Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: robson on 25 January 2010, 21:12:52
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Can anybody recommend the best tyres for low noise level One of the front tyres on my recently acquired car is a continental premium contact the other is a WANL ( never heard of this) completely different tread pattern . I fear that the WANL is very noisy .
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had a set of contis on my old vectra, didnt know how quiet they were until i replaced the front two with cheap chinese tyres :(
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Can anybody recommend the best tyres for low noise level One of the front tyres on my recently acquired car is a continental premium contact the other is a WANL ( never heard of this) completely different tread pattern . I fear that the WANL is very noisy .
michelin energy very quiet were £75 each in gateshead last time I bought one...sorry four
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i had some wanli on mi family chariot so i cant comment on road noise as too much noise inside ;D
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well i work as a tyre fitter at a kwik fit ( ive got mich tyres on the rear of my omega at the moment , in all honesty i hate them but i got them for free :y so wont complain to much lol ,, ive got a set of conti sport contact 2s on the front ,, very good tyres :D ,, if i had the choice i would have either conti or bridgestone ( for premium quality ) if you want something a bit cheaper like mid range tyres i would say maybe firestone..
hope this helps :y
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when i was in the trade a long time ago firestone were the ford xr,s owners choice they were softer compound stuck like shit to a blanket but didnt last long ive fit bloody loads of em in mi time
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yeh firestone and conti are quite a soft compound ,, bridestone are a bit harder prob last bit longer but you wouldnt get as much road stick as the soft compound tyres ,, each to there own tho :y
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i am finding the Falkins almost silent at speed, they do seem to suffer with tram lining on 17's though, my 16s are ok :)
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just want to ask deejaywardy why he hates the michelins as have been offered some part worn/nearly new at £35 each fitted and balanced and thought they would be better than the budget chinese tyres i have now(diamondback and triangle) 235/45/17`s
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well that is a good deal,, anything is better then cheap shitty tyres ,, i just dont like michs becasue for me they dont grip well at all ,, when i was out in the snow and in the rain they just didnt seem to want to stick to the road or get alot of grip ,, pirellis can be just as bad in the wet to ,, my friend at work almost crashed his car thanks to pirellis ,, hes runnin bridestones all round now ,, he loves them lol ,,, as for michs if your getting a good deal like that i would take it they may not be the best tyre in my eyes but they are way way way better then cheap shitty tryes
:y
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well i work as a tyre fitter at a kwik fit ( ive got mich tyres on the rear of my omega at the moment , in all honesty i hate them but i got them for free :y so wont complain to much lol ,, ive got a set of conti sport contact 2s on the front ,, very good tyres :D ,, if i had the choice i would have either conti or bridgestone ( for premium quality ) if you want something a bit cheaper like mid range tyres i would say maybe firestone..
hope this helps :y
why mix..apart from free......dont each have their own characaristics? I can remember the rear end of a chevette stepping out of line going on to the tyne bridge 30+ yrs ago. put rears on the front, never a problem again. Don't get me wrong, love oversteer..but not when i drive normally.
mich,,, why hate them?
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well i work as a tyre fitter at a kwik fit ( ive got mich tyres on the rear of my omega at the moment , in all honesty i hate them but i got them for free :y so wont complain to much lol ,, ive got a set of conti sport contact 2s on the front ,, very good tyres :D ,, if i had the choice i would have either conti or bridgestone ( for premium quality ) if you want something a bit cheaper like mid range tyres i would say maybe firestone..
hope this helps :y
why mix..apart from free......dont each have their own characaristics? I can remember the rear end of a chevette stepping out of line going on to the tyne bridge 30+ yrs ago. put rears on the front, never a problem again. Don't get me wrong, love oversteer..but not when i drive normally.
mich,,, why hate them?
well all the tyres i have for my car were free ;D i have 2 sets of michs and one set of goodyears stacked up ,, all on 5mm plus,, and at the moment a set of contis on the front almost worn out now :( and the michs on the rear ,, if its free or very cheap i wont complain ,, i didnt put them on the rear as they are soft compoundand would last longer on the front of the car ,, the michs i put on the rear for the fact that i do like to have a play now and again ;D plus i have the goodyears waiting to be put on :y
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I'm on Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric. I had to replace my Michelin Primacys with them as the Michelins became unaffordable, and I must comment the Goodyears compare on performance and quietness very favourably. I did research them on a comfort and quietness ticket I think with tyres you only get what you pay for. All the best hope you do ok :y :y
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As cliffo B says, Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric are the next best option.
