[Closed] How much do you pay for car tyres?

Why do you hate your wife?

Eh?

loco - what an odd person you appear to be. Why would your wife not be able to change a tyre? Why would it be such a problem? Are you one of those people who calls out the RAC to change a tyre because they don't want to get dirty or raise their heart rate by 5bpm?

I'm always rather surprised that MTB riders who have first hand painful experience of high tyre drag from the stuff we normally use, have any doubts at all when it comes to treating their vehicle to the lowest resistance tyres.

If you were on a road bike you'd want it. No..?

As someone who's a mountain biker and a road rider at times I am more than aware of rolling resistance. I'm also even more aware of grip and the dire consequences when 1500kg of metal hits people, things, leaves its nice smooth track and stops abruptly. Also, as a biker I know just how many people out there have zero speed judgement and zero road skills. And I do everything I can to avoid the problems caused - I can't even begin to grasp the mindset that would tradeoff ultimate grip for 1mpg more from rolling resistance.

Also as a biker, I know the advantages of scilica tyre compounds 🙂

Low rolling resistance tyres don't necessarily mean less grip (they are not simply harder) and I'm getting at least 3mpg improvement on the Nokians.

Low rolling resistance tyres don't necessarily mean less grip (they are not simply harder) and I'm getting at least 3mpg improvement on the Nokians.

I've tried a few, including the big make ones and can conclude that unless it's changed in the last 2 years (silica tyres have been on the market for over a decade), yes it does mean sod all grip in my experience. 3mpg difference makes about £50 a year difference to me, I will happily sacrifice that to stop when some moron pulls out.

I do need some new tyres on the front of the estate car due to pothole damage, if you can point me to a set you consider grip really well and improve economy I'll gladly try them.

unless it's changed in the last 2 years

It has. The original Michelins were E3A, then they became Energy then they brought out a new Energy fairly recently to address the wet braking issues that people'd reported. You may've seen an ad campaign.

I never feel anything other than glued to the road on either the Michelin Energies on the Prius or the Nokian WR G2s on the Passat. Maybe I'm just undeducated, I dunno. Maybe less than some sporty tyres, but sod all? I honestly don't know what you mean. I seem to be able to stop very fast and corner as fast as I'd ever want to.

What did you experience on these tyres?

I experienced understeer at normal driving speeds and zero wet braking or acceleration grip when I had them. The same can be said about other performance tyres I've tried though, not just energy ones so I'm not just having a go at them specifically. And different tyres behave differently with different tyre sizes, which complicates it.

You can push all tyres well beyond their limits, it's how they deal with that that matters. Rainsports grip almost as well in teh wet as the dry and when they do slip it's predictable and progressive. The energy tyres I've used have gripped to a point (lower) then just snapped and let go, which is lethal. (They were michelins I tried)

Hmm.. interesting. Not had any understeer, not done many emergency stops but certainly never had the traction control light flashing.

The worst tyre experience I've had was the Bridgestone Turanzas that came on the Prius. Ok so they were worn, but it was very easy to get the traction control on pulling out of junctions on them and they let me down when I had to do a wet emergency stop. At least I think they did, it was one of those over-in-a-flash things when someone pulled out in front of me at about 20mph. Was too busy concentrating on avoiding them to assess how quickly we were really stopping, but it certainly did not feel fast enough.

Re money saving, I think you save much more with the longevity than with the fuel.

Right, Nokian V are now on the car. And I am quite pleased with them. At first I wasn't because there was a lot of rumble from the carcass on rough roads, but that seems to have gone away somehow and they are now astonishingly quiet with almost no high frequency noise. MPG seems high but inconclusive so far, and the handling is ace. Very well planted indeed, perhaps due to the XL load rating meaning stiffer sidewalls, not sure.

Nokian are ace for car tyres as well as bike tyres 🙂

Just paid £140 for one [url= http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/Sport-Contact-3.htm ]Conti Sport Contact 3[/url] (205/50 R17 93W) - ouch!

I think I prefer punctures on the bike!

Another 306 owner here and I try to get the correct profile 195/55/15 for about £50-55 a corner. Even at costco it costs £100 a corner for 195/55/15 Michelin Primacys - they last very well but they are expensive.

I could drop down to 195/50/15 for about £30-35 each but I prefer the ride of 55's.

Also a fan of Nokian tyres and run WR G2 in winter and I did buy part worns for summer as I got a nearly new set of Vredestein Sportrac 3's for £80.

