Tyres

**Hendry** · 20th January 2006, 16:55

Whats everyone's recommendation of the best tyres for the Veccy, looking at decent tyres and a decent price, i.e. no cheap nasty rubbish I've never heard of, but not £130 continentals either.

my car came with bridgestone turanzas on it, one went at 14K, another 2 at 19K, and the last one got done yesterday, so thats my had my car 4 months and had to replace all the tyres already, and its not even a year old.

so there a no go, have 3 dunlop sp sport maxx on it, these are so far so good, and my dealer replaced the bridgestone with a hankook yesterday which seem to be getting amazing reviews against the more expensive tyres despite being 1 of the cheaper well known brands.

what you all recommending??

**Phatty** · 20th January 2006, 17:13

unfortunately matey you get what you pay for with tyres...
if you pay less then you may get a tyre that is a harder compound (so would last a bit longer) but you may aswell go and buy a yacht to drive instead, coz you certainly won't be taking any corners quickly.
pay the extra and get a better tyre... i know the tyre prices vary a lot but they extra wonga is worth it, a better tyre provides such a better drive quality.

if you want all out performance then go Toyo or Yoko. (won't last long)

if you want something thats gonna give you a fair bit of performace but something that will last longer than your pants in hard cornering, then go along the lines of the more comercially available tyres like pirelli, Bridestone.

or if your thinkin about buying that yacht, go and buy some ditch finders like Falken ZE512's

P.S. - If you ever do want to go for Yoko's, but prefer a more comfy ride... see if they do the Yoko C-Drive tyre in the size you need.
It's a 'performance executive' tyre, made so you can have performance and comfort at the same time

**Hendry** · 20th January 2006, 17:18

aye what I was meaning was are the tyres I have on my car any good (3 dunlop sp sport maxx, and a hankook ventus)

also was asking whats the best compromise of value for money, performance, and a good make of tyre.

dont want out and out performance tyres as my car is a taxi and I'd be changing yokohamas weekly, and bridgestones were ****, had them before.

have yokos on my mk3 astra and they are fine as it doesnt get used for huge mileages like my vec, also learned my lesson with cheapo tyres as I had them on me astra and they were ****.

maybe what my original post said wasnt too clear.

**Phatty** · 20th January 2006, 17:34

ahh, sorry mate... i have a habit of going off on a tangent. lol
for a start i wouldn't recommend having 2 different tyre on one axle (i'e' 1 dunlop and 1 hankook) but hey, as your changing them, i'll let you off

lol

it's difficult to say what would be the best tyre really, as each persons driving style is different, therefor affecting the lifespan of the tyre.

however, something that will last a while..
for an average road user the Falken FK451 (or newer FK452) is a good compromise between grip and longevity.
or maybe the 'Goodyear Eagle' series (IIRC the Eagle GS-D3 is the slightly harder compound)
failing that, you can't (or shouldn't) go far wrong with a Pirelli

**Spikey©** · 20th January 2006, 17:58

I had the Ventus tyres on the front, when they wore out (about 15k i think) I coughed up the dough and went for the Continental Premium Contact (yeah I know you said you didn't want these) the difference is staggering. They are sooo much quieter, better grip on dry roads fantastic in the wet. If you're buying 2 or more, Kwik fit will do them for £100 with valve and balancing chucked in if you make the right noises. Worth every penny IMHO.

**david-bell** · 20th January 2006, 19:32

ive a set of federals on my vec 225/40/18 when i got my alloys i could have upgraded to better brand but pleased i didnt because well pleased so far and the grip is fantastic through the corners not as good in the wet + road noice is quet and the wear so far is good dont now what price they would be on there own? but there a budget tyre so probably cheap

**Bainie** · 20th January 2006, 19:51

I like pirelli`s, they aren`t as `cool` as they used to be but are a good tyre, Good wear and excellent handling. I have Toyo Proxes on at the moment, and it is scary how fast they are wearing, but handling is outstanding, especially in the wet.

I reckon pirelli would be my choice for a middle of the road tyre.

**nutron** · 20th January 2006, 22:49

The Goodyear NCT5 last a long time but don't give the best of grip. I had 215 NCT5s though now have 235 Toyo TS1s.

Pirelli 6000s suck big time and even the toyo are not as good as I expected.

May try larger NCT5s again next,

take a look here "http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres_uk"

Think Michelin pilot sport rated about best and will set you back about £140 in a 225/45 17Z

**chunkster** · 21st January 2006, 15:57

ive just bought a set of 4 avon zz3's which after ringing and speaking to our local tyre dealer, he informed us that they are a very good tyre, what he called 'Premium', and are fitted aston martins as standard.The write up on them is excellent.apparently they hold the road like glue.
Weve paid £225 for 4 delivered and vat and the garage are gonna charge us £7.50/tyre to fit, valve and balanced. the local dealer we rang would of charged us over £90 per tyre.We have used this dealer for a long time and it is a great tyre dealing company, but he couldnt match the price we have paid for the Avons.Its quite common practice now for customers to buy their own tyres and take them to him for fitting. thats the beauty of the internet on one hand,hardly any overheads. the downside is i believe in people to do jobs and not machinery.