Car tyres a minefield ?

ChrisH

ChrisH

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Chris
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What makes are good, what are bad and what to avoid like the plague.

Having a company car for years I've no idea what makes are good and not too expensive.

I've just spent some money having my Merc Clk230 (2001 ) bodywork de rusted and tidied up, not that it needed much but as I intend keeping her a long time it's money well spent.

Now I want to give a facelift with some new rims. I could use the existing tyres because there's loads of tread but fancy going up a rim size or two.

So what's good in the tyre world these days, there seems to be a plethora of foreign makes now that I've never heard of.
 
I have found the blackcircles tyres group very readonable and not given for charging for unnecessary work.
If you look at their web site you can research tyres suitable for your car and make a choice depending on what factors you believe are most important,

Dave
 
Good : Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli, Continental. There all tend to be consistently good for road tyres, although it's been a good few years since I've had Pirellis on anything.

Khumo and Yokohama make good trackday / motorsport tyres. Avon make good racing slicks (if, like me, you still prefer crossplies).

Other makes can be good or bad. Given the importance of the role tyres fulfill, I avoid experimenting with "value" tyres an unknown manufacturer for the sake of a few quid.
 
The tyres are the only point of contact you have with the road surface and each tyre only has a contact area of approximately the size of a CD disc.

In other words anyone who economises on tyres and/or doesn't look after them is a stupid fool. Tyre pressures and tread depths are all important and always put your pair with most tread on the rear axle (reduces it drifting out in oversteer).

That Merc is a heavy car. I would choose a well established brand of tyre and fit the same all round and check with Mercedes enthusiast forums what they tend to use or recommend.
 
Tyres now have to come with a rating for wet performance, noise and fuel economy in a similar vein to the ratings found on a fridge freezer. It takes the guess work out of judging compounds.

If it were me, i'd recommend staying on the premium brands like Michelin, Pirelli,Continental,avon,dunlop but semprit, Hankook and Maxxis both have decent offerings now too.

Cheaper tyres often compromise with tread wear, wet handling, fuel economy and noise so it ultimately comes down to how much per corner your want to spend.

Blackcircles will give you tesco club card points too iirc as Tesco have a pretty healthy share in the company.
 
another thumbs up for Blackcircles...been using them for a number of years and you can even get a fitter to come to your house and do them
 
Never been disappointed in Khumos.
 
I really like Barum Bravuris 2, because they are made under licence from Continental. Have used them for a year and a half on two cars, through all weathers.
I used to use Barum tyres for cycle racing back in the eighties, and they were quick, sticky and reliable.
 
Personally, I would stick with the standard profiles on standard sized rims. Low profile might look better (to some) but it will do very little for road performance and even less for comfort and noise.
 
I always use Vredestein tyres on my Audi. Always found them grippy in both wet and dry conditions. Good price too.
I normally get them from Camskill.
 
Not quite sure what Mercedes are using on their new models, but when I bought mine new in 2010, they were fitted with Continental, which haven't worn that well. The rears are almost down to the wear bars after 16000 miles, whilst the fronts are still showing 5mm. The front and rear are different sizes, so unable to swap them around. My previous car, a BMW had Bridgestone, which gave me far better milage and that was also a rear wheel drive. I don't think I would fit Continental when I decide to renew them.

Shall watch this post with interest.:thumbs:
 
Nod said:
Personally, I would stick with the standard profiles on standard sized rims. Low profile might look better (to some) but it will do very little for road performance and even less for comfort and noise.
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Low profiles will make a difference to road performance. Because the height of the tyre wall is lower and stiffer it rolls less during cornering, this will provide better grip along with the extra tread width. Different makes of tyres produce different ride qualities and noise levels. If going up one inch on wheel diameter, and you get the right brand of tyre, it should make very little noticeable difference to noise or comfort.
killwilly said:
Not quite sure what Mercedes are using on their new models, but when I bought mine new in 2010, they were fitted with Continental, which haven't worn that well. The rears are almost down to the wear bars after 16000 miles, whilst the fronts are still showing 5mm. The front and rear are different sizes, so unable to swap them around. My previous car, a BMW had Bridgestone, which gave me far better milage and that was also a rear wheel drive. I don't think I would fit Continental when I decide to renew them.