Yes it does seem a bit dodgy buying part worns but how many of you replace the tyres that come on a car you buy 2nd hand? At least I get the chance to fully inspect the tyres inside and out before I fit them to my wheels. I would rather spend £80 on some VERY good part worns than £180-200 on some middle range tyres.

Tend to buy the cheapest "half decent" brand I can get my hands on at the time after some research. Almost every car I've ever bought has come with some sort of crap rubber on, so I'm usually only too happy to be getting rid. Would never spend out for the likes of Michelin, Conti or Goodyear though (unless heavily discounted) as there are some very good tyres out there from cheaper manufacturers. Falken have really impressed me, Kumho's are good, Fuldas have been good too, and I've had very positive experiences running Avons (which is the tyre I'd pick from choice as long as not too expensive).

Sadly my new (to me) Audi A4 has come with some (not too bad) Kenda's up front, and some (bloody awful) Rotalla's on the back, all of them nearly new tread so will take ages to wear out! Might just fork out 200 quid for 4 new half decent tyres and sling these all on eBay soon though just for piece of mind...

I can also report that they are vastly quieter at 110mph.

£120 for 245/45 17 Contis from the local small tyre place - no fills but relatively cheap.

Compared to MTB tyres - money for rubber - car tyres are not that expensive.

I could drop down to 195/50/15 for about £30-35 each but I prefer the ride of 55's.

I have to say there's no discernable difference between 55s and 50s on my 306, and I'm fairly "in tune" with the feel of cars. Certainly there's more difference from tyre model to tyre model than the switch in profile gave me. Does bugger up your speedo a bit though.

and I'm fairly "in tune" with the feel of cars

Is that a nice way of saying you're a fussy bugger? 🙂

That's a very kind way of putting it!

It is the estate though, so boat-like handling is the norm.

I'm the same 🙂

i bought a new tyre for my Kia sedona a few days ago, as the previous one popped on the motorway.
i got the cheapest one available, fitted, for £65.
i would have no idea if it affects braking, grip, speed etc 😕

A few hours ago my wallet became £278 lighter 🙁
4 tyres for the horse trailer, wouldn't be so bad if they weren't 195/50r13c 104N.
Didn't have a choice, all were miss-shaped, one was so bad it couldn't roll two metres without falling over! How it hadn't blown out I don't know...
Went for budget premium, a like-for-like replacement would have cost me around £360!

Wunun...

Curse you Spooky b329!!! 😡

Why are you named after a road?

He's not, is he? I thought all B roads were four digit?

Anyway it's the curse of the trailer. "Oh the tyres are fine, loads of tread left" you hear.. except the tread never wears on trailer tyres, they just get old and disintegrate.

He's not, is he? I thought all B roads were four digit?

Where's the B329 then?

I hope its a nice twisty road 🙂

Re: the trailer tyres...they were seven years old, five years of their life spent undercover so I was hoping the 'replace after six years' advice could be extended a little. No signs of degradation at all, until last week when I noticed the tyre was bulging. Thought it was parked on a stone, until I looked closer and there was a 3mm crack in the tread and a huge bulge. Make that several bulges, none of the tyres were 'flat' across the tread! Must have been like it a while as the bulged areas had less tread depth remaining.

At least the horse will get a much smoother ride...tyres are 90psi so with a 50% profile and next to no suspension on the trailer it must have been jigging quite well...

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ojr/5650393969/ ]IMAG0282[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ojr/ ]Ollie and Sally[/url], on Flickr

[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/5650396367_71e7c7ab76.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/5650396367_71e7c7ab76.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ojr/5650396367/ ]IMAG0297[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ojr/ ]Ollie and Sally[/url], on Flickr

I thought 5 years was the limit?

We paid £170 for a pair of Vredestein Hi-tracs including alignment and VAT for a ford focus

Just bought two rear tyres for my car. Pirelli PZero in 255/35/18 and they were £230 each

coffeeking - Member
I could drop down to 195/50/15 for about £30-35 each but I prefer the ride of 55's.
I have to say there's no discernable difference between 55s and 50s on my 306, and I'm fairly "in tune" with the feel of cars. Certainly there's more difference from tyre model to tyre model than the switch in profile gave me. Does bugger up your speedo a bit though.

Been driving hatchback 306's for 13 years with lots of tyres and suspension set ups and I can honestly say there is a definite difference of 55 to 50 profile. So much so I would rather spend more for the 55 profile. 50 is a lot more agile but 55 does ride better.

