New tyres: who makes the best tyres??

[xplosv57]

My cars front tyres are now worn out (front left actually went flat) and im in need of new front tyres! I currently have Yokohama AVS dB tyres on it 195/60 R15, and were fairly new when i bought the car! Its only done 18000km since then and have already worn!!! The rears however look the same as when i got the car!!!

What id like is a tyre which will last with a bit of hard driving, im not after race tyres or anything, just something which wont chew tyres after a few hard corners! Id also like to retain some form of good economy and minimal road noise!

What do u guys recommmend for new tyres and what experiences have u had??

[dustbug]

Pirelli's YUMMM

I've had Falken 512's on my old peugeot 206 on the 17" GTi 180 rims and they were good bang for your bucks. $135 a tyre from Tempe Tyres. Not sure if they make them for 15's.

Atm using Nankang NS2 and don't mind them actually. $350 a tyre :( :( :( imagine what Pirelli would charge

[MatsHolden]

Got Pirelli P600's on mine and are a great wearing tyre. They're classified as a high performance tyre by Pirelli. For performance and comfort. However havn't got as much grip as i'd like when pushed hard due to their hard compound. (remember arthurs seat? :p ) Will easily get about 70000kms out of them though.

http://www.au.pirelli.com/MEDIA/TyreCatalog/1000017_P6000_big.gif

[xplosv57]

Well my Yokohamas weren't that spectacular down Arthurs Seat either (Astra getting very tail happy) because they are economy tyres so i assume theyre made for slow, easy drivers which im not!! Ive driven a few cars at work with Pirellis and theyre not too bad!!

Any other suggestions??

[JohnBu]

Steve, we know that Continential & michelin make good tyres.. but at a cost, abeit a large cost!

but i've used the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSDs in my last couple of cars (currently on the astra turbo) and have nothing but good thinks to say about them.. quiet, grips well enough and wears well (had mine for 20,000km and looks to be 70%- don't forget modded FWD turbo)

plus they are also good value... i got my 215/40R17s for $195 fitted/balanced which is good value in anyone's language, considering cheap no brand ones are $120ish for the same size.

[xplosv57]

Yeah ive always liked Eagle F1s but assumed they were expensive, ill see if theyre avail in 15in!! Ill see if i can get a discount from one of our tyre suppliers at my old dealership!!!

[PaulyJ]

Get some Yoki C-Drives if you dont want to spend too much.

[xplosv57]

Nah i got Yokohamas on the car now and theyre crap, definetely looking for another brand thats lasts a little longer than 18000km and has some form of grip!!!!

[PaulyJ]

the ones you have are crap, c-drives are great, and the ones one up from them are awesome.

[Poogene2001]

Perhaps it isnt the tyres but the driver that is to blame for poor tyre life?
How often do you check pressures? Have they ever been balanced, rotated or aligned? If the rears still look new, then its not simply "wear" that is occuring. Its irregular wear, which can be avoided by routine and innexpensive tyre maintenance.
Always perplexes me that people will spend $1000+ on a set of rubber, then not look at them or maintain them in anyway.
If you want good life then in most cases you need to sacrifice performance.
I'd recommend trying something simple like a Dunlop SP200E. Quiet, reliable and a decent performer. Oh and cheap.

[xplosv57]

LOL Hahahaha no blame here champ, tyre pressures done weekly religiously and i balanced them myself just after i bought the car in March!! Its not uneven wear, the tyre has worn very evenly!!! Its just the fact that the tyres were made for economy, not for hard driving! Also being FWD, the front tyres are obviously gonna wear before the rears do!!

[Poogene2001]

Umm, rotate front to back?

[xplosv57]

Id usually do that every 20-25000km but the fronts never lasted that long so thats not an option anymore, i just want better tyres and just wanna know of good brands thats it!!!

[lowey22]

im chasing a new set of tyres too, 215/35R18's. my last set were nankangs (came with the wheels) and they have lasted about 50,000kms (about 2 years).

any recommendations? am going to ring around tomorrow and get some quotes and see what the tyre guys recommend.

[dustbug]

im chasing a new set of tyres too, 215/35R18's. my last set were nankangs (came with the wheels) and they have lasted about 50,000kms (about 2 years).

any recommendations? am going to ring around tomorrow and get some quotes and see what the tyre guys recommend.

If you were happy with the Nankangs try the NS2s.