Shall watch this post with interest.:thumbs:
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You are comparing different tyres on different cars, it doesn't mean the Bridgestones would have fared much better on your Merc. I noticed a Merc a couple of years back on Continental Contact Sport 2 tyres were yours the same? My Mondeo had Continental Sport 3 tyres and I got almost 25k miles out of the front tyres. The Sport 3's have now been superseded by Sport 5's which went on the car back in July. Grip, comfort and noise, have been just as fantastic so far, I will have to wait to see if they are just as good in snow or how they wear.

ChrisH, the chances are, what ever make of tyres the car was fitted with from new, is the brand it was tested and developed on. Look to see if any other models within the Merc range run the same size you are considering fitting, if they do, fit that brand.
 
My tips. Go for semi worn in the best you can find, ... you get the best of both worlds, plus they still last longer than budget tyres.

All modern tyres have pretty good rubbery grip nowadays ....But in an emergency stopping situation its the construction of quality tyres that can make all the difference.

Low profiles mean your suspension has to work much harder, and wheel size changes stress axles, bearings and can easily cause instability during certain road conditions.
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
My tips. Go for semi worn in the best you can find, ... you get the best of both worlds, plus they still last longer than budget tyres.

All modern tyres have pretty good rubbery grip nowadays ....But in an emergency stopping situation its the construction of quality tyres that can make all the difference.

Low profiles mean your suspension has to work much harder, and wheel size changes stress axles, bearings and can easily cause instability during certain road conditions.
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My Mondeo comes with 18" 40 series tyres as standard, but it has uprated suspension over the rest of the range. Most of the range however, comes with a standard suspension set up yet various models come with 16", 17" or 18" wheels and tyres. Modern cars are developed at higher demands and extremes, than what they are ever likely to have to endure in most peoples driving.

As for Part worns, in my opinion they're ok for a quick fix, temporary replacement, but you are transferring tyres worn on one cars suspension set up onto another vehicles different suspension set up. Can be a false economy as they could wear out quicker.
Sounds to me like ChrisH is wanting to spend some money on his car to keep. My tip would be to save and buy the best, most suitable tyres he can. When I replaced my tyres in July, only the rears were in need of replacement but I replaced all four to ensure the same tyre pattern on all corners as the originals weren't available. I'm fussy about my tyres, I'd always at least replace a pair.
 
Chris, if possible, take a few cars on different profiles out for a quick drive round the block and maybe (again, if possible) look at them side by side. My car was available with 17, 18 or 19 inch rims (IIRC) and on the 19s was a lot more rumbly on the road. If you drive anywhere near the limits on the road, you shouldn't be there! In the end I went for the 18" rims since they looked better than the 17s but still had enough flex in the sidewalls to reduce the rumble (and jarring). YMMV.
 
Nod said:
Chris, if possible, take a few cars on different profiles out for a quick drive round the block and maybe (again, if possible) look at them side by side. My car was available with 17, 18 or 19 inch rims (IIRC) and on the 19s was a lot more rumbly on the road. If you drive anywhere near the limits on the road, you shouldn't be there! In the end I went for the 18" rims since they looked better than the 17s but still had enough flex in the sidewalls to reduce the rumble (and jarring). YMMV.
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Tyre noise can just be down to the tread pattern, or how hard the tyres are. I'm member of a car forum where most people have the same car as me, lots of different tyre brands fitted, but all the same size. Some complain of tyre noise and hard ride, yet my car has suffered neither on Continentals. I'd expect your Jag to have wider tyres than my 225/40x18's so I'd have thought it would have been able to have not suffered on 19's, especially as some fit 20's to the Jag.
 
go a local independent car supplier not halfords of quick fit I'm talking a proper tyre company ask there advice on whats best tell them what you want and what you expect

i did with a local supplier know them anyway 30 + years and best set of tyres i have ever had are now on the car quiet good grip and looking to see who long they last but what they have said is they will last along time so we will see

goodyear's is what i have on not sure n model
 
Thanks for all your input.

