Safe Speed Forums

I require new tyres for my car.

I only really know a few tyre manufactures:

Good year
Michelin
Pirelli
Dunlop
Bridgestone



I currently have Dunlop SP3000 on my wheels which are 215 45 R17 W.
I do not wish to get budget tyres.

I have a few questions:

Which brands to aviod/bad buys.
What brands are best value for money.
What would you put on your car.
and any other adivce really.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

I think you need a few details to add to the equation!

What type of mileage, and how much motorway/urban driving do you do?

What's your driving style?

What was wrong with the Dunlops SP's?
If the spare is a Dunlop, it's worth remembering that you might wish to include the spare when you rotate tyres, and if you change, then it becomes just a get you home item.
Indeed, it might only be a get you home spare!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

You missed Continental "contact" standard equipment on high performance BMWs

A few years ago I raced a road saloon. The championship switched from Yokohama to Toyo. The Toyo "proxes" was an awsome road tyre. The best lap times we ever got from a road tyre.

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Speed camera policy Kills

some good questions :

Nothing really wrong with the Dunlop’s.
But could I get better for the same(ish) price, or is it worth spending a bit more? if there is a difference. I have been to some web sites and there is loads to choose from.

example: http://www.blackcircles.com/public/order?view=standard



What type of mileage, and how much motorway/urban driving do you do?
~15000, probably equal.

What's your driving style?
depends on my mood.
It is a front wheel drive, I can be quite aggressive when accelerating from a stand still , and can at times do some harsh cornering on nice open A roads .


Spare is a space saver

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

The speed rating ---wow - or is that the origonals?

Can't suggest tyres - to me thats personal preference , especially at that sort of rating - however ---when you decide -

get a quote of these people - Britannia Tyres & Exhausts Ltd
(024) 7625 8177, branches in Nuneaton/Coventry and Hinckley - not far on the A5 from you - they always seem to beat the big boys --i've always found them a lot cheaper --but mine is a common size.

What's the car? With sizes and a speed rating like that, it's likely to be something pretty special. You can dramatically affect the way it feels by changing tyres so if there is an enthusiasts' group for your model, I'd be inclined to ask them (they may well have an owners' club forum). Failing that, it's often a good idea to stick with the manufacturer's recommendation (should be a few listed in the handbook) or stick with what you've got if you're happy with the handling. My car torque-steers like a pig on some makes of tyre but is much better on others.

www.mytyres.co.uk

I've never bought from them, but they seem to list pretty much every make in existance and have test results for most of them that score them on grip in dry/wet braking in dry/wet, snow, longevity etc. Decide on your priorities then take your choice.

Personally I have been a long time fan of the Goodyear Eagle F1 range. Not the longest lasting, but great grip and braking performance in both wet and dry. They do however suck in the snow and they are directional which personally I prefer but you may dislike.

I'd say the toyo t1-r proxies are excellent. Big v shaped groove down the middle for water dispersion and reinforced rim so you don't scuff alloys so easily. I have also found the uniroyal rainsports to be great tyres too. They are the cheaper brand of continental.

Etyres are also good for tyres. I've bought several sets over time and they do free puncture repairs on tyres bought from them.

The wheels are an upgrade on my alfa. I doubt very much my car could do those speeds. Can you get 215/45/R17 with a lower speed rating.
The standard alloy wheels are V rated, the steel wheels are H .
Have looked in the owners manual.
No tyre brands are recommended. It just states the tyres need are 215/45/R17 W

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

It doesn't need to be that special... my 330 has 225/45/17 W on it.

what tyres do you use then?

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

I have a thing for Bridgestones so I've got re050 Ys on it.

The thing to remember is that tyres with "V" type tread pattern tend to give better water dispersal in extreem conditions but can have a shorter life and give a much noiser ride than tyres with a continuous band of tread

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Speed camera policy Kills

Quite, my old-shape Omega Elite needs W (or better) rated 225/55/16 tyres. Been running on Falken GRB-FK451's for the last 10 months and Pirelli P7's for 15 months prior to that, and neither set has given me any reason to think they were a poor choice.

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Chris

It is important to maintain or exceed the manufacturer's recommendations on speed rating. It is not just a matter of speed but of ability to handle applied power and torque reversals. If you do not, I am told that you are voiding the vehicle type approval and thus your insurance

For example, I had one of the early Mondeos - about a month after first deliveries. It was a 2 litre and had a higher speed-rated and steel-braced tyre than the 1.8 and 1.6 models, from the factory. Believe me, Ford would not have put these on if they didn't need to; if they can shave 1p off the production cost of a vehicle it will save them hundredes of thousands of pounds over a complete vehicle run.

After a few months* when the fronts needed replacing, I took it to the recommended dealer (this was a company car) and the leasing company would only authorise the cheaper lower rated tyres - my response to them was that they could saend somebody along to collect it as I wasn't prepared to drive it outside its type approval. They relented and allowed the correctly rated tyres to be fitted.

(* the tyres wore OK for a front wheel drive - the car covered 35,000 miles in 21 months)

Pirelli on most of my previous cars and my current Mondeo have been fine; the TVR has Toyo Proxes on the rear which are great and I've had Yokohama (A570s?) on a Prelude which had brilliant wet weather grip.

Don't dismiss so called 'budget' tyres out of hand. Toyo is a brand that was once heavily discounted thanks to prejudice against the name, now it is a lead player in the performance market.

Another brand currently treated with suspicion is Kumho, but Volkswagen consider it good enough to fit at the factory.

Also, many leading brand manufacturers have a second line of tyres sold under a less well known name.

Costco offer a tyre fitting service, whilst I haven't needed to use them myself, I've checked their prices on behalf of a friend and the Michelin costs they quoted (fitted) beat other quotes hands down.

Worth the £35 membership fee, really!

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

I've had a variety of Michelins on several cars (Mondeo, Xsara, Golf) and found that they consistantly give good life but are treacherous in the wet, the Michelin I've found to break this is the Pilot Exalto but they are stupid money.

Others I've tried and been impressed with are:

Avon
BF Goodrich
Continental

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Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk

Thank you for all the adivice

I got pirelli P7000. They have a sort of mix of the two main types of pattern show by gizmo.



I used blackcircles, and got an Alfa romeo owners club disscount
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_________________
Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor