Tyres dilemma

[rwb]

I just popped into the garage to book the MOT.
I know the tyres are getting a bit worn, so I asked the tester what he thought. He said the driver's side two would do, but the passenger side two would not -- which is not surprising given the way I chuck it round roundabouts so that I don't have to stop at the bastard lights.

So it looks like a set of 4 new tyres.

The current tyres are Khumos. They've done 40,000 miles in two years. They cost £200.
The last ones I had were Michelin Energy Savers on which I did 50,000 miles in four years.

The dilemmas are:

• Go for another 4 cheapos for £200, or spend more on something that will last longer? (Any preference out of this lot?)
• Get them before the MOT, or do I wait and see what else is wrong?

I know we've been through this before but the only conclusions I can detect are that employment by pizza chains might necessitate many more tyre changes, and that the pizza being delivered isn't even very good.

[omega]

i would at least change the rear its 3 points a tyre so could be expensive!

[Welly]

Nothing wrong with Kumho's! I'm running a set of 4 on my 220bhp Volvo with no problems at all - they are very good tyres and quiet too.

I always thought the Goodyear NCT5's suited the 406 well too. Michelin'a have a hard compound and can get 'skittish' in the wet.

[steve_earwig]

The problem is it's horses for courses - just because a particular tyre works fine on one car doesn't mean it'll work on another.

I went through all this bollocks before I was over there a few months back, I searched through this forum and the French ones (they hate Michelins, so patriotic ). I would have gone for the Michelin Energy's that the car initially came with as I reasoned these were what the car was set up on, the only trouble being Michelin don't make them any more and the replacements, which seem to be these Energy Savers, are rather pricey. So I was going to go with the general recommendation which were Nokians. Then, when I got to GB, nobody had any I then went through all this with my dad and ended up with an early birthday present - a set of Energy Savers. And right pleased I was to have them when we hit the torrential downpours on the way back through Belgium - skittish? You should try the crap that I had on before! They were Courier something-or-others, felt like they were running flat all the time, terrible in the wet and they were taking ages to wear out 'cos they were so hard, so I was quite relieved to spot the sidewalls were starting to perish and I had an excuse to bin them a week or so back.

So anyway, if you reckon these Kum hoes did 40k at half the price of the Michelins, which did 50, and they handled ok, then I reckon they're a bargain.

[Welly]

skittish? You should try the crap that I had on before!

I was kinda thinking of hooning the car around a wet roundabout when I said skittish (as most hard tyres are) softer rubber hangs on better but wears quicker. Sounding like a hooligan now

[DaiRees]

I wish I could get 40K out of a set of tyres....

I know some of you generally have a downer on Pirelli P6000s ("ditchfinders" was it??) but they were what was fitted to my car from new and I really liked them. I've tried some others including Goodyear NCT5 and the Goodyear energy saver ones, but I'm happiest when she's got Pirellis on, they seem to suit the car best. Purely phsychological I'm sure but there ya go....

Got Pirellis on the front and Goodyears on the back at the moment, Goodyears are nearly worn out, soon to be changed for Pirellis too!

[OdinEidolon]

Nothing wrong with Kumho's! I'm running a set of 4 on my 220bhp Volvo with no problems at all - they are very good tyres and quiet too.

I always thought the Goodyear NCT5's suited the 406 well too. Michelin'a have a hard compound and can get 'skittish' in the wet.

The energy, compared to decent similar priced tyres, are absolute sh*t on the wet. I will never be tred of saying that the only thing I'll not be cheapo about when it comes to cars are tyres. My next set will probably be Michelin Pilot Sport 3 or Bridgestone ER300, when I manage to get rid of these crappy Energy.

[waue1978]

I've always just gone for budget tyres & never had a problem. If anything, I've had more problems with premium brands. The Michelins on my first set of Hoggars created a lot of road noise.

Most of todays budget brands are simply yesterdays premium moulds anyway.

[OdinEidolon]

I've always just gone for budget tyres & never had a problem. If anything, I've had more problems with premium brands. The Michelins on my first set of Hoggars created a lot of road noise.

