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The front tyres on my SMax have got to the legal limit after c.20,000 miles. Pricing up replacements, it looks like the cheapest tyres of a half decent brand (Hankook) are about £160, and he original Michelin’s are about £200. The rears are down to about 3mm, so maybe another 3 months out of them, so looking at between about £640 to £800 in the next few months. I do about 18k miles per year, so it’s looking like about £500-£600 in tyres every year 🙁
That sounds like a lot of money to me.
Anybody had experiences of brands like Hankook or any suggestions generally about how to keep tyre costs down? I don’t drive fast, but I do tow a caravan now and again. I’m not sure the Hankook’s are really going to save me anything if they don’t last as long as the Michelin’s. TBH, I’m pretty shocked at how much tyres have gone up in the last few years. It looks like it might make sense to get a new set of smaller wheels (so cheaper tyres) and run winter tyres for 6 months of the year.
I'm using Hankook Ventuses on the mondeo, they seem good- decent traction, not bad at all in standing water. Haven't had them long enough to judge wear, only about 5000 miles in and tbh they look like new but I remember my previous Hankooks seemed to wear faster the older they are.
(it's a 180bhp estate with a driver that likes to hear wheels spin btw so they have a hard life 😉 )
Try Tesco Tyres for some good deals.
generally about how to keep tyre costs down
Check your tyre pressures regularly. Also helps with fuel consumption.
Don't accelerate/corner hard
Buy a petrol engined car.
Other than that, try part worn tyres.
When I was looking for a cheaper longer lasting option for my dads A3 tdi, Kuhmo's came up as a pretty good option.
KU31 i think it was.
minus sized winters is a great option for me out in BC.
I bought a set of conti winters online and got a set of minus sized steel wheels for less than the equivalent tyre only price for the stock size. No need to pay to remount tyres every 6 months either.
presumably you can go right down to 16's even if your stock rims are 18.
Acceleras. Owned by Vredestein.
Inexpensive but surprisingly good tyres. Never had a problem, much better than the other budget tyres i've tried.
I use maxxis map1's on my galaxy. Mid range but very good tyres. £78 each. I do 20k+ a year, the rears have lasted 31k before being replaced last week and the fronts have done 14k so far.
My tyres are 215/60/16 99xl w for reference
No personal experience of them but have a look at Bridgestone Duravis, heard some pretty remarkable claims about their longevity. You might have more luck finding them from the online folk like etyres as highstreet vendors tend not to be too keen on stocking then on account of it being a longer time before they'll get your custom again
Khumos last well on my focus. But the s max is a lot larger vehicle so I'd go with what the Mpv brigade recommend
What size tyres? Ford often seem to spec unusual tyre sizes, which pushes the price up.
Have a look on camskill - website looks a bit rubbish, but always found their service & prices excellent. Just need to find a local place to fit them. My usual garage will do 2 tyres for £24 inc. vat.
Kumho make some decent tyres, and I am a recent convert (well, a couple of yrs) to Matador tyres. The mp44, recently replaced with the mp46 is great.
Definitely shop about. Different suppliers have differing prices at different times. Personally I stick to the big name brands and shop for the best deal. If necessary getting them sent to me and fitted locally.
Khumos last well on my focus. But the s max is a lot larger vehicle so I'd go with what the Mpv brigade recommend
Got these on the Mondeo great tyre. Came recomended from a ex Michelin engineer!!!
Acceleras. Owned by Vredestein.
Had these. one had a blow out on French motorway. sidewall fault on tyre 👿
Thanks for the suggestions, the tyres are 235/45 R18's.... why do they do they put these on people carriers :-(. I'd forgotton about Camskill I'll check them out. There doesn't seem much in the midrange in this size of tyre.
Part worns. Been using them for years.
I see the tyres, i choose which go on the car. Fraction of the cost of a new tyre and near as dammit the same tread. Never ever had any problems.
Yes I expect a STW flaming - you are welcome to your opinion but water off a ducks back if its negative 🙂
Uniroyal rainsports 2. Good tyre, on c'skill for 135 a corner.
I used www.blackcircles.com to fit Kumho Solus, can't fault them so far, good in all the weather they've driven and minimal road noise - spot on.
Got 2 for £120ish (fitted) on my Mondizzle.
The Kumhos I used- KH17s maybe?- were pretty good, but shortlived, wiped out the cost saving.
Thanks for the suggestions, the tyres are 235/45 R18's.... why do they do they put these on people carriers :-(.
there are other wheel/ tyre combos in the SMAX range with 16 and 17 rims. Perhaps compare a 215/60 R16 or a 225/50 R17 tyre for price against your current size - you might want to sell your vajazzle wheels and buy a useful set :-).
Its winter now so I've just this afternoon fitted some pimp 175/70/14Rs as I actually intend to get where I'm going now the snow is falling.
Definitely shop around. If you go into a tyre place never pay the price they say. Knocked Kwik Fit down from 520 to 270. Black Circles and MyTyres to see what you could get and then got a store to beat that.
[i]The rears are down to about 3mm[/i]
Barely legal and winter is here, not the best time to find the rear trying to overtake the front...
The S-Max is a big heavy car and can carry 7 folk, so needs decent tyres. If its only 25% more for Michelin than Hankook, go Michelin.
camskill, and check out cheaper alternative to your factory tyre size
(for instance a common swap for owners of 205/50/17 tyres is to swap for 225/45/27 - save around £20 a corner and a much better selection of tyres)
Sounds like the Kuhmo KU31 get pretty good reviews, I can get them online for £119 a tyre, I just need to find a decent local fitter.