New Tyres Whats Best?

[thaiad24]

My car is 60 plate estate T27 - so i need 225/45/18 tyres

The thread on my front 2 tryes are almost down to the legal limit so its time to change them

When I bought the car it had Continental sport contact 3 on all 4 tyres, im now wanting to know the following

1, is it worth spending the extra for a named tyre like michilin, goodyear, Continental etc...?

2, are the ratings for wet grip and economy reliable?

3, i can get 2 new tyres for 1/3 of the price of the named ones, are they gonna be terrible?

What do you guys buy? i dont mind spending the extra if they are gonna be worth it in the long run but it'd be nice to know what tyres you guys chose and why?

cheers

[Cyker]

It can vary pretty wildly; Some of the lower brands do make good tyres while others are garbage.

It's worth having a flick through e.g. http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/ and seeing what they say about particular tyres.


The ratings for economy and wet grip are pretty consistent within a single manufacturer's tyres, but I find if you're comparing between manufacturers, e.g. Michelin and Continental, the ratings are about as useful as manufacturer MPG ratings :P

The problem with the tyre rating system is the same as the mpg one - They try and game the system to get higher ratings in the tests so don't take it as gospel.

A side effect of this is tyres that were made before the ratings scheme tend to have consistently worse ratings than they actually deliver (Case in point; The old pre-rating Continental Premium Contact 2E has a much worse rating than newer Premium Contact 5 for economy and wet grip, but I found in the real world they were actually very close, esp. once worn in! They lasted a lot longer than the 5's too...!)


I'm sure people will chime in with their favoured brands soon; Always good to get some real-world feedback.
I haven't used that many different brands but Continental have been the best so far.

The Cooper CS2's I have on at the moment aren't too bad overall but have really poor lateral grip, and given the Yaris D4D is naturally quite an understeery car, I've had a couple of erk moments on suddenly tightening corners!
The Premium Contact 5's I had before those were really nice - Strong grip in the wet and dry, but they wear out *really* fast. I think I got like, 7000 miles out of them!
Before that, had their predecessor, the Contact 2E's - Very grippy tyre too and much more hard wearing than the 5's. Got nearly 30k out of them!
Original set of tyres when I bought the car were a mix of Bridgestone-somethings and Firestone Multihawks. They were pretty terrible across the board.

[FROSTYBALLS]

According to Goodyear, with the EU tyre labelling system, the difference between 'A' rated tyres and 'G' rated tyres (assuming all four tyres are the same grade) is approx 6 litres of fuel per 1,000 kilometres.

Doubt whether there are many 'G' rated tyres on sale today, so the difference for most people who would probably be choosing between 'A' and 'F' rated tyres will be less.

Example prices - Black Circles have budget tyres at £69 each fitted (probably Chinese, Taiwanese, etc), mid-range brands (Avon, Toyo, etc) from £114, and premium brands from £138.

You could go for mid-range tyres (Avon, Cooper, Toyo, Hankook, Kumho, etc, rather than premium (Continental, Michelin, Goodyear/Dunlop [in Europe Dunlop tyres are made by Goodyear]).

Current industry thinking on replacing just two front tyres is to have the current rear tyres rotated to the front, and the new tyres fitted to the rear - which improves the vehicle's stability, especially when cornering.

[thaiad24]

cheers for the info

ive narrowed it down to 2

2 x Continental sport Contact 5 £300 fitted

2 x Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 £300 fitted

whats best?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Ratings are

Goodyear - E fuel economy A wet grip 69db noise

Continental - C fuel economy A wet grip 72db noise

Goodyears slightly less economical and slightly quieter

Continentals slightly more economical and slightly noisier.

Really this is a toss up between the two - if your other two are Continentals, I'd go for the Continental Sport 5's.

[thaiad24]

I heard that the Goodyear ones I mentioned last far longer ?

[FROSTYBALLS]

When Which? tested 225/45/R17's (which is the nearest size they tested to yours), they estimated the tyre life as approx 10% better than Continental ContiSport Contact 5's.

Goodyear approx 34,900 compared to the Contis at 31,000.

Obviously this depends on type of usage, whether diesel or petrol (diesels generally being heavier at the front tend to wear the front tyres quicker), power and torque of the car, etc.

[Heidfirst]

Instead of the Goodyear Eagle F1 can I suggest the Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance?

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=27518975.110.22978&sowigan=So&Breite=225&Quer=45&Felge=18&Speed=V&Load=95&kategorie=6&Marke=Goodyear&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&Herst=Goodyear&m_s=3&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&filter_preis_bis=&filter_preis_von=100&homologation=&search_tool=standard&Label=B-A-69-1&details=Ordern&typ=R-234567

That's what I'm running during the warmer months but the other option that I would have considered going with is the Conti SportContact5 (am currently on Conti WinterContact 850 Ps for Winter) - just depends how your bias is to driving characteristics.

I very much doubt that either of us will get 30,000+ miles out of our front tyres on these (of course it depends when you change - if I'm coming into late Autumn & I'm down to 3mm I'll change but if it's Spring I'll run them longer)..

[mcorban]

My t27 has 215/55R17, and i used Avons, The grip is great, and don't wear out too quick.

[John Andrews]

see my post re tyres for my t25 - made a lot of difference

John

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/165581-queiter-tyres/

[Heidfirst]

Dunlop Bluresponse not available in 225/45 R18 - but very similar to the Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance that I mentioned.

[Whitewagon]

I'm using Goodyear Efficient Grip (not performance) at the moment and have found them a good all round tyre. I chose them over the OE Bridgestones as they were supposedly quieter, which they are, and price wise they are middle of the road. It's worth checking out the various review sites as suggested. Also as suggested the new tyres should go to the rear which is the industry and safety recommended option. Wear will always be allied to the type of use you put them to, lots of motorway miles will clearly give less wear than twisty country roads.