Yes the cars being done up to keep. I'm having the work done because I've been after buying this car for about 5 years.

I'm a company car driver but as you can probably guess I've not paid for a tyre in about 15 years.

I've been looking at Nexen as they get a great Which report just behind Pirelli and Continental.

All I aim to do is go from 16" to 17" so not a huge jump, not after bling just something that looks a bit like AMG rims. Just a tad more up to date.

Ps. It's a 2001 Mercedes Clk230 Kompressor coupe not a Jaguar :D
 
I had nexen 16's on my focus, I'll find the model number later if you like.

Awful tyres tbh, poor wet weather handling at normal road speeds and noisy. They also lasted about 8k less than the Michelin primacy's they replaced.

Happily running my diesel hack on Bridgestone turanza's which were only 2 quid more than nexen.
 
Just to throw a spanner in the works, beware where you buy your tyres - apparently there a lot of far Eastern copies of top end tyres flooding the market just now. I'd buy from a reputable company and be aware of "under the arches" places.
 
nilagin said:
You are comparing different tyres on different cars, it doesn't mean the Bridgestones would have fared much better on your Merc. I noticed a Merc a couple of years back on Continental Contact Sport 2 tyres were yours the same? My Mondeo had Continental Sport 3 tyres and I got almost 25k miles out of the front tyres. The Sport 3's have now been superseded by Sport 5's which went on the car back in July. Grip, comfort and noise, have been just as fantastic so far, I will have to wait to see if they are just as good in snow or how they wear.
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Continental Sport 3 on mine.
 
Nod said:
Personally, I would stick with the standard profiles on standard sized rims. Low profile might look better (to some) but it will do very little for road performance and even less for comfort and noise.
Click to expand...

:plus1: Absolutely spot on! As a rule of thumb, for the driving experience, you want the smallest wheels and tyres you can fit to any car. Of course the driving Gods will tell you that you want huge big tyres like a racing car for extra grip and cornering speed but I raced for a few years and engineered a few cars and even on racing cars you can go too big on tyres. And that's on totally smooth tarmac.

If you want the car to drive as well as possible, as opposed to wanting it to look UNsubtly different from everyone elses', silly fat tyres just increase unsprung weight, which is never good. They tend to tramline more, aquaplane a bit more, bump steer a bit more, wear suspension components more, and most of all, reduce steering feel!
 
Yves Geza said:
:plus1: Absolutely spot on! As a rule of thumb, for the driving experience, you want the smallest wheels and tyres you can fit to any car. Of course the driving Gods will tell you that you want huge big tyres like a racing car for extra grip and cornering speed but I raced for a few years and engineered a few cars and even on racing cars you can go too big on tyres. And that's on totally smooth tarmac.

If you want the car to drive as well as possible, as opposed to wanting it to look UNsubtly different from everyone elses', silly fat tyres just increase unsprung weight, which is never good. They tend to tramline more, aquaplane a bit more, bump steer a bit more, wear suspension components more, and most of all, reduce steering feel!
Click to expand...

As I wrote earlier modern cars are tested beyond the limits they are likely to meet in everyday driving. Wear of suspension components should be unaffected although worn bushes would be expected to give out sooner. He's only wanting to go up 1" in wheel diameter so the tyre width is unlikely to increase dramatically. less flex in the tyre wall should maintain the feel in the steering.
 
nilagin said:
My Mondeo comes with 18" 40 series tyres as standard, but it has uprated suspension over the rest of the range. Most of the range however, comes with a standard suspension set up yet various models come with 16", 17" or 18" wheels and tyres. Modern cars are developed at higher demands and extremes, than what they are ever likely to have to endure in most peoples driving.

