Tyres! What's Your Yaris (Or Other, Less Ossom Car :d) Shod Wi

[Cyker]

Well, gotta say the Premium Contact 5's on my Yaris have been very disappointing; Have been getting noticeable understeer when turning right (Even on tight mini roundabouts!! ) and took my car to a tracking place to get the geometry checked; Turned out the geometry was still pretty dead set (I felt slightly smug at this considering the number of speed hums and 'cushions' and potholes my poor ickle Yaris has to deal with!)

They zeroed out the tracking anyway, and had a look round and the only thing they found noticeably wrong was that the front left tyre was worn down to the bumps in the tyre tread - 3mm!

They are not even a year old, have covered maybe 9000 miles and are already worn down to 3mm on the front left and 4-5mm on the other two!!

Must admit they were great while they lasted; Very grippy, scything through standing water with no hint of aquaplaning, but it's quite scary how badly the grip and performance have dropped off as they've worn down to that magical 3mm. What's more annoying is the Premium 2E's on my old 3 door Yaris that I sold to my brother still have more tread and they're nearing 3 years old I think?!

I don't think I've been abusing them any more than I did in my 3-door but it does seem the reviews I'd read of the PCP5s having very high wear rates are true :(

I currently have a single 2-3 week old Cooper CS2 on my left rear (Stupid puncture-safe avoiding shoulder puncture!), and am wondering whether I should just whack 3 more on to balance things out and see how that goes, go back to the known good Premium 2E's or try the Eco Contact 5's (Apparently they are harder wearing but have less aquaplaning resistance).

I've been pretty soured to Bridgestone and Firestone, but haven't tried many other makes. My main reason for going with Conti's is they tend to get very good ratings for cornering grip and braking in wet/damp conditions.

What's your opinions? Got any favoured tyres? Something great in the wet and hard wearing?

[Raistlin]

I use Continental tyres the first set lasted 4 years and I'm not gentle on them

[Cyker]

This on your Aygo? They be CEC3's I assume then?

One other thing I was thinking - These new tyre labels really are a load of tosh; The CPC2E has an E-rating for efficiency and the CPC5 a C but the mpgs I've been getting have been virtually identical! (If anything the 5's are worse, but that might just be the 2 extra doors on this car )

[FROSTYBALLS]

What size tyres have you got - 175/65R14T's or something else?

[Cyker]

Yup! I think the full line on mine are 175/65R14 86T XL (Whatever the heck all that means! )

[FROSTYBALLS]

In the latest Which? test for that size, the best scoring tyres were:

1. Continental ContiPremiumContact 2's - score 69%

2. Uniroyal Rain Expert - 67%

3. Michelin Energy Saver - 67%

4. Hankook Optimo K715 - 66%

5. Semperit ComfortLife 2- 62%

The Uniroyals did less well than the Conti's for dry braking, did better for wet grip (both on the straight and in bends), and equalled the Conti's for everything else. The Michelins scored best for wear but lost points for wet braking and wet grip in bends.

[Steve_75]

Got the original Dunlop FastResponse tyres on my 2013 car. Just had the car serviced at 10,000 miles and the report showed 5mm left on the front and 6mm on the back. Not a bad wear rate in my opinion.

I think the tyres are pretty good. Not usually a fan of Dunlops but these seem alright. Can be a little bit lacking in grip, particularly in the wet but that may be more down to me comparing them to tyres on previous cars with significantly wider tyres (175 on the Yaris vs 205 and 225 width on previous cars).

Having some winter tyres fitted this Thursday. Had some on two of our previous cars and they work wonders. Gone for some Dunlop Winter Response as they were a good price and seemed to be rated quite highly.

[silly sausage]

We have Uniroyal Rain Expert on both Yaris, IMHO they're far better than the Dunlop fast response that were fitted previously, particularly in wet conditions, hence the name I suppose……..

[Lustral]

I had my SR from new in 2012 , and at the 1st Service at just over 10K Miles the fronts were at 6MM and backs still on 7MM.

Tyres are Bridgestone Ecopia EP25 , 195/50/R16 84V and i have found them to be quite good in all conditions.

[Cyker]

What are the Uniroyals like in the hot dusty dry parts of summer out of curiosity?

I was looking at them before going with the Contis, but what put me off is that although they get top marks in all wet conditions, they seem to rate less well in those frequent heat waves we always see here in the UK

[silly sausage]

They perform well in the dry IMHO.

[FROSTYBALLS]

In the Which? Report, the Rain Experts scored 4 (out of five stars) for dry braking, dry handling, wet braking, fuel use and wear.

They scored 5 stars for wet grip (straight) and wet grip (bends).

The Conti's scored 5 stars for dry braking, and 4 stars for wet grip (straight) and wet grip (bends).

[MikeSh]

They perform well in the dry IMHO.

Most black round rubberish things do. You'll notice the new tyre 'stickers' don't show a dry grip rating - it's just not a significant concern for 'normal' driving.

Winter tyres are not so good in the warm, but according to Conti they are so much better in the winter it's worth using them all year if you can't have two sets of rubber. Which really does suggest that if you are using the same tyre all year you are going to be compromising like mad somewhere along the line.

I also noticed the other day that the 'sticker' grip ratings for tyres can vary with different sizes of the 'same' tyre.

I'm seriously considering choosing my next set of rubber on how much I like the tread pattern .....

(For the record I put 4 Michelin Energy Saver + on our Yaris a year ago)

[silly sausage]

They perform well in the dry IMHO.

Most black round rubberish things do. You'll notice the new tyre 'stickers' don't show a dry grip rating - it's just not a significant concern for 'normal' driving.

Winter tyres are not so good in the warm, but according to Conti they are so much better in the winter it's worth using them all year if you can't have two sets of rubber. Which really does suggest that if you are using the same tyre all year you are going to be compromising like mad somewhere along the line.

I also noticed the other day that the 'sticker' grip ratings for tyres can vary with different sizes of the 'same' tyre.

I'm seriously considering choosing my next set of rubber on how much I like the tread pattern .....

(For the record I put 4 Michelin Energy Saver + on our Yaris a year ago)

Most ! It I bought my daughter-in-law a 3 year old Yaris from Mr T twelve months ago, it was shod with 4 new tyres, being used to driving several Yaris down the years i was disappointed with the ride and handling when i made the 120 mile journey home. I was wasn't best pleased with the new tyres they had fitted and promptly had them changed for Uniroyals , the ride, handling and braking capabilities were dreadful on the budget brand fitted by Toyota.

Link to budget tyres fitted...http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Triangle/TR968.htm

Link to Uniroyal tyres….http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Uniroyal/RainExpert.htm

[FROSTYBALLS]

Triangle are a Chinese firm, with co-operation links with Goodyear. Goodyear own the Dunlop tyre busineeses in Europe and North America, and, for Europe, import tyres sold under the Dunlop name from manufacturing plants in China, Slovenia and Poland. Wonder if the Chinese-made Dunlop tyres are actually made by Triangle?

[silly sausage]

I wouldn't put them on a wheelbarrow Mike !

[Cyker]

Yeah, these new tyre labels are pretty bogus. I like the tread pattern idea 'tho

The suggestion about driving on winters all year round seems a bit daft; Spending 98% of the year on tyres that will have poor cornering and braking just in case we get winter snow just don't make sense!

That said, the Conti WinterContacts are supposedly more like all-season tyres than pure winter tyres so maybe you can get away with that on those?

I'm fine with tyres that are good in the wet; Down Saaf we see sod all snow and the high traffic and road grit clear it pretty quick anyway so winter tyres are just a waste of money. Rarely used side-streets tend to hang onto their snow for longer, but it's more dangerous to be a pedestrian than a car

I do want to get new rubber before it gets colder tho'; I know that once they drop below 3mm the rain performance drops off a cliff, and it'd probably be even worse for snow!

On another tangent, how are your tyres for trapping stones? I don't know why but the CPC5's seem to suck up stones like a fish does water whereas the CPC2E's would tend to throw them out instead of trapping them in the treads?

[MikeSh]

The ride and 'handling' will depend a lot on the car too, but the grip on the road surface is almost entirely the tyre.

Some tyres are great on some cars (for ride and handling), but pretty poor on others, so there is obviously a more complex interaction between the suspension, tyres and weight of the car than can be easily understood. Hence the usual different recommendation from each participant on 'tyre threads'.

I'm fine with tyres that are good in the wet; Down Saaf we see sod all snow and the high traffic and road grit clear it pretty quick anyway so winter tyres are just a waste of money.