Personall, I stick with the Michellin Pilot Primacy's though, despite the cost because they are the best.
I am on my second set now and the next will be the same too.
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I generally tend to stick with cheap tyres, but my new car has come with 4 michelin primacy tyres (receipt in service history for £680 for them :o) and I don't like the noise from them but will have to live with them to they are worn out.
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Of all the tyres I've tried (Pilot Primacy, Dunlop SP2000E, Dunlop SP SportMaxx, Falken 912, Conti Sport Contact 3) the Continentals are by far the quietest and least prone to tramlining. They also equal the SportMaxx in being the most grippy.
Kevin
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Fab! You have just sold me a set of Continentals. I was going to get a set of Michelins!
I also have WANLI tyres all round at the mo. I never swear but they are bloody awful. Grip is amazing in the wet but they are as noisy as a police helicopter hovering over your house. Hang on it is a ..... run!
So which Continentals do you have now and does the rating make any real difference? .... and what's the different between a (95) tyre and a (98) one?
Ta very muchly...
Greg
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Fab. You have just sold me a set Continentals. I was going to get a set of Michelins!
I also have WANLI tyres all round at the mo. I never swear but they are bloody awful. Grip is amazing in the wet but they are as noisy as a police helicopter hovering over your house. Hang on it is a ..... run!
So which Continentals do you have now and does it make a difference? .... and what's the different between a (95) tyre and a (98) one?
Ta very muchly
Greg
WANLI- they are so bad, the lettering of the K separated into an L and an I
I'm running on super-tasty Chinese Triangle Talon Sport TR918s-£168 for 4 delivered or fitted on ebay. Sweet.
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So which Continentals do you have now and does it make a difference? .... and what's the different between a (95) tyre and a (98) one?
I have Sport Contact 3s. Never tried their other tyres. Downside is they aren't cheap. 95/98 is the load index IIRC. Down to how rigid the casing is, I believe.
I should add that none of the tyres listed were that bad. Dunlops were noisy on the whole, but it rode and handled well on them. Falkens wandered a fair bit and grip wasn't special but were quieter than the Dunlops. Primacy were on the car when I got it. OK but at the price I wouldn't consider them.
Sport contact 3s tick all of the boxes for me, but at a price.
WANLI- they are so bad, the lettering of the K separated into an L and an I
PMSL. Coming to a ditch near you....
Kevin
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I think they lied with my Triangles-they must be Australian as they keep wanting me to go upside down
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No, definitely Chinese. Only just had them, but I will want more later.
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Contact 3's eh. On Blackcircle.com they only have Contact 2s and they are more or less the same price as Michelins.
Are there any other blackcircle equivalents to get cheap tyres?
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I was living in ireland the last two years and always had tyres shipped over from camskill.co.uk,and still always use their site as a guide for tyres prices and nearly always find them either the cheapest or no more than others,i.e mytyres.co.uk,blackcircle.Find ebay the dearest!
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Contact 3's eh. On Blackcircle.com they only have Contact 2s and they are more or less the same price as Michelins.
Are there any other blackcircle equivalents to get cheap tyres?
Never tried the SportContact 2s myself but they are highly rated by other members. :y
Kevin
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When my WANLI tyres tread is a little lower..... 5mm at the mo, I will change them. BTW my WANLI tyres have become mis-shaped according to the garage.
Out of interest, when I hit a pot hole I feel like I've dropped off a high kerb. My springs, shocks and stuff have been checked but do you reckon my tyres could be having that sort of effect?
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When my WANLI tyres tread is a little lower..... 5mm at the mo, I will change them. BTW my WANLI tyres have become mis-shaped according to the garage.
Out of interest, when I hit a pot hole I feel like I've dropped off a high kerb. My springs, shocks and stuff have been checked but do you reckon my tyres could be having that sort of effect?
aw mate, bin em before they bin you. Really isnt worth the risk.
Just to echo Kevins and Tunnies comments,
Falken912 very quiet but appalling stability poor grip.
Dunlop sport maxx and sp 9000 stable grippy but noisy
Conti sc3 take all the good points of the above and combine to make the best compromise imo, fraction noisier than falkens, but with grip and stability of Dunlops. Very pleased.
Re Michelins, my neighbour got 30k from a set of primacy, which makes them a bit cheeper long term i guess, but you do loose a bit of grip to acheive the extra miles, seems the relative lack of grip is the problem.
Whatever though, to put things in perspective, any of the above will be a billion times better than Wan(k)lys finest
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Thanks for all the info The Wanli one of my fronts looks new probably put on to pass MOT. I thought about putting the two back Pirelli 6000's on the front and the Wanli on the back but it sounds as if pirellis are no good in the wet. My old 2.5 has conti's all round but of course different size. Sounds like I need new tyres allround.
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Thanks for all the info The Wanli one of my fronts looks new probably put on to pass MOT. I thought about putting the two back Pirelli 6000's on the front and the Wanli on the back but it sounds as if pirellis are no good in the wet. My old 2.5 has conti's all round but of course different size. Sounds like I need new tyres allround.
IMHO, if it's unavoidable to have mismatched (vastly different quality) tyres on an axle, it's best to make it the rear axle, so if you don't feel inclined to dump a tyre with 5mm tread, rotate the fronts and rears (assuming rears are matched and better) and it will probably drive a bit better and the noise will be less intrusive.
Put it on the offside rear and put your clog down on every roundabout with the TC off and you'll soon be able to justify binning it. ;)
Kevin
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Thanks for all the info The Wanli one of my fronts looks new probably put on to pass MOT. I thought about putting the two back Pirelli 6000's on the front and the Wanli on the back but it sounds as if pirellis are no good in the wet. My old 2.5 has conti's all round but of course different size. Sounds like I need new tyres allround.
IMHO, if it's unavoidable to have mismatched (vastly different quality) tyres on an axle, it's best to make it the rear axle, so if you don't feel inclined to dump a tyre with 5mm tread, rotate the fronts and rears (assuming rears are matched and better) and it will probably drive a bit better and the noise will be less intrusive.
Put it on the offside rear and put your clog down on every roundabout with the TC off and you'll soon be able to justify binning it. ;)
Kevin
;D ;D ;D two standing starts and bye bye Wanli
I hate mixing tyres on a car after replacing one odd tyre in the past and finding the differing grip upset the ABS and TC.
What about matching them (not the Wanlis!) with tested part-worns?
Just a thought... :y
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I fully agree mismatched tyres are not my cup of tea but they were on the car when I bought it .I think that I will buy a conti to match the other front and dump the Wanli.
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I fully agree mismatched tyres are not my cup of tea but they were on the car when I bought it .I think that I will buy a conti to match the other front and dump the Wanli.
If its worn try matching with a part worn-you'll get the same pattern, performance etc
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Just fitted 2, 255/35/19 Dunlop sport Maxx to the back of my elite, well happy with grip and noise, so I should be at £210 a corner....
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Just fitted 2, 255/35/19 Dunlop sport Maxx to the back of my elite, well happy with grip and noise, so I should be at £210 a corner....
:o :o :oAll four of mine were £220 fitted, balanced etc
I could have had Contis for £357.50 for 4 delivered off ebay delivered and then £10 each to fit/balance/dispose-under £400 all in :o
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experience says : I'm not too rich to buy cheap.. (meaning twice!!) so
one of the three:
bridgestone potenza or goodyear eagle f1 or continental .. michelins wear out very quickly so cost become higher than the paid..
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i worked fitting tyres for a short while whilst running a small garage,the overall opinion was that michelins certainly did the big mileage and were definitely not a tyre that wore out quickly.
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i worked fitting tyres for a short while whilst running a small garage,the overall opinion was that michelins certainly did the big mileage and were definitely not a tyre that wore out quickly.
wear out doesnt necessarily mean 0 mm thread depth.. the softer part of the thread wears out quickly and the tire start to skate..but the others still continue to grip..
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i worked fitting tyres for a short while whilst running a small garage,the overall opinion was that michelins certainly did the big mileage and were definitely not a tyre that wore out quickly.
wear out doesnt necessarily mean 0 mm thread depth.. the softer part of the thread wears out quickly and the tire start to skate..but the others still continue to grip..
Cems right about some tyres being useless at half worn, but I always found Michelins to wear (out) longest :-/
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interesting point but i am still sold on michelins doing big mileage,skating with less tread comparable to the other makes may well have a scientific explanation,would need more info to accept your hypothesis
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interesting point but i am still sold on michelins doing big mileage,skating with less tread comparable to the other makes may well have a scientific explanation,would need more info to accept your hypothesis
I rate tyres as the most important thing on the car, but am eating my words at present, due to needing to save a few quid in the short term due to all the other work:
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1264599938/new
I am testing the theory that cheaper tyres used from new to 5mm wear compare well to better tyres used until 2mm.