As for Part worns, in my opinion they're ok for a quick fix, temporary replacement, but you are transferring tyres worn on one cars suspension set up onto another vehicles different suspension set up. Can be a false economy as they could wear out quicker.
Sounds to me like ChrisH is wanting to spend some money on his car to keep. My tip would be to save and buy the best, most suitable tyres he can. When I replaced my tyres in July, only the rears were in need of replacement but I replaced all four to ensure the same tyre pattern on all corners as the originals weren't available. I'm fussy about my tyres, I'd always at least replace a pair.
Click to expand...


I go for 'slight ware' 'best quality' which in effect are the best of the used tyres available from my suppliers. I guess you have to trust your supplier a little, but also, top quality tyres are tough as heck, and if after inspection, they look perfect with slight ware ...well that's probably exactly what they are...all tyres need a scrubbing in time, which goes far to eliminate suspension scrub differences I think. ... the frugal choice.
 
Yves Geza said:
:plus1: Absolutely spot on! As a rule of thumb, for the driving experience, you want the smallest wheels and tyres you can fit to any car. Of course the driving Gods will tell you that you want huge big tyres like a racing car for extra grip and cornering speed but I raced for a few years and engineered a few cars and even on racing cars you can go too big on tyres. And that's on totally smooth tarmac.

If you want the car to drive as well as possible, as opposed to wanting it to look UNsubtly different from everyone elses', silly fat tyres just increase unsprung weight, which is never good. They tend to tramline more, aquaplane a bit more, bump steer a bit more, wear suspension components more, and most of all, reduce steering feel!
Click to expand...

:thumbs: In spades I find.
 
DavieW said:
Just to throw a spanner in the works, beware where you buy your tyres - apparently there a lot of far Eastern copies of top end tyres flooding the market just now. I'd buy from a reputable company and be aware of "under the arches" places.
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Excuse me fella, did you mean illegal imports rather than copies? I though the tyre industry is worried about main brand tyres imported from hot countries where the tyres are not suitable to our colder climate conditions, rather than copies.
 
i think he means that theres a lot of counterfeits arround that are really ditchfinders but have been branded as goodyear or pirrelli or whatever
 
killwilly said:
Not quite sure what Mercedes are using on their new models, but when I bought mine new in 2010, they were fitted with Continental, which haven't worn that well. The rears are almost down to the wear bars after 16000 miles, whilst the fronts are still showing 5mm. The front and rear are different sizes, so unable to swap them around. My previous car, a BMW had Bridgestone, which gave me far better milage and that was also a rear wheel drive. I don't think I would fit Continental when I decide to renew them.

Shall watch this post with interest.:thumbs:
Click to expand...

My 350D now has Khumos on the front and will get them on the back in due course.
 
Yves Geza said:
:plus1: Absolutely spot on! As a rule of thumb, for the driving experience, you want the smallest wheels and tyres you can fit to any car.!
Click to expand...

although fitting teeny wheels will make you lower, thus increasing the chances of wanging the sump or exhaust on potholes, sleeping policemen , or rocks and debris - and lets not even consider the various hazards attendant to tyre stretching and other such stupidity

my view is if you intending to drive on the public road (as oppoised to racing etc) any decent brand of tyre will not be the limiting factor in the driving experience ... personally i tend to buy the cheapest branded tyre available as i go down crappy tracks and half made roads a lot and get punctures regularly so expensive tyres are a pointless extravagance to me
 
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big soft moose said:
although fitting teeny wheels will make you lower, thus increasing the chances of wanging the sump or exhaust on potholes, slleping policemen , or rocks and debris - and lets not even consider the various hazards attendant to tyre strenching and other such stupidity
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You should always try to maintain the same rolling diameter within a certain percentage or else the speedo will need recalibrating.
Don't get me started on stretched tyres. This practice needs to be banned. On the car forum I follow, a member had stretched tyres on his car, he hit something like a small rock/large stone on a residential road (so he "shouldn't" have been driving fast, his tyre burst, and he lost control of his car. Result was he destroyed the whole side of his car and ripped the front wheel off. He spat his dummy out when it was suggested the cause was his stretched tyres and he'd have probably have just broke a wheel had he had normal tyres. Sadly he's bought an identical car and put stretched tyres on it again.
 
