New tyre advice

[BruceT]

Coming from a performance car, when getting the best tyres available was a must with a 260hp FWD wagon im a little lost.



My car has a Prestivo something or other which is pretty much brand new (Fitted on the MOT in April) and FOS is a Eagle NCT-5 which is on the wear markers.

In the dry its not too bad although i've not pushed it since im still getting used to the car.

In the wet though... wow... its all over the place... Turned into a slight left hander and it kinda 'wallowed' (Maybe due to the 65 profile?) and then dug in and then lost grip. All in all... not something id want to repeat and have duely reduced my speed in the wet (Had decent tyres on the T5 before)

Now... In the Volvo world for the 'best' all round dry/wet weather people recommended Goodyear Excellence and for outright performance there was road legal track tyres which would be no use.

So im thinking;

Eagle F1 GSD or the Asyermetic(Spelling)?
Goodyear Excellence?

I want something above 'mid-range' but dont want to pay more than £65 fitted per corner. Im only fitting the 2 fronts at this time as the backs are pretty much new but are some brand call 'pace' so ill probably get oversteer lol.

[mjb]

I want something above 'mid-range' but dont want to pay more than £65 fitted per corner.

Be glad you're not driving a coupe... you can pay over £100 per corner for ditchfinders

[Welly]

Mine are £137.00 a pop and wearing fast

Brucey - I'd go for the NCT5's they're a good tyre for sure, last ages and quiet running.

[BruceT]

Are they Coupes a strange trye size then?

The T5's where 205/50/16 and for stuff like Toyo, Goodyear eagle F1 etc where like 70-80 per corner.

Ive seen the Goodyear Excellence in my size for like £62.00 per corner, fitted

[mjb]

Are they Coupes a strange trye size then?

Not really - just 215/55/16 but the kicker is the W (150+mph) speed rating

[Captain Jack]

I had new tyres fitted last month - Nexen N200. Much quieter than any tyres I have had before and fairly grippy. Although, due to lack of wet weather lately, I don't know what they are like in the rain.

[bangernom1cs]

HI,
My own experience. But on 195/65 x 15.
When I bought my last D8 saloon at auction it came with 4 virtually new Pirelli p6000 tyres (courtesy of Peugeot contract hire) These were fantastic, quiet and grippy. Of course when they eventually wore out I went to ATS and bought some of their 'taxi' trade tyres (wanlis). All the time I had these budget tyres they were nowhere near as good as the old virtually bald Pirellis had been .Ive tried the Nexens recently but found their wet performance and wear rate to be disappointing tbh. As have a few other cabbies too. Breaking away on wet bends at low speeds etc. No good as I'm loaded up with a full compliment for much of my travelling miles.
Currently I'm on Nimrods with 205/55x16 (P7's on front and NCT's on the back) on my D9 estate which has made all the difference to the car which originally came with 15 inch rims and budgets also. It grips well and doesnt wallow about in the wet any more but a slightly firmer ride.

My own personal suggestion is that you buy the best quality branded tyre that you can afford...even branded part worns,well inspected, if you're on a budget. I'd sooner be on half worn Goodyears than brand new budgets quite frankly.
Buy a Costco warehouse card and get Michelins at trade prices if you have one near you is another good option.
I got 4 Michelin energy's for about £ 180 a couple of years back,fitted and balanced.
Everyone has an opinion so I hope you might find this helpful .

T

[mjb]

I've got Firestone TZ-200's on my rears. LOVE them! Bit more grip than I'd like *ahem* but they're very very quiet, to the point where after I had them fitted I noticed all the car's road noise shifted to the front where I've still got half-worn Federals (avoid!) on Think I got them for £93 each from National Tyres which puts them firmly in the 'budget' category. Exceptional value for money.

Thinking of something like Continental Premium's on the front, but at £150-200 EACH it'll be a while yet

[Welly]

Federals

Everybody spit on the floor right now

I allways thought the NCT 5's suited the 406 HDi very nicely.

[Doggy]

I've got G'year Excelence 205/60/15 on mine now & they're pretty damn good - masses better than the Prestivos & C*ntinental they replaced. £63 a corner all in. Nice balance of grip silence comfort etc. It's masses better in the wet, good but you can still make the front run wide if you try hard enough.
Transformed the car, (was getting wheelspin in 4th on wet roundabouts)

[BruceT]

According to the tyre feedback the Excellence is better than the NCT-5.

End of the day, im sure in any car, with enough speed and steering input you could make it under/over steer but it just depends on the progessiveness and controlability I guess.

I am learning towards to the Excellence atm

[Welly]

Are you sure I can't interest you in a set of 4 Kung-Po cross ply's ??

[BruceT]

Absolutely not lol

[HimBigChief]

Have a look on mytyres.co.uk. I used to get Toyo Proxes (195/50/15's) on my old 309 and they were only about £30 - £35 a piece delivered. I used to work at Halfords so got them fitted free, but most places change between £5 and £10 a wheel to fit and balance up your own tyres.

Also, if the handling is really that bad, I'd suggest getting the 4 wheel alignment checked. Having this done made a massive difference to the way mine handled.

[richteex]

Id recomend the Firestone TZ 200's aswell. Did alot of research and have to say theyre wearing really well. The back ones still have the new lines showing lol. Car handles well in both dry and wet weather and they were quite reasonably priced. Think i paid £150 for 4.