$160 a tyre and if you ring up you could probs get them even cheaper. Maybe $600 for 4 fitted/balanced.

http://www.tempetyres.com.au/products_closeup.asp?part=&part_no=18

[lowey22]

If you were happy with the Nankangs try the NS2s.

$160 a tyre and if you ring up you could probs get them even cheaper. Maybe $600 for 4 fitted/balanced.

http://www.tempetyres.com.au/products_closeup.asp?part=&part_no=18

yeah im happy with the nankangs, they have lasted a fair while and haven't given me any problems. I'm in Townsville, so Tempe probably isn't the best bet, after postage and getting someone to fit them, I would be better off getting them locally.

[JohnBu]

The C Drives are quite good..

but i've always had good results with Eagle F1s, the price seems good too..

i've gone to Boronia Goodyear... im sure u can do a better price from your suppliers.

i think i paid $540 for a set of 205/50/15s Eagle F1s- couple years ago when they had their 4 for 3 offer.

heaps quieter than the michelins MVXs i had previously..

[JohnBu]

DOH, just checked, the Goodyear Eagle F1s and REVSPEC RS-02 (both good tyres) dont come in your size..

[lowey22]

doesn't look like any tyre comes in the size, from what the tyre places are saying anyway. The ones that do fit only have a load rating of 84, rather than the 86 i need. my current tyres are underloaded and i would rather have them the right rating...

any suggestions? i could go up to 225s, but would need to get my speedo recalibrated. how hard is that to do?

[lowey22]

and how much?

also, what is the load rating on other astra G models? im thinking i could just get a new placard?

[PaulyJ]

I've got Nankang NS2 on my front, and they grip well. I'm really happy with them.

[Vampire]

Any feedback on Toyo T1R? Any good?

[The Don]

Any feedback on Toyo T1R? Any good?

I own them,

205/55/15

Awesome wet weather tyre, loads of grip, not much road noise. Downside is that they're soft and I don't see them lasting long. Also, they have a sexy groove pattern!

Also, cheap - they cost me $150 a corner.

And just so I don't soun biased, I have a set or P6000's that i recently bought for the liberty and I rate the T1R's slightly higher.

[Diabolical]

I had some Silverstones on my car a little over a year ago, the grip they had was amazing, but they did not last long at all, now I've got some Bridgestone knockoff brand on my car, and I hate the things, no grip, horrible in the wet, but I only paid $110 for each tyre, so I would probably recommend spending more than I did.

[Tfer]

Id usually do that every 20-25000km but the fronts never lasted that long so thats not an option anymore, i just want better tyres and just wanna know of good brands thats it!!!

Nankangs (I think that is how it is spelt).... have them on the Veccy (235/45 17) and so far so good (25,000kms) and I do not pussy foot around :D I also run the tyres at 40psi all round... harder ride, but better handling and longer life. :)

[dustbug]

doesn't look like any tyre comes in the size, from what the tyre places are saying anyway. The ones that do fit only have a load rating of 84, rather than the 86 i need. my current tyres are underloaded and i would rather have them the right rating...

any suggestions? i could go up to 225s, but would need to get my speedo recalibrated. how hard is that to do?

To go to a wider tyre, i'm pretty sure you don't need to recalibrate the speedo. The reason behind calibrating the speedo is due to the overall diameter of the rim & tyres together increasing therefore getting a false reading at the speedo. By having wider tyres, i beleive this would change anything, just more grip.

Can anyone help me on this one?

[The Don]

Lowey, when I initially bought my T1R's, they were 195's with a rating of 85, which is 1 below the required 86 rating. I checked out the rta guidelines, and this is illegal, and would cause conflicts with my insurance as well. Anyway, I brought it up with who I bought the tyres from, and they replaced (with money adjustment) the tyres with 205's which have a rating of 88.

What you may want to check as well is, if you go for a larger width, this will have an impact on the overall height of the tyre which may cause rubbing issues. There are reasons why certain wheel diameters and ratings and other things aren't allowed for certain cars, and dare I say, you're going to have a toughish time finding the tyre with the right load rating.

If you change overall diameter by a certain percentage (as specified by RTA), you need an engineers certificate as well as the speedo calibration BTW.

[Vampire]

I own them,

205/55/15

Awesome wet weather tyre, loads of grip, not much road noise. Downside is that they're soft and I don't see them lasting long. Also, they have a sexy groove pattern!