nilagin said:
You should always try to maintain the same rolling diameter within a certain percentage or else the speedo will need recalibrating.
Don't get me started on stretched tyres. This practice needs to be banned. On the car forum I follow, a member had stretched tyres on his car, he hit something like a small rock/large stone on a residential road (so he "shouldn't" have been driving fast, his tyre burst, and he lost control of his car. Result was he destroyed the whole side of his car and ripped the front wheel off. He spat his dummy out when it was suggested the cause was his stretched tyres and he'd have probably have just broke a wheel had he had normal tyres. Sadly he's bought an identical car and put stretched tyres on it again.
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at least he didnt kill anyone else with his utter brain dead stupidity - its the same sort of numpty that starts drilling holes or slots in their discs and to be honest it probably is against the law as the modification makes the car unroadworthy - but being illegal is one thing, getting caught is something else again.

theres a divbong down round here who's got different sized wheels on the front and back of his fiesta (with the front pair being stretched as well) - that can't do a lot for the handling imo
 
Mitchelin last the longest out of the big boys. Not tried blackcircle though
 
andy700 said:
I really like Barum Bravuris 2, because they are made under licence from Continental. Have used them for a year and a half on two cars, through all weathers.
I used to use Barum tyres for cycle racing back in the eighties, and they were quick, sticky and reliable.
Click to expand...
Same here - I've used these for 18 mths too, really good ride, grip and stopping for decent money if you car is heavy or high performance get the extra load versions some great deals around for 2 and 4 tyres
 
personally i have had yokohama's on my last two cars, but being a 1.3 petrol and now a 1.3 turbo diesel, i don't have to really worry about the performance end of things.... been on for 3 years and still loads of grip left..
 
Safest bet is to avoid used tyres and buy a well known brand, some tyres suit some makes better than others so you're best researching on a car/tyre specific website rather than a photography based one;)

Simon
 
Yves Geza said:
unsprung weight
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This. It is, however, a bit technical for a forum discussion on road tyres.

The standard reason to go up on wheel diameter is to allow bigger brakes to be fitted, because braking performance needs to be improved due to increased engine performance. I am always puzzled when I see mahoosive wheels and the original tiny discs and calipers (or even drums) hiding in the huge space inside the rim on a car with a standard engine.
 
This will let you work out what new wheel/tyre combo will work on your car http://www.etyres.co.uk/tyre-size-calculator

www.tyrereviews.co.uk can be pretty useful when looking at new tyres.

I'm having new tyres fitted on Friday.

When I bought my Focus 2 years ago is had matching Nexens on the rear, a different Nexen on the front N/S and a "Zeetech" on the front O/S. My mate who fits tyres said he'd never heard of that make :lol:

I changed all 4 tyres because there was very little grip in the wet.

Went for Uniroyal RainSport2 in the end which were about £120 for 225/40/18s. Excellent in wet & dry but quite soft so they wore out pretty badly on the front which I replaced with Hankook Evo 1 S2s.

I'm just about to replace the Hankooks on the front like for like as I really liked them.

I made the mistake once of paying £35 per tyre (195/60/15s)..... never again! As soon as there was a hint of moisture on the road it was like driving on ice and they scrubbed out after about 11K miles. Replaces with Goodyears at £50 each and they lasted double the mileage on the front!
 
There is so much rubbish wriiten about the advantages of premium tyres - in most cases the only reason they are premium is the price they have charge to cover the huge advertising budget. The other thing to remember is if you want grip they tyre will need to be soft, if it is soft it wont last as long - if you are driving a normal car normal mileage on normal roads at normal speeds you will see no difference between a normal tyre and a premium tyre ( note a normal tyre is not an economy tyre) www.tyrereviews.co.uk is a great resource. If you are tracking or have a high performance car you are talking totally different dynamics.
 
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