Ouch!! Got a bit of a bashing today.

[Duncan]

I got a bit of a bashing today. Well my wallet did, not me or the car!!

I knew my rear tyres were getting close to needing replacing, and fronts not too far away either - so had a look at them today. Rears were 2-3mm (oops!) and fronts were about 3mm. I had decided that next time I got my tyres replaced, I was going to get 225/45/17's instead of the standard 215/50/17's. Main reasons being that it then opens up a much bigger choice of available tyres, bit more rubber on the road and they would also, hopefully, look a bit smarter (less balloney).

So I decided to get all four done at the same time at the local independent tyre place I use - all they do is tyres. Spent a bit of time with the guy discussing options and makes etc. Decided to go for the Michelin Pilot Sport 2, which he highly recommended. He's got them on his BMW 540 which he takes around Silverstone on a regular basis and said he hasn't had a tyre that felt as good as these ones did. Also, if they're good enough to be standard fit on the Koenigsegg CCR, then they're more than good enough for my 'little Signum'!

So went away for an hour or so while they fitted them. Collected the car and drove off with £500 of new rubber on it!!!

Took it for a little spin to see what they felt like (I know they won't bed in and really perform until the best part of 1,000 miles). They felt great!!! The grip is outstanding, they seem to be quieter than the NCT 5's I had on previously but the one thing that I noticed very quickly is that they are massively more stable under heavy braking. I got it up to *cough* mph on a dual-carriageway bypass before braking heavily approaching a roundabout. They didn't squirm or fidget or anything. The car braked smoothly and firmly. The NCT 5's would fidget and squirm a bit under heavy braking - I always thought it was the car not coping with the braking but it was the tyres! I did this on a couple of further roundabouts - firm and smooth every time - fantastic!

He also said I should get comparable mileage from them compared to the NCT 5's - even better! All thanks to the advances in tyre technology.

I can't wait until they've bedded in properly!!

D

[denzo]

Duncan,

Good buy, great to hear your satifaction with road grip and handling ...

Did you get the Michelin Pilot Sport with rim protectors? could you post a photo of the tyre fitted to get an idea of the 'rim protection' please

I think I will go for 4 x 225/45/R17 when I need to replace mine.

[AJA]

I hope you got a discount for buying four?

[Duncan]

Did you get the Michelin Pilot Sport with rim protectors? could you post a photo of the tyre fitted to get an idea of the 'rim protection' please

It's the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 - I believe it has the rim protection as standard. TBH, I didn't look closely to see how much it 'protects' the rim. I can take a pic tomorrow to show you what it looks like.

D

[Duncan]

I hope you got a discount for buying four?

I certainly asked!!, but they said that they priced their tyres the best they could - regardless of whether you bought one or four.

I know that I could have bought them cheaper from somewhere like mytyres.co.uk and had them sent to one of their approved local fitters. But I would have had to wait 5-7 working days for them to get there and then have them fitted by a place I don't really hold in high regard!!

At the end of the day, I'm happy to pay a bit extra to a local, independent tyre specialist who have a great after-sales service.

D

[Maverick]

Duncan, I had my speedo settings chaecked with Tech 2 yesterday when I fitted my 19's, the following tyres are in one group setting on Tech 2 :-

215 50 17
225 45 18
235 35 19

If I have read your post right, you have now fitted 225 45 17's? Although this tyre was never fitted to a UK spec Vectra C, There is a group setting on Tech 2 for 225 45 17" tyres for the Vectra C, I saw it yesterday, apparently this tyre was fitted to European spec cars.

This will just ensure your speedo is correct.

Hope this helps.

If you have not fitted the 225 45's then ignore what I have said and send me lessons on reading posts right

[Duncan]

Hi Matt

Thanks for that. Yes, I have fitted 225/45/17's in place of the previous 215/50/17's. I didn't think I needed to alter anything as they have almost identical rolling radius. A tyre calculator I went on showed something like less than 1mph difference at 70mph iirc.

But if there is a setting in the car for 225/45/17's then I may as well use it. Where is it in Tech 2, in case I need to direct them to it?

Cheers

D

[denzo]

Duncan,

Quick question - if you go to Vx to get the tech2 update for your 225/45/R17 tyres, will you expect to pay for the software update to your ecu / speedo?

How much roughly? anyone else?

[Duncan]

There's two separate issues there Denzo. To change the tyre size is just a case of going into the car with Tech 2 and changing a setting in one of the menus. If you bought the tyres from the dealer then they would do this free. If not then some dealers would charge for this, others wouldn't! Depends on the dealer and your relationship. Some may charge you £20(ish)

A software/ECU update is something else, that changes the actual software to a newer version. If the car is under warranty, it's definitely free. If not, then it's up to each dealer what they charge. I have no idea what an out of warranty software update would/may cost.

I don't have any experience myself of prices if they do charge. I don't know as I've never been charged for a Tech 2 procedure.

D

[denzo]

I can't imagine my dealer being very understanding ...

"What, you've fitted 225/45/R17 instead of 215/50/R17 .... Vx UK don't recommend that".

"Tech2 ..... they'll be a charge involved in that procedure, if we can do it for you".

Is anyone else going to fit 225/45 R17 ?
will you get the Tech2 update for the speedo? how much would you be willing to pay?
or will you live with the speedo indicating 70mph and the actual being about 68.65mph with the 225/45/17's fitted?

Cheers