Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's...
- Thread starter daveydave
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Soldato
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Sorry to hijack a little bit...
But how have people been finding these once they start to get a bit worn? My Focus came with them on, and they are down to about 3-4mm now. I don’t seem to have much grip at all, and don’t feel very confident to corner anything more than gently.
Obviously I’m going to stick some new tyres on it asap, and see what it’s like then. But I was just wondering what other people’s experiences were?
But how have people been finding these once they start to get a bit worn? My Focus came with them on, and they are down to about 3-4mm now. I don’t seem to have much grip at all, and don’t feel very confident to corner anything more than gently.
Obviously I’m going to stick some new tyres on it asap, and see what it’s like then. But I was just wondering what other people’s experiences were?
Soldato
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- 24 Sep 2005
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I find them very very good. Had them on a while now and got about 5-6mm tread left.
To give you some perspective, I have Eagle F1's on the front and they are down to 3mm, now these feel a bit sketchy.
I guess my point is, any tyre down at this level will feel much different to when it had 6-8mm left.
The Vred's are very good though.
Hi there
After having had the Vredsteins on many cars I can say their strong points are:-
Wet and dry grip
longevity
price
strongish sidewalls (XL models)
Consistent performance even when partly worn.
Their weak points:-
Little feedback in both dry or wet conditions
They are a little snappy, not a progressive loss of grip
So a good tyre but for me the lack of feedback they seem to offer is what killed it for me. They were quite a good tyre on the Mustang but pretty terrible on the EVO in all honest for feedback.
For anyone who enjoys driving I can say there are tyres that will give a more enjoyable driving experience.
After having had the Vredsteins on many cars I can say their strong points are:-
Wet and dry grip
longevity
price
strongish sidewalls (XL models)
Consistent performance even when partly worn.
Their weak points:-
Little feedback in both dry or wet conditions
They are a little snappy, not a progressive loss of grip
So a good tyre but for me the lack of feedback they seem to offer is what killed it for me. They were quite a good tyre on the Mustang but pretty terrible on the EVO in all honest for feedback.
For anyone who enjoys driving I can say there are tyres that will give a more enjoyable driving experience.
Odd, The Evo test seemed to indicate the opposite was true, as did the E46 M3 I tried with them. The Evo is hardly a great example of a car offering driver feedback though, is it?
Exactly and something I'd agree with you on had I not have tried different tyres.
On the Vredsteins the EVO felt numb and lifeless, hardly communitive at all. Infact I feel on those tyres I'd have not kept for the car for 6 months, so I am so glad I changed them.
However changing to a set of AD08's transformed the car, infact its quite astonishing how much feedback the car does give now on those tyres. So my point is if the tyres can make so much difference on a car that has never been a great example of driver feedback then what kind of difference would they make to a car that does give plenty of driver feedback.
On the Vredsteins the EVO was capable but boring. On the Yokohamas AD08's the car is even more capable in the dry, not quite as capable in the wet but in both situations give so much more feedback and I push the car to its handling limits and know how much I can push simply due to the tyre change.
On the Vredsteins in the dry they give very little feedback, in the wet the feedback was zero. The AD08's make the car talk and for me I'd rather have that communication than say more grip as what is grip if you can't feel where the limits are or get the confidence from the cars feedback to push. With the AD08's they give me that confidence I never had with the Vredsteins.
I think this must be another case of tyres suiting particular cars (after-all suspension systems are generally designed with a specific tyre as part of that system).
There are many people that seem to find KU31s are terrible, yet others that find them amazing - the divide usually being between cars rather than individuals.
There are many people that seem to find KU31s are terrible, yet others that find them amazing - the divide usually being between cars rather than individuals.
I definetely agree, different tyres definetely suit different cars better.
Go on the EVO forums and people have terrible experiences with Toyo T1R's, Goodyear Eagle F1's etc. Tyres which some will rave about.
The EVO definetely seems better suited to Yokohamas and Hankook tyres from what I've seen and it seems to be mainly down to sidewall, the stronger the sidewall the better it seems to feel. For example the sidewalls are so strong on the AD08 tyres they have steel inserts in the tyre.
The Vredsteins on the Mustang felt quite good, but I have to ask myself if the Mustang had a set of AD08's would it have been better?
I also ran the Mustang on T1R's and yes they were OK, but they squealed like pigs at every roundabout and the sidewalls were like cheese, the Vredsteins were definetely better on the Mustang.
On mine once they have lost a few mm they lose a bit of rear traction in the wet and when pulling away at a junction plus I can no longer take some corners at speeds I was able to when they were new (and throughout the entire life of the PS2s I had before) without DSC jumping in (y0).
I was impressed with them at first but I much prefer the PS2s now after seeing how the Sessanta fairs a year on and getting close to changing them tread wise on the rears.
I will get PS2s again next time round or try the PS3s depending on how much they cost!
I had my front tyres changed on Saturday, having run a set Ultracs all round. I'd have to check at home but they must have lasted 16k to 18k miles.
Life seems much better than the Conti Sport Contact 2s and 3s I've previously had.
The Ultracs seem to be terrible for tramlining the closer they got to the legal limit though. Wasn't too bad once you got to expect it but the first I went over some road markings, it felt like the whole car jumped 2ft to one side. In reality it probably hardly moved but it didn't half wake me up.
Still, at £77 for 225/45/17 XL from Camskill, I'm happy to stick with them again.
Life seems much better than the Conti Sport Contact 2s and 3s I've previously had.
The Ultracs seem to be terrible for tramlining the closer they got to the legal limit though. Wasn't too bad once you got to expect it but the first I went over some road markings, it felt like the whole car jumped 2ft to one side. In reality it probably hardly moved but it didn't half wake me up.
Still, at £77 for 225/45/17 XL from Camskill, I'm happy to stick with them again.