Also, cheap - they cost me $150 a corner.

And just so I don't soun biased, I have a set or P6000's that i recently bought for the liberty and I rate the T1R's slightly higher.

Thanks for the feedback. Alot of the dealers recommended them also. I will probably get'em

[jerrypufflewell]

To go to a wider tyre, i'm pretty sure you don't need to recalibrate the speedo. The reason behind calibrating the speedo is due to the overall diameter of the rim & tyres together increasing therefore getting a false reading at the speedo. By having wider tyres, i beleive this would change anything, just more grip.

Can anyone help me on this one?

Yes that's what would need a speedo recalibration- overall diameter (& thus circumference) changing, if u want to see how much diameter will change there are a heap of calculators out there e.g http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Also on the grip issue, if we assume the tread pattern on both tyres is just as good, a narrower tyre will have less grip in almost all situations- But a wider tyre will be more susceptible to hydroplaning (same weight over a larger contact area means it is harder to displace the water). I guess I could explain this better if i thought about it but i can't be bothered now, ask if u don't understand :o

Sorry I forgot which state everyone in this discussion was from but if u want to know what u can legally do by yourself / with engineering signatory in NSW it's here: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi09_rev4.pdf
Edit: Ahh Vic & WA, well this link is no use to you, I spose there should be something similar on your VicRoads / whatever the WAn one is called...

[Valve Bounce]

I got MaRangoni Zeta Linear, they are italian if im not mistaken, 195/50/R15, they a soft compound tyre, last up to 60 000km, and these babies grip like velcro...i go around a roundabout at 90km/h and the car just sits, no sliding, nothing!

[jerrypufflewell]

You must encounter some large roundabouts! :p

[Valve Bounce]

Sometimes, in the residential areas they not big, but in the city and towns they bout the same size as yours

[J]

I had some Silverstones on my car a little over a year ago, the grip they had was amazing, but they did not last long at all, now I've got some Bridgestone knockoff brand on my car, and I hate the things, no grip, horrible in the wet, but I only paid $110 for each tyre, so I would probably recommend spending more than I did.

Diabolical: are these the FTZ Sport?

They were great when new relative to my factory Michelin Energy (which has hard compound and are non-sporting). But they become useless in wet or unsealed roads much sooner than tyres with straight "circumferencial" grooves, even with 3mm tread left! How do I know? Try aquaplaning for 40m all the way into a narrow 90-degree left hander and trying to force a drift...scary as! They are also very noisy at this tread depth relative to the new Bridgestone Potenza GIII replacement (but that's expected).

So for your sake, I hope you are prepared to replace them sooner...or it's skating time :)

Jeff

[J]

Also on the grip issue, if we assume the tread pattern on both tyres is just as good, a narrower tyre will have less grip in almost all situations- But a wider tyre will be more susceptible to hydroplaning (same weight over a larger contact area means it is harder to displace the water). I guess I could explain this better if i thought about it but i can't be bothered now, ask if u don't understand :o

I will give this a go...

Say you try to press down onto someone's shoulder muscle. With the same force, you will hurt them more if you use your finger instead of your palm :)

So with a narrower tyre: it is just easier for it to dig through standing water to find the asphalt :) A compromise would be an aquachannel tyre or a "TwinTire". Details can be found here:
http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

where you can read about this and more in more detail :)

Cheers.

Jeff

[jerrypufflewell]

Ah I bet that's easier to understand than my explanation ;)
Good link :)

[Epiphany]

i got a set of Nankang Sp2's (think they were called) cost me £40gbp each and were well worth the bucks.. got em 23k miles ago. had to replace the fronts after i raced the car and melted one :( (oops) but i cant moan really... the rears still look brank new :)

[bill142]

Yeah ive always liked Eagle F1s but assumed they were expensive, ill see if theyre avail in 15in!! Ill see if i can get a discount from one of our tyre suppliers at my old dealership!!!

They should be. I had them on a set of 14in rims which I had on my old astra.

[xplosv57]

Well i've finally decided on tyres :dance: , ive ordered Continental PremiumContact2 tyres, the brochure says they have excellent wet and cornering characteristics, then again i guess u can't believe everything your read hehehe!!! Well see how they go, i reckon Continental is a good brand, we got them on heaps of cars at work and they seem to last!!! Thanks for the responses guys!!! :angel: