miles and was 12 years old. Only had the new car for 7k miles so we'll see how the dunlops on that stack up.
I've been told by several tyre fitters that michelins are the best - I notice that they have not featured in this discussion. Any views on that?
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I had Bridgestone Turanzas on my Mondy and the fronts lasted about 33K, rears still had more than 3mm at 40K when I sold it, I always found them quiet, comfortable and grippy.
Then had them on my A4 B7 Avant, the 170PS TDi and duff steering rack did for the fronts in about 24K miles (I think), the rears were only half worn at 32K when it went back.
I was certainly a happy customer. I change my tyres at between 2 and 3mm when I have the choice (i.e. I am paying), not something I like to scrimp on but leasing companies have other ideas......
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New tyres on the FRONT? I thought standard practice was newest at the back these days - though I disagree with it.
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Is this actually an ER300? Can remember having ER30's on my previous Vectra-C, and replaced like for like when the time came to change the worn ones.
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>>I've been told by several tyre fitters that michelins are the best - I notice that they have not featured in this discussion. Any views on that
They generally are about the most expensive so your tyre fitter will make more margin and they'll rightly tell you that they last longer so they're better value. He won't tell you they're pretty hard (why they last longer) and they don't win many tyre tests. If you want Michelins find a Cosco near you they sell them much cheaper than any retail outlet.
I had Bridgestone RE050s on my Legacy and replaced with Goodyear F1 asymetrics - quieter by some margin and better than brilliant in the wet. I don't drive fast enough in the dry to find out where one set of tyres will let go and one will hold on as for me noise and comfort are more important.
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