Tyre choice is always subjective as everyone's driving style and expectations are different. If you are a steady driver then you don't really need to worry about grip so much as someone who always drives flat out and leaves braking to the last moment. In my experience tyres that offer low wear. i.e. they last longer, always seem to give a harsher and noisier ride as the compound used tends to be harder.

More people seem to be using winter tyres now than a few years ago too which may also influence choice. That's also a personal choice, I have never used them as heavy snow and prolonged icy conditions are seldom seen where I live, I prefer to adjust my driving style to suit the prevailing conditions rather than drive in the same way whatever the weather as some seem to do.

[Heidfirst]

" I prefer to adjust my driving style to suit the prevailing conditions rather than drive in the same way whatever the weather as some seem to do."

For the last couple of days I've been driving in ~4" of snow (my house is not on a priority route as far as the council is concerned so the road is rarely gritted let alone ploughed) & ice. Believe me Winter tyres are better for the conditions - been quite fun watching people trying to work out how I can get to some places with little drama whilst they are sliding/spinning wheels :P

The next best imo is to run all-weather all year round rather than end up on Summer tyres in the snow & ice. Mind you there are dashed few all-weather tyres available in 225/45 R18.

Of course if you rarely get the weather or have the topography to need that extra grip carry on with Summers ...

[baba_metca]

For someone that lives in a region that has snow, all weather tyres are full of .... lets say you will spend more money for less grip. Winter is winter and no all weather tyre can match a winter tyre in snow, ice and mud.

Also if you want cheap tyres do not buy 18" car. It's like having an AMG fitted with LPG system (like I have seen in numerous times but still WHY). I know that sometimes you can not have the budget for the moment, but still you have to prepared later on.

The good thing is that you made up your mind and went for the top brands.

Regarding your choices I would consider the more quieter ones as they both are good tyres all in all (but do not expect miracles in cold conditions).

One of our company cars, bought second hand, had Firestones (around 3000 miles according to the invoice). We drove it another 2000 and we had two flats on the left side and consider changing them all. As all of our cars use Continental tyres we had some discount on a new set of 4 Continentals Eco Contact. And guess what, major improvement.

[Heidfirst]

"For someone that lives in a region that has snow, all weather tyres are full of .... lets say you will spend more money for less grip. Winter is winter and no all weather tyre can match a winter tyre in snow, ice and mud. "

Agreed but you have to remember that the UK (which is where this forum is based & users largely drawn from) has a somewhat unusual climate where for most people there is only snow a few days of the year - it's not like central Europe where you are pretty much guaranteed a couple of months of it & where in many countries it is mandatory to switch to Winter tyres. All- season tyres are arguably a better solution to the UK for most people than running Summers all year.

"Also if you want cheap tyres do not buy 18" car. It's like having an AMG fitted with LPG system (like I have seen in numerous times but still WHY). I know that sometimes you can not have the budget for the moment, but still you have to prepared later on. "

In the UK if you run a T27 T-Spirit you don't have too much choice unless you are prepared to buy another set of smaller wheels (which is what I did - but that then constitutes a modification & your insurance goes up) as that is the standard wheel size that the car is delivered with.

& if you have a 2.2 the smallest wheel that you can run is 17" due to the larger front discs (too big for 16" wheels).

Actually there is very little difference in the price of 17" & 18" equivalent tyres - at most a couple of £s per wheel. There is, however, a noticeable difference in the availability of tyre patterns in 18" compared to 17" (e.g. no Nokian WR D3 or Goodyear Vector 4seasons in 18").

[baba_metca]

I have a couple of friend that have moved to the UK and they are all using winter tyres. Just for the sake of not being surprised in the winter season. In my home town here it rarely snows, my folks have not seen snow since 2011, but they still change to winter tyres. Why you say,... it takes only once to snow when you are on the road.

I know about the Avensis choices for tyre sizes.

My idea was that if someone cannot afford to take care of his car, than he should not buy it. Like you said you can not have 2.2 with 16". Well do not buy the 2.2, have the 1.6 petrol. It's cheaper on the first place. Or the Auris 1.33 Estate. Back on the topic, this will mean that best tyres are top brand tyres, so put this cost to the servicing plan if you want the best.

[Heidfirst]

"I know about the Avensis choices for tyre sizes.

My idea was that if someone cannot afford to take care of his car, than he should not buy it. Like you said you can not have 2.2 with 16". Well do not buy the 2.2, have the 1.6 petrol. It's cheaper on the first place. Or the Auris 1.33 Estate. Back on the topic, this will mean that best tyres are top brand tyres, so put this cost to the servicing plan if you want the best."

Wasn't sure if 18" was the standard wheel for T-Spirits or equivalents throughout Europe - thought that it may be a country by country decision on spec. as is often the case where what is standard in one country is not in another.

1.6l petrol Avensis not available in the UK. I bought my car rather than a 1.8 TR as I got a nicer car & the whole life cost incl. maintenance was predicted to be slightly cheaper (lower fuel cost & depreciation). Sometimes you can have your cake & eat it. :D

[thaiad24]

thanks for the feedback guys

I decided to give the cheap option a whirl

I got 2 x 225/45/18 Nexen NFERA SU1 (c rating both grip and fuel)

The reviews looked decent so I thought id give them a go i paid £145 for 2 fitted

Early induications seem good, very smooth, not much noise and no worries

they are meant to last for £25,000 miles so I guess we will see if paying the extra for the high end tyres is actually worth it

Ill give an UPDATE after 25,000 miles if not before