50's are also rated a bit low for the 306 when you have it quite highly loaded.

I've run dunlops, falkens, toyos, goodyears, michelin primacy, nokians and budget ones that came on wheels. Always 55 profile for me and XL for winter tyres (extra load) for a stiffer side wall.

If anyone wonders why I have a had 306s for so long it is because I can fix them with my eyes closed so when at Uni I needed cars that I don't need to take to a garage and that I have spares for.

Maybe we're after different things from our cars then, but I definitely could hardly tell the difference, 'cept possibly slightly faster turn-in, but the difference between a cheap tyre and something like a rainsport in the same size is vast. (Also a long-term pug owner here, cracking cheap cars to run, easy and cheap to fix!).

The difference between the ride of a new tyre and a worn out tyre is vast too.

I have always given my cars a very hard time on country lanes, especially ones with poor surfaces and bumps as I enjoy getting the car to float and kick about. 55s hold the road better while smoothing out the ride a touch. On smooth roads 55s can feel a bit floaty and 50s are definitely a lot more agile.

But I also find 50 profile tyres with the 82 load rating have just got too much give in the side wall. This also leads to a lot of edge wear, even with correct pressures. Even the 14" tyres (185/65/14) have an 86 load rating. Too low load rating can also void your insurance as it is a safety issue.

TBH the OEM 15" pug alloys are also a bit narrow for 195 tyres and used to come with 185/55/15 before the GTI-6 came out. The 185 actually gives a flatter tyre profile and can give better grip and sharper handling. 185/50/15 (if you can get them) might be quite nice but the diameter will be smaller again and I would want an XL load rating.

Hmmm never suffered edge wear either.

Load index of 82 = 475kg per tyre, unless you're carrying an elephant they're within requirements, you'd be needing 950kg+ on the front axle to be out of spec.

Which alloys are you thinking?

Cyclones are 7J. My celicas are 7J and more than happily carry 225s without any distortion or odd wear.

Always 55 profile for me and XL for winter tyres (extra load) for a stiffer side wall

Why stiffer sidewalls for winter tyres?

I've got XL on summer and winter.

Think I'm just about to stray into some Toyos for the first time, seem to be best bang for buck. Both XLs, 195 50 15s for the 306, 215 40 17s for the GT4. Thats 220 quid down the drain, before fitting! Damn potholes!!!

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I've never payed anything for car tyres preferring the old 'Plymouth Discount'

Land Rover 110 V8 on 7.50R16 Michelin XZL 10 ply radials, previously on Michelin XCL 8 ply radials.
I bought a set of brand new cross plies about 20 years ago for my old Series 2.
Ever since then I'v accumulated second hand tyres whenever I see them at the right price. I've got about a dozen spares at the moment.
The most I paid was £280 for 5 brand new XZLs on rims. I bought 6 part worns for £50 recently.
I fit my own tyres and don't bother getting them balanced. I've only ever had a couple cause vibration on the front, Swapping them to the back cured that.

Just another example of the low overall running costs of a Land Rover making up for the poor fuel economy. 😛

Just had a new set fitted (BMW E46 M3) went for Goodyear eagle f1's.
2x 235/35/19 at £209 each
2x 265/30/19 at £258 each

Bloomin makes me cry when I think what I could of bought for the bike for that..

I fit my own tyres and don't bother getting them balanced. I've only ever had a couple cause vibration on the front, Swapping them to the back cured that.

You got split rims? If not, how do you fit them? Nearly bought part worns as I have a suspension issue to diagnose/locate but I suspect I won't be treating the car well while diagnosing it so I'd rather ensure I have full tread and known-good carcass 🙂

Just had a major result with a complete set of wheels (original for my car) including tyres. Nearly new Firestone Firehawks on the front and Pirelli 6000 on the back which have 2-3000 miles left on them 225x50x16. Total delivered £160!

Was going to keep the winter tyres on all year round but at that price the swap had to be done 😀

Have only had them fitted for a few days but I can feel very little difference between these and the winter tyres. Possibly very slightly quieter and mpg up to 37.5 from 36'ish but not enough miles in yet to make a true comparison.

I fit them the old fashioned way with two levers, a hammer and plenty of tyre soap. OK for steel Land Rover wheels, but I wouldn't want to try it on expensive alloys.
I run them tubed as a lot of them are on the old riveted rims, which are supposedly not air tight. I keep wondering if I ought to sort out 5 welded rims and make up a tubeless set.
A lot of Land Rover owners "upgrade" to wider tyres, which means there's a fairly constant supply of part worn, unfashionable 7.50R16s around.

