|
I’ve got a Skoda Elegance PD. Assuming I do not want to pay the current high price for the OE 225/45/17W Michelin Pilot Primacy, what decent cheaper tyres also have the rim protector? Avon ZV5 seems to be a good tyre at a much lower price. I fancied some Barum Bravuris but no rim protectors are obvious. SWMBO and step son had good service out of that brand. Low road noise is also desirable.
|
The Avon's are getting a lot of stick on brisky for not lasting, they commonly go out of round. A low quality tyre if the reports are to be believed.
The cheapest well rated tyre on this car seems to be the Vredestein ultrac sessanta which i think has just been replaced by the "centos" or something like that. They're noted for being grippy and quiet.
|
>> I fancied some Barum Bravuris but no rim protectors are obvious.
What's a "rim protector"? Can I see it on the Primacy tyres shown at: bit.ly/a8SmLR ?
|
|
Falken Ziex are good, I put 4 on my Almera during the last ice age and would buy them again.
|
...What's a "rim protector"?...
A rim protector is a raised rib running around the sidewall of the tyre, near to where it meets the wheel.
It protects the wheel rim by being first to contact a kerb when parking.
Some rim protectors are very obvious, but others less so.
Not all tyres have them, it's one of the benefits of buying a more expensive tyre.
Looking at the pics in the link, the Yokohama tyres, particularly the C Drive, have visible rim protectors
Last edited by: Iffy on Wed 15 Sep 10 at 12:04
|
I would recommend shopping online (if you haven't already done so) and couple this with a local tyre indie, not a fast fit place.
Eg
When I shopped around for a replacement Bridgestone.
Dealer and fast fit places wanted the same price for the tyre
I got the same tyre £50 cheaper from a local tyre indie who did the same tyre for the prices that I found online.
|
>> A rim protector is a raised rib running around the sidewall of the tyre, near
>> to where it meets the wheel.
Don't most tyres bulge out a bit? I would've thought that a "rim protector" would deform and allow rim damage anyway (or unseat the bead).
|
...Don't most tyres bulge out a bit?...
They do, and some tyres with no visible protectors are quite good at resisting kerbing.
It's mentioned in some online reviews, but you'll usually not know how good the resistance is until the tyre is on your car and you've tried it.
No danger of the protector deforming at parking speeds, it's a solid bead moulded into the tyre.
Obviously, if you smack a kerb at higher speed, the tyre, wheel or suspension may be damaged, regardless of a protector.
|
The 225/45/17 tyres do not bulge out sufficiently and the raised rubber protector at the rim provides reasonable protection against low kerbs at slow speeds. Unfortunately my recent encounter with a French bit of concrete was in the middle of the wheel.
The online sites often mention protection but those that do not leave me wondering over the picures shown.
Even searching on line the Michelins are 40% more than the Avons.
|
I've had Avon ZV5s but did not really rate them - they wore out pretty quick, and they didn't balance up that well...
I've got Toyo Proxes CF1 on the front of by my cars now - about 60% of the price of the Michelins, and they certainly give good grip. I rather suspect they are not going to last that long though....!
|
Costco are usually good for Michelin prices. When they have their 20% offers - every 6 mths or so they are unbeatable.
Downside is you have to be a member
|
|
Same size tyres as on my Vectra. I've got Uniroyal Rainsport2's fitted all round. Cost me something like £80 a corner fitted (had to shop round a bit to get them at that price). And yes, they've got rim protectors, and stick to the road like brown stuff does to a blanket.
|
can you not cut the sidewalls off the old tyres and have them fitted the same time as your new tyres?
this is what the guys do in banger racing............
|
|
I'll second the Uniroyal recommendation. I've used them on and off for years and now have them on the Prelude again. Sticky and quite long-lasting as well as reasonably good value, even at French prices.
|
NS front down to about 3.5mm and I can provoke wheelspin coming out of a greasy roundabout. Keep those ideas coming as I'll make my mind up in the next few weeks.
The Michelins have actually lasted over 20,000miles which is a record for me. But at 40% or so more expensive, doubtful value.
|
|
With tyres as with most other things in life you get what you pay for. The Michelins will provide better perfomance and longer life. For the sake of a few pounds I would stick with the tyres that the manufacturer though best for the car.
|
>> I would stick with the tyres that the manufacturer though best for the car.
Vauxhall thought Goodyear NCT5's were best for the Vectra-C. Most owners will tell you differently. It's a pity Vauxhall didn't stick with Bridgestones or Continentals. I suspect the only reason they fitted NCT5's was because they got a good deal on them.
|
|
I am looking for a pair of tyres for a 206 and there were very keen prices at Black Circles. com
|
|
Fair enough but the OP does not have a problem with the tyres, only the price. I would be very surprised if you could buy a tyre that is as good for much less than the price of the original spec tyre. You get what you pay for
|
I've had bad experience with Avon tyres on a Citroen, and a colleague didn't rate them on his Fiat.