So far, seems ok but twitchy on damp roads :-/
I'm on (ebay has them) Triangle Talon Sport TR918s-you can get 4 fitted in Macclesfield for £167.99 for 4 ;D
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My personal tyre of choice is Goodyear F1's. Michelins, whilst lasting for ever, have the payoff in that they are quite hard and thus have, to my experience, give lesser grip. I can and do ask a fair bit out of my car, corner wise, in all weathers so want something that delivers.
Wanli ditchfinders (and similar) are, I feel, aptly named but if you financially need to spend the least cash to keep your car going, then you must thereafter adapt your driving style accordingly....
Its the old old story - you get what you pay for and buy cheap/pay dear....... :y
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My personal tyre of choice is Goodyear F1's. Michelins, whilst lasting for ever, have the payoff in that they are quite hard and thus have, to my experience, give lesser grip. I can and do ask a fair bit out of my car, corner wise, in all weathers so want something that delivers.
Wanli ditchfinders (and similar) are, I feel, aptly named but if you financially need to spend the least cash to keep your car going, then you must thereafter adapt your driving style accordingly....
Its the old old story - you get what you pay for and buy cheap/pay dear....... :y
Being optimistic about it, I am saving a fortune on further skid pan training courses ;D ;D
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(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x80/mecdv6/thread_depths.jpg)
as it can be seen a cheapish tire with 8 mm thread depth can stop much better than a expensive 2 mm thread depth tire..
however for sideway Gs the thread pattern , wall stiffness and tire softness complicates the scenario but still I think 8 mm not comparable with a 2-3 mm thread depth..
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(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x80/mecdv6/thread_depths.jpg)
as it can be seen a cheapish tire with 8 mm thread depth can stop much better than a expensive 2 mm thread depth tire..
however for sideway Gs the thread pattern , wall stiffness and tire softness complicates the scenario but still I think 8 mm not comparable with a 2-3 mm thread depth..
I don't think it is as simple as that.....maybe in wet condtions, but dry???
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(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x80/mecdv6/thread_depths.jpg)
as it can be seen a cheapish tire with 8 mm thread depth can stop much better than a expensive 2 mm thread depth tire..
however for sideway Gs the thread pattern , wall stiffness and tire softness complicates the scenario but still I think 8 mm not comparable with a 2-3 mm thread depth..
I see that graph as the same tyre across the range of tread depths. Anything else is simply 'dangle berries', to be honest. A hard as nails plastic tyre with full depth versus an almost done super soft sticky tyre on the same surface at the same speed would be a more realistic comparison. And I would not be surprised if the sticky tyre came out better, to be honest.....
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in dry , for stopping distance thread depth is effective if and only if, the road surface is covered with gravels.. but on a nearly perfect flat surfaced asphalt like autobahns thread depth has no meaning..
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I see that graph as the same tyre across the range of tread depths. Anything else is simply 'dangle berries', to be honest. A hard as nails plastic tyre with full depth versus an almost done super soft sticky tyre on the same surface at the same speed would be a more realistic comparison. And I would not be surprised if the sticky tyre came out better, to be honest.....
Yep, and the situation would probably swap between wet and dry too, more tread probably overriding most other factors in the wet, or at least with significant standing water.
Tyres really aren't a very easy thing to compare. :-/
EDIT: What Cem said, in fact (faster than me). ::)
Kevin
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I see that graph as the same tyre across the range of tread depths. Anything else is simply 'dangle berries', to be honest. A hard as nails plastic tyre with full depth versus an almost done super soft sticky tyre on the same surface at the same speed would be a more realistic comparison. And I would not be surprised if the sticky tyre came out better, to be honest.....
Yep, and the situation would probably swap between wet and dry too, more tread probably overriding most other factors in the wet, or at least with significant standing water.
Tyres really aren't a very easy thing to compare. :-/
Kevin
Yup.... On a wet surface, tread counts most as it moves the water from the surface to get the rubber to grip. A tyre on its minimum moves hee haw water and is as good as a slick, hence hydroplaning.
For Cems graph, as said, would really need the same tyre on the same surface at the same speed/loading, the same dry/wet condition, to compare the reletive merits of tyre depth. Anything else is a massive minefield of conjecture and supposition.....
