From my earlier post you may have gathered that I have an impending MOT due! I’ve only had the car 8 months and this has crept up on me – always got a reminder through the post for previous cars.

Firstly tyres – a recent check by Ford whilst in the garage having some minor warranty stuff looked at found a cut on the inside of one of the front tyres. The cheapest I can find a replacement is 135 quid for an Avon. That comes down to 65 quid if I go a speed rating lower than which is currently on the car.

The current rating is Y (235/40/R18/95Y) and its a Potenza tyre. The lower rated tyre is a W which is still good for 168mph!! I don’t rag the car and its an estate Mondeo so hardly a supercar!

Two questions, will I invalidate any insurance by going to a W rating from a Y and does anybody have any views on Westlake SV308 Xl tyres? Online reviews are somewhat limited.

Lastly, there has been differential wear with the nearside front being worn more than the offside. Now I know this can happen if the tracking is out and new front tyres should remedy this. However, this car pulls to the left quite badly at the moment and when the front wheels are pointing straight ahead, the steering wheel is angled slightly. Is this still tracking related or is some other adjustment required?

Thanks

Went from Potenzas on my old Imprezza to Avons ZV5’s.

The Avons are a better all year round tyre – I’ll probably get another two for the front end in a few weeks as they are scrubbed out on both shoulders.

Get your alignment checked – the tyre wear will make some difference, I can feel it on my car now for instance but compared to the way out alignment it had when I bought the car it’s still much less scary even with worn outer edges.

Kinda sounds like you’ve either smacked one of the rims, messing up the tracking or someone hasn’t put the steering wheel on properly – either way get it checked out by someone competent that can see the thing. We can’t from forumland.