Price - but I'm tight fisted when it comes to something I don't think I'm getting value for money from...

Fiat Bravo - 225/18/45's and last price was £82 per corner, but those tyres no longer available so it'll be £100 a tyre. I'm finding Khumo's (or Kumho's or however they are spelt!) are very good in terms of grip and durability - perhaps not as good as the 'premier' manufacturers but I get a decent length of time out the tyres (about the same as the P-Zero's that the car came with).

coffeeking - Member
Hmmm never suffered edge wear either.

Load index of 82 = 475kg per tyre, unless you're carrying an elephant they're within requirements, you'd be needing 950kg+ on the front axle to be out of spec.

Which alloys are you thinking?

Cyclones are 7J. My celicas are 7J and more than happily carry 225s without any distortion or odd wear.

Cyclones are definitely not 7J. They are 6J - check out servicebox or the GTI forum if you don't believe me.

A 225 wide tyre will definitely not be safe. 205 is your absolute limit. 185 is ideal. 195 is okay and standard fit after 1997.

As for load factors - fully loaded car with 4 adults and luggage = 1300 + 4 x 80 + 100kg luggage = 1720kg = 860kg per axle assuming 50:50 split.

When you corner, brake etc then you get weight shift which can take you over 475kg on a tyre quite easily which is why the 306 tyres should be 85 or higher. Any less and your insurance company could say "no" to a claim.

When you corner, brake etc then you get weight shift which can take you over 475kg on a tyre quite easily

Surely the load rating takes that into account?

I go for Grip first - £140 a corner for Michelin Pilot Sport II (255/45/17) for a Golf V6 4Motion.

molgrips - Member
When you corner, brake etc then you get weight shift which can take you over 475kg on a tyre quite easily
Surely the load rating takes that into account?

not sure but running a lower rating that specified for the car is not the best idea.

I used to run 50 profiles with 82 load rating and most of the time they are fine. I just prefer sticking to the correct profile and rating these days.

Oh as for higher load rating on winter tyres - stiffer sidewall helps offset some of the extra give in the tread. I did choose normal load rating but they delivered the XL version which turned out okay in the end as I normally have a lot more load in the car during the Xmas holidays when i do most of my winter mileage.

Not balancing wheels is a flase economy as suspension parts will wear faster. You'll lose high-speed grip too.

You can't buy high speed rated winter tyres so nobody is going to worry about you fitting lower rated ones than normally demanded for a car.

I can't see why you'd want a stiffer sidewall unless you regualarly run the vehicle at near its maximum load limit.

Well worn tyres grip better in the dry.

Edukator, my winter tyres are V rated, 149mph!

So are mine, and that's as high as you'll find AFAIK.

So in what sense is 149mph not fast? 🙂

EDIT the Nokians are also available in W which is 168mph 🙂

That still leaves Y. (add smiley to choice) Michelin Alpins only go to V but you'll have no trouble persuading a normally fussy tyre fitter to put them on a car that demands a higher rating IME.

Renault Traffic 6 seater crew van.

Tried 70 euro budgets but they split apart on the side wall in less than a year. Scary!! Fuel economy was also pretty bad.

Sticking with michelins from now on. 140 euros a corner.

Checking (French) law you can legally fit winter tyres of one speed rating lower than normally specified. As this sort of thing is European defined I can't imagine British law being any different.

Where the higher ratings of winter tyre are not available in a dimension to fit your car you can legally fit a tyre at the highest rating available (often V).

Where are you going to exceed 168mph anyway? Not really even possible on the Autobahn.

Molgrips, you're being picky again. You pick me up on a point where I'm right from both a practical and legal point of view and then take it to the nth degree. In fact you just end up digging a bigger hole for yourself because my original off-the-top-of-my-head statement prompted by an earlier post on the thread is correct and good advice. I'll repeat it:

[i]"You can't buy high speed rated winter tyres so nobody is going to worry about you fitting lower rated ones than normally demanded for a car." [/i]

The obligatory sticker on the dash would remind you not to go over lower speed rating of the tyres.

I just found it bizarre that someone would think tyres rated for 149mph weren't 'high speed'!

Not questioning whether or not you're right on some point or other - don't even know what that would be tbh 🙂

The fact you can fit lower speed rated winter tyres.

That we have different perceptions of what is fast doesn't change that.