Just before I got rid of my last car (which had Michelin as OE tyres) I tried Kleiber, which is a company owned by Michelin. The tyres were made in Germany and seemed OK.
|
Looking at mytyres.co.uk you've got loads of choice in your size.
Avon ZV5 are the cheapest branded tyre and made in England. I've had them on the Galaxy and they were soft, grippy and quiet but the wear was atrocious - 10k/1 year on the front. Not 100% sure I can put this down to an ongoing tracking issue I had. I replaced them with Pirelli P7 which are noisier and demand more respect when driving.
Michelins are the most expensive tyres you can get and seem to strike the best compromise between grip and longevity.
I'd pick out a few options from mytyres to get ballpark prices, get owner reviews on tyreviews.co.uk and then ring round my local independents for cheapest fitted price on the tyre you choose.
|
|
I had a good experience of Avon tyres on a Xsara VTR, right up until the point that I realised that they were illegal on the front after only about 8.5k miles. I'd got 26k miles out of the previous Michelins. Can you guess what I replaced them with?
|
Anytime you read magazines like Auto Express they do a sequence of tests on the tyres, basically seeing where they reach their limit and where they lose it.
I would say I very rarely drive like any of the tests they do and would put my priorities as price and noise.
Been driving for 24 years and have never lost the car on a bend, in the rain etc (unless it was deliberate :)
Last couple of times I had to get tyres I bought Kumhos which have seemed to be OK.
One question though, do all new tyres come with the same depth of tread? Don't ususally see that being quoted anywhere? And I daresay when you hit one of the huge potholes that Glasgow has, no tyre is going to survive it so best to make it a cheaper one to replace than the dearest.
|
Glaikit, I would stick to the Michelins. They have lasted well for you and you know they are the best.
I think you live in Derbyshire. If you do, ring for a quote from Britannia Tyres in Derby. You might be surprised at how competitive they are. They always beat Costco for Michelins.
|
I bought 4 Michelins from ATS with 25% off.
The difference in handling from the previous Bridgstones is a revelation...
Offer is still open to end Sept I think./
|
|
im sure kumho do tyres with kerb rings
|
Another "No" vote for Avon.
Had a set of ZZ-somethings on my Chevy and ditched them after a few thousand miles. The understeer got to be too scary.
Kevin...
|
Three things you learn too late
Don't date ugly women..plenty of good looking ones available so why bother
Cheap wine is rubbish...better to do without or save up for good wine
Don't skimp on tyres....they matter more than most things.
|
>> Don't date ugly women..plenty of good looking ones available so why bother
Dating an ugly woman may well stop anyone else stealing her off you.
|
>> Dating an ugly woman may well stop anyone else stealing her off you.
Which in itself is another negative. They're more difficult to shake off too.
|
Cheap wine is rubbish...better to do without or save up for good wine
>
>>>> rubbish
us plebs that cant tell a Bordeaux from a red thrive on cheap wine
|
|
I'd rather drink water thanks.
|
>> Don't date ugly women..plenty of good looking ones available so why bother
It's their mind I'm after and some of them have amazing bodies. 'nuff said!
|
>> Don't date ugly women..plenty of good looking ones available so why bother
Spoken by a man who considers himself to be Gods gift to women, of course.
You can join AC on the naughty step this morning Humph.
Pat
|
Not much to do with God's gifts Pat. Let's put it this way, if you could run a Ferrari for more or less the same costs as a Skoda it's a bit of a no brainer really isn't it ?
:-)
|
Not to me.
The Skoda may not look so good, but it is the epitome of good old motoring and has far more integrity than any Ferrari will ever have.
Pat
|
It's only a matter of keeping the Ferrari serviced properly and regularly to ensure it remains reliable........No great hardship in the scheme of things......
:-)
|
|
Unless you find out at the first service that the "Ferrari" is nothing more than a stitched together Escort which has been re-skinned to look like the original. Then you have the problem of disposing of the wreck no one wants to take off your hands.
|
>> Three things you learn too late
>>
>> Don't date ugly women..plenty of good looking ones available so why bother
Learn before it's too late: There can be, and often is, a considerable difference between a the contents of a smart package and a plain one. With reference to cars, you may find that your blinged-up or sports car either doesn't work reliably, is too expensive to maintain, or the doors hang open and it gets nicked for yet another drive around the block every week or two.
>> Cheap wine is rubbish...better to do without or save up for good wine
Learn before it's too late: It depends on what you're having it with - and you can easily get bottles that are "corked", murky, or are sweetened with ethylene glycol. A bright label does not mean the contents are dear
>> Don't skimp on tyres....they matter more than most things.
Learn before it's too late: There are reviews of many tyres, and different prices. Just because a tyre is expensive, it does not mean that it is necessarily the best. Do your research and then buy.
|
|
I'm in half-agreement with CGN. My Volvo came with Pirelli P6000s and I replaced like with like a couple of times. Then contributors here persuaded me to try Primacy HPs instead. In my size, they're 29% more expensive than P6000s, but I find they last 50% longer and are much nicer to travel on in between. No further questions, m'lud.
|
Cheaper But Decent Tyres - Skoda