Most of todays budget brands are simply yesterdays premium moulds anyway.

My mum bought chinese winter tyres for his clio. This resulted in me being stuck in the snow several times and, more importantly, in a 2500£+ crash caused by a slippery (oily?) road corner taken at normal speeds.

I have friend with a 1992 immaculated Primera 2.0eGT 150hp. It's a missle, glued to the ground. He recently had to change his completely worn out (I mean there was no thread anymore, it was slick) 8 years old Michelin Pilot. The only decent tyres for that dimension are Michelin Energy Saver. Now the car is better on the wet, but is absolutely less grippy in the dry, by far. There's so much difference from a 8yr old worn out performance tyre to a new "mid range" tyre, it's astonishing.

[ally406]

I have Pilot Exaltos on my Clio....astonishing
I had cheapy tyres on my 405.....dreadful. Replaced them with Toyo Proxes CF1, transformed the car in every way.
My new 406 has 4 different crap tyres, again I'll be replacing them with CF1's and will expect a similar improvement!

My own thoughts on Energy Savers are that they're a waste of time. They offer similar performance to a much cheaper tyre, and any money you might save on fuel is easily eclipsed by this price difference. I do recommend the CF1, decent all round performance and they can often be had very cheap!

[omega]

i think a lot depends a lot on how you drive and the driver!
my 2,1 has 4 diffrent tyre makes and is fine you can push the nose in hard before it starts to understeer and the rear is fine.
no proplems in the wet or snow either

[OdinEidolon]

i think a lot depends a lot on how you drive and the driver!
my 2,1 has 4 diffrent tyre makes and is fine you can push the nose in hard before it starts to understeer and the rear is fine.
no proplems in the wet or snow either

Well I'm not a pilot myself but I learned the hard way how much of a difference a good tyre can make. A said they can really transfor a car, especially on the wet. I'm not talking about races and going fast, but of the road stability and braking abilities. I read a test some days ago of a cheapo tyre compared to a mid range one: the cheap tyres would take 6 meters more to stop from 60mph on a wet road. I prefer to invest in tyres than in bumpers!
But then everyone of us drive differently and think of a car in it's own way.

[mjb]

Driving a V6 406 on ditchfinders is scary. 1st gear becomes the smoke machine gear, you can wheelspin in 3rd in the dry, the steering wheel becomes the straight-line wheel and the brake pedal becomes the clicky pedal... It's like driving on snow every rainy day

I'm a huge fan of Firestone TZ300s. Nice and quiet, cheap, with "reasonable" grip. In the dry, I can't even spin the wheels in 1st over a few mph (well, without trying), so they're good enough. They're lovely and quiet too, which is the reason I bought them.


The Golf... Different story altogether - you don't really notice the fact it's wearing ditchfinders until you try to take an off-camber corner at the sort of speed I do in my coupé...

[OdinEidolon]

Driving a V6 406 on ditchfinders is scary. 1st gear becomes the smoke machine gear, you can wheelspin in 3rd in the dry, the steering wheel becomes the straight-line wheel and the brake pedal becomes the clicky pedal... It's like driving on snow every rainy day

I'm a huge fan of Firestone TZ300s. Nice and quiet, cheap, with "reasonable" grip. In the dry, I can't even spin the wheels in 1st over a few mph (well, without trying), so they're good enough. They're lovely and quiet too, which is the reason I bought them.


The Golf... Different story altogether - you don't really notice the fact it's wearing ditchfinders until you try to take an off-camber corner at the sort of speed I do in my coupé...

I agree the 406 has very predictable handling. Even with the crappy Energys it's difficult to make it lose control on a corner (not that I try that often) if it's dry, especially if you floor it and use the heap of torque the 2.2HDi offers to get out of the corners.

[rwb]

More Kumhos were going to be £240, and the cheapest I could find was £210, so I got Michelin Energy for £283.

Don't hate me.

They are definitely quieter than the Kumhos though