There's no way to say this politely I'm afraid, but you clearly don't understand what a Winter tyre is - it's not a Snow tyre. No offence intended as I suspect millions of UK drivers also have the same idea. I suggest you do a bit of Googling.

[silly sausage]

I've had a set of winter continentals on my Rav for the past three winters, they transform an already very capable vehicle, I put a set of winter dunlops on one Yaris last year and the difference is incredible…....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clSC7APitaQ

[MikeSh]

Regarding using winter tyres all year this is an extract from a page on Continental's website:

It is recommended that you switch to winter tyres in the UK between October and April.

If you are reluctant to change tyres and have nowhere to store summer tyres when they are not in use, you are better off using winter tyres all year round.

Winter tyres are as quiet and comfortable as summer tyres and, thanks to sophisticated compound technology, do not wear any more quickly.

There is a slight trade off with stopping distances as a winter tyre does not stop as quickly in the dry as a summer tyre, however, on balance if it is not possible to switch tyres in the winter, experts say you are better off with winter tyres all year round. This is because the difference in stopping distances of summer tyres in winter is far greater than for winter tyres in the summer.

The full article (Why winter tyres?) can be found here:

http://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/www/tyres_uk_en/themes/car-tyres/winter-tyres/why-winter-tyres/why-winter-tyres.html

[chrispr]

I'm currently on Goodyear Ultragrip winter tyres and while they have fantastic grip when it's a bit icy they are incredibly noisy on wet roads. Also the softer rubber is definitely noticeable when cornering as the car tends to roll a lot more than usual.

I imagine once the proper ice and snow hits I'll forget about these issues though!

[Dougie150]

Got Goodyear Ultragrips too and while they are good now the temperatures have dropped, before I put my summers back on after last winter, they were not pleasant when temperatures were getting closer to 20C. I certainly wouldn't recommend using them all year round.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Thought it might be useful to post a couple of links which give advice on the use of winter tyres, etc (including the advice on using winter tyres all year round if one doesn't have the space to store them):

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/winter-tyres-in-the-uk.html

http://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/www/tyres_uk_en/themes/van-tyres/winter-tyres/why-winter-tyres.html

Think one thing to bear in mind as well, is that some owners may not be able to afford separate sets of winter and summer tyres.

[Cyker]

Decided to go with the Coopers; Already got one barely used so only need 3 more to round it out, and I have a mild paranoia about having mixed tyres on the wheels so this seems like the sensible and least expensive thing to do.

!Removed! cheap too, £35! Add another tenner for fitting, valve, balance, disposal etc., not too shabby :)

Will be interesting to see how they compare to the Conties and how they hold up in the cold and snow! The PCP2Es were not noticeably worse in the cold and wet, and had enough grip in snow to keep me out of trouble (Certainly more than people with RWD cars anyway :P)

I really wanted to test the CPC5's in the cold and snow too so it is a shame it has worn down so quickly. :(

At 3mm it's too shallow to risk - One thing you deffo don't want to do with a summer tyre is drive it around in winter with less than 3mm of tread as you really notice an increase in aquaplaning when it is very wet, and a major loss of grip when you're in snow!

A real shame as I suspect the CPC5s would have done quite well as clearly it has a much softer compound than the 2E's!

This is why I think it's a moronic idea to drive around all year on winters tho' - If a soft summer compound can wear out this fast, imagine how quickly a winter tyre will wear down? And the wear will be worst during summer, so you'll go into winter with all the sipes and tread at half the depth it was which will compromise the tyre's ability to grip when you really need it to.

If you need and can afford it, the 2-set summer/winter swapperino is a much more sensible idea IMHO. (Or a set of All Season tyres I guess, but generally they're almost as bad as summer tyres in snow according to most reviews! )

My financial plans tyre-wise have already been flushed down the proverbial toilet (I was expecting the CPC5's to last at least as long as the CPC2E's! At least 20k miles, certainly not 8k! ) and I ain't dropping £400+ for a set of winters and wheels which will literally be useful for maybe 2-3 days in the year!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Remember talking to the manager of a tyre fitting centre about four years ago. He had a 2008 Mondeo diesel, and that used to (in his own words) 'rip through front tyres in about 8000 miles', due to the weight over the front wheels and the torque of the diesel.