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yep.. and if some wants both comfort and grip ;D like me :-[ these are the worst customers to satisfy ;D
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I'm no tyre expert, but read the recent Auto Express tyre test with interest. This covered dry braking, wet braking, aquaplaning, cornering, wear etc etc-great test. Continental Contact Premium won.
There were many factors to take into account, the rubber compound, the tread pattern, conditions etc
A premium tyre is expensive for a reason-they come out best; the Wanli they tested was absolutely slated but the tern dangerous was not used possibly due to libel.
As a biker over the year, tyres made a huge difference and I could rate them for each part of their performacnce as it was that noticable, due to the small contact patch. Stickies were amazing, but wore out in 800 miles, dual compounds (hard centre, sticky edges) were a good compromise between grip and wear, cheapies were terrifying.
My query is whether a new cheapie is similar to a worn premuim? It is cetainly better in snow and standing water diespersal, but in damp? summer? braking? cornering?
I think I already know the answer.....
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I'm no tyre expert, but read the recent Auto Express tyre test with interest. This covered dry braking, wet braking, aquaplaning, cornering, wear etc etc-great test. Continental Contact Premium won.
There were many factors to take into account, the rubber compound, the tread pattern, conditions etc
A premium tyre is expensive for a reason-they come out best; the Wanli they tested was absolutely slated but the tern dangerous was not used possibly due to libel.
As a biker over the year, tyres made a huge difference and I could rate them for each part of their performacnce as it was that noticable, due to the small contact patch. Stickies were amazing, but wore out in 800 miles, dual compounds (hard centre, sticky edges) were a good compromise between grip and wear, cheapies were terrifying.
My query is whether a new cheapie is similar to a worn premuim? It is cetainly better in snow and standing water diespersal, but in damp? summer? braking? cornering?
I think I already know the answer.....
The answer being "It depends" ;D.
Go more towards the sports / track day tyre end of the range and it gets even worse. You can find road legal tyres that simply don't work at all in the wet and tyres that need a bit of heat in them before they are any good in the dry. Driving style has a lot to do with it then too.
Kevin
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I'm no tyre expert, but read the recent Auto Express tyre test with interest. This covered dry braking, wet braking, aquaplaning, cornering, wear etc etc-great test. Continental Contact Premium won.
There were many factors to take into account, the rubber compound, the tread pattern, conditions etc
A premium tyre is expensive for a reason-they come out best; the Wanli they tested was absolutely slated but the tern dangerous was not used possibly due to libel.
As a biker over the year, tyres made a huge difference and I could rate them for each part of their performacnce as it was that noticable, due to the small contact patch. Stickies were amazing, but wore out in 800 miles, dual compounds (hard centre, sticky edges) were a good compromise between grip and wear, cheapies were terrifying.
My query is whether a new cheapie is similar to a worn premuim? It is cetainly better in snow and standing water diespersal, but in damp? summer? braking? cornering?
I think I already know the answer.....
The answer being "It depends" ;D.
Go more towards the sports / track day tyre end of the range and it gets even worse. You can find road legal tyres that simply don't work at all in the wet and tyres that need a bit of heat in them before they are any good in the dry. Driving style has a lot to do with it then too.
Kevin
The answer is........a decent premium does everything pretty well and gives a good balance of abilities (even if certain brands are biased to be better in some areas) and the cheapy is.....cheap ;D
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I have Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres and they are great - Very quiet.
I did have Michelin Pilot Premacy but they are very expensive!
Had some Avons - dangerous in the wet!
Federal 595's - very noisy but good in wet.
Check 'Autoexpress' online - they have a tyre review which compares cheap and expensive tyres.
It's a very good resource and free.
Andy
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Im just about to replace my tires again, i put 4 Eagle F1 Asymmetric 235/45 17's on in July (£450 fitted) and the rears are down to 1.6mm after 10k miles, the fronts have maybe 3mm on them but tbh i will replace all 4.
They did grip very well when new but as they have gotten closer to the wear limit they do tramline quite badly (and were hopeless in the snow! :P)
Im a little bit disappointed i only got 10k out of them, im not sure i use all their performance potential so i think will look for a harder compound tyre next.
Im having a hard time choosing between the Goodyear Excellence £110 fitted each, Vredestein Ultrac Cento £103 or Avon ZV5 £86 fitted. All 3 seem to get decent reviews, im a sucker for tyre design as well, it has to look nice on the car! :D
Think i might go for the Vredestein, ive used them before and were excellent, something a bit different too. I would never put cheapo tyres on my car, just not worth it.